A stable implicit nodal integration-based particle finite element method(N-PFEM)for modelling saturated soil dynamics

In this study,we present a novel nodal integration-based particle finite element method(N-PFEM)designed for the dynamic analysis of saturated soils.Our approach incorporates the nodal integration technique into a generalised Hellinger-Reissner(HR)variational principle,creating an implicit PFEM formulation.To mitigate the volumetric locking issue in low-order elements,we employ a node-based strain smoothing technique.By discretising field variables at the centre of smoothing cells,we achieve nodal integration over cells,eliminating the need for sophisticated mapping operations after re-meshing in the PFEM.We express the discretised governing equations as a min-max optimisation problem,which is further reformulated as a standard second-order cone programming(SOCP)problem.Stresses,pore water pressure,and displacements are simultaneously determined using the advanced primal-dual interior point method.Consequently,our numerical model offers improved accuracy for stresses and pore water pressure compared to the displacement-based PFEM formulation.Numerical experiments demonstrate that the N-PFEM efficiently captures both transient and long-term hydro-mechanical behaviour of saturated soils with high accuracy,obviating the need for stabilisation or regularisation techniques commonly employed in other nodal integration-based PFEM approaches.This work holds significant implications for the development of robust and accurate numerical tools for studying saturated soil dynamics.

GURTIN VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLE AND FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION FOR DYNAMICAL PROBLEMS OF FLUID-SATURATED POROUS MEDIA

Based on the theory of porous media, a general Gurtin variational principle for the initial boundary value problem of dynamical response of fluid-saturated elastic porous media is developed by assuming infinitesimal deformation and incompressible constituents of the solid and fluid phase. The finite element formulation based on this variational principle is also derived. As the functional of the variational principle is a spatial integral of the convolution formulation, the general finite element discretization in space results in symmetrical differential-integral equations in the time domain. In some situations, the differential-integral equations can be reduced to symmetrical differential equations and, as a numerical example, it is employed to analyze the reflection of one-dimensional longitudinal wave in a fluid-saturated porous solid. The numerical results can provide further understanding of the wave propagation in porous media.

THE NON-AXISYMMETRICAL DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF TRANSVERSELY ISOTROPIC SATURATED POROELASTIC MEDIA

The Blot's wave equations of transversely isotropic saturated poroelastic media excited hy non-axisymmetrical harmonic source were solved by means of Fourier expansion and Hankel transform. Then the components of total stress in porous media are expressed with the solutions of Biot's wave equations. The method of research on non-axisymmetrical dynamic response of saturated porous media is discussed, and a numerical result is presented.

Response of saturated porous media subjected to local thermal loading on the surface of semi-infinite space

Heat source function method is adopted in the present paper to derive elementary solutions of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical consolidation for saturated porous media under conjunct actions of instantaneous point heat source, instantaneous point fluid source and constant volume force. By using the so-called fictitious heat source method and images method, the solutions of a semi-infinite saturated porous medium subjected to a local heat source with time-varied intensity on its free surface are developed from elementary solutions. The numerical integral methods for calculating the unsteady temperature, pore pressure and displacement fields are given. The thermomechanical response are analyzed for the case of a circular planar heat source. Besides, the thermal consolidation characteristics of a saturated porous medium subjected to a harmonic thermal loading are also given, and the fluctuation processes of the field variables located below the center of heat source are analyzed.

THE NON-AXISYMMETRICAL DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF TRANSVERSELY ISOTROPIC SATURATED POROELASTIC MEDIA

The Biot’s wave equations of transversely isotropic saturated poroelastic media excited by non_axisymmetrical harmonic source were solved by means of Fourier expansion and Hankel transform. Then the components of total stress in porous media are expressed with the solutions of Biot’s wave equations. The method of research on non_axisymmetrical dynamic response of saturated porous media is discussed, and a numerical result is presented.

A wavelet finite-difference method for numerical simulation of wave propagation in fluid-saturated porous media

In this paper, we consider numerical simulation of wave propagation in fluidsaturated porous media. A wavelet finite-difference method is proposed to solve the 2-D elastic wave equation. The algorithm combines flexibility and computational efficiency of wavelet multi-resolution method with easy implementation of the finite-difference method. The orthogonal wavelet basis provides a natural framework, which adapt spatial grids to local wavefield properties. Numerical results show usefulness of the approach as an accurate and stable tool for simulation of wave propagation in fluid-saturated porous media.

