Sharif Digital Repository

In this work effect of composition changes of injection gas, CH4 + CO2, on the performance of immiscible WAG injection in light oil, 41 oAPI, which has been rarely attended in the available literature is investigated. Presence of CO2 helps to reduce the MMP of CH4 significantly. Core flood experiments are conducted at reservoir conditions and fixed flow rate of 0.5cc/min on a sandstone sample with the brine concentration of 5000 ppm, and the influence of injection gas composition as well as WAG ratio on oil recovery is investigated. Different mole percents of methane in mixture, 0%, to 100% are examined, and the tests continued to ten alternate cycles with a slug size of 0.1 pore volumes and... 

The major problem in determining the forming limit diagram (FLD) with the Marciniak-Kuczynski (M-K) model is the necessity of an experimental point in order to find the initial inhomogeneity coefficient and calibrate the diagram. The purpose of the present work is to eliminate this requirement. To do this, the usual assumption of geometrical inhomogeneity has been replaced with material inhomogeneity and it has been shown that the sensitivity of the diagram to variations of the inhomogeneity factor is reduced greatly with the new assumption. Using this advantage and collecting enough experimental data for different materials, an empirical law in terms of sheet thickness has been proposed... 

The main drawback of the method proposed by Marciniak and Kuczynski for prediction of the limit strains in sheet metal forming processes is requirement of an experimental point of the forming limit curve (FLC) in order to calibrate the curve. The purpose of this work is to introduce a new method to calibrate the FLC using the M-K model in which no experimental data is needed. To achieve this goal, many experimental FLCs were collected from the literature and the values of the initial inhomogeneity factors were determined for them with trial and error aproach. Using these data, an empirical law was developed to predict the value of inhomogeneity factor. The resultant curves show good... 

Major forming limit prediction models and calibration methods are reviewed briefly and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Two modified Marciniak-Kuczynski (M-K) models and one modified NADDRG (Keeler-Brazier) model are also presented which have some advantages over conventional models. In the first modified M-K model, material non-homogeneity has been substituted for geometrical non-homogeneity to reduce the sensitivity of the traditional model to variations of the initial non-homogeneity. Using this important advantage, a semi-empirical relation is proposed to predict the value of the initial material non-homogeneity. In the second modified M-K model, the conventional... 

To determine the curvature of the exit profile in the extrusion process of non-symmetrical flat dies, the dead metal zone profile was predicted using the energy minimization method. The dead zone is a natural non-linear die for the process and it is pragmatic to use this non-linear die to estimate the value of the exit profile curvature and the required bearing length for reducing this deviation. The velocity field is calculated based on Hermite cubic spline and some additional assumptions. In non-symmetrical dies the entrance section of the deformation region is not flat. Considering this fact, axial velocity decreases with increasing the distance to die center line which is in agreement... 

This paper presents a fuzzy based modified artificial bee colony (MABC) algorithm to solve discrete optimal power flow (OPF) problem that has both discrete and continuous variables considering valve point effects. The OPF problem is formulated as a multi-objective mixed-integer nonlinear problem, where optimal settings of the OPF control variables for simultaneous minimization of total fuel cost of thermal units, total emission, total real power losses, and voltage deviation are obtained. The proposed approach is applied to the OPF problem on IEEE 30-bus and IEEE 118-bus test systems. The performance and operation of the proposed approach is compared with the conventional methods. The... 

In this study, kinetics, equilibrium, and mechanisms of SDBS adsorption onto carbonate rock in presence/absence of alkaline/electrolyte, which is not well discussed in the available literature, is analyzed through batch experiments. Analysis of kinetic data showed that adsorption rate of SDBS onto carbonate is controlled by both boundary layer and intraparticle diffusion, also adsorption kinetics meets pseudo second-order model. The coefficient of kinetic model is a linear function of initial and equilibrium concentrations. The adsorption isotherm experiences four distinct regions, with a rising trend in the first regions until reaching to a maximum after which decreases slightly, as the... 

In this study, kinetics, equilibrium, and mechanisms of SDBS adsorption onto carbonate rock in presence/absence of alkaline/electrolyte, which is not well discussed in the available literature, is analyzed through batch experiments. Analysis of kinetic data showed that adsorption rate of SDBS onto carbonate is controlled by both boundary layer and intraparticle diffusion, also adsorption kinetics meets pseudo second-order model. The coefficient of kinetic model is a linear function of initial and equilibrium concentrations. The adsorption isotherm experiences four distinct regions, with a rising trend in the first regions until reaching to a maximum after which decreases slightly, as the... 

This study concentrates on fabrication of low-cost antifouling membranes by incorporation of alumina in PVC membranes for membrane bioreactor (MBR). PVC based membranes were prepared via phase inversion method at different alumina contents. Pure water flux through the membranes and its antifouling properties in MBR setup at operating pressure of −0.4 bar were studied. The effects of the alumina on the morphology and physical properties of the membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle, pore size, viscosity, porosity, and mechanical properties. The results showed that the membrane with 3 wt% alumina exhibited excellent... 

Although different procedures have been proposed to calculate the parameters of Archie's (1942) equation, most of them suffer from lack of accuracy because these are not solved simultaneously In this article, by applying two novel methods, a modified genetic algorithm (MGA) and homogeneous distribution of parameters (HDP), the above-mentioned unknown parameters were determined simultaneously. Furthermore, for two case studies using two data sets from Permian Glerito and Permian Clearfork reservoirs, a comparison is made between other methods (e.g., traditional graphical method and SmnaM; Frailey et al., 2001) and the proposed methods that demonstrated the greater accuracy of the two newly... 

