Influence of Incomplete Soil Plugs on Bearing Capacities of Bucket Foundations in Clay

Due to the uneven seabed and heaving of soil during pumping,incomplete soil plugs may occur during the installation of bucket foundations,and the impacts on the bearing capacities of bucket foundations need to be evaluated.In this paper,the contact ratio(the ratio of the top diameter of the soil plug to the diameter of the bucket)and the soil plug ratio(the ratio of the soil heave height to the skirt height)are defined to describe the shape and size of the incomplete soil plug.Then,finite element models are established to investigate the bearing capacities of bucket foundations with incomplete soil plugs and the influences of the contact ratios,and the soil plug ratios on the bearing capacities are analyzed.The results show that the vertical bearing capacity of bucket foundations in homogeneous soil continuously improves with the increase of the contact ratio.However,in normally consolidated soil,the vertical bearing capacity barely changes when the contact ratio is smaller than 0.75,while the bearing capacity suddenly increases when the contact ratio increases to 1 due to the change of failure mode.The contact ratio hardly affects the horizontal bearing capacity of bucket foundations.Moreover,the moment bearing capacity improves with the increase of the contact ratio for small aspect ratios,but hardly varies with increasing contact ratio for aspect ratios larger than 0.5.Consequently,the reduction coefficient method is proposed based on this analysis to calculate the bearing capacities of bucket foundations considering the influence of incomplete soil plugs.The comparison results show that the proposed reduction coefficient method can be used to evaluate the influences of incomplete soil plug on the bearing capacities of bucket foundations.

Study on Chrome-free Purging Plugs for Steel Ladles

Purging plug refractories in China typically contain around 3 mass% of super-fine chromium oxide in the matrix in order to improve the performance of the purging plugs, primarily, slag corrosion and wear resistance. Alternatives to chromium oxide containing refractories have gained interest due to health concerns related to the formation of soluble chromium compounds over long storage periods of refractory wastes. Super-ground reactive alumina can replace chromium oxide in purging plug refractories and this paper discussed the new reactive alumina E-SY 88 in comparison to chromium oxide in a typical purging plug castable. The mixing behaviour, wet castable properties, as well as cured, dried, and fired properties at different temperatures up to 1 600 ℃ were compared. In addition, the hot modulus of rupture, creep behaviour, thermal shock resistance and slag corrosion resistance were tested. The microstructure after slag corrosion was investigated by SEM. The results prove that E-SY 88 is an economically viable technical alternative to chromium oxide in purging plug refractories.

Effect of mechanical vibration process parameters on the cement plugs properties for abandoned wells

A high-quality plug of the abandoned wellbore is considered an essential technical aspect of the oil and gas well abandonment technology system. This paper presents a method of active mechanical excitation to enhance the quality of wellbore plug barriers. An indoor simulation platform is developed, and the effects of different combinations of vibration frequency, amplitude and duration on the properties of the wellbore plug cement material are investigated. It is observed that the optimal combination of excitation parameters occurs at a vibration frequency of 15 Hz, a vibration time of 6 min, and a vibration amplitude of 3 mm. Compared with the condition without the vibration process, the cementing strength, compressive strength, and tensile strength of wellbore cement plug with the optimal mechanical vibration process could increase by 51%, 38% and 20%, respectively, while the porosity decreases by 5%. As determined by scanning electron microscopy of the set cement's microstructure, mechanical vibration effectively eliminates internal porosity and improves the set cement's density. The optimal excitation parameters obtained from the test can guide the design of the vibration plugging tool. The designed vibration plugging tool is simulated in the near field. The cement plug cementation quality tester tests the vibrating and non-vibrating samples, and the cementation ratio is calculated. The test results show that the average cementation ratio of vibrating samples is 0.89375, and that of non-vibrating samples is 0.70625, and the cementation quality is improved by 27%. It is concluded that it not only provides essential data for the design of mechanical vibration plug apparatus, on-site vibration plugs, and the development of operational specifications for vibration plugs, but also provides solid engineering guidance.