PARAMETERS INVERSION OF FLUID-SATURATED POROUS MEDIA BASED ON NEURAL NETWORKS

The multi- layers feedforward neural network is used for inversion ofmaterial constants of fluid-saturated porous media. The direct analysis of fluid-saturated porousmedia is carried out with the boundary element method. The dynamic displacement responses obtainedfrom direct analysis for prescribed material parameters constitute the sample sets training neuralnetwork. By virtue of the effective L-M training algorithm and the Tikhonov regularization method aswell as the GCV method for an appropriate selection of regu-larization parameter, the inversemapping from dynamic displacement responses to material constants is performed. Numerical examplesdemonstrate the validity of the neural network method.

Petroleum Hydrocarbon Transport through Saturated-unsaturated Media: A Numerical Model and Practice

The mathematical model of migration of total petroleum hydrocarbons in unsaturated media was described,including convection,molecular diffusion,mechanical dispersion and adsorption,and chemical reactions.By finite element method,a numerical model of evaluating petroleum hydrocarbon migration through contaminated soils was created and applied to the environmental investigations of a relocated mechanical factory in Shanghai.The model consisted of three compacted soil layers:plain fill,sandy silt and silty clay.The results showed that pollutants in the sandy silt traveled faster than that in the plain fill and silty clay.The same decreasing trend of migration velocity was observed in all of the three soil layers.After 180 d,the concentrations of pollutants in the sandy silt can be as low as 40% of the original maximum,while its counterpart in the silty clay is 64%.

Vibrating Liquefaction Experiment and Mechanism Study in Saturated Granular Media

By the vibrating liquefaction experiment of tailings and fine-ores of iron, it is observed and noted that the change of pore water pressure when the vibrating liquefaction takes place. Based on relevant suppositions, the equation of wave propagation in saturated granular media is obtained. This paper postulates the potential vector equation and the velocity expression of three kinds of body waves under normal conditions. Utilizing the wave theory and the experimental results, the influence of three body waves on pore water pressure and granules has been analyzed in detail. This revealed the rapid increment mechanism of pore water pressure and the wave mechanism of vibrating liquefaction.

Interaction of Airy–Gaussian beams in saturable media

Based on the nonlinear Schr o¨dinger equation, the interactions of the two Airy–Gaussian components in the incidence are analyzed in saturable media, under the circumstances of the same amplitude and different amplitudes, respectively. It is found that the interaction can be both attractive and repulsive depending on the relative phase. The smaller the interval between two Airy–Gaussian components in the incidence is, the stronger the intensity of the interaction. However, with the equal amplitude, the symmetry is shown and the change of quasi-breathers is opposite in the in-phase case and out-of-phase case. As the distribution factor is increased, the phenomena of the quasi-breather and the self-accelerating of the two Airy–Gaussian components are weakened. When the amplitude is not equal, the image does not have symmetry. The obvious phenomenon of the interaction always arises on the side of larger input power in the incidence. The maximum intensity image is also simulated. Many of the characteristics which are contained within other images can also be concluded in this figure.

Water transfer characteristics during methane hydrate formation and dissociation processes inside saturated sand

Gas hydrates formation and dissociation processes inside porous media are always accompanied by water transfer behavior, which is similar to the water behavior of ice freezing and thawing processes. These processes have been studied by many researchers, but all the studies are so far on the water transfer characteristics outside porous media and the water transfer characteristics inside porous media have been little known. In this study, in order to study the water transfer characteristics inside porous media during methane hydrate formation and dissociation processes, a novel apparatus with three pF-meter sensors which can detect water content changes inside porous media was applied. It was experimentally observed that methane hydrate formation processes were accompanied by water transfer from bottom to top inside porous media, however, the water behavior during hydrate dissociation processes was abnormal, for which more studies are needed to find out the real reason in our future work.

