A Poroelastic Description of Permeability Evolution

Pore pressure changes in a geothermal reservoir, as a result of injection and/or production of water, result in changes of stress acting on the reservoir rock and, consequently, changes in the mechanical and transport properties of the rock. Bulk modulus and permeability were measured at different pressures and temperatures. An outcropping equivalent of Rotliegend reservoir rock in the North German Basin (Flechtinger sandstone) was used to perform hydrostatic tests and steady state fluid flow tests. Permeability measurements were conducted while cycling confining pressure; the dependence of permeability on stress was determined at a constant downstream pressure of 1 MPa. Also, temperature was increased stepwise from 30 to 140 °C and crack porosity was calculated at different temperatures. Although changes in the volumes of cracks are not significant, the cracks control fluid flow pathways and, consequently, the permeability of the rock. A new model was derived which relates microstructure of porosity, the stress–strain curve, and permeability. Porosity change was described by the first derivative of the stress–strain curve. Permeability evolution was ascribed to crack closure and was related to the second derivative of the stress–strain curve. The porosity and permeability of Flechtinger sandstone were reduced by increasing the effective pressure and decreased after each pressure cycle.     

New biorthogonal potential–density basis functions

We use the weighted integral form of spherical Bessel functions and introduce a new analytical set of complete and biorthogonal potential–density basis functions. The potential and density functions of the new set have finite central values and they fall off, respectively, similar to   r ^{−(1+ l )}  and   r ^{−(4+ l )}  at large radii, where l is the latitudinal quantum number of spherical harmonics. The lowest order term associated with   l = 0  is the perfect sphere of de Zeeuw. Our basis functions are intrinsically suitable for the modelling of three-dimensional, soft-centred stellar systems and they complement the basis sets of Clutton-Brock, Hernquist & Ostriker and Zhao. We test the performance of our functions by expanding the density and potential profiles of some spherical and oblate galaxy models.     

Kerman Clay Improvement by Lime and Bentonite to Be Used as Materials of Landfill Liner

Kerman province, located in the south eastern Iran, is dominated with clays which can be used in different projects. The liner system within a landfill is constructed to control leachate migration and can be constructed by low permeable natural soils or plastic lining materials, environmentally however, natural materials is preferred that usually need to be amended in order to meet requirements recommended by environmental agencies. This research examines the possibility of using the Kerman collapsible clay as a liner layer material. A set of laboratory test was conducted on pure soil samples and additive treated samples. The moderate collapse potential of the used soil is decreased with wet compaction and under the effect of additive-soil reactions. Laboratory investigations showed that lime and bentonite treatment improved the hydraulic conductivity. The results revealed hydraulic conductivities on the order of 10^?8 m/s. The obtained values met the 1.0E?07 m/s criterion required by Iranian standards. Unconfined compression tests were also performed on pure soil and additive amended samples. The unconfined compression strength values demonstrated gradual decreases with the addition of bentonite and considerable increases with adding lime such that with adding 1% lime the unconfined compression strength increased by 75%. This study verified that the Kerman collapsing clay can be used as a liner material using lime and bentonite as additives.     

Fault diagnosis using noise modeling and a new artificial immune system based algorithm

A new fault classification/diagnosis method based on artificial immune system(AIS) algorithms for the structural systems is proposed. In order to improve the accuracy of the proposed method, i.e., higher success rate, Gaussian and non-Gaussian noise generating models are applied to simulate environmental noise. The identification of noise model, known as training process, is based on the estimation of the noise model parameters by genetic algorithms(GA) utilizing real experimental features. The proposed fault classification/diagnosis algorithm is applied to the noise contaminated features. Then, the results are compared to that obtained without noise modeling. The performance of the proposed method is examined using three laboratory case studies in two healthy and damaged conditions. Finally three different types of noise models are studied and it is shown experimentally that the proposed algorithm with non-Gaussian noise modeling leads to more accurate clustering of memory cells as the major part of the fault classification procedure.     

Robust Automatic Reduction of Multibeam Bathymetric Data Based on M-estimators

Multibeam echosounders have commonly been employed for a wide range of applications including offshore survey, navigation, hydrogeology, and oceanography. Because the tremendous volume of the bathymetric data is demanding for some purposes and requires significant storage space, the data reduction plays a prominent role in practice. Additionally, the multibeam soundings are inevitably contaminated with sporadic outliers, and as such, the data cleaning can be challenging especially in shallow waters. We present a speedily robust method for reliably reducing the volume of the bathymetric data within grid cells. In this respect, robust M-estimators are recursively applied to the data in a patch-wise manner to alleviate the undesirable effects of the outlying observations. Accordingly, the reduced bathymetry is automatically made unaffected by the possible outliers once their equivalent weights have been downweighted. The performance of the presented method has been demonstrated by synthetic datasets and an experimental dataset collected by an ATLAS FS 20/100 kHz shallow-water multibeam echosounder in the offshore waters of Kish wharf. The reliability, efficiency, and capability of the proposed method have been verified, which makes it quite possible to meet the IHO requirements for special-order seafloor mapping.     

