Rossby Vortex Simulation on a Paraboloidal Coordinate System Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method

In this paper, we apply our compressible lattice Boltzmann model to a rotating parabolic coordinate system to simulate Rossby vortices emerging in a layer of shallow water flowing zonally in a rotating paraboloidal vessel. By introducing a scaling factor, nonuniform curvilinear mesh can be mapped to a flat uniform mesh and then normal lattice Boltzmann method works. Since the mass per unit area on the two-dimensional (2D) surface varies with the thickness of the water layer, the 2D flow seems to be "compressible" and our compressible model is applied. Simulation solutions meet with the experimental observations qualitatively. Based on this research, quantitative solutions and many natural phenomena simulations in planetary atmospheres, oceans, and magnetized plasma, such as the famous Jovian Giant Red Spot, the Galactic Spiral-vortex, the Gulf Stream, and the Kuroshio Current, etc,, can be expected.

Deformation behavior and microstructure effect in 2124Al/SiCp composite

Dynamic compression tests were performed by means of a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). Test materials were 2124Al alloys reinforced with 17% volume fraction of 3, 13 and 37 μm SiC particles, respectively. Under strain rate ε = 2100 l/s, SiC particles have a strong effect on σ_0.2 of the composites and the σ_0.2 increases with different SiC particle size in the following order: 2124Al-alloy → 124Al/SiC_p (37 μm) → 2124Al/SiC_p (13 μm) → 2124Al/SiC_p (3 μm), and the strain hardening of the composites depends mainly on the strain hardening of matrix, 2124A1 alloy. The results of dimensional analysis present that the flow stress of these composites not only depends on the property of reinforcement and matrix but also relates to the microstructure scale, matrix grain size, reinforcement size, the distance between reinforcements and dislocations in matrix. The normalized flow stress here is a function of inverse power of the edge-edge particle spacing, dislocation density and matrix grain size. Close-up observation shows that, in the composite containing SiC particles (3 μm), localized deformation formed readily comparing with other materials under the same loading condition. Microscopic observations indicate that different plastic flow patterns occur within the matrix due to the presence of hard particles with different sizes.

Control mechanisms for gas hydrate production by depressurization in different scale hydrate reservoirs

The methane hydrate was formed in a pressure vessel 38 mm in id and 500 mm in length. Experimental works on gas production from the hydrate-bearing core by depressurization to 0.1, 0.93, and 1.93 MPa have been carried out. The hydrate reservoir simulator TOUGH-Fx/Hydrate was used to simulate the experimental gas production behavior, and the intrinsic hydration dissociation constant (K-0) fitted for the experimental data was on the order of 104 mol m(-2) Pa-1 s(-1), which was one order lower than that of the bulk hydrate dissociation. The sensitivity analyses based on the simulator have been carried out, and the results suggested that the hydrate dissociation kinetics had a great effect on the gas production behavior for the laboratory-scale hydrate-bearing core. However for a field-scale hydrate reservoir, the flow ability dominated the gas production behavior and the effect of hydrate dissociation kinetics on the gas production behavior could be neglected.

鄂尔多斯盆地子洲气田二叠系山西组储层特征与天然气富集规律研究

In this thesis, detailed studies on the sedimentology and petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks in the Shan#2 Member of Shanxi Formation, Zizhou gas field of Ordos Basin, are carried out, based on outcrop description, core description, wireline log interpretation and analysis of petrophysical properties. In the context of stratigraphic division scheme of the Upper Paleozoic in Ordos Basin, the Shan#2 Member is further divided into three subintervals: the Shan#23, Shan#22 and Shan#21, based on the marker beds，depositional cycles, wireline log patterns. Subaqueous deltaic-front distributary channels, distributed from the south to north, is identified，which is the main reservoir sand bodies for gases of Shan#2 Member at Zizhou gas field. Quartzose and lithic-quartzose sandstones, commonly with a high volume of cement, but a low volume of matrix, are the major reservoir rocks in the studied area. All sandstones have been evolved into the late diagenetic stage (referred to as diagenetic stage B) during the burial, experiencing compaction, cementation, replacement and dissolution, in which the compaction and cementation could have reduced the porosity, while dissolution could have improved the petrophysical properties. The pore types in the reservoirs are dominated by intergranular-solutional, intergranular-intercrystal and intercrystal-solutional porosity. According to the parameters and capillary pressure curves of test samples, five types of pore texture (I-V) are differentiated, in which types II and III pore textures displayed by low threshold pressure-wide pore throat and moderate threshold pressure-moderately wide pore throat, exist widespread. Sandstone reservoirs in the studied area are characterized by exceptionally low porosity and permeability, in which the petrophysical properties of those in Shan#23 horizon are relatively better. The petrophysical property of reservoirs was influenced both by the sedimentation and diagenesis. In general, the coarse quartzose sandstones deposited in subaqueous distributary channels show the best petrophysical property, which tends to be worse as the grain size decreases and lithic amount increases. Three types of gas reservoirs in Shan#23 horizon are classified according to petrophysical properties (porosity and permeability), which could have been influenced by the initial depositional facies, diagenesis and tectonics. On the basis of the study on the geological conditions of reservoirs in the area, it is concluded that sedimetary facies, diagenesis and tectonic actions can provide an important foundation for gas pool formation, which can also control the accumulation and distribution of gas reservoirs.

