Flow field, sedimentation, and erosion characteristics around folded linear HDPE sheet sand fence: Numerical simulation study

Wind and sand hazards are serious in the Milan Gobi area of the Xinjiang section of the Korla Railway. In order to ensure the safe operation of railroads, there is a need for wind and sand protection in heavily sandy areas. The wind and sand flow in the region is notably bi-directional. To shield railroads from sand, a unique sand fence made of folded linear high-density polyethylene(HDPE) is used, aligning with the principle that the dominant wind direction is perpendicular to the fence. This study employed field observations and numerical simulations to investigate the effectiveness of these HDPE sand fences in altering flow field distribution and offering protection. It also explored how these fences affect the deposition and erosion of sand particles. Findings revealed a significant reduction in wind speed near the fence corner;the minimum horizontal wind speed on the leeward side of the first sand fence(LSF) decreased dramatically from 3 m/s to 0.64 m/s. The vortex area on the LSF markedly impacted horizontal wind speeds. Within the LSF, sand deposition was a primary occurrence. As wind speeds increased, the deposition zone shrank, whereas the positive erosion zone expanded. Close to the folded corners of the HDPE sand fence, there was a notable shift from the positive erosion zone to a deposition zone. Field tests and numerical simulations confirmed the high windproof efficiency(WE) and sand resistance efficiency(SE) in the HDPE sand fence. Folded linear HDPE sheet sand fence can effectively slow down the incoming flow and reduce the sand content, thus achieving good wind and sand protection. This study provides essential theoretical guidance for the design and improvement of wind and sand protection systems in railroad engineering.

Corrigendum to “The transition from conservative to dissipative flows in class-B laser model with fold-Hopf bifurcation andcoexisting attractors”

Recently, we received a letter from Prof. G. L. Oppo, which indicated that he had doubts about the transformation of the system in the article Chin. Phys. B 31 060503 (2022) and gave other considerations. After inspection, we found that there was a clerical error in the article. Based on this, we have made corrections and supplements to the original article.

The transition from conservative to dissipative flows in class-B laser model with fold-Hopf bifurcation and coexisting attractors

Dynamical behaviors of a class-B laser system with dissipative strength are analyzed for a model in which the polarization is adiabatically eliminated. The results show that the injected signal has an important effect on the dynamical behaviors of the system. When the injected signal is zero, the dissipative term of the class-B laser system is balanced with external interference, and the quasi-periodic flows with conservative phase volume appear. And when the injected signal is not zero, the stable state in the system is broken, and the attractors(period, quasi-period, and chaos) with contractive phase volume are generated. The numerical simulation finds that the system has not only one attractor, but also coexisting phenomena(period and period, period and quasi-period) in special cases. When the injected signal passes the critical value,the class-B laser system has a fold-Hopf bifurcation and exists torus “blow-up” phenomenon, which will be proved by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation.

Factor Controlling Reservoir Properties and Flow Unit Determination in the Ilam Formation of Dezfol Embayment at Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt, Southwest of Iran

Dezfol embayment in the Southwest of Iran is located in the Zagros fold-thrust belt, which is one of the world’s largest petroleum provinces. Ilam Formation (Santonian-Companian) is one of the reservoir formations in this area that has been less studied. This paper focused on reservoir properties in this formation using petrography and petrophysics data. According to the petrography studies Ilam Formation composed of limestone as dominant lithology. Detailed petrographic analyses, have led to identification of 10 micro-facies which are represented as a carbonate ramp depositional model. Also petrographic analyses are revealed that cementation, dissolution, compaction and dolomitization are most important digenetic processes. Detailed petrographic analyses and petrophysics data showed that due to mud-supported nature of more facies (inherited low reservoir potential from their depositional settings), diagenetic process plays an important role in increasing of reservoir quality. However cementation and dissolution had negative and positive effects on Ilam reservoir formation, respectively. Finally at the end for better correlation and to create a flow unit, according to the petrography data and using petrophysics log, this reservoir is divided into 5 units (flow unite) by using Geolog software and then they have been correlated across the field.

