Numerical modelling of desiccation cracking

The ability to model and predict the formation of desiccation cracks is potentially beneficial in many applications such as clay liner design, earth dam construction, and crop science, etc. However, most studies have focused on statistical analysis of crack patterns and qualitative study of contributing factors to crack development rather than prediction. Because it is exceedingly difficult to capture the nonlinear processes during desiccation in analytical modelling, most such models handle crack formation without considering variation of material properties with time, and are unattractive to use in realistic modelling. The data obtained from laboratory experiments on clay soil desiccating in moulds were used as a basis to develop a more refined model of desiccation cracking. In this study, the properties, such as matric suction, stiffness and tensile strength of soil, and base adhesion, could be expressed approximately as functions of moisture content. The initial conditions and the development of suction due to desiccation and the varying material properties were inputted to UDEC, a distinct element code, using its internal programming language FISH. The model was able to capture some essential physical aspects of crack evolution in soil contained in moulds with varying lengths, heights, and materials of construction. Extension of this methodology is potentially beneficial not only for modelling desiccation cracking in clay, but also in other systems with evolving material properties such as concrete structures and road pavements. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

大连市地理信息共享平台建设内容探讨

以大连市为例,对城市地理信息系统共享平台的建设内容进行探讨,明确了建设目标,将系统的总体建设内容分为数据中心工程、标准规范工程、数据建设工程、运维管理工程、应用接口工程、应用系统工程6个部分,并对各部分进行详细地介绍。     

Development of a new method for efficiently calculating of evaporation from the phreatic aquifer in variably saturated flow modeling

In this paper, we proposed a new method that has been developed based on the surface soil moisture content (SSMC) to more efficiently calculate the groundwater evaporation in variably saturated flow modeling. In this method, the empirical formula to calculate evaporation was modified and the value of the formula varies from zero to one as a closed interval. In addition, the simulation code for calculating the groundwater evaporation based on the SSMC method was incorporated into the EOS9 module of Tough2, a variably saturated flow modeling code. Finally, two numerical tests and a case simulation were conducted to verify the feasibility and accuracy of the SSMC method. Simulation results indicate that the SSMC method is capable of appropriately simulating the characteristics of water flow in vadose zone and the amount of evaporation with the variable water table. And such results are in coincidence with the value calculated by the logistic function method, and fit well with the measured data globally rather than locally.     

Geological control factors of micro oil distribution in tight reservoirs

Understanding the oil distribution characteristics in unconventional tight reservoirs is crucial for hydrocarbon evaluation and oil/gas extraction from such reservoirs. Previous studies on tight oil distribution characteristics are mostly concerned with the basin scale. Based on Lucaogou core samples, geochemical approaches including Soxhlet extraction, total organic carbon (TOC), and Rock-Eval are combined with reservoir physical approaches including mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) and porosity-permeability analysis, to quantitatively evaluate oil distribution of tight reservoirs on micro scale. The emphasis is to identify the key geological control factors of micro oil distribution in such tight reservoirs. Dolomicrites and non-detrital mudstones have excellent hydrocarbon generation capacity while detritus-containing dolomites, siltstones, and silty mudstones have higher porosity and oil content, and coarser pore throat radius. Oil content is mainly controlled by porosity, pore throat radius, and hydrocarbon generation capacity. Porosity is positively correlated with oil content in almost all samples including various lithologies, indicating that it is a primary constraint for providing storage space. Pore throat radius is also an important factor, as oil migration is inhibited by the capillary pressure which must be overcome. If the reservoir rock with suitable porosity has no hydrocarbon generation capacity, pore throat radius will be decisive. As tight reservoirs are generally characterized by widely distributed nanoscale pore throats and high capillary pressure, hydrocarbon generation capacity plays an important role in reservoir rocks with suitable porosity and fine pore throats. Because such reservoir rocks cannot be charged completely. The positive correlation between hydrocarbon generation capacity and oil content in three types of high porosity lithologies (detritus-containing dolomites, siltstones, and silty mudstones) supports this assertion.     

山东省三级地下水监测站网建设思考

随着国家地下水监测工程的启动,国土资源部提出了国家、省、市新的三级地下水监测站网建设要求。该文介绍了各级地下水监测站网的基本概念、主要建设内容,各级地下水监测站网建设服务对象、基本要求,细化了各级地下水监测站网建设要求,规范了建设行动。     

柴达木盆地北缘侏罗系页岩气地质条件

侏罗系泥页岩是柴达木盆地的主力烃源岩之一,具备形成页岩油气的地质条件。对采自柴北缘鱼卡、大煤沟、小煤沟、开源、绿草沟、大头羊等煤矿附近地表露头的11块中侏罗统泥页岩样品进行单样品多参数实验分析,探讨了陆相页岩有机地化、储层物性、含气量等参数之间的关系,建立了页岩气资源评价参数体系。结果表明,柴达木盆地北缘中侏罗世处于浅湖-半深湖湖相沉积,断裂较发育,泥页岩富含有机质,具有低孔、低渗、低熟、较高含气量等特点,具备形成页岩油气的地质条件,进一步的勘查开发需优选地层压力系数高、保存条件较好、脆性矿物含量高的页岩气甜点区。     

