Impact of well placement and flow rate on production efficiency and stress field in the fractured geothermal reservoirs

Geothermal energy has gained wide attention as a renewable alternative for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.The advancements in enhanced geothermal system technology have enabled the exploitation of previously inaccessible geothermal resources.However,the extraction of geothermal energy from deep reservoirs poses many challenges due to high‐temperature and high‐geostress conditions.These factors can significantly impact the surrounding rock and its fracture formation.A comprehensive understanding of the thermal–hydraulic–mechanical(THM)coupling effect is crucial to the safe and efficient exploitation of geothermal resources.This study presented a THM coupling numerical model for the geothermal reservoir of the Yangbajing geothermal system.This proposed model investigated the geothermal exploitation performance and the stress distribution within the reservoir under various combinations of geothermal wells and mass flow rates.The geothermal system performance was evaluated by the criteria of outlet temperature and geothermal productivity.The results indicate that the longer distance between wells can increase the outlet temperature of production wells and improve extraction efficiency in the short term.In contrast,the shorter distance between wells can reduce the heat exchange area and thus mitigate the impact on the reservoir stress.A larger mass flow rate is conducive to the production capacity enhancement of the geothermal system and,in turn causes a wider range of stress disturbance.These findings provide valuable insights into the optimization of geothermal energy extraction while considering reservoir safety and long‐term sustainability.This study deepens the understanding of the THM coupling effects in geothermal systems and provides an efficient and environmentally friendly strategy for a geothermal energy system.

Comparison of the precision of glacier flow rates derived from offset-tracking using Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8/9 imagery

Offset-tracking is an essential method for deriving glacier flow rates using optical imagery.Sentinel-2(S2)and Landsat-8/9(L8/9)are popular optical satellites or constellations for polar studies,offering high spatial resolution with relatively short revisit time,wide swath width,and free accessibility.To evaluate and compare the precision of offset-tracking results yielded with these two kinds of data,in this study S2 and L8/9 imagery observed in Petermann Glacier in Greenland,Karakoram in High-Mountains Asia,and Amery Ice Shelf in the Antarctic are analyzed.Outliers and various systematic error sources in the offset-tracking results including orbital and strip errors were analyzed and eliminated at the pre-process stage.Precision at the off-glacier(bare rock)region was evaluated by presuming that no deformation occurred;then for both glacierized and the off-glacier regions,precision of velocity time series was evaluated based on error propagation theory.The least squares method based on connected components was used to solve flow rates time series based on multi-pair images offset-tracking.The results indicated that S2 achieved slightly higher precision than L8/9 in terms of both single-pair derived displacements and least square solved daily flow rates time series.Generally,the RMSE of daily velocity is 26%lower for S2 than L8/9.Moreover,S2 provided higher temporal resolution for monitoring glacier flow rates.

Flow Rate Measurement of Gravity Infusion Set and Functional Evaluation of Drop Counter: A Pilot Study

Developing a novel drop counter by introducing the Internet of Things concept has been vigorously conducted in recent years. Understanding the newly introduced drop counter’s flow rate control accuracy and flow rate count feature is essential for improving safety in infusion management. This study aimed to verify if the new drop counters could secure accurate flow rate and drip count by conducting actual flow rate measurements using gravimetry and functional evaluation. A drop counter was attached to each drip chamber of the infusion set, and an IV drip was conducted at the 100 ml/h flow rate. The weight of discharged physiological saline was measured to plot trumpet curves. Next, three different types of drop counters were evaluated to determine if they maintained drip count accuracy according to the changes in their position angles. The flow rate errors in all conditions indicated trumpet-like curves, exhibiting an overall error range within ±10% in all observation windows. Although every drop counter successfully detected and measured dripping, it was challenging in some counters to detect dripping when the drip chamber was tilted. In comparing adult and pediatric IV sets, the adult IV set was found to be less likely to detect dripping in the angled position. No significant differences in results were confirmed between high and low flow rates, suggesting that the drop count function would not be affected by the flow rate in the ranges of typical infusion practices. Doppler sensors have a wide range of measurements and high sensitivity;the dripping was detected successfully even when the drip chamber was tilted, probably due to the advantages of these sensors. In contrast, miscounts occurred in those equipped with infrared sensors, which could not detect light intensity changes in tilted positions. Understanding the tendencies in flow rate errors in infusion can be valuable information for infusion management.

