A Feasibility Study of Using Geothermal Energy to Enhance Natural Gas Production from Offshore Gas Hydrate Reservoirs by CO_(2) Swapping

The energy industry faces a significant challenge in extracting natural gas from offshore natural gas hydrate(NGH)reservoirs,primarily due to the low productivity of wells and the high operational costs involved.The present study offers an assessment of the feasibility of utilizing geothermal energy to augment the production of natural gas from offshore gas hydrate reservoirs through the implementation of the methane-CO_(2)swapping technique.The present study expands the research scope of the authors beyond their previous publication,which exclusively examined the generation of methane from marine gas hydrates.Specifically,the current investigation explores the feasibility of utilizing the void spaces created by the extracted methane in the hydrate reservoir for carbon dioxide storage.Analytical models were employed to forecast the heat transfer from a geothermal zone to an NGH reservoir.A study was conducted utilizing data obtained from a reservoir situated in the Shenhu region of the Northern South China Sea.The findings of the model indicate that the implementation of geothermal heating can lead to a substantial enhancement in the productivity of wells located in heated reservoirs during CO_(2)swapping procedures.The non-linear relationship between the temperature of the heated reservoir and the rate of fold increase has been observed.It is anticipated that the fold of increase will surpass 5 when the gas hydrate reservoir undergoes a temperature rise from 6℃ to 16℃.The mathematical models utilized in this study did not incorporate the impact of heat convection resulting from CO_(2)flow into the gas reservoir.This factor has the potential to enhance well productivity.The mathematical models’deviation assumptions may cause over-prediction of well productivity in geothermal-stimulated reservoirs.Additional research is required to examine the impacts of temperature drawdown,heat convection resulting from depressurization,heat-induced gas pressure increment,and the presence of free gas in the formation containing hydrates.The process of CH4-CO_(2)swapping,which has been investigated,involves the utilization of geothermal stimulation.This method is highly encouraging as it enables the efficient injection of CO_(2)into gas hydrate reservoirs,resulting in the permanent sequestration of CO_(2)in a solid state.Additional research is warranted to examine the rate of mass transfer of CO_(2)within reservoirs of gas hydrates.

Demonstration of Pilot Scale Large Aperture Parabolic Trough Organic Rankine Cycle Solar Thermal Power Plant in Louisiana

During the calendar year of 2012 the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in conjunction with CLECO Power LLC (CLECO) has constructed and commissioned a pilot scale parabolic trough solar thermal power plant for the first time in Louisiana. The large aperture trough (LAT) solar collectors were provided by Gossamer Space Frames and are coupled with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) power block provided by ElectraTherm, Inc. for study of the feasibility of cost-effective commercial scale solar thermal power production in Louisiana. Supported by CLECO and providing power to the existing CLECO grid, the implementation of state-of-the-industry collector frames, mirrors, trackers, and ORC power block is studied under various local weather conditions which present varied operating regimes from existing solar thermal installations. The solar collectors provide a design output of 650 kWth and preliminary actual performance data from the system level is presented. The optimal size, configuration and location for such a plant in the given solar resource region are being studied in conjunction with CLECO’s search for optimal renewable energy solutions for the region. The pilot scale size of the facility and implementation of the simpler ORC allow remote operation of the facility and flexibility in operating parameters for optimization studies. The construction of the facility was supported by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Department of Energy, and CLECO. The continued operation of the plant is supported by CLECO Power LLC and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Numerical Model and Performance Validation of a Small-Scale Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Plant in Louisiana

A simplified numerical model of a small-scale (25 - 100 kWe) parabolic concentrating solar power (CSP) plant is presented that can be utilized during the planning stages for a CSP plant, utilizing only simplified information that would be available at the preliminary stages of a project. This is important because existing models currently used for planning purposes, such as the System Advisor Model (SAM) from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), do not cover small-scale CSP plants. The model can be used to predict real-time performance, or it can be used with TMY data to estimate annual performance. The model was validated using performance data from an operating small-scale CSP power plant, which is a unique contribution of this work. The results showed that the model correlated well with actual operating measurements for all seasons of the year, and provided a useful tool for planning of future small-scale CSP plants.

