Seismic behavior of breakwaters on complex ground by numerical tests:Liquefaction and post liquefaction ground settlements

A large number of breakwaters have been constructed along coasts to protect humans and infrastructures from tsunamis.There is a risk that foundation soils of these structures may liquefy,or partially liquefy during the earthquake preceding a tsunami,which would greatly reduce the structures’capacity to resist the tsunami.It is necessary to consider not only the soil’s liquefaction behavior due to earthquake motions but also its post-liquefaction behavior because this behavior will affect the breakwater’s capacity to resist an incoming tsunami.In this study,numerical tests based on a sophisticated constitutive model and a soil-water coupled finite element method are used to predict the mechanical behavior of breakwaters and the surrounding soils.Two real breakwaters subjected to two different seismic excitations are examined through numerical simulation.The simulation results show that,earthquakes affect not only the immediate behavior of breakwaters and the surrounding soils but also their long-term settlements due to post-earthquake consolidation.A soil profile with thick clayey layers beneath liquefied soil is more vulnerable to tsunami than a soil profile with only sandy layers.Therefore,quantitatively evaluating the seismic behavior of breakwaters and surrounding soils is important for the design of breakwater structures to resist tsunamis.

Numerical test of coastal frontogenesis

A two-dimensional mesoscale model is used to investigate the effect of background wind field andcharacter of the underlying surface on the coastal frontogenesis along the east continental coast when cold air outbreak. The results of numerical experiments indicate that the coastal frontogenesis mainly appears near ground atnight. When the background wind is easterly, it is favorable to coastal frontogenesis in the lower layer of the atmosphere. When the background wind is westerly, it is unfavorable to coastal frontogenesis in the lower layer of theatmosphere. The vertical shear of the background wind has important influence on the coastal frontogenesis. Thecoastal frontogenesis at lower layer at night is strengthened with increasing temperature difference between sea andair. The effect of coastal sloping terrain on the coastal frontogenesis is little when the topography sloping angle islesser.The analysis of the physical mechanism of frontogenesis shows that the main factor influencing the coastalfrontogenesis is the deformation field of horizontal wind speed.

A Transient-Pressure-Based Numerical Approach for Interlayer Identification in Sand Reservoirs

Almost all sandstone reservoirs contain interlayers. The identification and characterization of these interlayers iscritical for minimizing the uncertainty associated with oilfield development and improving oil and gas recovery.Identifying interlayers outside wells using identification methods based on logging data and machine learning isdifficult and seismic-based identification techniques are expensive. Herein, a numerical model based on seepageand well-testing theories is introduced to identify interlayers using transient pressure data. The proposed modelrelies on the open-source MATLAB Reservoir Simulation Toolbox. The effects of the interlayer thickness, position,and width on the pressure response are thoroughly investigated. A procedure for inverting interlayer parametersin the reservoir using the bottom-hole pressure is also proposed. This method uses only transient pressuredata during well testing and can effectively identify the interlayer distribution near the wellbore at an extremelylow cost. The reliability of the model is verified using effective oilfield examples.

SOME IMPROVED PROJECTED QUASI-NEWTON ALGORITHMS AND THEIR CONVERGENCE Ⅱ.LOCAL CONVERGENCE RATE AND NUMERICAL TESTS

For the improved two-sided projected quasi-Newton algorithms, which were presented in PartI, we prove in this paper that they are locally one-step or two-step superlinearly convergent. Numerical tests are reported thereafter. Results by solving a set of typical problems selectedfrom literature have demonstrated the extreme importance of these modifications in making Nocedal& Overton's original methon practical. Furthermore, these results show that the improved algoritnmsare very competitive in comparison with some highly praised sequential quadratic programmingmethods.

A numerical test method of California bearing ratio on graded crushed rocks using particle flow modeling

In order to better understand the mechanical properties of graded crushed rocks （GCRs） and to optimize the relevant design, a numerical test method based on the particle flow modeling technique PFC2D is developed for the California bearing ratio （CBR） test on GGRs. The effects of different testing conditions and micro-mechanical parameters used in the model on the CBR numerical results have been systematically studied. The reliability of the numerical technique is verified. The numerical results suggest that the influences of the loading rate and Poisson＇s ratio on the CBR numerical test results are not significant. As such, a loading rate of 1.0-3.0 mm/min, a piston diameter of 5 cm, a specimen height of 15 cm and a specimen diameter of 15 cm are adopted for the CBR numerical test. The numerical results reveal that the GBR values increase with the friction coefficient at the contact and shear modulus of the rocks, while the influence of Poisson＇s ratio on the GBR values is insignificant. The close agreement between the CBR numerical results and experimental results suggests that the numerical simulation of the CBR values is promising to help assess the mechanical properties of GGRs and to optimize the grading design. Be- sides, the numerical study can provide useful insights on the mesoscopic mechanism.