Benzene electro-oxidation in a PEMFC for phenol and electricity cogeneration

In the present investigation, the electrochemically-assisted oxidation of benzene in a H-2-O-2 proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) for electricity and phenol cogeneration is studied. Experiments were carried out in a PEMFC electrochemical reactor using Pd black as cathode electrocatalyst at 60 and 80 degrees C, respectively and 1 atm back pressure. Indeed, it was found that the only product detected under the examined experimental conditions was phenol. The online GC product analysis revealed that it is impossible to produce phenol when the fuel cell circuit is open (I = 0) under all the examined experimental conditions. When the fuel cell circuit was closed, however, the phenol yield was found to follow a volcano-type dependence on the cur-rent of the external circuit. It was found that the maximum phenol yield was 0.35% at 100 mA/cm(2) at 80 degrees C. At the same time, the PEMFC performance was also investigated during the phenol generation process. Furthermore, experiments with the rotating ring disc electrode (RRDE) technique showed that the intermediate oxidation product, i.e. H2O2 existed during the oxygen electro-reduction process. The cyclic voltammograms showed that benzene was strongly adsorbed on the Pd surface, leading to a degradation of the PEMFC performance. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study of Gas Combustion in a Vented Cylindrical Vessel

Complicated interaction of a flame front with a turbulent flow induced by venting is studied during combustion of the stoichiometric propane/air mixture in a relatively large vented cylindrical vessel. Flame position, its shape, and combustion pressure were measured as a function of time and vent parameters. The experimental data were used to verify numerical simulation of the combustion process. The proposed numerical model satisfactorily simulates the main features of combustion in a closed and vented vessel such as flame configuration, flow and temperature fields, and pressure variation pattern. Simulated velocity and temperature distribution are very useful pieces of information because they are not available from experiments.

Influential Factors of Loess Liquefaction and Pore Pressure Development

The liquefaction of loess under dynamic loading is studied experimentally with a dynamic triaxial test system. The effects of over-consolidation ratio (OCR), saturation degree and the frequency of dynamic loading upon loess liquefaction are investigated. The development of pore pressure within loess samples is also discussed. Based on the experimental results, the empirical relationship between pore pressure ratio and loading cycle number ratio is established for normal consolidated saturated loess.

Experimental study on pore pressure in rock-soil slope during reservoir water level fluctuation

A test system was developed for measuring the pore pressure in porous media, and a new model was devised for the pore pressure testing in both saturated and unsaturated rock-soil. Laboratory experiments were carried out to determine the pore pressure during water level fluctuation. The variations of transient pore pressure vs. time at different locations of the simulated rock-soil system were acquired and processed, and meanwhile the deformation and failure of the model are observed. The experiment results show that whether the porous media are saturated or not, the transient pore pressure is mainly dependent on the water level fluctuation, and coupled with the variation of the stress field.

The Pressure Transient Analysis Of Deformation Of Fractal Medium

The assumption of constant rock properties in pressure-transient analysis of stress-sensitive reservoirs can cause significant errors in the estimation of temporal and spatial variation of pressure. In this article, the pressure transient response of the fractal medium in stress-sensitive reservoirs was studied by using the self-similarity solution method and the regular perturbation method. The dependence of permeability on pore pressure makes the flow equation strongly nonlinear. The nonlinearities associated with the governing equation become weaker by using the logarithm transformation. The perturbation solutions for a constant pressure production and a constant rate production of a linear-source well were obtained by using the self-similarity solution method and the regular perturbation method in an infinitely large system, and inquire into the changing rule of pressure when the fractal and deformation parameters change. The plots of typical pressure curves were given in a few cases, and the results can be applied to well test analysis.

A Pressure-Correction Method And Its Applications On An Unstructured Chimera Grid

In this paper, an unstructured Chimera mesh method is used to compute incompressible flow around a rotating body. To implement the pressure correction algorithm on unstructured overlapping sub-grids, a novel interpolation scheme for pressure correction is proposed. This indirect interpolation scheme can ensure a tight coupling of pressure between sub-domains. A moving-mesh finite volume approach is used to treat the rotating sub-domain and the governing equations are formulated in an inertial reference frame. Since the mesh that surrounds the rotating body undergoes only solid body rotation and the background mesh remains stationary, no mesh deformation is encountered in the computation. As a benefit from the utilization of an inertial frame, tensorial transformation for velocity is not needed. Three numerical simulations are successfully performed. They include flow over a fixed circular cylinder, flow over a rotating circular cylinder and flow over a rotating elliptic cylinder. These numerical examples demonstrate the capability of the current scheme in handling moving boundaries. The numerical results are in good agreement with experimental and computational data in literature. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microstructure and high-temperature wear and oxidation resistance of laser clad gamma/W2C/TiC composite coatings on gamma-TiAl intermetallic alloy