Numerical study of the effect of flow rate and temperature on parison swell and sag in extrusion

Swell and sag drawdown significantly influence the high density polyethylene parison. Nu- merical simulations of the flow field of a HDPE melt were performed using the finite element method for the die of plastic pipe extrusion and parison formation. The constitutive equation of Carreau law was used to describe the polymer melt in the flow domain. The distributions of the velocity, shear rate, viscosity, pressure, thickness and radius are presented with Polyflow. The effect of flow rate and temperature on extrusion swell and parison sag was investigated. The results show that the thickness of the parison increases with increasing flow rate. The thickness and radius of the parison are more sensitive to changes in flow rates than to changes in temperatures.

A study of hydrate plug formation in a subsea natural gas pipeline using a novel high-pressure flow loop

The natural gas pipeline from Platform QKI8-1 in the southwest of Bohai Bay to the onshore processing facility is a subsea wet gas pipeline exposed to high pressure and low temperature for a long distance. Blockages in the pipeline occur occasionally. To maintain the natural gas flow in the pipeline, we proposed a method for analyzing blockages and ascribed them to the hydrate formation and agglomeration. A new high-pressure flow loop was developed to investigate hydrate plug formation and hydrate particle size, using a mixture of diesel oil, water, and natural gas as experimental fluids. The influences of pressure and initial flow rate were also studied. Experimental results indicated that when the flow rate was below 850 kg/h, gas hydrates would form and then plug the pipeline, even at a low water content （10%） of a water/oil emulsion. Furthermore, some practical suggestions were made for daily management of the subsea pipeline.

Investigation of oil-air two-phase mass flow rate measurement using Venturi and void fraction sensor

Oil-air two-phase flow measurement was investigated with a Venturi and void fraction meters in this work. This paper proposes a new flow rate measurement correlation in which the effect of the velocity ratio between gas and liquid was considered. With the pressure drop across the Venturi and the void fraction that was measured by electrical capacitance tomography apparatus, both mixture flow rate and oil flow rate could be obtained by the correlation. Experiments included bubble-, slug-, wave and annular flow with the void fraction ranging from 15% to 83%, the oil flow rate ranging from 0.97 kg/s to 1.78 kg/s, the gas flow rate ranging up to 0.018 kg/s and quality ranging nearly up to 2.0%. The root-mean-square errors of mixture mass flow rate and that of oil mass flow rate were less than 5%. Furthermore, coefficients of the correlation were modified based on flow regimes, with the results showing reduced root-mean-square errors.

Influences of gas flow rates on melting of particles of HVOF sprayed CoCrW coating and coating properties

This paper discussed influences of flow rates of O_2, C_3H_8, and compressedair on the melting degree of particles during HVOF (high velocity oxy-fuel) sprayed CoCrW coating.The O_2 flow rate has the maximal effect on the melting of particles, the C_3H_8 flow rate has thesecond, and the compressed air flow rate has the minimal effect. The bond strength of the HVOFsprayed CoCrW coating is over 54 MPa. The porosity ratio of the HVOF sprayed CoCrW coating afteroptimization of gas flow rates is less than 2%. The average microhardness of the coating is up toHV_(0.1) 545. The oxidation amount per unit area of the HVOF sprayed CoCrW coating increases withthe holding time increasing at 800℃. In the same way, the oxidation amount of the coating increasesas the temperature increases. Particularly, the oxidation of the coating drastically increases over850℃.

