A model for moisture and heat flow in fractured unsaturated porous media

The present study investigates propagation of a cohesive crack in non‐isothermal unsaturated porous medium under mode I conditions. Basic points of skeleton deformation, moisture, and heat transfer for unsaturated porous medium are presented. Boundary conditions on the crack surface that consist of mechanical interaction of the crack and the porous medium, water, and heat flows through the crack are taken into consideration. For spatial discretization, the extended finite element method is used. This method uses enriched shape functions in addition to ordinary shape functions for approximation of displacement, pressure, and temperature fields. The Heaviside step function and the distance function are exploited as enrichment functions for representing the crack surfaces displacement and the discontinuous vertical gradients of the pressure and temperature fields along the crack, respectively. For temporal discretization, backward finite difference scheme is applied. Problems solved from the literature show the validity of the model as well as the dependency of structural response on the material properties and loading. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chalk–fluid interactions with glycol and brines

Mechanical properties of high porosity chalks are strongly dependent on the type of fluid in the pores. Dry chalk is considerably stronger than water-saturated chalk, and this phenomenon is often referred to as the water-weakening effect. To address the problem of chalk–fluid interactions, several series of tests have been performed with glycol and high concentration brines as saturating fluids. Glycol is a fluid that in many aspects resembles oil, except that glycol is miscible with water. Glycol-saturated chalk turns out to have properties very similar to oil-saturated chalk. Compared to dry chalk, both oil and glycol make the chalk somewhat weaker, but this weakening effect is much less than with water. Several series of tests with brines with high concentrations of calcium chloride or sodium chloride show that the water-weakening effect is considerably reduced in high ionic strength solutions. Most tests were performed as quasi-hydrostatic tests, with a constant stress ratio of 0.9. In such tests, the yield point marks the onset of accelerated pore collapse, and the yield value is close to the hydrostatic yield stress. In addition to these compressive tests, a series of Brazilian tests were performed, revealing the same trend. The variations in mechanical strength have been correlated with the activity of water in the brines. Within the experimental accuracy of the compressive tests, there is a linear trend between reduction of water activity and the corresponding increase in strength. This leads to the hypothesis that the water activity may be a key parameter in the water-weakening mechanism. But this conclusion also indicates that water weakening may be a special case of general chalk–fluid interactions where the degree of weakening depends on the strength of adsorption of the fluid molecules to the calcite surfaces.     

Flood risk mapping and crop-water loss modeling using water footprint analysis in agricultural watershed,northern Iran

Natural Hazards - Spatial information on flood risk and flood-related crop losses is important in flood mitigation and risk management in agricultural watersheds. In this study, loss of water bound...     

Analysis of the climate change effect on wheat production systems and investigate the potential of management strategies

In an emergency, schools are responsible for the safety of students until they can be reunited with their families. This study explored emergencies (i.e. bomb threat, a flood, and an earthquake) in three case study schools in New Zealand. Within each case, a selection of stakeholders (i.e. school leaders, staff, and parents) shared their experiences of responding to emergency events in the school. Lessons from participants’ experiences established factors before, during, and after an emergency that contribute to an effective response. Foremost among those factors was the importance of prior preparation. The study also identified recurring response activities, irrespective of emergency type, which enabled the development of a six-stage model of an effective school-based emergency response. The stages are: (1) Alerts; (2) Safety behaviours; (3) Response actions; (4) Student release/Family reunification; (5) Temporary school closure; and (6) Business as usual. The present study contributes to our understanding of research investigating how schools respond to emergencies and therefore seeks to enhance school safety efforts.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711300090X

