Data-Driven Modeling Approach to Predict the Recovery Performance of Low-Salinity Waterfloods

Natural Resources Research - Low-salinity waterflooding (LSWF) has, in the past decade, attained a lot of attention to enhance oil recovery. In LSWF, diluted water is injected into an oil reservoir...     

A New Mathematical Formulation for Underground Cut-off Grade Determination in the Presence of Pre-concentration Systems

Natural Resources Research - The mining industry is facing increasingly lower grades, which intensifies the need to reduce costs. The depletion of orebodies close to the surface has pushed the...     

Water and wastewater treatment from BTEX by carbon nanotubes and Nano-Fe

The removal of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) from aqueous solution by multi- and single-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs and SWCNTs), hybrid carbon nanotubes (HCNTs) and nano-Fe was evaluated for a nanomaterials dose of 1 g/L and a BTEX concentration of 10 mg/L and pH 7. The equilibrium amount (q _e ) (mg/g) removed by SWCNTs (B: 9.98, T: 9.96, E: 9.97, and X: 9.97 mg/g) was higher than for MWCNTs, HCNTs and nano-Fe in a c ₀ of 10 mg/L and for a contact time of 10 min. The q _e of total BTEX removed via SWCNTs was 39.89 mg/g. The order of uptake for SWCNTs is X > T = E > B, which is related to the increasing water solubility and the decreasing molecular weight of the compounds. The SWCNTs performed better for BTEX sorption than the MWCNTs, HCNTs and nano-Fe. The results of desorption study show that BTEX adsorbed on SWCNTs can easily be desorbed at 105 ± 2°C. It was concluded that recycling CNTs using heat improved the performance of the CNTs. For the first time, better adsorption performance was observed for recycled CNTs than for raw CNTs. SWCNTs are efficient BTEX adsorbents that could be used for cleaning up environmental pollution.     

Pyroclastic dune bedforms: macroscale structures and lateral variations. Examples from the 2006 pyroclastic currents at Tungurahua (Ecuador)

Pyroclastic currents are catastrophic flows of gas and particles triggered by explosive volcanic eruptions. For much of their dynamics, they behave as particulate density currents and share similarities with turbidity currents. Pyroclastic currents occasionally deposit dune bedforms with peculiar lamination patterns, from what is thought to represent the dilute low concentration and fluid‐turbulence supported end member of the pyroclastic currents. This article presents a high resolution dataset of sediment plates (lacquer peels) with several closely spaced lateral profiles representing sections through single pyroclastic bedforms from the August 2006 eruption of Tungurahua (Ecuador). Most of the sedimentary features contain backset bedding and preferential stoss‐face deposition. From the ripple scale (a few centimetres) to the largest dune bedform scale (several metres in length), similar patterns of erosive‐based backset beds are evidenced. Recurrent trains of sub‐vertical truncations on the stoss side of structures reshape and steepen the bedforms. In contrast, sporadic coarse‐grained lenses and lensoidal layers flatten bedforms by filling troughs. The coarsest (clasts up to 10 cm), least sorted and massive structures still exhibit lineation patterns that follow the general backset bedding trend. The stratal architecture exhibits strong lateral variations within tens of centimetres, with very local truncations both in flow‐perpendicular and flow‐parallel directions. This study infers that the sedimentary patterns of bedforms result from four formation mechanisms: (i) differential draping; (ii) slope‐influenced saltation; (iii) truncative bursts; and (iv) granular‐based events. Whereas most of the literature makes a straightforward link between backset bedding and Froude‐supercritical flows, this interpretation is reconsidered here. Indeed, features that would be diagnostic of subcritical dunes, antidunes and ‘chute and pools’ can be found on the same horizon and in a single bedform, only laterally separated by short distances (tens of centimetres). These data stress the influence of the pulsating and highly turbulent nature of the currents and the possible role of coherent flow structures such as Görtler vortices. Backset bedding is interpreted here as a consequence of a very high sedimentation environment of weak and waning currents that interact with the pre‐existing morphology. Quantification of near‐bed flow velocities is made via comparison with wind tunnel experiments. It is estimated that shear velocities of ca 0·30 m.s^?1 (equivalent to pure wind velocity of 6 to 8 m.s^?1 at 10 cm above the bed) could emplace the constructive bedsets, whereas the truncative phases would result from bursts with impacting wind velocities of at least 30 to 40 m.s^?1.     

Analytical solutions to nonlinear conservative oscillator with fifth-order nonlinearity

This paper describes analytical and numerical methods to analyze the steady state periodic response of an oscillator with symmetric elastic and inertia nonlinearity. A new implementation of the homotopy perturbation method (HPM) and an ancient Chinese method called the max-min approach are presented to obtain an approximate solution. The major concern is to assess the accuracy of these approximate methods in predicting the system response within a certain range of system parameters by examining their ability to establish an actual (numerical) solution. Therefore, the analytical results are compared with the numerical results to illustrate the effectiveness and convenience of the proposed methods.     

A new rating system approach for risk analysis of rock slopes

In this paper, an approach is presented to analyze the stability risk of rock slopes based on a new rating system. Three factors are used to estimate the risk level of rock slopes: (1) failure probability, (2) element at risk rating, and (3) vulnerability rating. Element at risk and vulnerability ratings are both given a range from 0 to 10, and the probability of failure is varied between 0 and 1, so the risk rating ranges between 0 and 100. This risk rating can be used to determine both the quantitative and qualitative risk levels of slopes at the same time. The method is tested on the western sector of the slopes facing Songun copper plant phase III, Iran, to clarify its procedures and assess its validity. Deterministic kinematic analyses showed that the slope has a potential for circular failure. Risk assessments revealed that the risk levels of the slope in both static and pseudo-static conditions are “very low” and “high,” respectively.

     

Third-order secular Solution of the variational equations of motion of a satellite in orbit around a non-spherical planet

We constructed an analytical theory of satellite motion up to the third order relative to the oblateness parameter of the Earth (J ₂). Equations of secular variations was developed for the first three orbital elements (a, e, i) of an artificial satellite. The secular variations are solved in a closed form.     

Viscous-resistive ADAF with a general large-scale magnetic field

We have studied the structure of hot accretion flow bathed in a general large-scale magnetic field. We have considered magnetic parameters , where are the Alfvén sound speeds in three direction of cylindrical coordinate (r,φ,z). The dominant mechanism of energy dissipation is assumed to be the magnetic diffusivity due to turbulence and viscosity in the accretion flow. Also, we adopt a more realistic model for kinematic viscosity (ν=αc _s H), with both c _s and H as a function of magnetic field. As a result in our model, the kinematic viscosity and magnetic diffusivity (η=η ₀ c _s H) are not constant. In order to solve the integrated equations that govern the behavior of the accretion flow, a self-similar method is used. It is found that the existence of magnetic resistivity will increase the radial infall velocity as well as sound speed and vertical thickness of the disk. However the rotational velocity of the disk decreases by the increase of magnetic resistivity. Moreover, we study the effect of three components of global magnetic field on the structure of the disk. We found out that the radial velocity and sound speed are Sub-Keplerian for all values of magnetic field parameters, but the rotational velocity can be Super-Keplerian by the increase of toroidal magnetic field. Also, Our numerical results show that all components of magnetic field can be important and have a considerable effect on velocities and vertical thickness of the disk.