Synthetic polymers:A review of applications in drilling fluids

With the growth of deep drilling and the complexity of the well profile,the requirements for a more complete and efficient exploitation of productive formations increase,which increases the risk of various complications.Currently,reagents based on modified natural polymers(which are naturally occurring compounds)and synthetic polymers(SPs)which are polymeric compounds created industrially,are widely used to prevent emerging complications in the drilling process.However,compared to modified natural polymers,SPs form a family of high-molecular-weight compounds that are fully synthesized by undergoing chemical polymerization reactions.SPs provide substantial flexibility in their design.Moreover,their size and chemical composition can be adjusted to provide properties for nearly all the functional objectives of drilling fluids.They can be classified based on chemical ingredients,type of reaction,and their responses to heating.However,some of SPs,due to their structural characteristics,have a high cost,a poor temperature and salt resistance in drilling fluids,and degradation begins when the temperature reaches 130℃.These drawbacks prevent SP use in some medium and deep wells.Thus,this review addresses the historical development,the characteristics,manufacturing methods,classification,and the applications of SPs in drilling fluids.The contributions of SPs as additives to drilling fluids to enhance rheology,filtrate generation,carrying of cuttings,fluid lubricity,and clay/shale stability are explained in detail.The mechanisms,impacts,and advances achieved when SPs are added to drilling fluids are also described.The typical challenges encountered by SPs when deployed in drilling fluids and their advantages and drawbacks are also discussed.Economic issues also impact the applications of SPs in drilling fluids.Consequently,the cost of the most relevant SPs,and the monomers used in their synthesis,are assessed.Environmental impacts of SPs when deployed in drilling fluids,and their manufacturing processes are identified,together with advances in SP-treatment methods aimed at reducing those impacts.Recommendations for required future research addressing SP property and performance gaps are provided.

Structure optimization of the organ-pipe cavitating nozzle and its erosion ability test on hydrate-bearing sediments

Cavitating jet is a promising drilling rate improvement technology in both the marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) fluidization exploitation method and the integrated radial jet drilling and completion method. In present study, we aim to improve the efficiency of jet erosion and extracting NGH. With a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, the pressure, velocity and cavitation field characteristics of organ-pipe cavitating jet (OPCJ) are analysed. The divergent angle, throat length, and divergent length of OPCJ nozzle are preferred to obtain stronger jet cavitation erosion effect. Laboratory experiments of gas hydrate-bearing sediments (GHBS) erosion by OPCJ and conical jet (CJ) are conducted to compare and validate the jet erosion performance. The impinging models of OPCJ and CJ are constructed to study the impact characteristics. Results show that the preferred values of divergent angle, throat length, and divergent length are 15°, 1d, and 3d, respectively, in present simulation conditions. For GHBS, the OPCJ possesses the advantages of high efficiency and low energy consumption. Moreover, the OPCJ has higher penetration efficiency, while showing equivalent penetration ability compared to CJ. During the impinging process, the OPCJ can induce stronger impact pressure and turbulence effect, and also shows stronger chambering effect and bottom cleaning ability compared to CJ. This study presents the erosion performance of OPCJ and CJ on GHBS, and provides preliminary insights on the potential field applications in NGH exploitation.

Investigation on the Natural Modes of A Semi-Closed Floating Tank

Vessels with semi-closed tanks(i.e.,well docks)are widely applied in the military operation and maritime engineer-ing.The water is bound by the semi-closed floating tank and forced by both the incident waves and ship’s motions.The free surface oscillations inside the flooded well dock is thus distinctive and very complicated.So far,the natural modes of semi-closed floating tanks have not yet been studied.This paper investigates the characteristics of natural modes of a floating semi-closed tank by combining a mode-resolving model based on mild-slope equations and a hydrodynamic model based on computational fluid dynamics.Results show that the first three natural periods(i.e.,74,23.6,and 14 s)of the tank fall into the band of swell and infragravity waves and they could be triggered under certain circumstance.Multi-period free surface oscillations are observed inside the tank,including the longest natural period(i.e.,74 s),though the incident waves are monochromatic.A possible generation mechanism for the long-period mode is explained on the basis of liquid sloshing and harbor oscillations.Moreover,a long-period component with a period close to the natural mode of well dock is observed in the ship motions,which is generated by the interaction between the waves and ship.