Effects of Nano-CaCO_(3)Addition on Properties of Corundum-based Dispersive Purging Plugs

In order to improve the properties of corundum based dispersive purging plugs,dispersive purging plug specimens were prepared using tabular corundum(1-0.15 and≤0.15 mm)as the aggregates,tabular corundum(≤0.044 mm)andα-Al_(2)O_(3)micropowder(d_(50)=0.6μm)as the matrix,Secar 71 cement as the binder,introducing different amounts of nano-CaCO_(3),casting into shapes,and firing at different temperatures(1200 or 1600℃)for 4 h.The effects of the nano-CaCO_(3) extra-addition(0,0.5%,1.0%,1.5%and 2.0%,by mass)on the consistency of the castables as well as the properties and microstructure of the dispersive purging plug specimens were studied.The results show that:(1)with the fixed water addition,the consistency of the corundum castables decreases as the nano-CaCO_(3)addition increases;(2)with the increasing nano-CaCO_(3)addition,the bulk density of the specimens fired at different temperatures for 4 h decreases,the apparent porosity,the cold strength and the hot modulus of rupture all increase,the gas permeability does not change significantly;(3)the specimens fired at 1600℃ for 4 h have obviously better cold comprehensive performance than those fired at 1200℃for 4 h;(4)when the nano-CaCO_(3)addition is 1.5%,the comprehensive performance of the specimen is the optimal.

Isolated Major Aortopulmonary Collateral Artery Causing Heart Failure: Transcatheter Occlusion of Mapcas Using Amplatzer Vascular Plugs and Amplatzer Piccolo Occluders

Major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs) are congenital vessels that arise from the aorta or its first-order branches and are distally connected to the pulmonary arterial vasculature, thereby providing pulmonary blood flow. MAPCAs are often associated with cyanotic congenital heart disease with decreased pulmonary blood flow. Isolated MAPCAs are rare in patients without congenital heart disease with structurally normal hearts. Sometimes, isolated congenital MAPCAs can occur without any lung disease. Isolated MAPCAs represent the occurrence of collaterals in the absence of underlying heart disease, which commonly presents as heart failure, recurrent respiratory tract infection, and pulmonary artery hypertension. We report a rare case of congestive heart failure in a 6-year-old patient with dual arterial supply to an otherwise normal right lung, with a normal bronchial tree, and a structurally normal heart. The patient was successfully managed by the closure of collaterals by Amplatzer vascular plugs II (AVPII) and Amplatzer Piccolo Occluders.

Fracture propagation law of temporary plugging and diversion fracturing in shale reservoirs under completion experiments of horizontal well with multi-cluster sand jetting perforation

This study conducted temporary plugging and diversion fracturing(TPDF)experiments using a true triaxial fracturing simulation system within a laboratory setting that replicated a lab-based horizontal well completion with multi-cluster sand jetting perforation.The effects of temporary plugging agent(TPA)particle size,TPA concentration,single-cluster perforation number and cluster number on plugging pressure,multi-fracture diversion pattern and distribution of TPAs were investigated.A combination of TPAs with small particle sizes within the fracture and large particle sizes within the segment is conducive to increasing the plugging pressure and promoting the diversion of multi-fractures.The addition of fibers can quickly achieve ultra-high pressure,but it may lead to longitudinal fractures extending along the wellbore.The temporary plugging peak pressure increases with an increase in the concentration of the TPA,reaching a peak at a certain concentration,and further increases do not significantly improve the temporary plugging peak pressure.The breaking pressure and temporary plugging peak pressure show a decreasing trend with an increase in single-cluster perforation number.A lower number of single-cluster perforations is beneficial for increasing the breaking pressure and temporary plugging peak pressure,and it has a more significant control on the propagation of multi-cluster fractures.A lower number of clusters is not conducive to increasing the total number and complexity of artificial fractures,while a higher number of clusters makes it difficult to achieve effective plugging.The TPAs within the fracture is mainly concentrated in the complex fracture areas,especially at the intersections of fractures.Meanwhile,the TPAs within the segment are primarily distributed near the perforation cluster apertures which initiated complex fractures.

A novel responsive stabilizing Janus nanosilica as a nanoplugging agent in water-based drilling fluids for exploiting hostile shale environments

Thermo-responsive nanocomposites have recently emerged as potential nanoplugging agents for shale stabilization in high-temperature water-based drilling fluids(WBDFs). However, their inhibitory properties have not been very effective in high-temperature drilling operations. Thermo-responsive Janus nanocomposites are expected to strongly interact with clay particles from the inward hemisphere of nanomaterials, which drive the establishment of a tighter hydrophobic membrane over the shale surface at the outward hemisphere under geothermal conditions for shale stabilization. This work combines the synergistic benefits of thermo-responsive and zwitterionic nanomaterials to synchronously enhance the chemical inhibitions and plugging performances in shale under harsh conditions. A novel thermoresponsive Janus nanosilica(TRJS) exhibiting zwitterionic character was synthesized, characterized,and assessed as shale stabilizer for WBDFs at high temperatures. Compared to pristine nanosilica(Si NP)and symmetrical thermo-responsive nanosilica(TRS), TRJS exhibited anti-polyelectrolyte behaviour, in which electrolyte ions screened the electrostatic attraction between the charged particles, potentially stabilizing nanomaterial in hostile shaly environments(i.e., up to saturated brine or API brine). Macroscopically, TRJS exhibited higher chemical inhibition than Si NP and TRS in brine, prompting a better capability to control pressure penetration. TRJS adsorbed onto the clay surface via chemisorption and hydrogen bonding, and the interactions became substantial in brine, according to the results of electrophoretic mobility, surface wettability, and X-ray diffraction. Thus, contributing to the firm trapping of TRJS into the nanopore structure of the shale, triggering the formation of a tight hydrophobic membrane over the shale surface from the outward hemisphere. The addition of TRJS into WBDF had no deleterious effect on fluid properties after hot-treatment at 190℃, implying that TRJS could find potential use as a shale stabilizer in WBDFs in hostile environments.