Modelling of debris-flow susceptibility and propagation: a case study from Northwest Himalaya

The geological and geographical position of the Northwest Himalayas makes it a vulnerable area for mass movements particularly landslides and debris flows. Mass movements have had a substantial impact on the study area which is extending along Karakorum Highway(KKH) from Besham to Chilas. Intense seismicity, deep gorges, steep terrain and extreme climatic events trigger multiple mountain hazards along the KKH, among which debris flow is recognized as the most destructive geohazard. This study aims to prepare a field-based debris flow inventory map at a regional scale along a 200 km stretch from Besham to Chilas. A total of 117 debris flows were identified in the field, and subsequently, a point-based debris-flow inventory and catchment delineation were performed through Arc GIS analysis. Regional scale debris flow susceptibility and propagation maps were prepared using Weighted Overlay Method(WOM) and Flow-R technique sequentially. Predisposing factors include slope, slope aspect, elevation, Topographic Roughness Index(TRI), Topographic Wetness Index(TWI), stream buffer, distance to faults, lithology rainfall, curvature, and collapsed material layer. The dataset was randomly divided into training data(75%) and validation data(25%). Results were validated through the Receiver Operator Characteristics(ROC) curve. Results show that Area Under the Curve(AUC) using WOM model is 79.2%. Flow-R propagation of debris flow shows that the 13.15%, 22.94%, and 63.91% areas are very high, high, and low susceptible to debris flow respectively. The propagation predicated by Flow-R validates the naturally occurring debris flow propagation as observed in the field surveys. The output of this research will provide valuable input to the decision makers for the site selection, designing of the prevention system, and for the protection of current infrastructure.

The Effects of Chinese Medicines on Micro-circulation of Nail Folds and Blood Flow Velocity of Limbs in the Patients with Arteriosclerotic Obliteration

The effects of Chinese medicines on micro-circulation and blood flow velocity in arteries of the lower limbs were observed in 33 patients with arteriosclerotic obliteration(ASO).The results showed that the integral values of micro-circulation after treatment were obviously higher than those before treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01).Blood flow velocity in arteries of the lower limbs determined with the color Doppler ultrasound detecting method after treatment were also obviously higher than those before treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01).In tbis series of 33 ASO patients,the markedly effective rate was 36.36%,and the total effective rate was 63.64%.The observation indicates that the recipe prescribed according to the principle of supplementing qi and activating blood circulation can effectively improve micro-circulation in ASO patients,and accelerate blood flow in arteries of the lower limbs.

Dynamic Non-Invasive Detection of NADH Based on Blood Flow-Mediated Skin Fluorescence (FMSF) Method

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH/NAD+) is involved in important biochemical reactions in human metabolism, including participation in energy production by mitochondria. The changes in fluorescence intensity as a function of time in response to blocking and releasing of blood flow in a forearm are used as a measure of oxygen transport with blood to the tissue, which directly correlates with the skin microcirculation status. In this paper, a non-invasive dynamic monitoring system based on blood flow-mediated skin fluorescence (FMSF) technology is developed to monitor the NADH fluorescence intensity of skin tissue during the process of blocking reactive hyperemia. Simultaneously, laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) and laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) were used to observe blood flow, blood oxygen saturation (SOt2) and relative amount of hemoglobin (rHb) during the measurement process, which helped to explore NADH dynamics relevant physiological changes. A variety of parameters have been derived to describe NADH fluorescence curve based on the FMSF device. The experimental results are conducive to understanding the NADH measurement and the physiological processes related to it, which help FMSF to be a great avenue for in vivo physiological, clinical and pharmacological research on mitochondrial metabolism.

Numerical and experimental study on the falling film flow characteristics with the effect of co-current gas flow in hydrogen liquefaction process

Liquid hydrogen storage and transportation is an effective method for large-scale transportation and utilization of hydrogen energy. Revealing the flow mechanism of cryogenic working fluid is the key to optimize heat exchanger structure and hydrogen liquefaction process(LH2). The methods of cryogenic visualization experiment, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation are conducted to study the falling film flow characteristics with the effect of co-current gas flow in LH2spiral wound heat exchanger.The results show that the flow rate of mixed refrigerant has a great influence on liquid film spreading process, falling film flow pattern and heat transfer performance. The liquid film of LH2mixed refrigerant with column flow pattern can not uniformly and completely cover the tube wall surface. As liquid flow rate increases, the falling film flow pattern evolves into sheet-column flow and sheet flow, and liquid film completely covers the surface of tube wall. With the increase of shear effect of gas-phase mixed refrigerant in the same direction, the liquid film gradually becomes unstable, and the flow pattern eventually evolves into a mist flow.

