Crude oil cracking in deep reservoirs:A review of the controlling factors and estimation methods

The natural cracking of crude oils in deep reservoirs has gained great interest due to continuously increasing depth of petroleum exploration and exploitation.Complex oil compositions and surroundings as well as complicated geological evolutions make oil cracking in nature much more complex than industrial pyrolysis.So far,numerous studies,focused on this topic,have made considerable progress although there still exist some drawbacks.However,a comprehensive review on crude oil cracking is yet to be conducted.This article systematically reviews the controlling factors of oil cracking from six aspects,namely,oil compositions,temperature and time,pressure,water,minerals and solid organic matter.We compare previous experimental and modelling results and present new field cases.In the following,we evaluate the prevailing estimation methods for the extent of oil cracking,and elucidate other factors that may interfere with the application of these estimation methods.This review will be helpful for further investigations of crude oil cracking and provides a guide for estimation of the cracking extent of crude oils.

Temperature control and cracking prevention in coastal thin-wall concrete structures

A three-dimensional finite element program for thermal analysis of hydration heat in concrete structures with a plastic pipe cooling system is introduced in this paper. The program was applied to simulation of the temperature and stress field of the Cao＇e Sluice during the construction period. From the calculated results, we can find that the temperaiure and stress of concrete cooled with plastic pipes are much lower than those of concrete without pipes. Moreover, plastic pipes could not be corroded by seawater. That is to say, a good effect of temperature control and cracking prevention can be achieved, which provides a useful reference for other similar nearshore concrete projects.

Coupling control on pillar stress concentration and surface cracks in shallow multi-seam mining

In order to ensure safe mining and reduce surface damage in shallow multi-seam mining,the failure characteristics of interburden strata with different coal pillars offset distances between pillars in the upper and lower seams,the distribution characteristics of stress concentration in coal pillars,and the development characteristics of stratum cracks and subsidence were investigated by physical and UDEC2D simulation.Meanwhile,the effect of different coal pillar offset distances on stress concentration of coal pillar and development of stratum cracks were studied.Based on those results,a formula for safe mining and reducing surface damage was established,which provided a theoretical basis for safe and environmentally friendly mining in shallow multi-seam.According to the results,the optimal coal pillar offset distance(the side to side horizontal distance of the upper and lower coal pillars)between the upper and lower coal seams was developed to reduce the stress concentration of coal pillars and surface damage.The results of this study have been applied in Ningtiaota coal mine and have achieved good results in safe and environmentally friendly mining.

钢-混组合梁负弯矩区裂缝控制措施探讨

钢-混组合梁具有自重小、抗震性能好且用钢少、刚度大挠度小的特点,钢-混连续组合梁与简支组合梁相比,可以提高负载能力,增强刚度,增大应用跨度。但其墩顶负弯矩区会产生混凝土受拉、钢梁受压的不利情况,通过介绍钢-混连续组合梁桥负弯矩区的裂缝控制措施,从而限制裂缝宽度、防止钢梁失稳的作用,使钢-混组合梁在负弯矩区桥面板受力性能得到有效提升,整体结构更加耐久。

钢板-混凝土组合剪力墙裂缝控制及监测分析

以实际工程为背景,对1.7 m厚钢板-混凝土组合剪力墙的裂缝控制及监测进行分析。大体积混凝土构件,由于其水化热比较高容易产生温度裂缝,基于此首先对原材料及配合比进行优化设计,降低混凝土水化热。然后对大厚度组合剪力墙浇筑后采取合理的养护措施控制其内部温度以及对裂缝发生情况进行实测分析,最后经过一系列针对性的裂缝控制措施及监测结果表明,采用优化设计对大厚度组合剪力墙的裂缝控制优于同类工程的裂缝控制效果。

SlGH9-15 regulates tomato fruit cracking with hormonal and abiotic stress responsiveness cis-elements

