Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Experimental And Theoretical Studies Of Fluid-Solid Coupling Processes Of Tight Rock Media, Tao Zhang

Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertations

This study covers the application of continuum mechanics in the realm of rock work in geological studies. Continuum mechanics encompasses two major branches: fluid mechanics that deals with fluid behavior, and solid mechanics pertaining to the behavior of rock media. The research focuses on comprehending the mechanical behavior of rocks as a continuous mass, offering a comprehensive perspective for analyzing geological structures, fluid flow, and rock mechanics. Under the framework of continuum mechanics applied to rock media, following the sequence of the rock/solid properties, fluid flow properties, and the fluid-solid coupling behavior, this dissertation is divided into four sections, each …

Modeling Of Fluid Injection-Related Processes In Hydrocarbon Reservoirs In Alberta, Canada, Negar Nazari

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the last decade, with the development of horizontal drilling and multistage hydraulic fracturing technology, extraction of unconventional resources has significantly increased in western Canada. These industrial activities have been associated with the rise in the seismicity rate. This thesis aimed to improve the quality of the available geomechanical models of the injection-induced seismicity in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, by incorporating detailed geoscience characterization for two unconventional reservoirs of the Duvernay Formation in the Fox Creek area and the Cardium Formation in West Pembina. Hydraulic fracturing has induced seismicity in the first area, but no induced seismicity has been …

Geologic Characterization Of The Nonconformity Interface Using Outcrop And Drillcore Analogs: Implications For Injection-Induced Seismicity, Kayla Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Starting around 2009, a greater number of earthquakes than anticipated have occurred in the midcontinent region of the United States. These earthquakes have been linked to increased rates and volumes of wastewater injection at several km’s depth into the Earth’s crust near a contact between crystalline metamorphic or igneous rock and overlying sedimentary rock, known as a nonconformity. While much is known about why these new earthquakes occur, comparatively little is known about the physical and chemical rock properties because the nonconformity contact is primarily buried under km’s of sedimentary rock in the midcontinent region. These rock properties are important …

Grain-Size And Permeability Of Sediments Within The Hyporheic Zone At The Theis Environmental Monitoring And Modeling Site, Great Miami River And Buried Valley Aquifer, Southwest Ohio, Usa, Timothy Wayne Cornett

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site is a field research facility, located on the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio, dedicated to the study of hyporheic zone processes. The site is underlain by an aquifer on the order of 21 meters thick, comprised of fluvial deposits. The permeability of the aquifer sediments was quantified both from one large scale hydraulic test (~100 m radial distance) and from grain-size analysis of 119 small-scale core samples (~20 cm length each). The permeability determined from the large-scale hydraulic test is 98.9 Darcies. The test also gave a value for specific yield of …

Grain-Size And Permeability Of Sediments Within The Hyporheic Zone At The Theis Environmental Monitoring And Modeling Site, Great Miami River And Buried Valley Aquifer, Southwest Ohio, Usa, Timothy Wayne Cornett

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site is a field research facility, located on the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio, dedicated to the study of hyporheic zone processes. The site is underlain by an aquifer on the order of 21 meters thick, comprised of fluvial deposits. The permeability of the aquifer sediments was quantified both from one large scale hydraulic test (~100 m radial distance) and from grain-size analysis of 119 small-scale core samples (~20 cm length each). The permeability determined from the large-scale hydraulic test is 98.9 Darcies. The test also gave a value for specific yield of …

Using Tidal Analysis To Examine Lake-Aquifer Connectivity On A Modern Carbonate Platform, Ronald A. Knoll

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lake-aquifer connectivity on carbonate platforms is governed by basin morphology which is influenced by diagenetic and depositional processes. Both these processes cause aquifer permeability to vary significantly with scale of measurement (i.e., pore-scale, well-scale, and regional-scale). Because coastal aquifers are well-known to have tidally controlled water level fluctuations, inland lakes may be used to expand the areal measurement of permeability and establish a link between well-scale and regional scale connectivity in the aquifer. To evaluate the impact of lake basin morphology on aquifer connectivity, water level fluctuations were collected at high temporal resolution in the ocean and twenty-four surface water …

Identifying Key Factors Affecting Translational Landslides In Part Of The Yakima Fold And Thrust Belt, Washington State, Joseph Schilter