The Khami group within the petroliferous Zagros Basin of Iran includes the Surmeh, Hith, Fahliyan, Gadvan and Dariyan formations. The Dariyan Formation, previously known as Orbitolina limestone is very signif-icant as a reservoir rock in the Zagros Basin. In this study, the age of the Dariyan Formation is examined based on biostratigraphic and paleontological investigations. 236 m of Dariyan Formation sediments in the sections at Kuh-e Rahmat （north） and Nour-Abad （west） of Iran were selected to study its biostratigraphy. According to the lithostratigraphic investigations, the Dariyan Formation in these sections is subdivided into three： lower, middle and upper, which include thin-bedded to medium-bedded and massive lime-stone. Micropaleontologic study of the Dariyan Formation has led to the recognition of two biozones in the Nour-Abad area and one biozone in the Kuh-e Rahmat stratigraphic column. Diagnostic foraminifera in these sections are as follows： Globigerinel oides algerianus Cushman and Ten Dam, Globigerinelloides fer-reolensis Moullade, Globigerinelloides maridalensis （Bolli）, Globigerinelloides paragottisi Verga and Permoli Silva, Hedbergel a aptiana Bartenstein, Hedbergel a excelsa Longoria, Hedbergel a luterbacheri Longoria, Hedbergella occulta Longoria, Hedbergella ruka （Banner et al.）, Hedbergella similis Longoria, Hedbergella trocoidea （Gandolfi）, Muricohedbergella delrioensis （Carsey）, Pseudoplanomalina cheniourensis Sigal, Con-icorbitolina conica d＇Archiac, Iraqia sp., Mesorbitolina parva Douglass, Mesorbitolina pervia Douglass, Meso-rbitolina ovalis Gorog and Arnaud-Vanneau, Mesorbitolina subconcava Leymerie, Mesorbitolina texana （Roemer）, Mesorbitolina ovalis-pervia Cherchi and Schroeder, Debarina hahounerensis Fourcade et al., Marssonel a trochus （d＇Orbigny）, Nezzazata sp., Orbitolina sp., Textularia sp.     

Paleofluid analysis from fracture-fill cements in the Asmari limestones of the Kuh-I-Mond field, SW Zagros, Iran

Kuh-I-Mond field in the Zagros foreland basin is a conventional heavy oil resource and is composed of fractured carbonates whose fractures were filled by calcite, dolomite, and anhydrite cements. Oil inclusions occurred within the fracture-fill cements indicate that fractures were open and played an active role during oil migration and charge. The highest measured values for secondary porosities belong to fractures in Asmari Formation, which is characterized by significant amounts of vug- and fracture-filling cements. Fractures facilitated fluid circulation and subsequently dissolution of allochems and high Mg carbonates. In contrast, fine-grained carbonate facies were less cemented, and thus, porosity enhancement by cement dissolution was insignificant. Temperature profiles of oil inclusions in the dolomite, calcite, and anhydrite minerals characterized by distinct variations in the homogenization temperatures (Th) that are divided into two ranges below 50°C in anhydrites and from 45°C to 125°C in dolomites and calcites. The lower Th ranges for anhydrite suggests that it may have formed at shallower burial depths during early to middle diagenesis. The oil inclusions display trend for increasing temperature downward which conform to Formation geothermal gradient. In other word, the decreasing trend of Th temperatures upward within Asmari Formation that can be observed in Th versus depth plot is consistent with the uplift events at Late Miocene time and later that caused removal of about 1,300 m of the crest of the Kuh-I-Mond anticline. Vitrinite reflectance data from source rock intervals in the field area do not support vertical migration of locally generated hydrocarbons into the Kuh-I-Mond accumulation, and long-distance lateral oil migration and charge from a source kitchen to the southwest is proposed. Vitrinite reflectance data from this dolomite and limestone reservoir suggest low maturation levels corresponding to paleotemperatures less than 50°C. The observed maturation level (<0.5% Ro) does not exceed values for simple burial maturation based on the estimated burial history. Also, homogenization temperatures from fluid inclusion populations in calcite and dolomites show expected good correlation with reflectance-derived temperatures. The Th data represent pore fluids became warmer and more saline during burial. As aqueous fluid inclusions in calcite veins were homogenized between 22°C and 90°C with a decrease in salinity from 22 to 18 eq.?wt.% NaCl. The Th values suggest a change in water composition and that dolomite and calcite cements might have precipitated from petroleum-derived fluids. The hydrocarbon fluid inclusions microthermometry data suggest that the reservoir was being filled by heavy black oils in reservoir during Cenozoic. Aqueous fluid inclusions hosted by calcite equant sparry/fossil cavity fills suggest low cementation temperatures (<45°C) and high salinities (19 eq.?wt.% NaCl), while those in dolostones are characterized by highly variable homogenization temperature (52°C to 125°C) and salinities (6.5 to 20 eq.?wt.% NaCl).