Evaluating the stability and volumetric flowback rate of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures using the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method

The stability and mobility of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures during hydrocarbon production are numerically investigated by the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method(LB-DEM).This study starts with a preliminary proppant settling test,from which a solid volume fraction of 0.575 is calibrated for the proppant pack in the fracture.In the established workflow to investigate proppant flowback,a displacement is applied to the fracture surfaces to compact the generated proppant pack as well as further mimicking proppant embedment under closure stress.When a pressure gradient is applied to drive the fluid-particle flow,a critical aperture-to-diameter ratio of 4 is observed,above which the proppant pack would collapse.The results also show that the volumetric proppant flowback rate increases quadratically with the fracture aperture,while a linear variation between the particle flux and the pressure gradient is exhibited for a fixed fracture aperture.The research outcome contributes towards an improved understanding of proppant flowback in hydraulic fractures,which also supports an optimised proppant size selection for hydraulic fracturing operations.

Analysis and experimental study on resistance-increasing behavior of composite high efficiency autonomous inflow control device

Bottom water coning is the main reason to reduce the recovery of horizontal bottom water reservoir. By water coning, we mean the oil-water interface changes from a horizontal state to a mound-shaped cone and breaks through to the wellbore. Autonomous inflow control device(AICD) is an important instrument maintain normal production after bottom water coning, however, the resistance increasing ability of the swirl type AICD is insufficient at present, which seriously affects the water control effect. Aiming this problem, this paper designs a multi-stage resistance-increasing and composite type AICD. The separation mechanism of oil-water two phases in this structure, the resistance form of oil-water single phase and the resistance-increasing principle of water phase are analyzed. Establishing the dual-phase multi-stage separation and resistance-increasing model, and verified by measuring the throttling pressure drop and oil-water volume fraction of the AICD, it is found that the composite type AICD has the effect of ICD and AICD at the same time, which can balance the production rate of each well section at the initial stage of production, delay the occurrence of bottom water coning. In the middle and later stages of production, water-blocking can be effectively increased to achieve water control and stable production.After structural sensitivity analysis, the influence law of various structural parameters on the water control performance of composite AICD was obtained. The simulation calculation results show that,compared with the existing swirl type AICD, composite AICD has higher sensitivity to moisture content,the water phase throttling pressure drop is increased by 4.5 times on average. The composite AICD is suitable for the entire stage of horizontal well production.

A flat-foldable equiangular spiral folding pattern inspired by sunflowers for deployable structures

Flasher origami pattern has been widely utilized to improve the stowage efficiency of deployable structures.Nevertheless,flasher origami cannot be folded fully flat,and they still have great potential for optimization in terms of storage volume and folding creases.In this paper,a flat foldable equiangular spiral folding pattern inspired by the sunflower disk is introduced.Then,a parametric design method for this equiangular spiral crease diagram is introduced in detail.Subsequently,a kinematic model of the equiangular spiral folding pattern is established based on the kinematic equivalence between rigid origami and spherical linkages.A simulation of the developed model demonstrates that the equiangular spiral folding pattern can be folded flat.Using the folded ratio as an evaluation index,the calculated results and experiments show that the equiangular spiral crease pattern can yield fewer creases and improve stowage efficiency in comparison to flasher origami pattern.Equiangular spiral folding pattern can save a considerable amount of space and provide a new approach to spatially deployable structures.

On the analytical solution of transient friction in channel flows

The transient friction in channel mean flows is the sum of two contributions,i.e.,the underlying laminar flow(ULF)and the purely turbulent component(PTC),and the contributions are analyzed separately by theoretical experiments.It is found that,the transient friction may be higher or remarkably lower than that in equal-Reynolds number steady-state flows.The universal time constant for plane-parallel laminar flows is reported,and the role of the time constant in a turbulent mean flow is examined.It is shown that the time constant is related to the turbulence's frozen time.Finally,a study of the logarithmic layer during the transient flow is accomplished,which shows that the logarithmic layer is destroyed.