Experimental Study on Mechanism of Depressurizing Dissociation of Methane Hydrate under Saturated Pore Fluid

Sediment-hosted hydrate reservoir often contains saturated pore fluid, which changes the heat transfer and mass transfer characteristics of the hydrate reservoir. The exploitation of hydrate under saturated pore fluid using depressurization is simulated experimentally to investigate the influence of particle size of porous media, dissociation temperature, pressure drop and injected fluid type on gas production behavior. Homogeneous methane hydrate was firstly formed in frozen quartz sand. With the formed hydrate sample, hydrate dissociation experiments by depressurization were conducted. The test results showed that the gas production rate of hydrate under saturated pore fluid was substantially influenced by the particle size, the pressure drop and the injected fluid type, while it was influenced little by the dissociation temperature. The hydrate dissociates faster under larger pressure drop and in the presence of smaller porous media within the experimental region. The dissociation rate increases with an increasing fluid salinity in the initial stage, while it decreases in the later stage. The increase of gas diffusion resistance resulted from ionic hydration atmosphere in saturated chloride solution impeded the dissociation of hydrate. It can be solved by increasing the pressure drop and decreasing the fluid salinity in the process of gas recovery from hydrate reservoir.

Dynamic and quasi-static bending of saturated poroelastic Timoshenko cantilever beam

Based on the three-dimensional Gurtin-type variational principle of the incompressible saturated porous media, a one-dimensional mathematical model for dynamics of the saturated poroelastic Timoshenko cantilever beam is established with two assumptions, i.e., the deformation satisfies the classical single phase Timoshenko beam and the movement of the pore fluid is only in the axial direction of the saturated poroelastic beam. Under some special cases, this mathematical model can be degenerated into the Euler-Bernoulli model, the Rayleigh model, and the shear model of the saturated poroelastic beam, respectively. The dynamic and quasi-static behaviors of a saturated poroelastic Timoshenko cantilever beam with an impermeable fixed end and a permeable free end subjected to a step load at its free end are analyzed by the Laplace transform. The variations of the deflections at the beam free end against time are shown in figures. The influences of the interaction coefficient between the pore fluid and the solid skeleton as well as the slenderness ratio of the beam on the dynamic/quasi-static performances of the beam are examined. It is shown that the quasi-static deflections of the saturated poroelastic beam possess a creep behavior similar to that of viscoelastic beams. In dynamic responses, with the increase of the slenderness ratio, the vibration periods and amplitudes of the deflections at the free end increase, and the time needed for deflections approaching to their stationary values also increases. Moreover, with the increase of the interaction coefficient, the vibrations of the beam deflections decay more strongly, and, eventually, the deflections of the saturated poroelastic beam converge to the static deflections of the classic single phase Timoshenko beam.

Vertical vibrations of elastic foundation resting on saturated half-space

This paper is mainly concerned with the dynamic response of an elastic foundation of finite height bounded to the surface of a saturated half-space. The foundation is subjected to time-harmonic vertical loadings. First, the transform solutions for the governing equations of the saturated media are obtained. Then, based on the assumption that the contact between the foundation and the half-space is fully relaxed and the halfspace is completely pervious or impervious, this dynamic mixed boundary-value problem can lead to dual integral equations, which can be further reduced to the Predhohn integral equations of the second kind and solved by numerical procedures. In the numerical extortples, the dynamic colnpliances, displacements and pore pressure are developed for a wide range of frequencies and material/geometrical properties of the saturated soil-foundation system. In most of the cases, the dynamic behavior of an elastic foundation resting on the saturated media significantly differs from that of a rigid disc on the saturated half-space. The solutions obtained can be used to study a variety of wave propagation problems and dynamic soil-structure interactions.

Bending of simply supported incompressible saturated poroelastic beams with axial diffusion

Based on the mathematical model of the bending of the incompressible saturated poroelastic beam with axial diffusion, the qUasi-static bendings of the simply supported poroelastic beam subjected to a suddenly applied constant load were investigated, and the analytical solutions were obtained for different diffusion conditions of the pore fluid at the beam ends. The deflections, the bending moments of the solid skeleton and the equivalent couples of the pore pressures were presented in figures. It is also shown that the behavior of the saturated poroelastic beams depends closely on the diffusion conditions at the beam ends, especially for the equivalent couples of the pore pressures. It is found that the Mandel-Cryer effect also exists in the bending of the saturated poroelastic beams under specific diffusion conditions at the beam ends.