Fruit cracking occurs easily during the late period of fruit development when plants encounter an unsuitable environment,dramatically affecting fruit production and marketing.This study conducted the bulked segregant RNA-Seq(BSR)to identify the key regulatory gene of fruit cracking in tomatoes.BSR-Seq analysis illustrated that two regions associated with irregularly cracking were located on chromosomes 9 and 11,containing 127 candidate genes.Further,through differentially expression analysis and qRT-PCR in cracking-susceptible and cracking-resistant genotypes,the candidate gene SlGH9-15(Solyc09g010210)with significantly differential expression levels was screened.Bioinformatics analysis of the GH9 gene family revealed that 20 SlGH9 genes were divided into three groups.The phylogenetic analysis showed that SlGH9-15 was closely related to cell wall construction-associated genes AtGH9B1,AtGH9B6,OsGH9B1,and OsGH9B3.The cis-acting elements analysis revealed that Sl GH9-15 was activated by various hormones(ethylene and ABA)and abiotic stresses.The expression pattern indicated that 13 SlGH9 genes,especially SlGH9-15,were highly expressed in the cracking-susceptible genotype.Its expression level gradually increased during fruit development and achieved maximum value at the red ripe stage.Additionally,the cracking-susceptible tomato showed higher cellulase activity and lower cellulose content than the cracking-resistant tomato,particularly at the red ripe stage.This study identified SlGH9-15 as a key gene associated with fruit cracking in tomatoes for the first time and gives new insights for understanding the molecular mechanism and complex regulatory network of fruit cracking.

PVA-钢混杂纤维增强水泥基复合材料抗压性能试验研究

为实现纤维增强水泥基复合材料(ECC)受荷开裂过程中裂缝的全过程控制,提高其压缩变形性能,在传统ECC中掺加钢纤维,制备PVA-钢混杂纤维增强水泥基复合材料(HyFRCCs)。以PVA纤维掺量、钢纤维掺量及钢纤维长径比为变量,设计制作22组不同配合比HyFRCCs试件。通过轴心受压试验研究HyFRCCs单轴受压力学特性,分析纤维掺量、种类及几何特征对HyFRCCs抗压性能的影响。结果表明:PVA纤维掺量、钢纤维掺量及钢纤维长径比对HyFRCCs轴心抗压强度影响较小,纤维混杂能够显著提高材料峰值应变和峰值后延性,HyFRCCs的裂缝控制能力和压缩变形能力得到显著改善。

U-model Enhanced Dynamic Control of a Heavy Oil Pyrolysis/Cracking Furnace

This paper proposes a case study in the control of a heavy oil pyrolysis/cracking furnace with a newly extended U-model based pole placement controller(U-PPC). The major work of the paper includes: 1) establishing a control oriented nonlinear dynamic model with Naphtha cracking and thermal dynamics; 2) analysing a U-model(i.e., control oriented prototype) representation of various popular process model sets; 3)designing the new U-PPC to enhance the control performance in pole placement and stabilisation; 4) taking computational bench tests to demonstrate the control system design and performance with a user-friendly step by step procedure.

Microstructure Evolution and Cracking Control of 316L Stainless Steel Manufactured by Multi-layer Laser Cladding

Multi-layer laser cladding manufacturing is a newly developed rapid manufacturing technology. It is a powerful tool for direct fabrication of three-dimensional fully dense metal components and part repairing. In this paper, the microstructure evolution and properties of 316L stainless steel deposited with this technology was investigated, compact components with properties similar to the as-cast and wrought annealed material was obtained. Cracking was eliminated by introducing of supersonic vibration and application of parameter adjustment technologies.

J_n-INTEGRAL AND THE CONTROLLING PARAMETER FOR CRACK GROWTH

The J-integral as a controlling parameter was applied to the crack growing process in an elastic-plastic state by Hutchinson and Paris[1], and Shih et. al[2]. An engineering approach based on J-integral was proposed by Ref.[3]. Obviously, it is necessary to determine whether J is really a bask controlling parameter. It has been shown from the results given in this paper that it is not bask, but the Jn-integral defined in this paper is a proper controlling parameter for crack growth in an clastic-plastic state.

基于应力-强度关系的拱坝温控曲线优化研究

现有拱坝“三期九阶段”温控曲线存在混凝土应力和抗裂安全系数波动大、性能未能充分发挥的问题。为优化拱坝应力状态,提出一种基于应力和强度关系的混凝土拱坝温控曲线确定方法,构造了优化目标函数,选定了基本线型和基于抛物线线型的温度控制曲线函数,采用仿真方法和室内试验进行了分析验证,并以西南某特高拱坝为例进行应用分析。结果表明:平滑型温控曲线减小了常规温控曲线导致的应力大幅波动变化,在合理线型下更有利于充分发挥材料性能;下凹型温控曲线相应的应力变化与强度发展规律更为一致,过程中抗裂安全系数稳定,是较优线型;温控曲线优化后,相同温度条件下最大应力明显减小,降低了混凝土开裂风险,相同安全系数条件下最高温度控制标准放宽,可降低温控难度,节省温控费用。该研究对混凝土坝智能温控和防裂具有重要意义。