Effect of flow rate on environmental variables and phytoplankton dynamics:results from field enclosures

To investigate the effects of flow rate on phytoplankton dynamics and related environment variables,a set of enclosure experiments with different fl ow rates were conducted in an artificial lake. We monitored nutrients,temperature,dissolved oxygen,p H,conductivity,turbidity,chlorophyll-a and phytoplankton levels. The lower biomass in all flowing enclosures showed that flow rate significantly inhibited the growth of phytoplankton. A critical flow rate occurred near 0.06 m/s,which was the lowest relative inhibitory rate. Changes in flow conditions affected algal competition for light,resulting in a dramatic shift in phytoplankton composition,from blue-green algae in still waters to green algae in flowing conditions. These findings indicate that critical flow rate can be useful in developing methods to reduce algal bloom occurrence. However,flow rate significantly enhanced the inter-relationships among environmental variables,in particular by inducing higher water turbidity and vegetative reproduction of periphyton( Spirogyra). These changes were accompanied by a decrease in underwater light intensity,which consequently inhibited the photosynthetic intensity of phytoplankton. These results warn that a universal critical flow rate might not exist,because the effect of flow rate on phytoplankton is interlinked with many other environmental variables.

Relationship between Formation Water Rate,Equivalent Penetration Rate and Volume Flow Rate of Air in Air Drilling

Formation water invasion is the most troublesome problem associated with air drilling. However, it is not economical to apply mist drilling when only a small amount of water flows into wellbore from formation during air drilling. Formation water could be circulated out of the wellbore through increasing the gas injection rate. In this paper, the Angel model was modified by introducing Nikurade friction factor for the flow in coarse open holes and translating formation water rate into equivalent penetration rate. Thus the distribution of annular pressure and the relationship between minimum air injection rate and formation water rate were obtained. Real data verification indicated that the modified model is more accurate than the Angel model and can provide useful information for air drilling.

Investigation and numerical simulation of inner-flow of an axial mineflow fan under low flow rate conditions

Because of unstable properties of axial mine flow fans working under conditions of low flow rates, the safety and reliability of fans in their operational zone is reduced. At times, serious vibration may bring about the destruction of equipment or even jeopardize the safety of entire factories. By means of oil flow visualization techniques and numerical simulation, we have investigated the inner-flow of an axial mine flow fan working under low flow rate conditions. The fundamental reasons of complex flow phenomena of the inner-flow of the flow fan under these stated conditions were revealed. At the same time and in order to improve the inner-flow under conditions of low flow rates, a blade separator and air separator were designed. From our tests we found that the blade separator and air separator are two kinds efficient methods to improve the unstable working characteristics of the axial mine flow fan operating under low flow rate conditions. The effect of the improvement of the air separator is stronger than that of the blade separator.

Effect of plunger number on hydraulic transformer's flow pulsation rate

In order to supply theoretical guidance to hydraulic transformer's design and application,the effect of the number of plungers in hydraulic transformer on its flow characteristic is analyzed,theoretical analysis and simulation are done on hydraulic transformer's flow characteristic when the number of plungers is different.Based on the working principle of swash plate piston hydraulic components,mathematical models of instantaneous flow and flow pulsation rate are built,and simulation study is done with MATLAB.As a result,the effect is found,and some conclusions worth referring to are obtained.

Development of a Novel Parallel-spool Pilot Operated High-pressure Solenoid Valve with High Flow Rate and High Speed

High-pressure solenoid valve with high flow rate and high speed is a key component in an underwater driving system.However,traditional single spool pilot operated valve cannot meet the demands of both high flow rate and high speed simultaneously.A new structure for a high pressure solenoid valve is needed to meet the demand of the underwater driving system.A novel parallel-spool pilot operated high-pressure solenoid valve is proposed to overcome the drawback of the current single spool design.Mathematical models of the opening process and flow rate of the valve are established.Opening response time of the valve is subdivided into 4 parts to analyze the properties of the opening response.Corresponding formulas to solve 4 parts of the response time are derived.Key factors that influence the opening response time are analyzed.According to the mathematical model of the valve,a simulation of the opening process is carried out by MATLAB.Parameters are chosen based on theoretical analysis to design the test prototype of the new type of valve.Opening response time of the designed valve is tested by verifying response of the current in the coil and displacement of the main valve spool.The experimental results are in agreement with the simulated results,therefore the validity of the theoretical analysis is verified.Experimental opening response time of the valve is 48.3 ms at working pressure of 10 MPa.The flow capacity test shows that the largest effective area is 126 mm2 and the largest air flow rate is 2320 L/s.According to the result of the load driving test,the valve can meet the demands of the driving system.The proposed valve with parallel spools provides a new method for the design of a high-pressure valve with fast response and large flow rate.

