Effect of dual and new generation wide-base tire assembly on inverted pavements

The conventional flexible pavements have been constructed such that the stiffness of the layer reduces with depth.The crust thickness becomes significantly high for heavy traffic corridors resulting in the consumption of large quantities of construction materials and also increasing environmental pollution.Inverted pavements with the aggregate interlayer(AIL)or stress absorbing membrane interlayer(SAMI)are considered to be one of the alternatives for thick conventional flexible pavements for heavy traffic corridors.The AIL or SAMI is placed between a stiff cement-treated base and asphalt concrete layer to function as crack relief layers.This change in the composition alters the behaviour of inverted pavements compared to the conventional flexible pavements.On the other hand,wide-base tires are being increasingly preferred by trucking industries due to increased fuel economy and cargo capacity.However,the effect of wide-base tires on the performance of inverted pavements is yet to be investigated.In this study,the 3D finite element(FE)models of inverted pavements considering different crack relief layers were developed,and load from dual-wheel and wide-base tires were applied.The stress-strain evolution in the various layers of inverted pavements was investigated and discussed in this study.The results indicated the higher stress and strains due to wide base tires compared to the dual-wheel assembly.Further,pavement with SAMI was found to result in lower stress and strains in the asphalt concrete layer compared to AIL pavements.

Pullout of the Cylindrical Helicoidal Fiber

The multi-layer cylindrical helicoidal fiber structure(MCHFS)exists widely in biological materials such as bone and wood at the microscale.MCHFSs typically function as reinforcing elements to enhance the toughness of materials.In this study,we establish a shear lag-based pullout model of the cylindrical helicoidal fiber(CHF)for investigating interlayer stress transfer and debonding behaviors,with implications regarding the underlying toughening mechanism of MCHFS.Based on the shear lag assumptions,analytical solutions for the stress and displacement fields of the MCHFS during the pullout are derived by considering the CHF as a cylindrically monoclinic material and verified through the 3D finite element simulation.It is found that the helical winding of CHF results in both axial and hoop interlayer shear stresses.Both the helical winding angle and the elastic moduli of the fiber and matrix have significant influences on interlayer stress transfer.This work reveals a new interlayer stress transfer mechanism in the MCHFS existing widely in biological materials.

The Hydraulic Fracturing Optimization for Stacked Tight Gas Reservoirs Using Multilayers and Multiwells Fracturing Strategies

Based on a geology-engineering sweet spot evaluation,the high-quality reservoir zones and horizontal well landing points were determined.Subsequently,fracture propagation and production were simulated with a multilayer fracturing scenario.The optimal hydraulic fracturing strategy for themultilayer fracturing networkwas determined by introducing a vertical asymmetry factor.This strategy aimed to minimize stress shadowing effects in the vertical direction while maximizing the stimulated reservoir volume(SRV).The study found that the small vertical layer spacing of high-quality reservoirs and the presence of stress-masking layers(with a stress difference of approximately 3∼8 MPa)indicate that interlayer stress interference from multilayers and multiwells fracturing between neighboring developed formations could affect the longitudinal propagation of the reservoirs.In addition,this study investigated well spacing optimization by comparing uniformly spaced wells(100–300 m)with asymmetric spaced wells(200 m upper layer,250 m lower layer).Numerical results indicated that asymmetric spaced well placement yielded the largest stimulated reservoir volume(SRV)of 73,082 m^(3),representing a 65.42%increase compared to 100 m spaced wells.Furthermore,four different hydraulic fracturing sequences(interlayer,up-down,down-up,and center-edge)were compared for multilayer and multiwell networks.The center-edge sequence exhibited the lowest vertical asymmetry factor(0.71)and the least stress shadowing effects compared to the other sequences(0.78 for interlayer,0.75 for up-down,and 0.76 for down-up).This sequence also achieved the largest SRV(486,194m^(3)),representing an 11.87%increase compared to the down-up sequence.Therefore,the center-edge fracturing sequence is recommended formultilayer development in this block.These results offer valuable insights for optimizing well placement and fracturing sequence design in multilayer well networks,ultimately advancing the development of multilayer fracturing technology in the region.