Discovery and Significance of High CH_4 Primary Fluid Inclusions in Reservoir Volcanic Rocks of the Songliao Basin,NE China

Comparing compositions of the fluid inclusions in volcanic rocks to the contents and isotopes of the gases in corresponding volcanic reservoirs using microthermometry, Raman microspectroscopy and mass spectrum analysis, we found that： （1） up to 82 mole% methane exists in the primary inclusions hosted in the reservoir volcanic rocks; （2） high CH4 inclusions recognized in the volcanic rocks correspond to CH4-bcaring CO2 reservoirs that are rich in helium and with a high ^3He/^4He ratio and which show reversed order of 813C in alkane; （3） in gas reservoirs of such abiotic methane （〉80%） and a mix of CH4 and CO2, the enclosed content of CH4 in the volcanic inclusions is usually below 42 mole%, and the reversed order of δ^13C in alkane is sometimes irregular in the corresponding gas pools; （4） a glassy inclusion with a homogeneous temperature over 900℃ also contains a small portion of CH4 although predominantly CO2. This affinity between gas pool and content of inclusion in the same volcanic reservoirs demonstrates that magma-originated gases, both CH4 and CO2, have contributed significantly to the corresponding gas pools and that the assumed hydrocarbon budget of the bulk earth might be much larger than conventionally supposed.

Thermodynamic Modeling of Fluid-Bearing Natural Gas Inclusions for Geothermometer and Geobarometer of Overpressured Environments in Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea

It is a very difficult problem to directly determine fluid pressure duringhydrocarbon migration and accumulation in sedimentary basins. pVt modeling of coupling hydrocarbonfluid inclusion of its coeval aqueous fluid inclusion provides a powerful tool for establishing therelationship of formation pressure evolution with time. Homogenization temperature of fluidinclusion can routinely be measured under microthermometric microscopy. Crushing technique has beenemployed to obtain the composition of fluid inclusions, and the commercial software VTFLINC easilyand rapidly completes the construction of p-t phase diagram. The minimum trapping pressure ofhydrocarbon fluid inclusion would be then determined in the p-t space. In this paper, three samplesof YC21-1-1 and YC21-1-4 wells at YC21-1 structural closure, Qiongdongnan basin, South China Sea,were selected for the pVt modeling practice, and the formation pressure coefficient (equals to fluidpressure/hydrostatic pressure) changing trend with time has primarily been established. Themodeling results also indicate that the reservoirs of Ling-shui and Yacheng formations in YC21-1structure are within a very high potential system and would have undergone a discharging of thermalfluids through top seal rupture, which depicts that there is a very high risk for natural gasexploration in this area.

On the Dynamics of a Viscoelastic Fluid-Conveying Nanotube

The objective of the presented study is to perform a vibration analysis and investigate the stability of a viscoelastic-fluid conveying pipe with an intermediate support.The mathematical model is elaborated in the framework of the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory in combination with the Kelvin-Voight viscoelastic approach.The resulting differential equation of motion and the related boundary conditions and compatibility conditions in the mid-span support are solved analytically using a power series method.The results show that an intermediate support located atξ_(s)=0.1 andξ_(s)=0.5 increases the critical velocity up to 35%and 50.15%,respectively.Also,the non-dimensional critical velocity for an intermediate support atξ_(s)=0.1 is 4.83.

Optimal Homotopy Analysis of MHD Natural Convection Flow of Thixotropic Fluid under Subjection of Thermal Stratification: Boundary Layer Analysis

In this article, the model of a non-Newtonian fluid (Thixotropic) flow past a vertical surface in the presence of exponential space and temperature dependent heat source in a thermally stratified medium is studied. It is assumed that free convection is induced by buoyancy and exponentially decaying internal heat source across the space. The dynamic viscosity is taken to be constant and thermal conductivity of this particular fluid model is assumed to vary linearly with temperature. Thermal stratification has been properly incorporated into the governing equation so that its effect can be revealed and properly reported. The governing partial differential equations describing the model are transformed and parameterized to a system of non-linear ordinary differential equation using similarity transformations. Approximate analytic solutions were obtained by adopting Optimal Homotopy Analysis Method (OHAM). The results show that for both cases of non-Newtonian parameters (Thixotropic) (K1=K2=0?& K1=K2=1.0), increasing stratification parameters, relate to decreasing in the heat energy entering into the fluid region and thus reducing the temperature of the Thixotropic fluid as it flows.