Performance characteristics of the airlift pump under vertical solid-water-gas flow conditions for conveying centimetric-sized coal particles

In this study,the installation of an airlift pump with inner diameter of 102 mm and length of 5.64 m was utilized to consider the conveying process of non-spherical coal particles with density of 1340 kg/m3 and graining 25-44.5 mm.The test results revealed that the magnitude of increase in the solid transport rate due to the changes in the three tested parameters between compressed air velocity,submergence ratio,and feeding coal possibility was not the same,which are stand in range of 20%,75%,and 40%,respectively.Hence,creating the optimal airlift pump performance is highly dependent on submergence ratio.More importantly,we measured the solid volume fraction using the method of one-way valves in order to minimize the disadvantages of conventional devices,such as fast speed camera and conductivity ring sensor.The results confirmed that the volume fraction of the solid phase in the transfer process was always less than 12%.To validate present experimental data,the existing empirical correlations together with the theoretical equations related to the multiphase flow was used.The overall agreement between the theory and experimental solid delivery results was particularly good instead of the first stage of conveying process.This drawback can be corrected by omitting the role of friction and shear stress at low air income velocity.It was also found that the model developed by Kalenik failed to predict the performance of our airlift operation in terms of the mass flow rate of the coal particles.

A unified fractional flow framework for predicting the liquid holdup in two-phase pipe flows

Two-phase pipe flow occurs frequently in oil&gas industry,nuclear power plants,and CCUS.Reliable calculations of gas void fraction(or liquid holdup)play a central role in two-phase pipe flow models.In this paper we apply the fractional flow theory to multiphase flow in pipes and present a unified modeling framework for predicting the fluid phase volume fractions over a broad range of pipe flow conditions.Compared to existing methods and correlations,this new framework provides a simple,approximate,and efficient way to estimate the phase volume fraction in two-phase pipe flow without invoking flow patterns.Notably,existing correlations for estimating phase volume fraction can be transformed and expressed under this modeling framework.Different fractional flow models are applicable to different flow conditions,and they demonstrate good agreement against experimental data within 5%errors when compared with an experimental database comprising of 2754 data groups from 14literature sources,covering various pipe geometries,flow patterns,fluid properties and flow inclinations.The gas void fraction predicted by the framework developed in this work can be used as inputs to reliably model the hydraulic and thermal behaviors of two-phase pipe flows.

Coupled CFD-DEM Numerical Simulation of the Interaction of a Flow-Transported Rag with a Solid Cylinder

A coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method(CFD-DEM)approach is used to calculate the interaction of a flexible rag transported by a fluid current with a fixed solid cylinder.More specifically a hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is used with the rag being modeled as a set of interconnected particles.The influence of various parameters is considered,namely the inlet velocity(1.5,2.0,and 2.5 m/s,respectively),the angle formed by the initially straight rag with the flow direction(45°,60°and 90°,respectively),and the inlet position(90,100,and 110 mm,respectively).The results show that the flow rate has a significant impact on the permeability of the rag.The higher the flow rate,the higher the permeability and the rag speed difference.The angle has a minor effect on rag permeability,with 45°being the most favorable angle for permeability.The inlet position has a small impact on rag permeability,while reducing the initial distance between the rag an the cylinder makes it easier for rags to pass through.

A transient production prediction method for tight condensate gas wells with multiphase flow

Considering the phase behaviors in condensate gas reservoirs and the oil-gas two-phase linear flow and boundary-dominated flow in the reservoir,a method for predicting the relationship between oil saturation and pressure in the full-path of tight condensate gas well is proposed,and a model for predicting the transient production from tight condensate gas wells with multiphase flow is established.The research indicates that the relationship curve between condensate oil saturation and pressure is crucial for calculating the pseudo-pressure.In the early stage of production or in areas far from the wellbore with high reservoir pressure,the condensate oil saturation can be calculated using early-stage production dynamic data through material balance models.In the late stage of production or in areas close to the wellbore with low reservoir pressure,the condensate oil saturation can be calculated using the data of constant composition expansion test.In the middle stages of production or when reservoir pressure is at an intermediate level,the data obtained from the previous two stages can be interpolated to form a complete full-path relationship curve between oil saturation and pressure.Through simulation and field application,the new method is verified to be reliable and practical.It can be applied for prediction of middle-stage and late-stage production of tight condensate gas wells and assessment of single-well recoverable reserves.

Control of Nozzle Flow Using Rectangular Ribs at Sonic and Supersonic Mach Numbers

This study deals with base pressure management in a duct for various values of the Mach number(M),namely,Mach number corresponding to sonic and four supersonic conditions.In addition to the Mach number,the nozzle pressure ratio(NPR),the area ratio,the rib dimension,and the duct length are influential parameters.The following specific values are examined at M=1,1.36,1.64,and 2,and NPRs between 1.5 and 10.The base pressure is determined by positioning ribs of varying heights at predetermined intervals throughout the length of the square duct.When the level of expansion is varied,it is seen that the base pressure initially drops for overexpanded flows and increases for under-expanded flows.When ribs are present,the flow field in the duct and pressure inside the duct fluctuate as the base pressure rises.Under-expanded flows can achieve a base pressure value that is suitably high without experiencing excessive changes in the duct flow in terms of static pressure if a rib height around 10%of the duct height close to the nozzle exit is considered.Rectangular rib passive control does not negatively affect the duct’s flow field.