Simplified graphical correlation for determining flow rate in tight gas wells in the Sulige gas field

The Sulige tight gas reservoir is characterized by low-pressure, low-permeability and lowabundance. During production, gas flow rate and reservoir pressure decrease sharply; and in the shut- in period, reservoir pressure builds up slowly. Many conventional methods, such as the indicative curve method, systematic analysis method and numerical simulation, are not applicable to determining an appropriate gas flow rate. Static data and dynamic performance show permeability capacity, kh is the most sensitive factor influencing well productivity, so criteria based on kh were proposed to classify vertical wells. All gas wells were classified into 4 groups. A multi-objective fuzzy optimization method, in which dimensionless gas flow rate, period of stable production, and recovery at the end of the stable production period were selected as optimizing objectives, was established to determine the reasonable range of gas flow rate. In this method, membership functions of above-mentioned optimizing factors and their weights were given. Moreover, to simplify calculation and facilitate field use, a simplified graphical illustration （or correlation） was given for the four classes of wells. Case study illustrates the applicability of the proposed method and graphical correlation, and an increase in cumulative gas production up to 37% is achieved and the well can produce at a constant flow rate for a long time.

Design and Experiment of Streamlined Piezoelectric Pump with Low Vortex and Large Flow Rate

Valveless piezoelectric pump is widely used in the medical,however,there is a general and difficult problem to be solved:Low vortex and large flow rate are not compatible,resulting in the blood prone to thrombosis during blood delivery.In this paper,a new valveless piezoelectric(PZT)pump with streamlined flow tubes(streamlined pump)is proposed.The design method and the working principle of the pump are analyzed.The velocity streamlines are simulated,and the results demonstrate that there are no obvious vortexes in the flow tube of the streamlined pump.Five prototype pumps(two cone pumps and three streamlined pumps)are designed and fabricated to perform flow rate and flow resistance experiments.The experimental results illustrate that the maximum flow rate of the streamlined pump is 142 mL/min,which is 179%higher than that of the cone piezoelectric pump,demonstrating that the streamlined pump has a large flow rate performance.This research provides an inspiration for future research on simple structure,low vortex and large flow rate volume-type pumps,and also provides a useful solution for thrombosis preventing.

Selective Area Growth and Characterization of GaN Nanorods Fabricated by Adjusting the Hydrogen Flow Rate and Growth Temperature with Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

CaN nanorods are successfully fabricated by adjusting the flow rate ratio of hydrogen （H2）/nitrogen （N2） and growth temperature of the selective area growth （SAG） method with metal organic chemical vapor deposition （MOCVD）. The SAG template is obtained by nanospherical-lens photolithography. It is found that increasing the flow rate of 1-12 will change the CaN crystal shape from pyramid to vertical rod, while increasing the growth temperature will reduce the diameters of GaN rods to nanometer scale. Finally the CaN nanorods with smooth lateral surface and relatively good quality are obtained under the condition that the H2：N2 ratio is 1：1 and the growth temperature is 1030℃. The good crystal quality and orientation of GaN nanorods are confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The cathodoluminescence spectrum suggests that the crystal and optical quality is also improved with increasing the temperature.