Roadheader performance prediction using genetic programming (GP) and gene expression programming (GEP) techniques

Roadheading machines play a vital role in excavation operation in tunneling and mining industries notably when selective mining is required. Roadheaders are more effective in soft to medium rock formations due to a higher cutting rate in such strata. A precise prediction of machine’s performance is a crucial issue, as it has considerable effects on excavation planning, project’s cost estimation, machine specification selection as well as safety of the project. In this research, a database of machine performance and some geomechanical parameters of rock formations from Tabas coal mine project, the largest and fully mechanized coal mine in Iran, has been established, including instantaneous cutting rate (ICR), uniaxial compressive strength, Brazilian tensile strength, rock quality designation, influence of discontinuity orientation (Alpha angle) and specific energy. Afterward, the parameters were analyzed through genetic programming (GP) and gene expression programming (GEP) approaches to yield more accurate models to predict the performance of roadheaders. As statistical indices, coefficient of determination, root mean square error and variance account were used to evaluate the efficiency of the developed models. According to the obtained results, it was observed that developed models can effectively be implemented for prediction of roadheader performance. Moreover, it was concluded that performance of the GEP model is better than the GP model. A high conformity was observed between predicted and measured roadheader ICR for GEP model.     

Interlobate esker architecture and related hydrogeological features derived from a combination of high-resolution reflection seismics and refraction tomography,Virttaankangas, southwest Finland

A novel high-resolution (2–4 m source and receiver spacing) reflection and refraction seismic survey was carried out for aquifer characterization and to confirm the existing depositional model of the interlobate esker of Virttaankangas, which is part of the Säkylänharju-Virttaankangas glaciofluvial esker-chain complex in southwest Finland. The interlobate esker complex hosting the managed aquifer recharge (MAR) plant is the source of the entire water supply for the city of Turku and its surrounding municipalities. An accurate delineation of the aquifer is therefore critical for long-term MAR planning and sustainable use of the esker resources. Moreover, an additional target was to resolve the poorly known stratigraphy of the 70–100-m-thick glacial deposits overlying a zone of fractured bedrock. Bedrock surface as well as fracture zones were confirmed through combined reflection seismic and refraction tomography results and further validated against existing borehole information. The high-resolution seismic data proved successful in accurately delineating the esker cores and revealing complex stratigraphy from fan lobes to kettle holes, providing valuable information for potential new pumping wells. This study illustrates the potential of geophysical methods for fast and cost-effective esker studies, in particular the digital-based landstreamer and its combination with geophone-based wireless recorders, where the cover sediments are reasonably thick.

     

Hydrocarbon Vertical Continuity Evaluation in the Cretaceous Reservoirs of Azadegan Oilfield, Southwest of Iran: Implications for Reservoir Geochemistry

A collection of data obtained from analytical methods in geochemistry along with the reservoir engineering and geologic data were used to investigate the reservoir continuity in the Cretaceous Fahliyan, Gadavan, Kazhdumi and Sarvak reservoirs of the super-giant Azadegan oilfield, SW Iran. The geochemical data indicate that the oil samples, with medium to high level of thermal maturity, have been generated from the anoxic marine marl/carbonate source rock(s). The Sargelu (Jurassic) and Garau (Cretaceous) formations are introduced as the main source rocks for the studied oils. The dendrogram obtained from the cluster analysis of high-resolution gas chromatography data introduces two main oil groups including Fahliyan reservoir, and Kazhdumi along with Sarvak/Gadvan reservoirs. This is confirmed by C7 Halpern star diagram, indicating that, the light oil fraction from Fahliyan reservoir is distinct from the others. Also, different pressure gradient of the Fahliyan Formation (over-pressured) relative to other reservoirs (normally-pressured) show the presence of compartments. The relation between toluene/n-heptane and n-heptane/methylcyclohexane represents the compartmentalization due to maturation/evaporative fractionation for Fahliyan and water washing for other studied reservoirs. Also, the impermeable upper part of the Fahliyan Formation and thin interbedded shaly layers in the Kazhdumi, Sarvak and Gadvan formations have controlled reservoir compartmentalization.     

Seismic tomographic imaging of P- and S-waves velocity perturbations in the upper mantle beneath Iran

The inverse tomography method has been used to study the P - and S -waves velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle underneath Iran. The method, based on the principle of source–receiver reciprocity, allows for tomographic studies of regions with sparse distribution of seismic stations if the region has sufficient seismicity. The arrival times of body waves from earthquakes in the study area as reported in the ISC catalogue (1964–1996) at all available epicentral distances are used for calculation of residual arrival times. Prior to inversion we have relocated hypocentres based on a 1-D spherical earth's model taking into account variable crustal thickness and surface topography. During the inversion seismic sources are further relocated simultaneously with the calculation of velocity perturbations. With a series of synthetic tests we demonstrate the power of the algorithm and the data to reconstruct introduced anomalies using the ray paths of the real data set and taking into account the measurement errors and outliers. The velocity anomalies show that the crust and upper mantle beneath the Iranian Plateau comprises a low velocity domain between the Arabian Plate and the Caspian Block. This is in agreement with global tomographic models, and also tectonic models, in which active Iranian plateau is trapped between the stable Turan plate in the north and the Arabian shield in the south. Our results show clear evidence of the mainly aseismic subduction of the oceanic crust of the Oman Sea underneath the Iranian Plateau. However, along the Zagros suture zone, the subduction pattern is more complex than at Makran where the collision of the two plates is highly seismic.