Application of Gaussian Beam Summation Migration in Reflected In-seam Wave Imaging

The geological conditions for coal mining in China are complex,with various structural issues such as faults and collapsed columns seriously compromising the safety of coal mine production.In-seam wave exploration is an effective technique for acquiring detailed information on geological structures in coal seam working faces.However,the existing reflected in-seam wave imaging technique can no longer meet the exploration precision requirements,making it imperative to develop a new reflected in-seam wave imaging technique.This study applies the Gaussian beam summation(GBS)migration method to imaging coal seams'reflected in-seam wave data.Firstly,with regard to the characteristics of the reflected in-seam wave data,methods such as wavefield removal and enveloped superposition are employed for the corresponding wavefield separation,wave train compression and other processing of reflected in-seam waves.Thereafter,imaging is performed using the GBS migration technique.The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method for reflected in-seam wave imaging are validated by conducting GBS migration tests on 3D coal-seam fault models with different dip angles and throws.By applying the method to reflected in-seam wave data for an actual coal seam working face,accurate imaging of a fault structure is obtained,thereby validating its practicality.

Numerical analysis on thermal conductivity of poly-mineral rock

In order to explore the thermal conductivity of the natural poly-mineral rock,numerical tests of rock models with randomly-distributed components were conducted and compared with each other.Elaborately designed Monte Carlo method was adopted to ingratiate the requirement of the random characteristics of grain size and the grains＇spatial distribution.This requirement was fulfilled by clustering the randomly generated unstructured tetrahedral elements in full three dimensions.Natural rocks are consisted of randomly distributed crystal particles or intergranular minerals.Our primary results verify that the thermal conductivity of the rock is strongly sensitive to the ingredients＇ volume fraction and their spatial distribution.Furthermore,we proved that,in order to reduce the measurement error to a reasonable range,the numerical specimen must be large enough or include sufficient number of mineral particles.Our numerical test results are in accordance with a variety of empirical formulas which are currently employed in petrology.

A varying time-step explicit numerical inte-gration algorithm for solving motion equa-tion

If a traditional explicit numerical integration algorithm is used to solve motion equation in the finite element simulation of wave motion, the time-step used by numerical integration is the smallest time-step restricted by the stability criterion in computational region. However, the excessively small time-step is usually unnecessary for a large portion of computational region. In this paper, a varying time-step explicit numerical integration algorithm is introduced, and its basic idea is to use different time-step restricted by the stability criterion in different computational region. Finally, the feasibility of the algorithm and its effect on calculating precision are verified by numerical test.

Approach for Obtaining Material Mechanical Properties in Local Region of Structure Based on Accurate Analysis of Micro-indentation Test

The hot or cold processing would induce the change and the inhomogeneous of the material mechanical properties in the local processing region of the structure,and it is difficult to obtain the specific mechanical properties in these regions by using the traditional material tensile test.To accurately get actual material mechanical properties in the local region of structure,a micro-indentation test system incorporated by an electronic universal material test device has been established.An indenter displacement sensor and a group of special micro-indenter assemblies are estab-lished.A numerical indentation inversion analysis method by using ABAQUS software is also proposed in this study.Based on the above test system and analysis platform,an approach to obtaining material mechanical properties in the local region of structures is proposed and established.The ball indentation test is performed and combined with the energy method by using various changed mechanical properties of 316L austenitic stainless steel under differ-ent elongations.The investigated results indicate that the material mechanical properties and the micro-indentation morphological changes have evidently relevance.Compared with the tensile test results,the deviations of material mechanical parameters,such as hardness H,the hardening exponent n,the yield strength σy and others are within 5%obtained through the indentation test and the finite element analysis.It provides an effective and convenient method for obtaining the actual material mechanical properties in the local processing region of the structure.

Numerical investigation of dual-porosity model with transient transfer function based on discrete-fracture model

Based on the characteristics of fractures in naturally fractured reservoir and a discrete-fracture model, a fracture network numerical well test model is developed. Bottom hole pressure response curves and the pressure field are obtained by solving the model equations with the finite-element method. By analyzing bottom hole pressure curves and the fluid flow in the pressure field, seven flow stages can be recognized on the curves. An upscaling method is developed to compare with the dual-porosity model （DPM）. The comparisons results show that the DPM overestimates the inter-porosity coefficient ）, and the storage factor w. The analysis results show that fracture conductivity plays a leading role in the fluid flow. Matrix permeability influences the beginning time of flow from the matrix to fractures. Fractures density is another important parameter controlling the flow. The fracture linear flow is hidden under the large fracture density. The pressure propagation is slower in the direction of larger fracture density.