Laboratory Study for Influence of Clay Content (CC) on Wave-Induced Liquefaction in Marine Sediments

In this artice, the influence of clay content on the wave-induced liquefaction in marine sediments was reported. The one-dimensional (1-D) equipment was setup with a vertical cylinder and 1.8–m–thick clayey sandy deposit and 0.2–m–thick water above the deposit. Unlike the previous experimental study for a single soil layer, this study used sand-kaolin mixtures, sand-illite mixtures, and sand-bentonite mixtures as the experimental samples. A series of experiments with 3,000 wave cycles in each test were conducted under numerous wave and soil conditions, which allowed us to examine the influence of clay content (CC) on wave-induced liquefaction in marine sediments. The experimental results showed that the clayey sandy deposit will become prone to liquefaction with the increase of CC when CC is less than a critical value, which depends on the type of clay. However, when CC is greater than the critical value, liquefaction depth will decrease as CC increases. Furthermore, when the CC value reaches a certain level, liquefaction will not occur. For example, no liquefaction occurs when CC ≥ 33% for both kaolin-sand and illite-sand mixtures and CC ≥ 16.36% for bentonite-sand mixtures.     

Effects of Column Diameter on Setting Behavior of Dredged Slurry in Sedimentation Experiments

This article investigates the influence of dimensions of a settling column on the settling mode and the settling rate. End conditions of the settling stage in the hindered settling were also analyzed. It was found that the settling mode in a column with a smaller diameter tends to be consolidation settling. The effect of a settling column wall decreases with increasing column diameter, and it can be ignored provided the column diameter is larger than 14.5 centimeters. For the difference in initial water content, the settling behavior of the slurry develops a different sensitivity to the diameter effect. The influence of column diameter reduces as the initial water content of the slurry becomes higher. It is suggested that the internal diameter of the column used in a sedimentation experiment should be 14.5 centimeters.     

Investigation of gas content of organic-rich shale:A case study from Lower Permian shale in southern North China Basin,central China

Measuring gas content is an essential step in estimating the commerciality of gas reserves. In this study,eight shale core samples from the Mouye-1 well were measured using a homemade patented gas desorption apparatus to determine their gas contents. Due to the air contamination that is introduced into the desorption canister, a mathematical method was devised to correct the gas quantity and quality.Compared to the chemical compositions of desorbed gas, the chemical compositions of residual gas are somewhat different. In residual gas, carbon dioxide and nitrogen record a slight increase, and propane is first observed. This phenomenon may be related to the exposure time during the transportation of shale samples from the drilling site to the laboratory, as well as the differences in the mass, size and adsorptivity of different gas molecules. In addition to a series of conventional methods, including the USBM direct method and the Amoco Curve Fit(ACF) method, which were used here for lost gas content estimation, a Modified Curve Fit(MCF) method, based on the 'bidisperse' diffusion model, was established to estimate lost gas content. By fitting the ACF and MCF models to gas desorption data, we determined that the MCF method could reasonably describe the gas desorption data over the entire time period, whereas the ACF method failed. The failure of the ACF method to describe the gas desorption process may be related to its restrictive assumption of a single pore size within shale samples. In comparison to the indirect method, this study demonstrates that none of the three methods studied in this investigation(USBM, ACF and MCF) could individually estimate the lost gas contents of all shale samples and that the proportion of free gas relative to total gas has a significant effect on the estimation accuracy of the selected method. When the ratio of free gas to total gas is lower than 45%, the USBM method is the best for estimating the lost gas content, whereas when the ratio ranges from 45% to 75% or is more than 75%, the ACF and MCF methods, are the best options respectively.     

区域综合地质调查助力乡村振兴的关键内容、战略路径与未来对策

区域综合地质调查是助力乡村振兴的基础性工作和重要技术支撑。本研究基于地质视角解读乡村振兴,围绕乡村人地安全、产业发展、地质文化、环境保护等方面进行剖析,提出地质灾害调查、工程地质评价、水文地质调查、农业地质调查、旅游地质遗迹调查等区域综合地质调查助力乡村振兴的关键内容;为提高助力效率效果,需做好项目顶层设计、制定乡村地区区域地质调查技术要求等标准、构建服务地方工作机制、开展系统人才培训培养等战略路径。未来乡村发展中,应进一步解决区域统筹部署与重点发展村镇选择、综合地质调查与乡村规划建设空间尺度匹配、综合地质调查和纵向专业性调查配合使用、工程地质评价与乡村地下空间集约利用、地质文化村建设与乡村规划建设衔接等问题,不断提高区域综合地质调查技术方法的服务能力,为乡村可持续振兴提供解决思路和方案。