Algorithmic approach to discrete fracture network flow modeling in consideration of realistic connections in large-scale fracture networks

Analyzing rock mass seepage using the discrete fracture network(DFN)flow model poses challenges when dealing with complex fracture networks.This paper presents a novel DFN flow model that incorporates the actual connections of large-scale fractures.Notably,this model efficiently manages over 20,000 fractures without necessitating adjustments to the DFN geometry.All geometric analyses,such as identifying connected fractures,dividing the two-dimensional domain into closed loops,triangulating arbitrary loops,and refining triangular elements,are fully automated.The analysis processes are comprehensively introduced,and core algorithms,along with their pseudo-codes,are outlined and explained to assist readers in their programming endeavors.The accuracy of geometric analyses is validated through topological graphs representing the connection relationships between fractures.In practical application,the proposed model is employed to assess the water-sealing effectiveness of an underground storage cavern project.The analysis results indicate that the existing design scheme can effectively prevent the stored oil from leaking in the presence of both dense and sparse fractures.Furthermore,following extensive modification and optimization,the scale and precision of model computation suggest that the proposed model and developed codes can meet the requirements of engineering applications.

Effects of retained dry material on the impact,overflow and landing dynamics

During long-term operation,the performance of obstacles would be changed due to the material accumulating upslope the obstacle.However,the effects of retained material on impact,overflow and landing dynamics of granular flow have not yet been elucidated.To address this gap,physical flume tests and discrete element simulations are conducted considering a range of normalized deposition height h0/H from 0 to 1,where h0 and H represent the deposition height and obstacle height,respectively.An analytical model is modified to evaluate the flow velocity and flow depth after interacting with the retained materials,which further serve to calculate the peak impact force on the obstacle.Notably,the computed impact forces successfully predict the experimental results when a≥25°.In addition,the results indicate that a higher h0/H leads to a lower dynamic impact force,a greater landing distance L,and a larger landing coefficient Cr,where Cr is the ratio of slope-parallel component of landing velocity to flow velocity just before landing.Compared to the existing overflow model,the measured landing distance L is underestimated by up to 30%,and therefore it is insufficient for obstacle design when there is retained material.Moreover,the recommended Cr in current design practice is found to be nonconservative for estimating the landing velocity of geophysical flow.This study provides insightful scientific basis for designing obstacles with deposition.

Research on passenger flow control at metro transfer stations based on real-time flow calculation of streamlines

Purpose – The volume of passenger traffic at metro transfer stations serves as a pivotal metric for theorchestration of crowd flow management. Given the intricacies of crowd dynamics within these stations andthe recurrent instances of substantial passenger influxes, a methodology predicated on stochastic processesand the principle of user equilibrium is introduced to facilitate real-time traffic flow estimation within transferstation streamlines.Design/methodology/approach – The synthesis of stochastic process theory with streamline analysisengenders a probabilistic model of intra-station pedestrian traffic dynamics. Leveraging real-time passengerflow data procured from monitoring systems within the transfer station, a gradient descent optimizationtechnique is employed to minimize the cost function, thereby deducing the dynamic distribution of categorizedpassenger flows. Subsequently, adhering to the tenets of user equilibrium, the Frank–Wolfe algorithm isimplemented to allocate the intra-station categorized passenger flows across various streamlines, ascertainingthe traffic volume for each.Findings – Utilizing the Xiaozhai Station of the Xi’an Metro as a case study, the Anylogic simulation softwareis engaged to emulate the intra-station crowd dynamics, thereby substantiating the efficacy of the proposedpassenger flow estimation model. The derived solutions are instrumental in formulating a crowd controlstrategy for Xiaozhai Station during the peak interval from 17:30 to 18:00 on a designated day, yielding crowdmanagement interventions that offer insights for the orchestration of passenger flow and operationalgovernance within metro stations.Originality/value – The construction of an estimation methodology for the real-time streamline traffic flowaugments the model’s dataset, supplanting estimated values derived from surveys or historical datasets withreal-time computed traffic data, thereby enhancing the precision and immediacy of crowd flow managementwithin metro stations.