Design and validation of the THMC China-Mock-Up test on buffer material for HLW disposal

According to the preliminary concept of the high-level radioactive waste （HLW） repository in China, a large-scale mock-up facility, named China-Mock-Up was constructed in the laboratory of Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology （BRIUG）. A heater, which simulates a container of radioactive waste, is placed inside the compacted Gaomiaozi （GMZ）-Na-bentonite blocks and pellets. Water inflow through the barrier from its outer surface is used to simulate the intake of groundwater. The numbers of water injection pipes, injection pressure and the insulation layer were determined based on the nu- merical modeling simulations. The current experimental data of the facility are herein analyzed. The experiment is intended to evaluate the thermo-hydro-mechano-chemical （THMC） processes occurring in the compacted bentonite-buffer during the early stage of HLW disposal and to provide a reliable database for numerical modeling and further investigation of engineered barrier system （EBS）, and the design of HLW repository.

Experiment and numerical simulation on the characteristics of fluid–structure interactions of non-rigid airships

Fluid-structure interaction is an important issue for non-rigid airships with inflated envelopes. In this study, a wind tunnel test is conducted, and a loosely coupled procedure is correspondingly established for numerical simulation based on computational fluid dynamics and nonlinear finite element analysis methods. The typical results of the numerical simulation and wind tunnel experiment, including the overall lift and deformation, are in good agreement with each other. The results obtained indicate that the effect of fluid-structure interaction is noticeable and should be considered for non-rigid airships. Flow- induced deformation can further intensify the upward lift force and pitching moment, which can lead to a large deformation. Under a wind speed of 15 m/s, the lift force of the non-rigid model is increased to approximatelv 60% compared with that of the rigid model under a high angle of attack.

Implementation of a Conservative Two-step Shape-Preserving Advection Scheme on a Spherical Icosahedral Hexagonal Geodesic Grid

An Eulerian flux-form advection scheme, called the Two-step Shape-Preserving Advection Scheme （TSPAS）, was generalized and implemented on a spherical icosahedral hexagonal grid （also referred to as a geodesic grid） to solve the transport equation. The C grid discretization was used for the spatial discretization. To implement TSPAS on an unstructured grid, the original finite-difference scheme was further generalized. The two-step integration utilizes a combination of two separate schemes （a low-order monotone scheme and a high-order scheme that typically cannot ensure monotonicity） to calculate the fluxes at the cell walls （one scheme corresponds to one cell wall）. The choice between these two schemes for each edge depends on a pre-updated scalar value using slightly increased fluxes. After the determination of an appropriate scheme, the final integration at a target cell is achieved by summing the fluxes that are computed by the different schemes. The conservative and shape-preserving properties of the generalized scheme are demonstrated. Numerical experiments are conducted at several horizontal resolutions. TSPAS is compared with the Flux Corrected Transport （FCT） approach to demonstrate the differences between the two methods, and several transport tests are performed to examine the accuracy, efficiency and robustness of the two schemes.

Genetic algorithm in seismic waveform inversion and its application in deep seismic sounding data interpretation

A genetic algorithm of body waveform inversion is presented for better understanding of crustal and upper mantle structures with deep seismic sounding （DSS） waveform data. General reflection and transmission synthetic seismogram algorithm, which is capable of calculating the response of thin alternating high and low velocity layers, is applied as a solution for forward modeling, and the genetic algorithm is used to find the optimal solution of the inverse problem. Numerical tests suggest that the method has the capability of resolving low-velocity layers, thin alternating high and low velocity layers, and noise suppression. Waveform inversion using P-wave records from Zeku, Xiahe and Lintao shots in the seismic wide-angle reflection/refraction survey along northeastern Qinghai-Xizang （Tibeteau） Plateau has revealed fine structures of the bottom of the upper crust and alternating layers in the middle/lower crust and topmost upper mantle.

Cracking behaviors and strength of rock-like samples with steps of different geometries under shear stress

Steps are distinctive features for estimating the movement of the upper and lower block of faults.However,studies about the influence of steps as a special type of discontinuity on cracking behaviors and strength of rock masses are limited.In this research,rock-like samples with steps and preexisting flaws were fabricated.Step height h and the inclination angle of gentle slope of the stepαwere set to different values.Direct shear tests were conducted on these samples under different normal stresses.The experimental results reveal that the inclination angle of the gentle slope of the stepα,step height h,and normal stress have an influence on the strength,crack initiation,and crack propagation of the samples.The experimental results show that crack behaviors and shear strength were affected by step inclination anglesαand step height h.As the normal stress increases,the improvement of the strength of samples with a large step height is larger than that of samples with a small step height,the improvement of the strength of samples withαof 10°is larger than that of samples withαof 0°and-10°.The discrete element method was used to simulate the shear test.Numerical results show five different types of displacement vectors,which can be used to determine whether the cracks are tensile cracks or shear cracks.The above conclusions can provide help for estimating mechanical properties and failure modes of rock masses with steps of different geometries.

