Hydraulic experiment on mushroom head in bottom-blown smelting furnace

There are many bottom-blown smelting furnaces in metallurgical industry. When oxygen or air sprays from the jet nozzle into the bottom of the furnace, the melting phase will be frozen and a hemispherical porous zone with a mushroom head shape will be formed around the nozzle. The mushroom head can pro- tect the jet nozzle and mitigate the liquid spray on the surface of melt. In order to analyze the formation process of a mushroom head in the bottom-blown smelting furnaces, a hydraulic experiment system was designed and the formation of the mushroom head was investigated by hydraulic experiment. The hydrau- lic experiment results show that the formation process is mainly divided into generating crushing genera- ting process and stable mushroom head generation process. The formation of stable mushroom head re- quires certain thermodynamic condition and water splash is more intense without a mushroom head than with a mushroom head. The size, porosity and diameter of the mushroom head are affected by the flow rate, temperature and heat capacity of the bottom-blowing gas and the temperature of the superheat and the physical parameters of the melt.

Mutual impact of true triaxial stress, borehole orientation and bedding inclination on laboratory hydraulic fracturing of Lushan shale

Unconventional resources like shale gas has been the focus of intense research and development for two decades. Apart from intrinsic geologic factors that control the gas shale productivity (e.g. organic matter content, bedding planes, natural fractures, porosity and stress regime among others), external factors like wellbore orientation and stimulation design play a role. In this study, we present a series of true triaxial hydraulic fracturing experiments conducted on Lushan shale to investigate the interplay of internal factors (bedding, natural fractures and in situ stress) and external factors (wellbore orientation) on the growth process of fracture networks in cubic specimens of 200 mm in length. We observe relatively low breakdown pressure and fracture propagation pressure as the wellbore orientation and/or the maximum in situ stress is subparallel to the shale bedding plane. The wellbore orientation has a more prominent effect on the breakdown pressure, but its effect is tapered with increasing angle of bedding inclination. The shale breakdown is followed by an abrupt response in sample displacement, which reflects the stimulated fracture volume. Based on fluid tracer analysis, the morphology of hydraulic fractures (HF) is divided into four categories. Among the categories, activation of bedding planes (bedding failure, BF) and natural fractures (NF) significantly increase bifurcation and fractured areas. Under the same stress regime, a horizontal wellbore is more favorable to enhance the complexity of hydraulic fracture networks. This is attributed to the relatively large surface area in contact with the bedding plane for the horizontal borehole compared to the case with a vertical wellbore. These findings provide important references for hydraulic fracturing design in shale reservoirs.

Using Hydraulic Engineering Model Experiment to Study the Sediment Trapping Efficiency of Adjustable Check Dam

The construction of fully closed check dam (CD) is a conventional flood prevention mechanism implemented on rivers. Fully closed CDs trap large amounts of sediments in rivers to stabilize the river slopes and control erosion. However, fully closed CDs cannot selectively trap sediment and may easily overflow, causing them to losing their ability to mediate and hold sediments. Previous studies proposed the concept of “breathable CDs”. The researcher introduced metal slit dam (SD) that could be assembled and disassembled quickly and conveniently. Once a CD reaches maximum capacity, operators must ensure that the water channels of the dam are free from blockage. Moreover, they must inspect the internal accumulation conditions of the dam periodically or immediately following heavy typhoon rains. When necessary, either the sediment buildup in the upriver blockage must be cleared, or the transverse structure of the dam must be removed to allow fine particles to be discharged along with a moderate amount of water. These actions can free up the sediment-storing capacity of the dam for the next heavy typhoon rains. In addition, operators should also inspect the damages inflicted on the dam, such as erosion, wear and tear, and deformation conditions. Damaged components should be disassembled and repaired if possible, or recycled and reused. The present study performed channel tests to simulate closed CDs, SDs, steel pipe dam (SPDs), and steel pipe plus slit dam (SPSDs) for 50-year and 100-year frequency floods. Results were then analyzed to determine the sediment trapping (ST) effects of various CDs, the effects of “adjustable CDs”, and the changes of moderated riverbeds.