A Gel-Based Solidification Technology for Large Fracture Plugging

Fault fractures usually have large openings and considerable extension. Accordingly, cross-linked gel materials aregenerally considered more suitable plugging agents than water-based gels because the latter often undergo contaminationvia formation water, which prevents them from being effective over long times. Hence, in this study, aset of oil-based composite gels based on waste grease and epoxy resin has been developed. These materials havebeen observed to possess high compressive strength and resistance to the aforementioned contamination, therebyleading to notable increase in plugging success rate. The compressive strength, thickening time, and resistance toformation water pollution of these gels have been evaluated indoors. The results show that the compressivestrength of the gel can reach 11 MPa;additionally, the related gelation time can be controlled to be more than3 h, thereby providing a safe construction time;Invasion of formation water has a small effect on the gel strengthand does not shorten the thickening time. All considered performance indicators of the oil-based gel confirm itssuitability as a plugging agent for fault fractures.

Dynamic plugging regulating strategy of pipeline robot based on reinforcement learning

Pipeline isolation plugging robot (PIPR) is an important tool in pipeline maintenance operation. During the plugging process, the violent vibration will occur by the flow field, which can cause serious damage to the pipeline and PIPR. In this paper, we propose a dynamic regulating strategy to reduce the plugging-induced vibration by regulating the spoiler angle and plugging velocity. Firstly, the dynamic plugging simulation and experiment are performed to study the flow field changes during dynamic plugging. And the pressure difference is proposed to evaluate the degree of flow field vibration. Secondly, the mathematical models of pressure difference with plugging states and spoiler angles are established based on the extreme learning machine (ELM) optimized by improved sparrow search algorithm (ISSA). Finally, a modified Q-learning algorithm based on simulated annealing is applied to determine the optimal strategy for the spoiler angle and plugging velocity in real time. The results show that the proposed method can reduce the plugging-induced vibration by 19.9% and 32.7% on average, compared with single-regulating methods. This study can effectively ensure the stability of the plugging process.

Anal plugs and retrograde colonic irrigation are helpful in fecal incontinence or constipation

AIM： To evaluate the feasibility, clinical effect and predicting factors for favorable outcome of treatment with anal plugs in fecal incontinence and retrograde colonic irrigation （RCI） in patients with fecal incontinence or constipation.METHODS： Patients who received treatment with an anal plug or RCI between 1980 and 2005 were investigated with a questionnaire.RESULTS： Of the 201 patients （93 adults, 108 children）, 101 （50%） responded. Adults： anal plugs （8）, five stopped immediately, one stopped after 20 mo and two used it for 12-15 too. RCl （40, 28 fecal incontinence, 12 constipation）, 63% are still using it （mean 8.5 years）, 88% was satisfied. Younger adults （〈 40 years） were more satisfied with RCI （94 % vs 65%, P = 0.05）. Children： anal plugs （7）, 5 used it on demand for an average of 2.5 years with satisfactory results, one stopped immediately and one after 5 years. RCI （26 fecal incontinence, 22 constipation）, 90% are still using it （mean time 6.8 years） and felt satisfied. Children tend to be more satisfied （P = 0.001）. Besides age, no predictive factors for success were found. There was no difference in the outcome between patients with fecal incontinence or constipation.CONCLUSION： RCI is more often applied than anal plugs and is helpful in patients with fecal incontinence or constipation, especially for younger patients. Anal plugs can be used incidentally for fecal incontinence, especially in children.