All Master's Theses

Washington has one of the fastest growth rates in the nation, and unfortunately also is among the most landslide-prone states. With increased population density and urban sprawl, the need for landslide hazard assessment grows. On the Columbia Plateau in central Washington, the smooth rigid, inclined surfaces of the Columbia River Basalts (CRBs) with loose sediment layers between them induces landslides of large blocks of bedrock. These hazards remain poorly understood, but their significance was heightened by the 2017 Rattlesnake Hills Landslide that currently threatens a community and an interstate highway south of Yakima, Washington. I propose that the strongest influences …

Coupled Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical-Chemical Processes In Geothermal And Shale Energy Developments, Arash Kamali-Asl

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Coupled Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) processes that exist in the development of different geo-resources (e.g. deep geothermal and shale gas) affect the fracture response (i.e. aperture and permeability), which in turn influences the reservoir production. The main goal of this study was to experimentally evaluate the impact of THMC processes on the response of rock specimens relevant for deep geothermal and shale gas formations. The effects of THMC processes were investigated on: (i) success of the hydraulic fracturing/hydro-shearing mechanism during stimulation stage, and (ii) closure of the created network of fractures during production stage.

The elastic, cyclic, creep, and failure characteristics of …

Facies Architecture And Controls On Reservoir Behavior In The Turonian Wall Creek Member Of The Frontier Formation, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, Nathan M. La Fontaine

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Inter-well heterogeneities influencing fluid migration in deltaic reservoirs are controlled by lateral lithofacies changes and vertical complexities such as low permeability thin-beds. Subsurface tools often cannot predict the spatial and stratigraphic organization of these architectural elements, nor their influence on effective reservoir properties and connectivity. This study integrates sedimentological, stratigraphic, and fluid simulation data to 1) document the facies architecture and depositional evolution of the Turonian Wall Creek Member (WCM) of the Frontier Formation, and 2) quantify the role of multi-scale stratigraphic heterogeneity on reservoir behavior. Upscaled permeability properties derived from fluid simulation of nested, small-scale facies models condition the …

Geochemical And Petrophysical Characteristics Of The Horn River Formation: British Columbia, Ca, Joseph Anthony Sortore

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

The Devonian Horn River basin of northeastern British Columbia is the largest producing shale gas field in Canada. It has an estimated 500-600 TCF of light hydrocarbons in place stacked in multiple formations in an over-pressured setting conducive to, but too tight for natural flow. Not until the development of new drilling and production technologies were implemented a little over a decade ago were these massive resource plays able to be exploited. Shale development in British Columbia began in 2005 with the Triassic Montney Play, and shortly after that the Horn River Play in 2007. As of 2012, the Horn …

Fluid Uptake Of The Goddard Shale In Southeastern Oklahoma, Usa, Paul Huggins

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

The South Central Oklahoma Oil Province is the current play for the Goddard shale and is also the main field for the underlying Woodford Formation. As of September 2015, an estimated 40 wells have been drilled to evaluate and produce the Goddard shale in the southeastern portion of the Anadarko Basin. With companies reporting initial production rates ranging from 1,000 boe/d to nearly 2,000 boe/d and 30 day reports averaging around 800 boe/d, the amount of recovery from this tight shale reservoir has exceptional potential. Continental Resources Inc. estimates a gross recovery of 940,000 boe per lateral well. Understanding the …

Subsurface Imaging And Petrophysical Analysis Of The South Georgia Rift Basin, South Carolina, Olusoga Martins Akintunde

Theses and Dissertations

The Triassic-Jurassic South Georgia Rift (SGR) basin, buried beneath Coastal Plain sediments of southern South Carolina, southeastern Georgia, western Florida, and southern Alabama, consists of an assemblage of continental rift deposits (popularly called red beds), and mafic igneous rocks (basalt flows and diabase sills). The red beds are capped by basalts and/or diabase sills, and constitute the target for supercritical CO2 storage as part of a Department of Energy funded project to study feasibility for safe and long-term sequestration. This study addresses key stratigraphic, structural and petrophysical issues critical to determine subsurface suitability for CO2 storage as well as improved …

A Localized Investigation Of High Resolution Groundwater Flow Properties Of The Saginaw Aquifer Mason, Michigan, Amanda Hayden

Masters Theses

High resolution groundwater models can aid in better management of groundwater resources through more accurate characterization and quantification of aquifer systems. Detailed assessments of flow properties in the context of sedimentary facies can provide high quality data input for more accurate groundwater models.

