An extended micromechanical-based plastic damage model for understanding water effects on quasi-brittle rocks

Water effects on the mechanical properties of rocks have been extensively investigated through experiments and numerical models.However,few studies have established a comprehensive link between the microscopic mechanisms of water-related micro-crack and the constitutive behaviors of rocks.In this work,we shall propose an extended micromechanical-based plastic damage model for understanding weakening effect induced by the presence of water between micro-crack’s surfaces on quasi-brittle rocks,based on the Mori-Tanaka homogenization and irreversible thermodynamics framework.Regarding the physical mechanism,water strengthens micro-crack propagation,which induces damage evolution during the pre-and post-stage,and weakens the elastic effective properties of rock matrix.After proposing a special calibration procedure for the determination of model parameters based on the laboratory compression tests,the proposed micromechanical-based model is verified by comparing the model predictions to the experimental results.The model effectively captures the mechanical behaviors of quasibrittle rocks subjected to the weakening effects of water.

Numerical Study on Mechanism of Blast-Induced Damage Considering Guiding Effect of Water Jet Slot

Damage is one of the most important characteristics of rock failure.Studying the damage mechanism of rock blasting under the guiding effect of the water jet slot and revealing the mechanism of controlled blasting with water jet assistance are crucial.In this study,a rock-like material was chosen as the research object for the calibration experiment of the numerical model.The numerical simulation models were then established by ANSYS/LS-DYNA,and the blastinduced damage mechanism under the guiding effect of the water jet slot was analyzed according to the blasting theory.The results indicated that explosive energy accumulates toward the direction of the slot as the guiding effect of the water jet slot,which allows the rock mass in the direction of the slot bear more damage.Meanwhile,the rock mass in the middle of the connection line between two blast-holes bears more damage under the combination of the effect of the explosion stress wave and guiding effect of water the jet slot on the detonation gas during double-slotted borehole blasting,which results in the formation of a gourd-shaped blast-induced damage area.In addition,the influence of the water jet slot on blast-induced damage varies depending on the blasting-process stage.

DNA Damage and Repair of Two Ecotypes of Phragmites communis Subjected to Water Stress

In order to thoroughly understand the mechanism Of drought resistance in plants at DNA level, the DNA damage of two ecotypes of reeds (Phragmites communis T.) stressed by PEG 6000 was analyzed by means of fluorescence analysis of DNA unwinding (FADU). The results showed that the residual double strand DNA percentages (dsDNA%) in dune reed (DR) were significantly higher than those in swamp reed (SR) treated with either 20% or 30% PEG 6000. This meant that the DNA of DR was less damaged in comparison with SR. Similarly, DR resisted DNA damage more strongly than SR as reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased by adding ROS producers diethyldithio carbamate (DDC), H2O2 and Fe2+ of different concentrations. Meanwhile, treating PEG stressed SR with ROS scavengers such as dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and ascorbic acid (Vc) resulted in the reduction of DNA damage, suggesting that ROS could cause DNA damage. In addition, the DNA repair for water-stressed reeds indicated that DR repaired DNA damage much faster and more completely. This might be the first indication that drought stress led to DNA damage in plants and that drought resistance of plants was closely related to DNA damage and repair.

Online location of seismic damage to a water distribution system

As one of the most important urban lifeline systems,a water distribution system can be damaged under a strong earthquake,and the damage cannot easily be located,especially immediately after the event.This often causes tremendous difficulties to post-earthquake emergency response and recovery activities.This paper proposes a methodology to locate seismic damage to a water distribution system by monitoring water head online at some nodes in the water distribution system.An artificial neural network-based inverse analysis method is developed to estimate the water head variations at all nodes that are not monitored based on the water head variations at the nodes that are monitored.The methodology provides a quick,effective,and practical way to locate seismic damage to a water distribution system.

A modified Hoek-Brown failure criterion considering the damage to reservoir bank slope rocks under water saturation-dehydration circulation

After water is impounded in a reservoir, rock mass in the hydro-fluctuation belt of the reservoir bank slope is subject to water saturation- dehydration circulation （WSDC）. To quantify the rate of change of rock mechanical properties, samples from the Longtan dam area were measured with uniaxial compression tests after different numbers （1, 5, 10, 15, and 20） of simulated WSDC cycles. Based on the curves derived from these tests, a modified Hock- Brown failure criterion was proposed, in which a new parameter was introduced to model the cumulative damage to rocks after WSDC. A case of an engineering application was analyzed, and the results showed that the modified Hock-Brown failure criterion is useful. Under similar WSDC-influenced engineering and geological conditions, rock mass strength parameters required for analysis and evaluation of rock slope stability can be estimated according to this modified Hoek-Brown failure criterion.