Processing and analysis of transient pressure measurements from permanent down-hole gauges

With permanent down-hole gauges （PDGs） widely installed in oilfields around the world in recent years, a continuous stream of transient pressure data in real time is now available, which motivates a new round of research interests in further developing pressure transient processing and analysis techniques. Transient pressure measurements from PDG are characterized by long term and high volume data. These data are recorded under unconstrained circumstances, so effects due to noise, rate fluctuation and interference from other wells cannot be avoided. These effects make the measured pressure trends decline or rise and then obscure or distort the actual flow behavior, which makes subsequent analysis difficult. In this paper, the problems encountered in analysis of PDG transient pressure are investigated. A newly developed workflow for processing and analyzing PDG transient pressure data is proposed. Numerical well testing synthetic studies are performed to demonstrate these procedures. The results prove that this new technique works well and the potential for practical application looks very promising.

Study on Possible Mechanism of Terrain Influence on Cold-flow Snowstorm

[Objective] The research aimed to study the possible mechanism of terrain effect on cold-flow snowstorm.[Method] By using the meso-scale numerical model(WRF),a cold-flow snowstorm weather process in Shandong Peninsula was carried out numerical simulation and terrain sensitivity contrast test.The possible reason of terrain effect on falling zone and strength of snowstorm was deeply analyzed from water vapor,thermodynamic field and so on.[Result] The mountain terrain in Shandong Peninsula had great influences on falling zone and strength of cold-flow snowstorm.The strength of snowstorm obviously increased,and the snowfall center obviously moved northward.The main reason was that terrain caused the low-level wind field convergence and vertical movement in the troposphere strengthened.Then,the spatial distribution of water vapor and snow water content in the cold-flow snowstorm process obviously changed.So,the whole snowstorm process was affected.[Conclusion] The mountain terrain in Shandong Peninsula was the important element which needed to be focused on considering in the forecast analysis of cold-flow snowstorm weather process.

A new numerical well testing approach: Application to characterization of complex fault structures

Fluid flow in hydrocarbon reservoirs and consequently optimum scenario for hydrocarbon production,is heavily influenced by reservoir heterogeneities.Faults are one of the most common types of heterogeneity found in reservoirs.Leaky faults,baffles(limited extent faults)and complex multiple fault geometries are among the most complicated and important types of faults that are difficult to characterize.Leaky faults,unlike the sealing faults,are in partial communication with other portions of the reservoir.Because of faults'effect on reservoir connectivity and possible infill drilling plan for accessing all parts of the reservoirs,possible communication across the fault must be precisely modeled.In order to detect the effect of a fault on communication within the reservoir,we need to analyze dynamic data.There are a few analytical methods for modelling partially communicating faults,however,these methods may not be accurate enough and may be limited in application,especially in complex situations.Numerical methods(i.e.finite difference or finite element)are also not computationally economical when a large number of grid blocks are simulated.In the current work,the Fast Marching Method(FMM)is applied to effectively mimic fluid flow in the heterogeneous areas,such as complex faults.It is shown that FMM can capture the effect of different fault configurations on the bottom hole pressure and is also able to capture different linear,radial and spherical flows.

Evaluation of gas condensate reservoir behavior using velocity dependent relative permeability during the numerical well test analysis

Gas condensate is one of the most different fluids in reservoir simulation due to retrograde condensation in case of pressure reduction.In this kind of fluids,two phenomena named negative inertia and positive coupling,become significant in the high velocity zone around the wellbore.In this study,a modified black oil simulator is developed that take into account the velocity dependent relative permeability.Against the industrial simulator that assumes linear variation of transmissibilities by pressure,modified black oil nonlinear equations are solved directly without linearization.The developed code is validated by ECLIPSE simulator.The behavior of two real gas condensate fluids,a lean and a rich one,are compared with each other.For each fluid,simulations of PVT experiments are carried out to calculate black oil property applying Coats approach for gas condensate fluids.For both fluids,the proposed models for gas condensate velocity dependent relative permeability show different influence of velocity on relative permeability in the same conditions.Moreover,it is observed that higher flow rate of gas production leads to more condensate production during constant rate well testing.

A NUMERICAL MODEL OF OFFSHORE CURRENTS AND SOME TESTS

In this paper,a simple numerical model of offshore currents is presented. A calculation scheme based on the isometric,implicit difference method is used and the points at which various physical quantities are computed are distributed in a staggered form.The finite difference scheme designed here conserve total generalized energy and it is solved by splitting into three systems,namely,the adjustment,development and dissipation processes.The results of the numerical verification indicate that this scheme is computational stable,and the simulated results are encouraging.