The Pennsylvanian Grand River and Saginaw bedrock formations comprise the Saginaw Aquifer located in the Lansing, Michigan Tri-County region. The Saginaw Aquifer consists of a predominately shale and sandstone successions. These sandstone facies range up to 40 meters thick, and supply a significant amount water resources to the Lansing Tri-County area. Data used in this study was …

The Kozeny-Carman Equation Considered With A Percolation Threshold, Lee Brenson Porter Ii

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

A procedure has been developed for calculating permeability (k) from the Kozeny-Carmen equation, a procedure that links ideas from percolation theory with the ideas of Koltermann and Gorelick (1995) and Esselburn et al. (2011). The approach focuses on the proportion of coarser pores that are occupied by finer sediments and defines a threshold proportion. For proportions below this threshold, the unoccupied coarser pores percolate. Following the ideas of Koltermann and Gorelick (1995), the effective grain-size term in the Kozeny-Carman equation is calculated using the geometric mean if below the threshold proportion, and with the harmonic mean if above. Following ideas …

Estimating Permeability From The Grain-Size Distributions Of Natural Sediment, Lawrence Mastera

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Permeability, k, can be estimated using the Kozeny-Carman equation, given a grain-size distribution with any number of grain-size categories and the porosity of a sediment. A recursive method was developed to calculate the effective grain-size parameter, d, for sediment mixtures with more than three grain sizes. The method was tested on four sediment models of sand, gravelly sand, sandy gravel, and open-framework gravel created from grain-size distributions. The k estimated from the recursive method were consistent with physical measurements of k.

Porosity And Permeability In Ternary Sediment Mixtures, Jason Dennis Esselburn

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Porosity and permeability were measured in mixtures of fine, medium, and coarse sand, where the volume fraction of each of the three components was systematically varied. The porosity varies non-linearly with the volume fractions, and can be modeled with a piecewise-linear approach. The permeability also varies non-linearly with the volume fractions. Permeability can be modeled with the Kozeny-Carman equation using a recursive approach for computing the representative grain size from those of the components in the mixture.

Porosity And Permeability Of Bimodal Sediment Mixtures Using Natural Sediment, Peter M. Phillips

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Porosity and permeability are parameters that affect the flow of ground water in the subsurface and have significant implications on the modeling of fate and transport of contaminants. However, little has been done to quantitatively examine the effect on porosity and permeability of packing in bimodal mixtures of natural sediment. This study compares measurements of porosity and permeability on model bimodal sediment mixtures with predictions from petrophysical models. The main goal is to evaluate how well these petrophysical models predict porosity and permeability in bimodal mixtures of natural sediment. The effect of the volume fraction of fines on porosity and …

Stratigraphic And Structural Analysis Of Coals In The Ferron Sandstone Member Of The Mancos Shale And Fruitland Formation: Relationship To Coal Reservoir Permeability And Coalbed Methane Production, Jason Lynn Kneedy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Coal reservoir quality in the Ferron Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale, and in the Fruitland Formation is dependent on coal cleat characteristics. Coal reservoir permeability increases as a result of high cleat density. From careful outcrop examination, we were able to identify several factors that increase cleat density. Vitrain coal typically has the highest fracture density as a result of having well-developed face cleats and conchoidal fractures. Clarain coal contains face and butt cleats. Cleat density in clarain is also controlled by mechanical layer thickness. As mechanical layer thickness decreases, cleat density increases. Durain and fusain coals typically contain …

Stratal Architecture In A Prograding Shoreface Deposit, Eastern Shore, Va: Relationship To Grain Size, Permeability, And Facies Distribution, Andrew C. Miller

OES Theses and Dissertations

A fundamental concern of the stratigrapher is to develop predictive models of stratigraphic organization. In sedimentology one of the most significant problems that has yet to be resolved is the fact that there is a lack of quantitative information regarding the relationship between geometry of beds, thickness of beds, grain size and sedimentary structures in sandy environments, especially shallow marine deposits. Scientists have also realized the need to correlate quantitative permeability to sedimentary structures and scales of stratigraphic organization. The purpose of the study is to investigate the scales of stratigraphic organization that control the variation of grain size and …

Influence Of Compaction And Freezing On The Structure And Permeability Of Some Selected Horizons From Northern Utah Soils, Samir Ramzy Nagmoush

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Frequently, in evaluating plant deficiencies, one considers only those soil factors which are associated with the fertility of the soil-- mainly the levels of phosphorus, potash, nitrogen, and organic matter. A certain level of nutrition is essential for plant growth, but in order for the nutrients to exert their maximum influence on the productivity of the soil, it is equally important that a good soil environment be provided and maintained. A good environment requires that good physical conditions of soil, sir, and water be in balance.