Frequency and Characteristics of Dust Sediments in Core Samples from Hashylan Wetland, Kermanshah, Iran

Dust phenomenon is one of the biggest environmental problems in arid and semiarid regions. In these areas, lakes and wetlands are natural dust traps and core sampling method can be an appropriate way to assess the phenomenon of the dust. Therefore, the purpose of this study is the study of frequency and characteristics of dust sediments in core samples from Hashilan wetlands, Kermanshah. Four intact core samples were taken from different parts of the Hashilan wetland in Kermanshah. Physical, chemical and micromorphological analysis were done. Also clay mineralogy was performed using X-ray analysis (XRD) and shape of particles was photographed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Considering that four samples had been taken from different parts of the wetland, the quantitative differences in dust amount are likely due to the location of the samples. The results of XRD and thin sections show that the dominant mineralogical composition of dust particles was clay minerals, quartz and calcite. SEM results for core sample 1 revealed that most particles had the size between 2 to 50 mm which ranged from fine silt to coarse silt. Considering the similarities between SEM images for core sample 1 and those from Kermanshah dust measurement station, it could be said that fine rounded particles detected at top 30 cm of core samples had Aeolian origin. These findings were in accordance with the results from dust measurement and weather station of Kermanshah about increased dust activities in the study area over past 10 years.

Engineering behaviour of in situ cored deep cement mixed marine deposits subjected to undrained and drained shearing

The deep cement mixing(DCM)is used to improve the capacity and reduce the settlement of the soft ground by forming cemented clay columns.The investigation on the mechanical behaviour of the DCM samples is limited to either laboratory-prepared samples or in-situ samples under unconfined compression.In this study,a series of drained and undrained triaxial shearing tests was performed on the in-situ cored DCM samples with high cement content to assess their mechanical behaviours.It is found that the drainage condition affects significantly the stiffness,peak and residual strengths of the DCM samples,which is mainly due to the state of excess pore water pressure at different strain levels,i.e.being positive before the peak deviatoric stress and negative after the peak deviatoric stress,in the undrained tests.The slope of the failure envelope changes obviously with the confining pressures,being steeper at lower stress levels and flatter at higher stress levels.The strength parameters,effective cohesion and friction angle obtained from lower stress levels(c′0 andφ′0)are 400 kPa and 58°,respectively,which are deemed to be true for design in most DCM applications where the in-situ stress levels are normally at lower values of 50-200 kPa.Additionally,the computed tomography(CT)scanning system was adopted to visualize the internal structures of DCM samples.It is found that the clay pockets existing inside the DCM samples due to uneven mixing affect markedly their stress-strain behaviour,which is one of the main reasons for the high variability of the DCM samples.

Simulation of sludge－dredging effects in controlling nutrient release of LakeKasumigaura with large－size core samples

Nutrient release from the dredged and undredged sediments in Lake Kasumigaura were simulated under the laboratory control conditions with large-size core samples. It was found that phosphate and ammonia release fluxes are less in aerobic than those in anaerobic. In different simulated dredged depth, the phosphate release showed large divergence in the anaerobic than in the aerobic. There was a larger accumulated release of phosphate and ammonia at actual dredged (St. B) than the undredged (St. A) in anaerobic condition. This showed that the sludge-dredging was effective of controlling phosphorus and nitrogen release. A preliminary assessment is drawn from the experiments that the sludge-dredging work in Tsuchiura Bay of Lake Kasumigaura can reduce about 15. 9% of phospbate and 56. 2% of anunonia release from the sediments respectively.

Infiltration characteristics of non-aqueous phase liquids in undisturbed loessal soil cores

The widespread contamination of soils and aquifers by non-aqueous phase liquids （NAPL）, such as crude oil, poses serious environmental and health hazards globally. Understanding the infiltration characteristics of NAPL in soil is crucial in mitigating or remediating soil contamination. The infiltration characteristics of crude and diesel oils into undisturbed loessal soil cores, collected in polymethyl methacrylate cylindrical columns, were investigated under a constant fluid head （3 era） of either crude oil or diesel oil. The infiltration rate of both crude and diesel oils decreased exponentially as wetting depth increased with time. Soil core size and bulk density both had significant effects on NAPL infiltration through the undisturbed soil cores; a smaller core size or a greater bulk density could reduce oil penetration to depth. Compacting soil in areas susceptible to oil spills may be an effective stratage to reduce contamination. The infiltration of NAPL into soil cores was spatially anisotropic and heterogeneous, thus recording the data at four points on the soil core is a good stratage to improve the accuracy of experimental results. Our results revealed that crude and diesel oils, rather than their components, have a practical value for remediation of contaminated loessal soils.

Experimental and Numerical Assessment of the Influence of Bottomhole Pressure Drawdown on Terrigenous Reservoir Permeability and Well Productivity

During oil and gas fields development,a decrease in reservoir and bottomhole pressure has often a detrimental effect on reservoir properties,especially permeability.This study presents the results of laboratory tests conducted to determine the response of terrigenous reservoir core-sample permeability to changes in the effective stresses and a decrease in the reservoir pressure.The considered samples were exposed for a long time to a constant high effective stress for a more reliable assessment of the viscoplastic deformations.According to these experiments,the decrease of the core samples permeability may reach 21%with a decrease in pressure by 9.5 MPa from the initial reservoir conditions.Numerical simulations have been also conducted.These have been based on the finite element modeling of the near-wellbore zone of the terrigenous reservoir using poroelasticity relations.The simulation results show a limited decrease in reservoir permeability in the near-wellbore zone(by 17%,which can lead to a decrease in the well productivity by 13%).