Influence of Hartmann Number on Convective Flow of Maxwell Fluid between Two Hot Parallel Plates through Porous Medium Subject to Arbitrary Shear Stress at the Boundary

Natural convection flow of unsteady Maxwell fluid with the effects of constant magnetic force in the course of a porous media is investigated in this research work. Fluid motion between a channel of parallel plates is tempted by time dependent shear stress applied on one plate. The governing partial differential equations of a model under consideration are transformed into ordinary differential equations by Laplace transform method and then solved for temperature and velocity fields. The obtained results for temperature fields are expressed in terms of complementary error function. The influences of involved parameters likes Hartmann number, Grashf number, Prandlt number and porosity parameter, on temperature and velocity profiles are shown graphically. There is no such result regarding Maxwell fluid in the existing literature.

Thermodynamic Study on the Compositions of Fluid Phases in the C-O-H System Under High Temperature and Pressure

Based on the fluid phase equilibrium of the C-O-H system, the compositions of var-ious fluid phases under high temperatures and pressures have been calculated in terms of the available thermodynamic data and new P-V-T data and on the assumption of PT = ΣPi in this paper. The results indicate that in this system there are 5 major fluid phases in different pro-portions at various T and P. CH4 is the dominant phase (about 70% ) under relatively lower T and P. Its proportion obviously decreases with increasing T, P and fo2. The results pro-vide sufficient theoretical grounds for discussing the possibility of CH4 formation and the physical-chemical conditions of its stable occurrence and proportion in the geological environment.

Application of Fluid Inclusions in the Study of Natural Gas Geology in Ordos Basin

The new recently demonstrated reserves of oil and gas in the Ordos basin are found at the top of petroliferous basins in China. Gas pools discovered in recent years in the Permian system have become the main natural gas resource in the basin. Therefore, synthetic research on fluid inclusions should be done in order to ascertain the pool-forming stage, the maturity of organic matters and the properties of Paleo-fluids. The main types of fluid inclusions in the Permian system in the basin include brine inclusions, carbon dioxide inclusions and organic inclusions. Homogenization temperatures (HT) of brine inclusions can be divided into four intervals: 66–83 ℃ , 86–108 ℃ , 112–138 ℃ and 142–153 ℃ . The fluid in- clusions in the interval of 112–138 ℃ are much more than that of other intervals, indicating that the second stage of hy- drocarbon migration associated with the third temperature interval is the most important stage of gas pool formations. The fluid inclusion has extensive applications in the study of gas geology, not only in ascertaining the formation stage of gas pools, but also in estimating the maturity of organic matter and restoring Paleo-fluids. The result of testing the HT of brine inclusions shows that there are two stages of gas pool formations in the Permian system occurring ±150 Ma and ±100 Ma. The maturity of organic matter is moderate to high, a conclusion based on the color of fluid inclusions (radiated by fluorescence). The high salinity of Paleo-fluids of the NaCl-H2O and CaCl2-H2O systems shows good preservation con- ditions of the Paleo-fluids. Two stages of reservoir filling, high maturity of organic matter and good preservation condi- tions are factors favorable for the formation and preservation of large-scale gas pools in the Permian system in the Ordos basin.

Ultralight Oxygen in Corundum-Bearing Rocks of North Karelia, Russia, as a Result of Isotope Separation by Thermal Diffusion (Soret Effect) in Endogenous Fluid Flow

Helium and argon isotopes in fluid inclusions in minerals of corundum bearing rocks with anomalous light oxygen of the Khitoostrov (North Karelia, Russia) were studied. It was found that atmospheric noble gas component is missing. Therefore, all previously proposed models of participation in the fluid surface ice meltwater are not valid. Proposed and justified endogenous mechanism of isotope fractionation of oxygen and other chemical elements by the mechanism of thermal diffusion. Geologically justified existence of the cascading effect for a number of the separation thermodiffusion cells, which lead to significant isotope effects. Cascading is realized due to the “fluid pump”, in which role are acting amphibolized gabbro in the contact with corundum metasomatites. It is assumed that the mechanism is not specific for the case corundum metasomatic rocks, which are a special case of manifestation of such a scenario in processes involving endogenous fluid flows.

A Review of the Dynamic Modeling Approaches for Characterizing Fluid Flow in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