A Nonlinear Coordinated Approach to Enhance the Transient Stability of Wind Energy-Based Power Systems

This paper proposes a novel framework that enables the simultaneous coordination of the controllers of doubly fed induction generators(DFIGs) and synchronous generators(SGs).The proposed coordination approach is based on the zero dynamics method aims at enhancing the transient stability of multi-machine power systems under a wide range of operating conditions. The proposed approach was implemented to the IEEE39-bus power systems. Transient stability margin measured in terms of critical clearing time along with eigenvalue analysis and time domain simulations were considered in the performance assessment. The obtained results were also compared to those achieved using a conventional power system stabilizer/power oscillation(PSS/POD) technique and the interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based controller(IDA-PBC). The performance analysis confirmed the ability of the proposed approach to enhance damping and improve system’s transient stability margin under a wide range of operating conditions.

Mathematical modeling of heat transfer in counter-current multiphase flow found in gas-drilling systems with formation fluid influx

The performance of gas-drilling(drilling oil and gas wells with air, nitrogen, or natural gas) is very unpredictable in many areas due to lack of proper design of drilling parameters because of limited understanding of gas–rock interaction which requires knowledge of heat transfer in the well system. Complete analysis of rock failure requires an accurate mathematical model to predict gas temperature at the bottom hole. The currently available mathematical models are unsuitable for use for the purpose because they do not consider the effects of formation fluid influx, Joule–Thomson cooling, and entrained drill cuttings. A new analytical solution for predicting gas temperature profiles inside the drill string and in the annulus was derived in this study for gas-drilling, considering all these three effects. Results of sensitivity analyses show that formation fluid influx can significantly increase the temperature profiles in both the drill string and the annulus.The Joule–Thomson cooling effect lowers the temperature in the annulus only in a short interval near the bottom hole.The drill cuttings entrained at the bottom hole can slightly increase the temperature profile in the annulus.

A dynamic managed pressure well-control method for rapid treatment of gas kick in deepwater managed pressure drilling

During deepwater managed pressure drilling(MPD),the gas kick may occur in abnormally high-pressure formations.If the traditional well control method is adopted,the treatment time is long and the advantage of early gas kick detection of MPD is lost.The dynamic managed pressure well-control(MPWC)method can be used to rapidly treat gas kick in deepwater MPD.In this paper,considering the effect of large-variable-diameter annulus and complex wellbore temperature in deepwater drilling,a simplified model of non-isothermal gas-liquid two-phase flow was established for dynamic deepwater MPWC simulation.Using this model,the response characteristics of outlet flow and wellhead backpressure were investigated.The results indicated that the gas fraction,outlet liquid flow rate,pit gain and wellhead backpressure presented complex alternating characteristics when gas moved upwards in the wellbore due to the large-variable-diameter annulus.The outlet liquid flow rate would be lower than the inlet flow rate and the pit gain would decrease before the gas moved to the wellhead.The variation trend of the wellhead backpressure was consistent with that of the pit gain.When the gas-liquid mixture passed through the choke,the expansion or compression of the gas caused part of the choke pressure drop to be supplemented or unloaded,delaying the response rate of the wellhead backpressure.The wellbore temperature,borehole diameter and seawater depth had different effects on outlet flow rate,pit gain and wellhead backpressure.This research could provide a new idea for well control methods in deepwater managed pressure drilling.

Generation of patient-specific motor neurons in modeling movement diseases

Generating neurons from human induced pluripotent stem cells(hiPSCs) overcomes the limited access to human brain tissues and greatly facilitates the research in neuroscience(Karagiannis et al., 2019).

Evaluation of the Power Generation Capacity of Hydrokinetic Generator Device Using Computational Analysis and Hydrodynamic Similitude

This paper presents a similitude and computational analysis of the performance of a scaled-down model of a paddle wheel style hydrokinetic generator device used for generating power from the flow of a river. The paddle wheel dimensions used in this work are one-thirtieth scale of the full-size paddle wheel. The reason for simulating the scaled-down model was to prepare for the testing of a scaled-down physical prototype. Computational Fluid Dynamics using ANSYS Fluent 14.0 software was used for the computational analysis. The scaled-down dimensions were used in the simulations to predict the power that can be generated from the scaled size model of the paddle wheel, having carried out similitude analysis between the scaled down size and its full-size. The dimensionless parameters employed in achieving similitude are the Strouhal number, power coefficient, and pressure coefficient. The power estimation of the full-size was predicted from the scaled size of the paddle wheel based on the similitude analysis.