Research on Casing Damage Based on Effect of Water Injection Pressure

Based on statistical analysis on the situation of casing damage and water injection pressure in Pubei Oilfield, it shows that the main forms of casing damage in Pubei Oilfield are deformation and dislocation. Dip angle and faults have a significant impact on casing damage and casing damage is closely related to water injection pressure. Through laboratory simulating experiment and theoretical calculation, the formula of critical injection pressure giving rise to casing damage is obtained and the preventive measures are drafted.

Progression of injectivity damage with oily waste water in linear flow

Numerous laboratory experiments and field cases show that even very small amount of oil in injected water can cause severe injectivity damage. Although injectivity decline caused by oil droplets has been studied experimentally, there is still lack of an easy-to-use and widely accepted model to predict the decline behavior. In this work, we developed an analytical model to predict the time-dependent progress of the water permeability reduction in linear flow by analyzing experimental data obtained from linear core flooding. The model considers mass transfer of the oil phase from the produced water to the rock due capture effects by dispersion, advection and adsorption inside the rock. As the captured oil saturation increases, permeability reduces following the relative permeability drainage relationship. The reduction stabilizes when the oil saturation comes to an equilibrium value controlled by oil droplet size and injection velocity. The model is calibrated using published experimental data from prolonged core floods with oil- contaminated waste water. Theoretical runs of the model replicate all the effects known from experimental observations. Resulting from the model is a distributed change of permeability vs. time and distance from the point of injection that can be converted to the overall injectivity damage.

Cause analysis and solutions of water blocking damage in cracked/non-cracked tight sandstone gas reservoirs

After hydraulic fracturing treatment,a reduction in permeability caused by the invasion of fracturing fluids is an inevitable problem,which is called water blocking damage.Therefore,it is important to mitigate and eliminate water blocking damage to improve the flow capacities of formation fluids and flowback rates of the fracturing fluid.However,the steady-state core flow method cannot quickly and accurately evaluate the effects of chemical agents in enhancing the fluid flow capacities in tight reservoirs.This paper introduces a time-saving and accurate method,pressure transmission test(PTT),which can quickly and quantitatively evaluate the liquid flow capacities and gas-drive flowback rates of a new nanoemulsion.Furthermore,scanning electron microscopy(SEM)was used to analyze the damage mechanism of different fluids and the adsorption of chemical agents on the rock surface.Parallel core flow experiments were used to evaluate the effects of the nanoemulsion on enhancing flowback rates in heterogeneous tight reservoirs.Experimental results show that the water blocking damage mechanisms differ in matrices and fractures.The main channels for gas channeling are fractures in cracked cores and pores in non-cracked cores.Cracked cores suffer less damage from water blocking than non-cracked cores,but have a lower potential to reduce water saturation.The PTT and SEM results show that the permeability reduction in tight sandstones caused by invasion of external fluids can be list as guar gum fracturing fluid>slickwater>brine.Parallel core flow experiments show that for low-permeability heterogenous s andstone reservoirs with a certain permeability ratio,the nanoemulsion can not only reduce reverse gas channeling degree,but also increase the flowback rate of the fracturing fluid.The nanoemulsion system provides a new solution to mitigate and eliminate water blocking damage caused by fracturing fluids in tight sandstone gas reservoirs.

Climate Change and Heavy Rainfall-Related Water Damage Insurance Claims and Losses in Ontario, Canada

The objective of this paper was to project possible impacts of climate change on heavy rainfall-related water damage insurance claims and incurred losses for four selected cites (Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Ottawa, and Toronto) located at Ontario, Canada. To achieve this goal, the future climate change scenarios and rainfall simulations, at local scale, were needed. A statistical downscaling method was used to downscale five global climate model (GCM) scenarios to selected weather stations. The downscaled meteorological variables included surface and upper-air hourly temperature, dew point, west-east and south-north winds, air pressure, and total cloud cover. These variables are necessary to project future daily rainfall quantities using within-weather-type rainfall simulation models. A model result verification process has been built into the whole exercise, including rainfall simulation modeling and the development of downscaling transfer functions. The results of the verification, based on historical observations of the outcome variables simulated by the models, showed a very good agreement. To effectively evaluate heavy rainfall-related water damage insurance claims and incurred losses, a rainfall index was developed considering rainfall intensity and duration. The index was evaluated to link with insurance data as to determination of a critical threshold of the rainfall index for triggering high numbers of rainfall-related water damage insurance claims and incurred losses. The relationship between rainfall index and insurance data was used with future rainfall simulations to project changes in future heavy rainfall-related sewer flood risks in terms of water damage insurance claims and incurred losses. The modeled results showed that, averaged over the five GCM scenarios and across the study area, both the monthly total number of rainfall-related water damage claims and incurred losses could increase by about 13%, 20% and 30% for the periods 2016-2035, 2046-2065, and 2081-2100, respectively (from the four-city seasonal average of 12 ± 1.7 thousand claims and $88 ± $21 million during April-September 1992-2002). Within the context of this study, increases in the future number of insurance claims and incurred losses in the study area are driven by only increases in future heavy rainfall events.