Fluid flow in fractured media has been studied for decades and received considerable attention in the oil and gas industry because of the high productivity of naturally fractured reservoirs.Due to formation complexity and reservoir heterogeneity,characterizing fluid flow with an appropriate reservoir model presents a challenging task that differs relatively from homogeneous conventional reservoirs in many aspects of view,including geological,petrophysical,production,and economics.In most fractured reservoirs,fracture networks create complex pathways that affect hydrocarbon flow,well performance,hence reservoir characterization.A better and comprehensive understanding of the available reservoir modeling approaches is much needed to accurately characterize fluid flow behavior in NFRs.Therefore,in this paper,a perspective review of the available modeling approaches was presented for fluid flow characterization in naturally fractured medium.Modeling methods were evaluated in terms of their description,application,advantages,and disadvantages.This study has also included the applications of these reservoir models in fluid flow characterizing studies and governing equations for fluid flow.Dual continuum models were proved to be better than single continuum models in the presence of large scale fractures.In comparison,discrete models were more appropriate for reservoirs that contain a smaller number of fractures.However,hybrid modeling was the best method to provide accurate and scalable fluid flow modeling.It is our understanding that this paper will bridge the gap between the fundamental understanding and application of NFRs modeling approaches and serve as a useful reference for engineers and researchers for present and future applications.

Subsoil Natural Physico-chemical Reactor: The Property of Deep Abiogenic Methane-Containing High-Thermobaric Fluid to Form Coal Seams

For the first time,the property of deep abiogenic methane-containing high-thermobaric fluid to decompose organic residues in the Earth’s crust and form coal seams was established.

Methane-rich fluid inclusions and their hosting volcanic reservoir rocks of the Songliao Basin, NE China

Methane-rich fluids were recognized to be hosted in the reservoir volcanic rocks as primary inclusions. Samples were collected from core-drillings of volcanic gas reservoirs with reversed δ13C of alkane in the Xujiaweizi depression of the Songliao Basin. The volcanic rocks are rhyolite dominant being enriched in the more incompatible elements like Cs, Rb, Ba, Th, U and Th with relative high LREE, depleted HREE and negative anomalies of Ti and Nb, suggesting a melt involving both in mantle source and crustal assimilation. Primary fluids hosted in the volcanic rocks should have the same provenance with the magma. The authors concluded that the enclosed CH4 in the volcanics are mantle/magma-derived alkane and the reversed δ13C of alkane in the corresponding gas reservoirs is partly resulted from mixture between biogenic and abiogenic gases.

Multi-beam and seismic investigations of the active Haima cold seeps,northwestern South China Sea

To confirm the seabed fluid flow at the Haima cold seeps,an integrated study of multi-beam and seismic data reveals the morphology and fate of four bubble plumes and investigates the detailed subsurface structure of the active seepage area.The shapes of bubble plumes are not constant and influenced by the northeastward bottom currents,but the water depth where these bubble plumes disappear(630–650 m below the sea level)(mbsl)is very close to the upper limit of the gas hydrate stability zone in the water column(620 m below the sea level),as calculated from the CTD data within the study area,supporting the“hydrate skin”hypothesis.Gas chimneys directly below the bottom simulating reflectors,found at most sites,are speculated as essential pathways for both thermogenic gas and biogenic gas migrating from deep formations to the gas hydrate stability zone.The fracture network on the top of the basement uplift may be heavily gas-charged,which accounts for the chimney with several kilometers in diameter(beneath Plumes B and C).The much smaller gas chimney(beneath Plume D)may stem from gas saturated localized strong permeability zone.High-resolution seismic profiles reveal pipe-like structures,characterized by stacked localized amplitude anomalies,just beneath all the plumes,which act as the fluid conduits conveying gas from the gas hydrate-bearing sediments to the seafloor,feeding the gas plumes.The differences between these pipe-like structures indicate the dynamic process of gas seepage,which may be controlled by the build-up and dissipation of pore pressure.The 3D seismic data show high saturated gas hydrates with high RMS amplitude tend to cluster on the periphery of the gas chimney.Understanding the fluid migration and hydrate accumulation pattern of the Haima cold seeps can aid in the further exploration and study on the dynamic gas hydrate system in the South China Sea.

Numerical Study on the Gas Leakage and Dispersion at the Street Intersection of a Building Group

Accidents involving natural gas leakage and dispersion pose a significant threat to human life and property.This threat is especially relevant at the street intersection at which dense buildings,heavy traffic flow,and complex underground pipe networks meet.Scholars have conducted numerous studies on gas leakage and dispersion,but investigations of natural gas leakage and dispersion at the street intersection of a building group are not in-depth.In this paper,we presented a three-dimensional(3D)physical model based on the Computational Fluid Dynamic(CFD)methodology to study the natural gas leakage and dispersion at the street intersection of a building group.We validated the CFD methodology applied in the research based on the data from the field tests and wind tunnel experiments.Then,we simulated and analyzed the pressure,wind,and concentration of natural gas dispersion at the street intersection.The simulation results showed that vortex regions,low-pressure zones,and a building group effect could cause a build-up of natural gas concentration under perpendicular wind direction conditions.In addition,the area of hazardous region tended to increase first and then drop with the dispersion height.In the case of this study,the maximum area of hazardous region is 200 m2 located in the height of 55 m,which is the middle plane in the computational domain.The results in the paper can provide scientific references for the safe operation and emergency-management decisions of municipal gas.