Embryology of Iris sanguinea Donn ex Horn. and its systematic relationship

Iris sangumea Dorm ex Horn. is a perennial cold-tolerant herbs of the Iris genus of Iridaceae, which has a well-formed, bright color and adaptability. Through understanding the fl ower bud differentiation, Sporogenesis, gametogenesis, fertilization and embryogenesis of I. sangumea, we developed fl owering regulation and control breeding. I. sangumea fl ower bud differentiation was observed in April for 21 days; in this stage, the early differentiation process was slow, temperature was more than 5 °C, if the temperature is shorter than this, most fl ower bud will have no differentiation, and turn to vegetative growth; later differentiation is faster and required temperature is from 5 to 8 °C and gradually rose to 10-12 °C. The temperature in April plays the defi nitely role in the number of bud differentiation. Three stamina contain tetrasporangiate anthers and a glandular tapetum. The anther wall is composed of four cell layers inclduding the epidermis, the endothecium, one middle layer and the secretory tapetum. The type of anther wall development the dicotyledonous type. After pollen maturation, the anther wall forms a double-layer containing only epidermis and endothecium. Simultaneous cytokinesis is of the continuous type during meiosis of microspore mother cell results in a zygomorphous or tetragonal tetrad. Mature pollen grains are two-celled. I. sangumea ’s stylar canal is hollow, open type style, and the gynoecium has three carpels. The ovaries have axial placentas. The ovule is anatropous, bitegmic and crassinucellate. The primary sporogenous cell differentiates directly as the megaspore. The megaspore tetrads are linear, T-shaped or juxtaposed. Generally, the fi rst of the tetrad megaspores at the chalaza becomes functional while the other three degenerate. A mature embryo sac with seven cells and eight nuclei embryo sac is of the polygonum type. For dichogamy, the male gametophyte matures about 2 days earlier than the female gametophyte. The pollen tube entered into the embryo sac for 22–24 h after pollination. The dormancy stage of fertilized ovules is 5-6 days, and the fusion of sperm and egg nucleus is of the premitotic type. The primary endosperm cell has shorter dormancy of 4-6 days, and endosperm formation is of the nuclear type.

Finite Element Investigation of Flow Field Below Asymmetric Drill Bits for Reverse Circulation in Drilling Tight Oil and Gas Reservoirs

Development of unconventional tight oil and gas reservoirs such as shale pays presents a huge challenge to the petroleum industry due to the naturally low permeability of shale formations and thus low productivity of oil and gas wells.Shale formations are also vulnerable to the contamination of the water in the drilling and completion fluids,which further reduces reservoir permeability.Although gas-drilling(drilling with gas)has been used to address the issue,several problems such as formation water influx,wellbore collapse,excessive gas volume requirement and hole cleaning in horizontal drilling,still hinder its application.A new technique called gas-lift drilling has recently been proposed to solve these problems,but the optimal design of drilling operation requires a thorough investigation of fluid flow field below the asymmetric drill bits for evaluating the fluid power needed to clean the bottom hole.Such an investigation is conducted in this work based on the Finite Element Method(FEM)implemented in an open source computational framework,FEniCS.Pressure and flow velocity fields were computed for three designs of drill bit face characterized by radial bit blades and one eccentric orifice of discharge.One of the designs is found superior over the other two because it generates relatively uniform flow velocities between blades and provides a balanced fluid power needed to clean all the bit teeth on each bit blade.To quantify the capability of borehole cleanup presented by three drill bit designs,the energy per unit volume is calculated in each region of drill bit and compared with the required value suggested by the literature.In addition,the developed FEM model under FEniCS framework provides engineers an accurate tool for optimizing drill bit design for efficiently gas-lift drilling unconventional tight oil and gas reservoirs.