Estimation of drift limits for different seismic damage states of RC frame staging in elevated water tanks using Park and Ang damage index

Damage to elevated water tanks in past earthquakes can be attributed to the poor performance of their supporting frame staging. In order to ascertain the performance of these elevated water tanks, it is crucial to categorize the damage in quantifiable damage states. Among various parameters to quantify the damage states, the top drift of frame staging can be conveniently correlated to the different damage levels. In literature, drift limits corresponding to different damage states of the frame staging of the elevated water tank are not available. In the present study, drift limits for RC frame staging in elevated water tanks corresponding to different seismic damage states have been proposed. Various damage states of the elevated water tank have been determined using the Park and Ang damage index. The Park and Ang damage index utilizes results of both pushover analysis and incremental dynamic analysis. Twelve models of elevated water tanks have been developed considering variation in staging height and tank capacity. Incremental dynamic analysis has been performed using the suite of twelve actual earthquake ground motions. Based on the regression analysis between damage indexes and drift, limiting drift values for each damage state are proposed.

Using DNA damage to monitor water environment

DNA damage of aquatic organisms living in polluted environments can be used as a biomarker of the genotoxicity of toxic agents to organisms. This technique has been playing an important role in ecotoxi- cological study and environmental risk assessment. In this article, main types of DNA damage caused by pollut- ants in water environments were reviewed; methods of detecting DNA damage were also documented for water environmental monitoring.

Influence of Water Injection Fracturing on Crack Damage in Soft Coal and Application in Gas Extraction

In order to study the hypotonic and rheological particularity of “three soft” coal seam in west Henan, China, this paper explored the stress and damage characteristics of crack in coal under condition of water injection fracturing based on ABAQUS platform;The cohesive element in T-P damage evolution criterion was used to describe the approximately linear relationship between crack width and extending distance in soft coal. The simulation results show that stress evolution and crack damage in soft coal is a gradually developing process under condition of water injection fracturing. When the static pressure is 4 - 10 MPa, and the injection time is about 1 - 2 hours, the damage range of crack in soft coal can basically reach an ideal data of 80 - 100 m, and then greatly improve the hypotonic performance of “three soft” coal seam.

Water-sensitive damage mechanism and the injection water source optimization of low permeability sandy conglomerate reservoirs

The global mobility theory was used to evaluate the experimental results of oil displacement with water of different salinities.The results of scanning electron microscopy,X diffraction of clay minerals,nonlinear seepage and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments and particle migration inhibition experiments before and after water flooding were compared to determine the mechanisms of water sensitive damage and enhanced water flooding mechanism of low permeability sandy conglomerate reservoirs in Wushi region of Beibuwan Basin,China.A production equation of the oil-water two phase flow well considering low-speed non-Darcy seepage and reservoir stress sensitivity was established to evaluate the effect of changes in reservoir properties and oil-water two-phase seepage capacity on reservoir productivity quantitatively,and injection water source suitable for the low permeability sandy conglomerate reservoirs in Wushi region was selected according to dynamic compatibility experimental results of different types of injected water.The seepage capacity of reservoir is the strongest when the injected water is formation water of 2 times salinity.The water-sensitive damage mechanisms of the reservoirs in Wushi region include hydration of clay minerals and particle migration.By increasing the content of cations(especially K+and Mg2+)in the injected water,the water-sensitive damage of the reservoir can be effectively inhibited.The formation water of Weizhou Formation can be used as the injection water source of low permeability sandy conglomerate reservoirs in the Wushi region.