Numerical analysis of confinement effect on crack propagation mechanism from a flaw in a pre-cracked rock under compression

In many situations rocks are subjected to biaxial loading and the failure process is controlled by the lateral confinement stresses. The importance of confinement stresses has been recognized in the literature by many researchers, in particular, its influence on strength and on the angle of fracture, but still there is not a clear description for the influence of confining stress on the crack propagation mechanism of rocks. This paper presents a numerical pro- cedure for the analysis of crack propagation in rock-like ma- terials under compressive biaxial loads. Several numerical simulations of biaxial tests on the rock specimen have been carried out by a bonded particle model （BPM） and the influ- ence of confinement on the mechanism of crack propagation from a single flaw in rock specimens is studied. For this purpose, several biaxial compressive tests on rectangular spec- imens under different confinement stresses were modeled in （2 dimensional particle flow code） PFC2D. The results show that wing cracks initiate perpendicular to the flaw and trend toward the direction of major stress, however, when the lat- eral stresses increase, this initiation angle gets wider. Also it is concluded that in addition to the material type, the initiation direction of the secondary cracks depends on confine- ment stresses, too. Besides, it is understood that secondary cracks may be produced from both tensile and shear mechanisms.

Where is the rudder of a fish?:the mechanism of swimming and control of self-propelled fish school

Numerical simulation and control of self- propelled swimming of two- and three-dimensional biomimetic fish school in a viscous flow are investigated. With a parallel computational fluid dynamics package for the two- and three-dimensional moving boundary problem, which combines the adaptive multi-grid finite volume method and the methods of immersed boundary and volume of fluid, it is found that due to the interactions of vortices in the wakes, without proper control, a fish school swim with a given flap- ping rule can not keep the fixed shape of a queue. In order to understand the secret of fish swimming, a new feedback con- trol strategy of fish motion is proposed for the first time, i,e., the locomotion speed is adjusted by the flapping frequency of the caudal, and the direction of swimming is controlled by the swinging of the head of a fish. Results show that with this feedback control strategy, a fish school can keep the good order of a queue in cruising, turning or swimming around circles. This new control strategy, which separates the speed control and direction control, is important in the construction of biomimetic robot fish, with which it greatly simplifies the control devices of a biomimetic robot fish.

Deformation behaviors of 21-6-9 stainless steel tube numerical control bending under different friction conditions

For contact dominated numerical control(NC) bending process of tube, the effect of friction on bending deformation behaviors should be focused on to achieve precision bending forming. A three dimensional(3D) elastic-plastic finite element(FE) model of NC bending process was established under ABAQUS/Explicit platform, and its reliability was validated by the experiment. Then, numerical study on bending deformation behaviors under different frictions between tube and various dies was explored from multiple aspects such as wrinkling, wall thickness change and cross section deformation. The results show that the large friction of wiper die-tube reduces the wrinkling wave ratio η and cross section deformation degree ΔD and increases the wall thinning degree Δt. The large friction of mandrel-tube causes large η, Δt and ΔD, and the onset of wrinkling near clamp die. The large friction of pressure die-tube reduces Δt and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on η. The large friction of bending die-tube reduces η and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on Δt. The reasonable friction coefficients on wiper die-tube, mandrel-tube, pressure die-tube and bending die-tube of 21-6-9(0Cr21Ni6Mn9N) stainless steel tube in NC bending are 0.05-0.15, 0.05-0.15, 0.25-0.35 and 0.25-0.35, respectively. The results can provide a guideline for applying the friction conditions to establish the robust bending environment for stable and precise bending deformation of tube bending.

Dynamics and adaptive control of a dual-arm space robot with closed-loop constraints and uncertain inertial parameters

A dynamics-based adaptive control approach is proposed for a planar dual-arm space robot in the presence of closed-loop constraints and uncertain inertial parameters of the payload. The controller is capable of controlling the po- sition and attitude of both the satellite base and the payload grasped by the manipulator end effectors. The equations of motion in reduced-order form for the constrained system are derived by incorporating the constraint equations in terms of accelerations into Kane＇s equations of the unconstrained system. Model analysis shows that the resulting equations perfectly meet the requirement of adaptive controller design. Consequently, by using an indirect approach, an adaptive control scheme is proposed to accomplish position/attitude trajectory tracking control with the uncertain parameters be- ing estimated on-line. The actuator redundancy due to the closed-loop constraints is utilized to minimize a weighted norm of the joint torques. Global asymptotic stability is proven by using Lyapunov＇s method, and simulation results are also presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