Influences of nitrogen flow rate on the structures and properties of Ti and N co-doped diamond-like carbon films deposited by arc ion plating

In this paper, Ti-C-N nanocomposite films are deposited under different nitrogen flow rates by pulsed bias arc ion plating using Ti and graphite targets in the Ar/N2 mixture gas. The surface morphologies, compositions, microstructures, and mechanical properties of the Ti-C-N films are investigated systematically by field emission scanning electron mi- croscopy （FE-SEM）, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, grazing incident x-ray diffraction （GIXRD）, Raman spectra, and nano-indentation. The results show that the nanocrystalline Ti（C,N） phase precipitates in the film from GIXRD and XPS analysis, and Raman spectra prove the presence of diamond-like carbon, indicating the formation of nanocomposite film with microstructures comprising nanocrystalline Ti（C,N） phase embedded into a diamond-like matrix. The nitrogen flow rate has a significant effect on the composition, structure, and properties of the film. The nano-hardness and elastic modulus first increase and then decrease as nitrogen flow rate increases, reaching a maximum of 34.3 GPa and 383.2 GPa, at a nitrogen flow rate of 90 sccm, respectively.

The Effect of Gas Flow Rate on Radio-Frequency Hollow Cathode Discharge Characteristics

It is known that gas flow rate is a key factor in controlling industrial plasma processing. In this paper, a 2D PIC/MCC model is developed for an rf hollow cathode discharge with an axial nitrogen gas flow. The effects of the gas flow rate on the plasma parameters are calculated and the results show that： with an increasing flow rate, the total ion（N＋2, N＋） density decreases, the mean sheath thickness becomes wider, the radial electric field in the sheath and the axial electric field show an increase, and the energies of both kinds of nitrogen ions increase;and, as the axial ion current density that is moving toward the ground electrode increases, the ion current density near the ground electrode increases. The simulation results will provide a useful reference for plasma jet technology involving rf hollow cathode discharges in N2.

Dynamic behavior of a rotating gliding arc plasma in nitrogen:effects of gas flow rate and operating current

The effects of feed gas flow rate and operating current on the electrical characteristics and dynamic behavior of a rotating gliding arc （RGA） plasma codriven by a magnetic field and tangential flow were investigated.The operating current has been shown to significantly affect the time-resolved voltage waveforms of the discharge,particularly at flow rate =21 min^-1.When the current was lower than 140 mA,sinusoidal waveforms with regular variation periods of 13.5-17.0 ms can be observed （flow rate =21 min^-1）.The restrike mode characterized by serial sudden drops of voltage appeared under all studied conditions.Increasing the flow rate from 8 to 121 min^-1 （at the same current） led to a shift of arc rotation mode which would then result in a significant drop of discharge voltage （around 120-200 V）.For a given flow rate,the reduction of current resulted in a nearly linear increase of voltage.

Properties analysis of a large flow-rate safety valve test device

In order to solve the problem of property test of large flow-rate safety, the property parameter of safety valve test system was analyzed, and a device for property oflarge flow-rate safety valve test was designed.The device used accumulators as power source and a united function cylinder, which can realized the large flow-rate output for the test system.Analyzed the test data and made a particular research on the test device by testing different flow-rate safety valves;it verifies that the test device can be used tode-sign larger flow-rate safety valve test system and can make the flow-rate test and analysis and dynamic characteristics for the large-flow safety valve.

Effects of High Voltage and Flow Rate Parameters on Nanofibers Diameter Synthesis by Electrospinning Technique

Electrospinning has recently emerged as a leading technique for generating biomimetic scaffolds made of synthetic and natural polymers for tissue engineering applications. In this study, we prepared polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） solution as biopolymer material for fabrication of scaffolds tissue by electrospiuning, we optimized the shape and size of the ensuing electrospun fibers by varying of the electrospinning process, such as high voltage with 5-25 kV and polymeric solution rate with 0.2-10 ml/h. Scanning electron microscopy was utilized the topography of individual electrospun fibers. Distribution of mean diameters of the synthesis fibers were measured fi＇om scanning electron micrographs. Fibers diameters size related with fibers a count in SEM images as gaussian distribution with maximum peak represented the average fibers diameters. Our results indicate that the average diameter PVA fibers could be scaled down to mean values 80-500 nm without any beads, fibers diameter increased as applied voltage decreased and decrease as polymeric solution flow rate increase to be with 300-580 nm as mean diameters.