Performance Investigation of the Solar Chimney Power Plants Heater Case Study in Aswan, Egypt

Solar collector is a thermal device that uses the heated air in the power generation and many engineering applications. The purpose of the present work is to study the performance and temperature distribution for the solar collector which uses heated air in solar chimney power generation that it consist of three parts, a turbine-generator unit which is used in the generation of electric energy, and cylindrical chimney is fixed vertically and finally a solar collector under the climatic conditions of Egypt-Aswan is studied. This site is specified as the hottest site because the nearest of this location from the Tropic of cancer. Experiments are performed in ten summer days of May and June 2015 with different solar radiations and clarity of the sky. Hourly values of global solar radiation and some meteorological data (temperature, pressure, velocity, etc.) for measuring days are obtained by measuring devices. Inlet and outlet temperatures of air from a solar collector and velocity at junction region. In this work, attempt has been made to present the effect of environmental factors such as ambient temperature, the clarity of the sky and solar radiation on the performance of solar collector. The temperature of the base and the cover of the solar collector, the variation of solar radiation, solar collector efficiency, heat transfer coefficient, the velocity at the junction region between the chimney base, the outlet of the solar collector and temperature distribution along the air heater are discussed. A prediction for the results of the solar collector were performed by using developed theoretical model was made by this study which is based on the previous works. The numerical study has used a commercial code CFX, ANSYS 16.1 to simulate the flow through the collector. The study show that the outlet air temperatures from the solar collector and the velocity at the junction are depending on the climate condition such as ambient temperature and solar radiation, the differences in air temperature at the solar collector ranging between 8° - 24°. It is concluded that the theoretical model is basically valid for the system under study, and theCFD simulation can be used conveniently to predict the performance of the system, the comparison between them and experimental result shows a good agreement.

On the Weissenberg effect of turbulence

Within the framework of the Navier–Stokes equations,the Weissenberg effect of turbulence is investigated.We begin with our investigation on the elastic effect of homogeneous turbulent shear flow.First,in the sense of Truesdell(Physics of Fluids,1964)on the natural time of materials,we derive the natural time of turbulence,and use it together with the natural viscosity of turbulence derived in the article of Huang et al.(Journal of Turbulence,2003)to define the natural Weissenberg number of turbulence as a measure of the elastic effect of homogeneous turbulence.Second,we define a primary Weissenberg number of turbulence,which in laminar flow reduces to the Weissenberg number widely applied in rheology to characterize the elasticity of visco-elastic fluids.Our analysis based on the experimental results of Tavoularis and Karnik(Journal of Fluid Mechanics,1989)indicates that the larger is the Weissenberg number of turbulence,the more elastic becomes the turbulent flow concerned.Furthermore,we put forth a general Weissenberg number of turbulence,which includes the primary Weissenberg number of turbulence as a special case,to measure the overall elastic effects of turbulence.Besides,it is shown that the general Weissenberg number can also be used to characterize the elastic effects of non-Newtonian fluids in laminar flow.

The efect of the couple stress parameter and Prandtl number on the transient natural convection flow over a vertical cylinder

An analysis is performed to study transient free convective boundary layer flow of a couple stress fluid over a vertical cylinder, in the absence of body couples. The solution of the time-dependent non-linear and coupled governing equations is carried out with the aid of an unconditionally stable Crank-Nicolson type of numerical scheme. Numerical results for the steady-state velocity, temperature as well as the time histories of the skin-friction coefficient and Nus- selt number are presented graphically and discussed. It is seen that for all flow variables as the couple stress control parameter, Co, is amplified, the time required for reaching the temporal maximum increases but the steady-state decreases.

Effects of Thermal Radiation and Radiation Absorption on Flow Past an Impulsively Started Infinite Vertical Plate with Newtonian Heating and Chemical Reaction

A perfect solution to the present natural convective flow problem of a vertical transfinite plate owing to the impulsive motion in the ubiety of first ordered chemical reaction, radiation absorption, radiation, Newtonian heating and species concentration in its plane is evolved by applying the method of Laplace transforms in closed form at the plate. Exact results for velocity, temperature, concentration fields are prevailed and expressions for heat and mass transfer rates are also found. The effects are analyzed for the respective invariables for both ammonia and water vapor.