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) corrects chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) acquired following exposure to water-damaged buildings

Exposure in water-damaged buildings (WDB) to airborne bioaerosols including metabolic products of toxigenic fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes;and inflammagens, can lead to a persistent innate immune inflammatory illness. This illness, termed a chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS-WDB), is systemic with symptoms acquired from multiple organ systems. Treatment of CIRS-WDB has progressed rapidly as a better understanding of the inflammatory pathophysiology has led to targeted, sequential therapies. The fundamental basis of uncontrolled innate immune responses, the humoral deficiency of regulatory neuropeptides melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) or vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), seen in over 98% of pa tients, has not consistently responded to any treatment modality. Use of replacement VIP has been attempted anecdotally;VIP replacement therapies show promise in short term studies but longer therapies have not been attempted. Here we report an open label trial of 20 patients with refractory CIRS-WDB illness who took replacement VIP in a nasal spray for at least 18 months with confirmation of durable efficacy and absence of significant side effects. These 20 patients were similar in symptoms and lab find- ings to three previously published cohorts in- volving 1829 patients and 169 controls. Dosage of VIP was titrated downwards from four to zero doses a day to determine minimum effective dose, and retitrated upwards for maximum improvement over time. The trial showed that VIP therapy safely 1) reduced refractory symptoms to equal controls;2) corrected inflammatory parameters C4a, TGF beta-1, VEGF, MMP9;3) corrected estradiol, testosterone and 25-OH Vitamin D;4) returned pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) during exercise to normal;and 5) enhanced quality of life in 100% of trial patients. Subsequent identification of correction of T-regulatory cell levels supports the potential role of VIP in both innate and adaptive immune function.

Research and Application of an Environmental-Friendly Low-Damage and High Salt-Resistance Slick Water Fracturing Fluid System

The Sulige gas field is a typical low-pressure low-permeability tight sandstone gas reservoir. The reservoir has poor seepage capacity, strong heterogeneity, high mineralization of formation water and extremely scarce water resources on the site. These unfavorable factors have brought great difficulties to the on-site mining process. Now, a nano-composite green environmental protection slick water fracturing fluid system CQFR can be quickly dissolved because of the larger specific surface area, and the small molecular size makes the damage to the reservoir less than 5%, and the average drag reduction effect can reach more than 73%. It can quickly and well dissolve and maintain performance under high salinity conditions and fracturing flowback fluids. It responds well to the complex reservoir conditions on the construction site and makes the flowback fluid recyable, which greatly reduces the consumption of water resources on the construction site and effectively improves the construction efficiency and economic benefits.

Characterization and prevention of formation damage for fractured carbonate reservoir formations with low permeability

Stress sensitivity and water blocking in fractured carbonate reservoir formations with low permeability were determined as the main potential damage mechanisms during drilling and completion operations in the ancient buried hill Ordovician reservoirs in the Tarim Basin. Geological structure, lithology, porosity, permeability and mineral components all affect the potential for formation damage. The experimental results showed that the permeability loss was 83.8%-98.6% caused by stress sensitivity, and was 27.9%-48.1% caused by water blocking. Based on the experimental results, several main conclusions concerning stress sensitivity can be drawn as follows： the lower the core permeability and the smaller the core fracture width, the higher the stress sensitivity. Also, stress sensitivity results in lag effect for both permeability recovery and fracture closure. Aimed at the mechanisms of formation damage, a modified low-damage mixed metal hydroxide （MMH） drilling fluid system was developed, which was mainly composed of low-fluorescence shale control agent, filtration control agent, lowfluorescence lubricant and surfactant. The results of experimental evaluation and field test showed that the newly-developed drilling fluid and engineering techniques provided could dramatically increase the return permeability （over 85%） of core samples. This drilling fluid had such advantages as good rheological and lubricating properties, high temperature stability, and low filtration rate （API filtration less than 5 ml after aging at 120 ℃ for 4 hours）. Therefore, fractured carbonate formations with low permeability could be protected effectively when drilling with the newly-developed drilling fluid. Meanwhile, field test showed that both penetration rate and bore stability were improved and the soaking time of the drilling fluid with formation was sharply shortened, indicating that the modified MMH drilling fluid could meet the requirements of drilling engineering and geology.

