Numerical Simulation Study on the Effect of Horizontal Well Reservoir Stimulation for Gas Hydrate Production

A new gas hydrate reservoir stimulation method of in-situ fracturing with transient heating is proposed, in line with analysis of the technological bottlenecks faced by marine gas hydrate production. This method injects the developed chemical reagents into a hydrate reservoir through hydraulic fracturing, releasing heat during the chemical reaction to increase the hydrate decomposition rate. The chemical reaction product furthermore has a honeycomb structure to support fractures and increase reservoir permeability. Based on the geological model of natural gas hydrate in the South China Sea, three development methods are simulated to evaluate hydrate production capacity, consisting of horizontal well, fractured horizontal well and in-situ fracturing with transient heating well. Compared with the horizontal well, the simulation results show that the cumulative gas production of the fractured horizontal well in one year is 7 times that of the horizontal well, while the cumulative gas production of in-situ fracturing with transient heating well is 12 times that of the horizontal well, which significantly improves daily efficiency and cumulative gas production. In addition, the variation patterns of hydrate saturation and temperature-pressure fields with production time for the three exploitation plans are presented, it being found that three sensitive parameters of fracture conductivity, fracture half-length and fracture number are positively correlated with hydrate production enhancement. Through the simulations, basic data and theoretical support for the optimization of gas hydrate reservoir stimulation scheme has been provided.     

Multi-step and two-step experiments in heterogeneous porous media to evaluate the relevance of dynamic effects

The determination of hydraulic properties in non-stationary experiments is suspected to be affected by dynamic effects. This is based on thermodynamic considerations on the pore scale displacement of wetting and non-wetting phase. But also macroscopic heterogeneities at the continuum scale may influence the dynamics of water during drainage and wetting. In this paper we investigate both aspects. Firstly, we present the results of typical multi-step outflow experiments in heterogeneous sand columns which are compared with two-step outflow experiments covering the same pressure range. The discrepancies caused by pressure steps of different size reveal the impact of dynamic effects due to the non-stationarity of the experiments.     

Reprint of “Multi-step and two-step experiments in heterogeneous porous media to evaluate the relevance of dynamic effects”

The determination of hydraulic properties in non-stationary experiments is suspected to be affected by dynamic effects. This is based on thermodynamic considerations on the pore scale displacement of wetting and non-wetting phase. But also macroscopic heterogeneities at the continuum scale may influence the dynamics of water during drainage and wetting. In this paper we investigate both aspects. Firstly, we present the results of typical multi-step outflow experiments in heterogeneous sand columns which are compared with two-step outflow experiments covering the same pressure range. The discrepancies caused by pressure steps of different size reveal the impact of dynamic effects due to the non-stationarity of the experiments.     

Comparison of hypoxia among four river-dominated ocean margins: The Changjiang (Yangtze), Mississippi,Pearl, and Rhône rivers

We examined the occurrence of seasonal hypoxia (O₂<2 mg l⁻¹) in the bottom waters of four river-dominated ocean margins (off the Changjiang, Mississippi, Pearl and Rhône Rivers) and compared the processes leading to the depletion of oxygen. Consumption of oxygen in bottom waters is linked to biological oxygen demand fueled by organic matter from primary production in the nutrient-rich river plume and perhaps terrigenous inputs. Hypoxia occurs when this consumption exceeds replenishment by diffusion, turbulent mixing or lateral advection of oxygenated water. The margins off the Mississippi and Changjiang are affected the most by summer hypoxia, while the margins off the Rhône and the Pearl rivers systems are less affected, although nutrient concentrations in the river water are very similar in the four systems. Spring and summer primary production is high overall for the shelves adjacent to the Mississippi, Changjiang and Pearl (1–10 g C m⁻² d⁻¹), and lower off the Rhône River (<1 g C m⁻² d⁻¹), which could be one of the reasons of the absence of hypoxia on the Rhône shelf. The residence time of the bottom water is also related to the occurrence of hypoxia, with the Mississippi margin showing a long residence time and frequent occurrences of hypoxia during summer over very large spatial scales, whereas the East China Sea (ECS)/Changjiang displays hypoxia less regularly due to a shorter residence time of the bottom water. Physical stratification plays an important role with both the Changjiang and Mississippi shelf showing strong thermohaline stratification during summer over extended periods of time, whereas summer stratification is less prominent for the Pearl and Rhône partly due to the wind effect on mixing. The shape of the shelf is the last important factor since hypoxia occurs at intermediate depths (between 5 and 50 m) on broad shelves (Gulf of Mexico and ECS). Shallow estuaries with low residence time such as the Pearl River estuary during the summer wet season when mixing and flushing are dominant features, or deeper shelves, such as the Gulf of Lion off the Rhône show little or no hypoxia.     