Transport of Wetting and Nonwetting Liquid Plugs in a T-shaped Microchannel

The transport of liquid plugs in microchannels is very important for many applications such as in medical treatments in airways and in extraction of oil from porous rocks.A plug of wetting and non-wetting liquids driven by a constant pressure difference through a T-shaped microchannel is studied numerically with lattice Boltzmann(LB) method.A two-phase flow LB model based on field mediators is built.Three typical flow patterns(blocking,rupture and splitting flow) of plug flow are obtained with different driving pressures.It is found that it becomes difficult for a plug with short initial plug length to leave the microchannel;the flow pattern of plug transport varies with the contact angle,especially from wetting to nonwetting;with the increase of interfacial tension,the front interface of plug moves faster;the front and rear interfaces of the plug with small viscosity ratio move faster in the microchannel than those of the plug with large viscosity ratio.The study is helpful to provide theoretical data for the design and scale-up of liquid-liquid reactors and separators.

Progress and Developing Trend of Purging Plugs for Refining Ladle

Damage reasons of purging plugs for refining ladle and research progress on thermal shock resistance of corundum- spinel purging plugs were summarized. Research achievements and application results of nonoxides bonded corundum purging plugs for refining ladle were briefly reviewed. The further research and developing trend of purging plugs was proposed.

Texture,composition and properties of plugs formed by carbon dioxide hydrate and wax

Gas hydrates and wax are the major flow assurance problems for the transportation of produced hydrocarbons through pipelines.However,in most research works both these two problems are studied separately.Although simultaneous precipitation or deposition of these compounds in pipelines can lead to different mitigation/prevention strategies,the investi-gations in which both these problems are considered simultaneously appeared only recently.There is no information in the literature on the texture/composition and features of decomposition process of mixed wax/hydrate plugs.At the same time,this information could be useful to understand how to treat the problem of formation of these plugs.In this work,three wax/gas hydrate plugs were collected at quasi-static conditions from a water-in-oil emulsion to study their texture,composition and the features of decomposition process.Powder X-ray diffraction and IR(infrared spectroscopy)analyses showed that the plugs consisted of wax and gas hydrate.Thermovolumetric and DSC(Differential Scanning Calorimetry)experiments showed that the main part of gas hydrate in the plugs at the ambient pressure started to decompose at about 268 K.This temperature was higher than the equilibrium temperature of carbon dioxide hydrate at this pressure,indicating that the gas hydrate in the plugs could be effectively preserved at temperatures below the ice melting point(273.2 K).It was found through observation of the hydrate decomposition process in the plugs under the microscope that the gas in the samples released in small bubbles,while the hydrate particles were not visible at this magnification,indicating that the hydrate was indeed highly dispersed in the samples.A residual wax was jelly-like after decomposition of hydrate in all the cases.Rheological experiments showed that the plugs residues after decomposition of the hydrates had higher yield points and viscosities than the initial waxy crude oil origi-nally used for the experiments.

Observation of the effect of cleaning the smear layer and tubule plugs with SEM

To clean out the smear layer on teeth surface, and protect the teeth medulla, the experiment applied the study observing the cleanup of six groups of surface smear layer of dental caries and the tubule plugs reserving effect after using of different cavity cleansers with the help of SEM. The result implied that both the acidic preparations and chelator could clean out the smear layer on teeth surface in some way, but the later one could also reserve partial tubule plugs, which reduce the stimulation to the teeth medulla. So the chelator is better cleansers in clinical use.

Plugging behaviors of temporary plugging particles in hydraulic fractures

Using the visualized experimental device of temporary plugging in hydraulic fractures, the plugging behaviors of temporary plugging particles with different sizes and concentrations in hydraulic fractures were experimentally analyzed under the conditions of different carrier fluid displacements and viscosities. The results show that the greater the carrier fluid viscosity and displacement, the more difficult it is to form a plugging layer, and that the larger the size and concentration of the temporary plugging particle, the less difficult it is to form a plugging layer. When the ratio of particle size to fracture width is 0.45, the formation of the plugging layer is mainly controlled by the mass concentration of the temporary plugging particle and the viscosity of the carrier fluid, and a stable plugging layer cannot form if the mass concentration of the temporary plugging particle is less than 20 kg/m^(3)or the viscosity of the carrier fluid is greater than 3 mPa·s. When the ratio of particle size to fracture width is 0.60, the formation of the plugging layer is mainly controlled by the mass concentration of the temporary plugging particle, and a stable plugging layer cannot form if the mass concentration of the temporary plugging particle is less than 10 kg/m^(3). When the ratio of particle size to fracture width is 0.75, the formation of the plugging layer is basically not affected by other parameters, and a stable plugging layer can form within the experimental conditions. The formation process of plugging layer includes two stages and four modes. The main controlling factors affecting the formation mode are the ratio of particle size to fracture width, carrier fluid displacement and carrier fluid viscosity.