Evaluation and prevention of formation damage in offshore sandstone reservoirs in China

Reduction in water injectivity would be harmful to the waterflood development of offshore sandstone oil reservoirs. In this paper the magnitude of formation damage during water injection was evaluated by analyzing the performance of water injection in the Bohai offshore oilfield, China. Two parameters, permeability reduction and rate of wellhead pressure rise, were proposed to evaluate the formation damage around injection wells. The pressure performance curve could be divided into three stages with different characteristics. Analysis of field data shows that formation damage caused by water injection was severe in some wells in the Bohai offshore oilfield, China. In the laboratory, the content of clay minerals in reservoir rock was analyzed and sensitivity tests （including sensitivity to water, ftow rate, alkali, salt and acid） were also conducted. Experimental results show that the reservoir had a strong to medium sensitivity to water （i.e. clay swelling） and a strong to medium sensitivity to flow rate, which may cause formation damage. For formation damage prevention, three injection schemes of clay stabilizer （CS） were studied, i.e. continuous injection of low concentration CS （CI）, slug injection of high concentration CS （SI）, and slug injection of high concentration CS followed by continuous injection of low concentration CS （SI-CI）. Core flooding experiments show that SI-CI is an effective scheme to prevent formation damage and is recommended for the sandstone oil reservoirs in the Bohai offshore oilfield during water injection.

Agricultural Water Footprint of Southern Highbush Blueberry Produced Commercially with Drip Irrigation and Sprinkler Frost Protection

A study was conducted from 2010 to 2017 to determine the water footprint for producing blueberries in the Entre Ríos province of Argentina. Three cultivars of southern highbush blueberry (hybrid cross of Vaccinium sp.) were evaluated in the study, including “Star”, “Emerald”, and “Snowchaser”. In each case, the plants were irrigated by drip and protected from frost using overhead sprinklers. Water requirements for irrigation and frost protection varied among the cultivars due to differences in the timing of flowering and fruit development. The annual water footprint for fruit production in each cultivar is expressed in units of cubic meters of water used to produce one ton of fresh fruit and ranged from 212 - 578 m3∙t−1 for “Star”, 296 - 985 m3∙t−1 for “Emerald”, and 536 - 4066 m3∙t−1 for “Snowchaser”. “Snowchaser” flowered earlier than the other cultivars and, therefore, needed more water for frost protection. “Star”, on the other hand, ripened the latest among the cultivars and required little to no water for frost protection. Frost protection required a minimum of 30 m3∙h−1 of water per hectare and in addition to drip irrigation was a major component of the water footprint.

Correlation between Coating Adhesion and Damage Threshold: Simple Method of Reliability Assessment for Optoelectronic Applications

It is demonstrated that inherent coating adhesion and damage threshold are correlated for Ta2O5 and HfO2 coatings widely used in optoelectronic devices. By utilizing a newly proposed 1-h boiling water test combined with the optical aging under high-power laser irradiation, we show that an optical coating that survives the 1-h boiling water test withstands the damage threshold, ensuring the field service life even in harsh environments. Besides the standard evaluation methods, which may have limitations for applications required in harsh environments, the 1-h boiling water test can serve as an alternative method of reliability assessment for optical coatings. A heuristics herein can be used as a gating item for qualification of optical coatings for various applications.

Rheological property of low-damage,ideal packing,film-forming amphoteric/sulfonation polymer drilling fluids

Low-permeability dense reservoirs,including micro-fractured reservoirs,are commonly characterized by high content of clay substances,high original water saturation,high sensitivity to invasive fluids,high capillary pressure,complicated structure and anisotropic,high flow-resistance and micro pore throats etc,.Generally they also have lots of natural micro fractures,probably leading to stress sensibility.Main damaging factors in such reservoirs are water-sensibility and water-blocking caused by invasive fluids during drilling and production operations.Once damaged,formation permeability can rarely recovered.Numerous studies have shown that damaging extent of water-blocking ranges from 70% to 90%.Main damaging mechanisms and influencing factors of water-blocking were systematically analyzed.Also some feasible precaution or treating approaches of water-blocking were put forward.In a laboratory setting,a new multi-functional drilling fluid composed mainly of amphion polymer,sulfonation polymer,high effectively preventive water-blocking surfactants,ideal packing temporary bridging agents(TBA) and film-forming agents,etc.,were developed.New low-damage drilling fluids has many advantages,such as good rheological properties,excellent effectiveness of water-blocking prevention,good temporary plugging effect,low filtration and ultra-low permeability(API filtration≤5 mL,HTHP filtration≤10 mL,mud cake frictional coefficient≤0.14,permeability recovery>81%),can efficiently prevent or minimize damage,preserve natural formation and enhance comprehensive development-investment effect in TUHA Jurassic dense sandstone reservoir formation with low-permeability,the only one developing integrated condense gas field.Some references can be provided to similar reservoir formations.