Laboratory investigation on hydraulic fracture propagation in sandstone-mudstone-shale layers

During the stimulating unconventional reservoirs, the vertical propagation of hydraulic fractures is crucial for enlarging the stimulated reservoir volume, especially in multi-layers of sandstone, mudstone and shale(sand-mud-shale). To investigate the effects of lithological interface and fracturing fluid viscosity on the fracture propagation vertically in the multi-layers, hydraulic fracturing experiments in laboratory were performed on the outcrop samples of 30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm collected from Yanchang Formation in Ordos Basin. The results show that hydraulic fractures are multi-branched and zig-zagged when they initiate in shale, simple when they commence in sandstone or mudstone. Hydraulic fractures created with low-viscosity fracturing fluid can only cross sandstone from mudstone, but those induced by high-viscosity fracturing fluid can cross the sand-mud-shale layers. Furthermore, the high-viscosity fracturing fluid reduces the fractures complexity in shale, facilitating vertical fracture propagation. The injection pressure fluctuates slightly as the hydraulic fracture extends from shale to sandstone or mudstone, otherwise it fluctuates significantly. From the laboratory investigation, a hydraulic fracturing scheme for Chang 7 Member was proposed, with its feasibility proved in field tests.

Experimental study of drag reduction in flumes and spillway tunnels

Experiments in an open flume model and spillway tunnel model were carried out using drag reduction techniques. Two drag reduction techniques were adopted in the experiments： polymer addition and coating. The drag reduction effect of a polyacrylamide （PAM） solution and dimethyl silicone oil coating were studied in the flume model experiments, and the results were analyzed. Experiments were then carded out with a model of the Xilnodu Hydropower Station, the second largest dam in China. In order to reduce the resistance, the spillway tunnels were internally coated with dimethyl silicone oil. This is the first time that these drag reduction techniques have been applied to so large a hydraulic model. The experimental results show that the coating technique can effectively increase flood discharge. The outlet velocity and the jet trajectory distance are also increased, which enhances the energy dissipation of the spillway tunnel.

Study on anisotropy of Longmaxi shale using hydraulic fracturing experiment

Hydraulic fracturing reservoir reconstruction technology is crucial in the development of shale gas exploitation techniques.Large quantities of high-pressure fluids injected into shale reservoirs significantly alter compressional(P)and shear(S)wave velocities,rock mechanical parameters,and anisotropic characteristics.In this study,differentiated hydraulic fracturing petrophysical experiments were carried out on Longmaxi Formation shale under pseudo-triaxial stress loading conditions.The effects of stress loading methods,and water-rock physical and chemical reactions on P-and S-wave velocities and rock mechanical parameters were compared.The experimental results showed that isotropic stress loading may increase the P-and Swave velocities and Young’s modulus of dry shale kldnsample.Furthermore,it may lead to a weakening of the corresponding anisotropy.In contrast,differential stress loading was able to improve the anisotropy of Young’s modulus and accelerate the decrease in the compressive strength of shale in the vertical bedding direction.The water-rock physical and chemical reactions prompted by hydraulic fracturing was found to"soften"shale samples and reduce Young’s modulus.The influence of this"soften"effect on the compressional and shear wave velocities of shale was negligible,whilst there was a significant decrease in the anisotropy characteristics of Thomsen parameters,Young’s modulus,and Poisson’s ratio.The negative linear relationship between the Poisson’s ratios of the shale samples was also observed to lose sensitivity to stress loading,as a result of the"soften"effect of fracturing fluid on shale.The results of this study provide a reliable reference point and data support for future research on the mechanical properties of Longmaxi shale rocks.

LABORATORY STUDIES ON WAVE FORCE OF COASTAL STRUCTURES MADE OF FLAT GEOTUBES

Flat geotubes are widely used for coastal structures such as seawalls, breakwaters and sightseeing groins, etc.. However, the understanding of the stable mechanism involved in the wave-structure interactions should be deepened, and one of the important work is to clarify the stress state of the structure under the wave action. In this article, wave force acting on coastal structures made of flat geotube is experimentally investigated. The required drag, inertia and lift coefficients are especially analyzed from the results of hydraulic model experiments specially designed for geotube structure. Several types of structures made of flat geotubes under wave action have been tested in order to understand the stress state of the geotube fixed to force transducer within different structures. Experimental results show that the wave-induced forces on the instrumented geotube are markedly influenced by wave elements. Meanwhile, the magnitude of horizontal force of adjoining geotube is different at the same time.