Optimization and Application of Corundum-spinel Purging Plugs for Refining Ladles

Corundum - spinel purging plugs were optimized through adjusting the formulation and the particle size composition of starting materials to prolong the service life of purging plugs for a 60 t refining ladle in a steel plant. Th.e optimized formulatioa is 30 mass% tabular corundum （6 - 3 mm ） , 20 mass% tabular corundum （3-1 ram）, 22 mass% tabular corundum （1 -0.5 ram） ＋ sintered spinel, 28% tabular corundum fines （0. 045 mm） ＋ fused spinel （0. 045 mm） ＋ bimodal α-Al2O3 micropowder ＋ Secar71 cement. The on-site results show that the plug can achieve an obviously long service life of 18 cycles, saving cost greatly.

Effects of Different Progesterone Plugs on Estrous Control in Ewe

In breeding season and non-breeding season, the effects of three kinds of progesterone plugs on estrous control in ewes were studied. Meanwhile, the advantages and the disadvantages of the progesterone plugs were analyzed. The results showed that there were no significant difference among three progesterone plugs on modulating the ewes＇ estrus and pregnancy, and affecting estrous rate and fecundation rate （P〉0.05）. It was observed that the progesterone plug produced by Animal Husbandry Research Center of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences could modulate the ewes＇ estrus and pregnancy effectively, and the low cost and convenience in operation made it popularize in the reproducation of sheep widely.

Amplatzer Plugs versus Coil Embolization of the Hypogastric Artery Prior to Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair: Differences in Quality of Life

Purpose: To determine if there were differences in quality of life (QOL) within the first year following EVAR for patients undergoing internal iliac embolization depending on the type of device used. Methods: Patients who underwent endovascular AAA repair were identified using a Vascular surgery database at a tertiary care center from 2002-2008. The Radiology Information System and Image Viewer were then used to identify patients who underwent preprocedural embolization prior to endovascular aneurysm repair. Nine patients had embolization with nester coils, 9 had embolization with the amplatzer vascular plug, a type of nitinol based self expanding device. Another group of 8 patients who did not undergo preprocedural embolization was used as a comparator group. These patients were contacted via telephone and answered questions regarding QOL post procedure. The Australian Vascular QOL was the tool used to measure QOL. Differences in QOL were tabulated between the groups of patients. Results: Of the 9 patients who underwent embolization with amplatzer plug, the median QOL score was 60 (p value 0.575), the median QOL for the nester coil group was 52.5 and the comparator group was 58. Separate analysis was done dividing patients into two groups, with and without comorbidities without statistical significance. Conclusion: Patients who underwent preprocedural embolization using amplatzer plugs compared to coils had higher overall QOL scores although the difference was not significant.

Donor's site evaluation after restoration with autografts or synthetic plugs in rabbits

AIM: To investigate donor site's area histological and immunohistochemical knee cartilage appearances after resurfacing iatrogenic defects with biosynthetic plugs orautografts. METHODS: Thirty New Zealand White rabbits were used in this study. A full-thickness cylindrical defect of 4.5 mm(diameter) × 7 mm(depth) was created with a hand drill in the femoral groove of every animal. In Group A(n = 10) the defect of the donor site was re-paired with a biosynthetic osteochondral plug, in Group B(n = 10) with an osteochondral autograft, while in Group C(control group of 10) rabbits were left untreated. RESULTS: Twenty-four weeks postoperatively, smooth articular cartilage was found macroscopically in some trocleas' surfaces; in all others, an articular surface with discontinuities was observed. Twenty-eight out of 30 animals were found with predominantly viable chondrocytes leaving the remaining two-which were found only in the control group- with partially viable chondrocytes. However, histology revealed many statistical differences between the groups as far as the International Cartilage Repair Society(ICRS) categories are concerned. Immunofluoresence also revealed the presence of collagen Ⅱ in all specimens of Group B, whereas in Group A collagen Ⅱ was found in less specimens. In Group C collagen Ⅱwas not found. CONCLUSION: The matrix, cell distribution, subchondral bone and cartilage mineralization ICRS categories showed statistically differences between the three groups. Group A was second, while group B received the best scores; the control group got the worst ICRS scores in these categories. So, the donor site area, when repairing osteochondral lesions with autografting systems, is better amended with osteochondral autograft rather than bone graft substitute implant.

Purging Plugs and Well Blocks for Refining Ladle

1 Scope This standard specifies the classification, technical requirements, test methods, inspection rules, marking, packing, transportation, storage and quality certificate of purging plugs and well blocks for refining ladle.