Digital image processing of saturation for two-phase flow in planar porous media model

In this paper, the accuracy of estimating stained non-wetting phase saturation using digital image processing is examined, and a novel post-processing approach for calculating threshold is presented. In order to remove the effect of the background noise of images and to enhance the high-frequency component of the original image, image smoothing and image sharpening methods are introduced. Depending on the correct threshold, the image binarization processing is particularly useful for estimating stained non-wetting phase saturation. Calculated saturation data are compared with the measured saturation data during the two-phase flow experiment in an artificial steel planar porous media model. The results show that the calculated saturation data agree with the measured ones. With the help of an artificial steel planar porous media model, digital image processing is an accurate and simple method for obtaining the stained non-wetting phase saturation.

Visualization of CO_2 and oil immiscible and miscible flow processes in porous media using NMR micro-imaging

CO2 flooding is considered not only one of the most effective enhanced oil recovery （EOR） methods, but also an important alternative for geological CO2 storage. In this paper, the visualization of CO2 flooding was studied using a 400 MHz NMR micro-imaging system. For gaseous CO2 immiscible displacement, it was found that CO2 channeling or fingering occurred due to the difference of fluid viscosity and density. Thus, the sweep efficiency was small and the final residual oil saturation was 53.1%. For supercritical CO2 miscible displacement, the results showed that piston-like displacement occurred, viscous fingering and the gravity override caused by the low viscosity and density of the gas was effectively restrained, and the velocity of CO2 front was uniform. The sweep efficiency was so high that the final residual oil saturation was 33.9%, which indicated CO2 miscible displacement could enhance oil recovery more than CO2 immiscible displacement. In addition, the average velocity of CO2 front was evaluated through analyzing the oil saturation profile. A special core analysis method has been applied to in-situ oil saturation data to directly evaluate the local Darcy phase velocities and capillary dispersion rate.

Study of the permeability characteristics of porous media with methane hydrate by pore network model

The permeability in the methane hydrate reservoir is one of the key parameters in estimating the gas production performance and the flow behavior of gas and water during dissociation.In this paper,a three-dimensional cubic pore-network model based on invasion percolation is developed to study the effect of hydrate particle formation and growth habit on the permeability.The variation of permeability in porous media with different hydrate saturation is studied by solving the network problem.The simulation results are well consistent with the experimental data.The proposed model predicts that the permeability will reduce exponentially with the increase of hydrate saturation,which is crucial in developing a deeper understanding of the mechanism of hydrate formation and dissociation in porous media.

Numerical simulation of two-phase flow in fractured porous media using streamline simulation and IMPES methods and comparing results with a commercial software

Streamline simulation is developed to simulate waterflooding in fractured reservoirs. Conventional reservoir simulation methods for fluid flow simulation in large and complex reservoirs are very costly and time consuming. In streamline method, transport equations are solved on one-dimensional streamlines to reduce the computation time with less memory for simulation. First, pressure equation is solved on an Eulerian grid and streamlines are traced. Defining the "time of flight", saturation equations are mapped and solved on streamlines. Finally, the results are mapped back on Eulerian grid and the process is repeated until the simulation end time. The waterflooding process is considered in a fractured reservoir using the dual porosity model. Afterwards, a computational code is developed to solve the same problem by the IMPES method and the results of streamline simulation are compared to those of the IMPES and a commercial software. Finally, the accuracy and efficiency of streamline simulator for simulation of two-phase flow in fractured reservoirs has been proved.

The synthesis of 2′-amino-5α-cholest-6-eno [6,7-d]-thiazole derivatives under microwave irradiation using dry-media conditions

A convenient, rapid and efficient method for the synthesis of substituted steroidal [6,7-d] thiazoles using microwave-induced organic reaction enhancement chemistry has been developed. The additional features of this methodology include a much faster reaction, easy workup, high yield, high purity of the products and an environment friendly approach.