There are very strong interests in improving the high-temperature wear resistance of the y-TiAl intermetallic alloy, especially when applied as tribological moving components. In this paper, microstructure, high-temperature dry sliding wear at 600 degrees C and isothermal oxidation at 1000 degrees C on ambient air of laser clad gamma/W2C/TiC composite coatings with different constitution of Ni-Cr-W-C precursor mixed powders on TiAl alloy substrates have been investigated. The results show that microstructure of the laser fabricated composite coatings possess non-equilibrium microstructure consisting of the matrix of nickel-base solid solution gamma-NiCrAl and reinforcements of TiC, W2C and M23C6 carbides. Higher wear resistance than the original TiAl alloy is achieved in the composite coatings under high-temperature wear test conditions. However, the oxidation resistance of the laser clad gamma/W2C/TiC composite coatings is deceased. The corresponding mechanisms resulting in the above behaviors of the laser clad composite coatings are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transient Flows in Low Permeability Porous Media with Composite Start-Up Pressure Gradient

A new mathematical model for the transient flow in the composite low permeability is established. It is solved by FEM with different boundary conditions such as infinite, circular closed and constant pressure boundary conditions. The typical curves for transient wellbore pressure have been presented. It is shown that the pressure and pressure derivative curves with composite start-up pressure gradients have different slopes which are depended on the start-up pressure gradients and the mobility radios in different regions. The boundary effects are the same as the normal reservoirs without start-up pressure gradients. The study provides a new tool to analyze the transient pressure test data in the low permeability reservoir.

Numerical Analysis of the Effects of Free-Stream Thermo-Chemical State on the Test Model Flow Field in High-Enthalpy Tunnel

The effects of the free-stream thermo-chemical state on the test model flow field in the high-enthalpy tunnel are studied numerically. The properties of the free-stream, which is in thermo-chemical non-equilibrium, are determined by calculating the nozzle flow field. A free-stream with total enthalpy equal to the real one in the tunnel while in thermo-chemical equilibrium is constructed artificially to simulate the natural atmosphere condition. The flow fields over the test models (blunt cone and Apollo command capsule model) under both the non-equilibrium and the virtual equilibrium free-stream conditions are calculated. By comparing the properties including pressure, temperature, species concentration and radiation distributions of these two types of flow fields, the effects of the non-equilibrium state of the free-stream in the high-enthalpy shock tunnel are analyzed.

Computation of flow over a rotating body on unstructured Chimera mesh

Flow around moving boundary is ubiquitous in engineering applications. To increse the efficienly of the algorithm to handle moving boundaries is still a major challenge in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The Chimera grid method is one type of method to handle moving boundaries. A concept of domain de-composition has been proposed in this paper. In this method, sub-domains are meshed independently and governing equations are also solved separately on them. The Chimera grid method was originally used only on structured (curvilinear) meshes. However, in a problem which involves both moving boundary and complex geometry, the number of sub-domains required in a traditional (structured) Chimera method becomes fairly large. Thus the time required in the interior boundary locating, link-building and data exchanging also increases. The use of unstructured Chimera grid can reduce the time consumption significantly by the reduction of domain(block) number. Generally speaking, unstructured Chimera grid method has not been developed. In this paper, a well-known pressure correction scheme - SIMPLEC is modified and implemented on unstructured Chimera mesh. A new interpolation scheme regarding the pressure correction is proposed to prevent the possible decoupling of pressure. A moving-mesh finite volume approach is implemented in an inertial reference frame. This approach is then used to compute incompressible flow around a rotating circular and elliptic cylinder. These numerical examples demonstrate the capability of the proposed scheme in handling moving boundaries. The numerical results are in good agreement with other experimental and computational data in literature. The method proposed in this paper can be efficiently applied to more challenge cases such as free-falling objects or heavy particles in fluid.

Crustacean zooplankton size structure in aquaculture lakes: is larger size structure always associated with higher grazing pressure?

Crustacean zooplankton size structure in 27 aquaculture lakes was studied to test the hypothesis that larger size structure is associated with higher grazing pressure. Mean body length of crustaceans was positively correlated with increasing Chl a (r(2) = 0.40, P = 0.000) and TP (r(2) = 0.38, P = 0.000), contrary to the empirical studies. However, the ratio of zooplankton to phytoplankton biomass decreased significantly with increasing TP (r(2) = 0.27, P = 0.005) and mean body length (r(2) = 0.46, P = 0.000). Meanwhile, size structure showed no significant effect in explaining residual variations of phosphorus-chlorophyll relationship (P = 0.231). These results indicate that larger size structure was not always associated with higher zooplankton grazing pressure. It is likely that in aquaculture lakes crustacean zooplankton size structure was of minor importance in control of phytoplankton biomass, and it was mainly regulated by fish predation. The results showed in our study and the empirical studies might be a reflection of two different stages of lake eutrophication and fish predation intensity.