Fatigue reliability analysis of deep water rigid marine risers associated with Morison-type wave loading

This work presents a simple and efficient framework for the fatigue reliability assessment of a vertical top-tensioned rigid riser. The fatigue damage response is considered as a narrow-band Gaussian stationary random process with a zero mean for the short-term behavior of a riser. Non-linearity in a response associated with Morison-type wave loading is accounted for by using a factor, which is the ratio of expected damage according to a non-linear probability distribution to the expected damage according to a linear method of analysis. Long-term non-stationary response is obtained by summing up a large number of short-term stationary responses. Uncertainties associated with both the strength and stress parts of the limit state function are quantified by a lognormal distribution. A closed form reliability analysis is carried out, which is based on the limit state function formulated in terms of Miner’s cumulative damage rule. The results thus obtained are compared with the well-documented lognormal format of reliability analysis based on time to fatigue failure. The validity of using the lognormal hazard rate function in predicting the fatigue life is discussed. A Monte Carlo simulation technique is also used as a reliability assessment method. A simple algorithm is used to reduce the uncertainty associated with direct sampling at small probability of failure values and a small number of simulations. Simulation results are compared with closed form solutions. A worked example is included to show the practical riser design problem based on reliability analysis.     

淤泥质软土动态流变特性与流变参数研究

实际调查和理论分析表明,软弱岩土具有流变特性,动态载荷作用加速了软弱岩土的流变行为,成为诱发岩土地质灾害的重要因素和主要动力。在测试分析动载作用下淤泥质软土的流变力学特性基础上,建立了动态黏弹塑性流变力学模型和流变方程,推导出动态流变参数计算式;通过测试,分析了动态剪切作用频率、动态剪切应变、淤泥质软土含水率等因素对动态流变参数影响特性。研究结果对揭示动载作用下淤泥质软土动态流变特性与流变参数影响变化规律,探索软弱岩土突发地质灾害的流变动力学机制等具有一定的理论和现实意义。     

动载荷作用下岩石破坏过程的数值试验研究

采用基于细观损伤力学基础上开发的动态版RFPA2D数值模拟软件,对动载荷作用下应力波延续时间、应力波峰值和围压对岩石试样破坏的影响进行了数值研究,结果表明,应力波延续时间较短,则尾随应力波波前的高应力区范围较窄,应力波衰减较快;相反,应力波延续时间较长,则紧跟应力波波前的高应力区范围较大,岩石处于破坏状态的时间延长,岩石的破碎程度加大。此外,存在一个合适的应力波延续时间,过分地加大应力波延续时间,反而不利于岩石裂隙的发育。动载荷的峰值越大,试样的破坏程度越大,当峰值达到一定值时,试样顶部呈现粉碎状,试样从上到下破坏程度逐渐减弱。在冲击载荷作用下的岩石随着围压的增加更难破碎,但当围压增大到一定程度时,岩石会突然失稳破坏。     

桩顶加筋灰土垫层理论分析与工程设计探讨

目前,加筋垫层的工程实践超前于其理论研究,桩顶加筋灰土垫层设计方法受到普遍关注。以郑－西客运专线深厚湿陷性黄土地基处理为工程背景,建立了桩顶加筋灰土垫层理论模型,分析了桩顶垫层荷载特征,提出了灰土垫层设计极限状态理论。考虑不同桩径、不同桩间距、不同路基高度和不同格栅强度情况,对灰土垫层厚度等进行了参数影响性分析。建议高速客运专线路基桩顶垫层设计中宜采用双层、双向土工格栅结构形式,并优先选用延伸率小的筋材。     

自然营造力作用下岩体混凝土水力劈裂分析与探讨

水利水电、矿业等工程在自然营造力作用下的水力劈裂边界条件与人工致裂不完全相同,有其自身的特点。在总结自然营造力作用下水力劈裂特点的基础上,根据研究的尺度不同,将水力劈裂研究分为岩体宏观的、综合的、统计意义上的水力劈裂和单裂纹的水力劈裂研究两种。分析了单裂纹内水流特性,将单裂纹内的水力劈裂分为两个阶段（或两种情况）分别进行研究,并将此问题得以简化,同时还提出了不同阶段裂纹内水流运动分析的模型。