CO_2-triggered gelation for mobility control and channeling blocking during CO_2 flooding processes

CO2 flooding is regarded as an important method for enhanced oil recovery （EOR） and greenhouse gas control. However, the heterogeneity prevalently dis- tributed in reservoirs inhibits the performance of this technology. The sweep efficiency can be significantly reduced especially in the presence of ＂thief zones＂. Hence, gas channeling blocking and mobility control are important technical issues for the success of CO2 injection. Normally, crosslinked gels have the potential to block gas channels, but the gelation time control poses challenges to this method. In this study, a new method for selectively blocking CO2 channeling is proposed, which is based on a type of CO2-sensitive gel system （modified polyacry- lamide-methenamine-resorcinol gel system） to form gel in situ. A CO2-sensitive gel system is when gelation or solidification will be triggered by CO2 in the reservoir to block gas channels. The CO2-sensitivity of the gel system was demonstrated in parallel bottle tests of gel in N2 and CO2 atmospheres. Sand pack flow experiments were con- ducted to investigate the shutoff capacity of the gel system under different conditions. The injectivity of the gel system was studied via viscosity measurements. The results indi- cate that this gel system was sensitive to CO2 and had good performance of channeling blocking in porous media. Advantageous viscosity-temperature characteristics were achieved in this work. The effectiveness for EOR in heterogeneous formations based on this gel system was demonstrated using displacement tests conducted in double sand packs. The experimental results can provide guideli- nes for the deployment of theCO2-sensitive gel system for field applications.

Development of X-FEM methodology and study on mixed-mode crack propagation

The extended finite element method（X-FEM） is a novel numerical methodology with a great potential for using in multi-scale computation and multi-phase coupling problems. The algorithm is discussed and a program is developed based on X-FEM for simulating mixed-mode crack propagation. The maximum circumferential stress criterion and interaction integral are deduced. Some numerical results are compared with the experimental data to prove the capability and efficiency of the algorithm and the program. Numerical analyses of sub-interfacial crack growth in bi-materials give a clear description of the effiect on fracture made by interface and loading condition.

A continuous-discontinuous cellular automaton method for cracks growth and coalescence in brittle material

A method of continuous-discontinuous cellular automaton for modeling the growth and coalescence of multiple cracks in brittle material is presented. The method uses the level set to track arbitrary discontinuities, and calculation grids are independent of the discontinuities and no remeshing are required with the crack growing. Based on Grif- fith fracture theory and Mohr-Coulumb criterion, a mixed fracture criterion for multiple cracks growth in brittle mate- rial is proposed. The method treats the junction and coales- cence of multiple cracks, and junction criterion and coales- cence criterion for brittle material are given, too. Besides, in order to overcome the tracking error in the level set ap- proximation for crack junction and coalescence, a dichotomy searching algorithm is proposed. Introduced the above the- ories into continuous-discontinuous cellular automaton, the present method can be applied to solving multiple crack growth in brittle material, and only cell stiffness is needed and no assembled global stiffness is needed. Some numerical examples are given to shown that the present method is efficient and accurate for crack junction, coalescence and percolation problems.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF STRESS-STRAIN DISTRIBUTIONS FOR WELD METAL SOLIDIFICATION CRACKING IN STAINLESS STEEL

This paper analyzed the characteristics of welding solidification crack of stainless steels,and clearly re- vealed the the of the deformation in the molten - the pool and the solidification shrinkage on the stress - strain fields in the trail of molten - weld pool.Moreover, rheologic properties of the alloys in solid - liquid zone were also obtained by measuring the hading and unloading deform curves of the steels.As a result, a numerical model for simulation of stress - strain distributions of welding solidifi- cation crack was developed. On the basis of the model,the thesis simulated the driving force of solidifi- cation crack of stainless steels, that is, stress - strain fields in the trail of molten-weld pool with fi- nite element method.

Decoupling Control of Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit

This study presents a decoupling control scheme of fluid catalytic cracking unit to account for the high interaction between two temperature control loops. The feed flow rate load disturbance is introduced to test the proposed decoupling control scheme. Through simulation study shown that the decoupling is effective, stable and it presents advantage over controller without decoupler. Also, this scheme is able to offer good dynamic performance for most disturbances.