ANN-Based Prediction of Laboratory-Scale Performance of CO2-Foam Flooding for Improving Oil Recovery

Natural Resources Research - Improving oil recovery by CO2 injection continues to gain momentum in mature oil fields due to its favorable industrial and environmental benefits. One remediation for...     

Stromatolites and Precambrian stratigraphy in India

Most of the Proterozoic carbonate formations of Peninsular India, and the so-called ‘unfossiliferous’ carbonates of the Sub- and Lesser Himalaya, contain abundant columnar and branching stromatolites. Systematic study of some of these stromatolites supports their use in biostratigraphy and reveals their Riphean—Proterozoic affinity. A synthesis of stromatolite studies in India has been attempted. A biostratigraphic correlation of the stromatolitic formations of Sub- and Lesser Himalaya extending from Jammu in the west to Buxa in the eastern Himalaya has been established. A probable correlation of those of Peninsular India has been indicated, based on available information. A bibliography on Indian stromatolites is appended.     

Stratification approach for forest cover type and landuse mapping using IRS-1A LISS-II data — A case study

Indian Remote Sensing Satellite-1A (IRS-1A) LISS-II data of 24th Nov., 1988 was analysed digitally to differentiate three density classes viz. dense/closed forest, open forest and degraded forest within each vegetation type in the district, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. Stratification approach was used to classify separately forest cover into pure sal forests, mixed forests, riverine forests along with man-made sal/teak plantations. In this approach the forested and non-forested areas were classified separately through supervised classification techniques using maximum likelihood algorithm using VAX 11/780 based VIPS-32 Image Processing software. Later the two classified outputs were composited to provide entire area of the district. The forest cover of the district was 1420.89 sq. km, (22.82 percent). Other broad landuse/landcover dominant in the district include agricultural areas.(45.20 percent) and tea gardens (10.49 percent). The accuracy of the classified output was estimated to be 90 percent for forested areas and 85 percent in case of other landuse/landcover classes.     

Parameter estimation and simulation of dependence of constant pressure batch dewatering on initial solids concentration

The problem of predicting dependence of constant pressure batch dewatering of particulate suspensions on feed solids concentration is considered. Scaling transformations which demonstrate that evolution in the cake consolidation stage of dewatering is governed by an underlying self-similar behavior are proposed. The self-similar master curve, which can be obtained using only one set of experimental dewatering data obtained with a feed suspension having solids concentration above the gel point, is employed for estimating dependence of key dewatering process parameters on feed solids concentration. Using the parameter estimates in a Darcy's law based dewatering model, it is shown that the complete evolution of dewatering for a desired feed solids concentration can be predicted with reasonable accuracy. The approach is simpler to implement in comparison to available pressure filtration models, which require several suspension characterization experiments.     

Strange Quark Matter in Cosmic Ray Flux and Exotic Events

There have been several reports of exotic nuclear fragments, with highly unusual charge to mass ratio, in cosmic ray experiments. Although there exist experimental uncertainties which make them, at best, only candidate `exotic' events, it is important to understand what they could be, if they are eventually confirmed. Among other possible explanations, some authors have interpreted them to be lumps of strange quark matter (strangelets).A major problem with such an interpretation is that to reach the earth's surface, they must possess an unusually high penetrability through the terrestrial atmosphere. We show that a recently proposed mechanism for the propagation of strangelets through the earth's atmosphere, together with a proper account of charge capture and ionisation loss, would solve this problem. We also argue that this could lead to viable strategies for definitive detection of strange quark matter in cosmic ray flux using aground based large area array of passive detectors. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.