Forming limit diagram is often used as a criterion to predict necking initiation in sheet metal forming processes. In this study, the forming limit diagram was obtained through the inclusion of the Marciniak–Kaczynski model in the Nakazima out-of-plane test finite element model and also a flat model. The effect of bending on the forming limit diagram was investigated numerically and experimentally. Data required for this simulation were determined through a simple tension test in three directions. After comparing the results of the flat and Nakazima finite element models with the experimental results, the forming limit diagram computed by the Nakazima finite element model was more convenient... 

Excess pressure drop induced by inertial effects limits the applicability of Darcy's law for modeling of fluid flow through porous media at high velocities. It is expected such additional pressure drop is influenced by pore/morphology of porous media. This work concerns with fundamental understanding of how throat curvature affects intrinsic properties of porous media at non-Darcy flow conditions using network modeling. Conical, parabolic, hyperbolic, and sinusoidal capillary ducts with three types of imposed anisotropy are used to construct the network in a more realistic manner. Solutions of one dimensional Navier-Stokes equation for incompressible fluid flow through converging/diverging... 

Availability of hydrocarbon gases at the field makes it attractive for gas-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods such as water alternating gas (WAG) injection. Optimization of EOR methods requires too many simulation runs, which are time consuming and expensive. Therefore, developing a proxy model, which emulates simulator outputs, is considered as an appropriate alternative technique. In this work, effects of composition changes of injection gas, WAG ratio, and slug size on produced oil and water were investigated. In addition, the optimum value of the previous parameters, including some constraints, are presented using response surface methodology. Experimental design is also applied... 

The network modeling approach is applied to provide a new insight into the onset of non-Darcy flow through porous media. The analytical solutions of one-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation in sinusoidal and conical converging/diverging throats are used to calculate the pressure drop/flow rate responses in the capillaries of the network. The analysis of flow in a single pore revealed that there are two different regions for the flow coefficient ratio as a function of the aspect ratio. It is found that the critical Reynolds number strongly depends on the pore geometrical properties including throat length, average aspect ratio, and average coordination number of the porous media, and an... 

Precipitation of strontium sulfate (or SrSO4) has already been distinguished as one of the most costly and critical problems which may occur in process industries and oilfield operations. Costs due to scaling and remedial actions that need to be taken afterward are generally high owing to low solubility of SrSO4 in aqueous solutions. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the SrSO4 thermodynamic behavior under various operating conditions is vital to predict or even avoid the overall damage caused by scaling. The primary aim of this work is to develop a model based on Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LSSVM) and Coupled Simulated Annealing (CSA) referred to as CSA-LSSVM to predict... 

One of the most promising methods for transporting natural gas and overcoming its low energy density is adsorbed natural gas (ANG) technology. ANG technology is highly dependent on the perfect conception of adsorption isotherms in different operational conditions and on different adsorbents. In this study, the utilization of a novel mathematical model of least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) for accurate prediction of adsorption isotherm has been examined. The considered variables were temperature, pressure and type of adsorbents. A data set containing 670 experimental data points of methane adsorption on 10 different adsorbents in a broad range of temperature and pressure were used... 

In this work, a series of solvent- and water-injection scenarios were conducted on horizontal five-spot glass micromodels that were saturated initially with heavy oil. Sandstone and limestone rock look-alike and network patterns with different pore structures were used in the experiments. The results show that the ultimate oil recovery of a water-alternating-solvent (WAS) scheme was greater than that of a simultaneously water-alternating-solvent (SWAS) scheme, and the efficiency of a solvent-soak scheme also offers a greater recovery. Likewise, the WAS scheme resulted in greater oil recovery when compared with continuous solvent injection (CSI), with the same amount of solvent consumption.... 

This work is concerned with the role of geometrical properties of fractures on oil displacement efficiency during solvent injection to heavy oil. Here, a series of solvent injection processes were conducted on one-quarter five-spot fractured micromodels that were initially saturated with the heavy oil, at a fixed flow rate condition. The oil recovery was measured using image analysis of the continuously provided pictures. The results show that for the range of experiments performed here, the maximum oil recovery happens at a fracture orientation angle of 45 degrees. Also, increasing the number of fractures leads to a higher oil recovery factor by solvent in 45 degrees, while it does not... 

In the last years, an appreciable effort has been directed toward developing empirical models to link the relative permeability of gas condensate reservoirs to the interfacial tension and velocity as well as saturation. However, these models suffer from non-universality and uncertainties in setting the tuning parameters. In order to alleviate the aforesaid infirmities in this study, comprehensive modeling was carried out by employing numerous smart computer-aided algorithms including Support Vector Regression (SVR), Least Square Support Vector Machine (LSSVM), Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH), and Gene Expression Programming... 

This paper focuses on developing a new method that represents user-accessible correlation for the estimation of water-based nanofluids viscosity. For this, an evolutionary algorithm, namely Gene Expression Programming (GEP), was adapted based on a wide selection of literature published databanks including 819 water-based nanofluids viscosity points. The developed model utilized the base fluid viscosity as well as volume fraction and size of the nanoparticles as the inputs of the model. Several statistical parameters integrated with graphical plots were employed in order to assess the accuracy of the proposed GEP-based model. Results of the evaluation demonstrate fairly enough accuracy of the...