Design,modelling,and simulation of a floating gate transistor with a novel security feature

This study proposes a new generation of floating gate transistors(FGT)with a novel built-in security feature.The new device has applications in guarding the IC chips against the current reverse engineering techniques,including scanning capacitance microscopy(SCM).The SCM measures the change in the C–V characteristic of the device as a result of placing a minute amount of charge on the floating gate,even in nano-meter scales.The proposed design only adds a simple processing step to the conventional FGT by adding an oppositely doped implanted layer to the substrate.This new structure was first analyzed theoretically and then a two-dimensional model was extracted to represent its C–V characteristic.Furthermore,this model was verified with a simulation.In addition,the C–V characteristics relevant to the SCM measurement of both conventional and the new designed FGT were compared to discuss the effectiveness of the added layer in masking the state of the transistor.The effect of change in doping concentration of the implanted layer on the C–V characteristics was also investigated.Finally,the feasibility of the proposed design was examined by comparing its I–V characteristics with the traditional FGT.

Novel insights into the pathogenesis of DYT1 dystonia from induced patient-derived neurons

Dystonia is a common movement disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing abnormal movements and/or postures(Keller Sarmiento and Mencacci,2021).The dystonic syndromes are classified as primary dystonia(dystonia is the only motor feature without tremor) and the secondary dystonia(dystonia is combined with other movement disorders,such as Parkinsonism).

Two flowers per seed:Derivatives of CoG@F127/GO with enhanced catalytic performance of overall water splitting

In this work,cobalt glycerate(CoG@F127)nanosheets grown on the surface of graphene oxide(GO),i.e.CoG@F127/GO,have been synthesized with the assistance of nonionic surfactant Pluronic F127 via a hydrothermal method.After calcination,CoG@F127/GO is transformed into one derivative,Co nanoparticles coated with a trace amount of carbon(Co-C)on GO(Co-C/GO).The Co nanoparticles consist of an atypical core-shell structure,in which the core and the shell are both Co.Co-C anchored on GO can avoid the nanoparticles aggregation and expose more active sites for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)to significantly improve the catalyst activity of HER.CoG@F127/GO is phosphatized to form the other derivate,cobalt pyrophosphate coated with a small amount of carbon(Co_(2)P_(2)O_(7)-C)on GO(Co_(2)P_(2)O_(7)-C/GO).Co_(2)P_(2)O_(7)-C/GO composite owns a large electrochemical active surface area(ECSA)and fast rate towards oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Furthermore,the two derivatives of CoG@F127/GO,i.e.Co-C/GO and Co_(2)P_(2)O_(7)-C/GO as twin flowers,are assembled into an overall water splitting electrolytic cell with a cell voltage of 1.56 V to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2).

Tube-based Model Reference Adaptive Control for Vibration Suppression of Active Suspension Systems

Dear editor,With the developments of industrial automation in recent years,vehicle suspension systems have received a great deal of attention in industry and academia due to their critical role in the chassis performance of vehicles[1].The suspension system is expected to guarantee the vehicle’s maneuverability and provide satisfactory ride comfort by absorbing the vibrations arising from the road surface excitations and ensuring road-holding capability and suspension safety.Motivated by the desirable performance of the model reference adaptive control(MRAC)approach,various literature studies have investigated its performance in diverse linear and nonlinear practical systems[2].

Reclamation of Smaller Volumes of Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soil Using an Innovative Reactor System: A Case Study Evaluation of the Design

Petroleum products contamination is a world-wide problem that threatens polluting groundwater and surface water systems. However, the problem is not only large-scale in scope when viewed from a case-by-case basis. Many fueling, construction, agricultural, and industrial activities result in the problem of managing smaller quantities of these soils from an ecological safety perspective. Landfilling has been the disposal method of choice in the US;however, this option is becoming economically prohibitive and it does not really offer a true degradation fate for the pollutants. This study focused on the proving of an innovative biocell design that afforded a high level of petroleum degradation within a simple and cost effective design. Additionally, the design offered a remediation solution for sites not easily accessed. Soil contaminated with both diesel fuel and gasoline collected from a former filling station was used in this on-site remediation case study. Rapid biodegradation of the petroleum products were observed at the initiation of the study with rates leveling off as the study progressed with the final total petroleum hydrocarbon concentration being 10 mg/kg at Day 90. Oxygen uptake rates were monitored and found to nicely track both microbial activity and pollutant removal dynamics. The biocell design met all expectations by being effective, yet simple to build and operate.

Parameter Sensitivity and Qualitative Analysis of Dynamics of Ovarian Tumor Growth Model with Treatment Strategy

In this paper, we are interested to find the most sensitive parameter, local and global stability of ovarian tumor growth model. For sensitivity analysis, we use Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) method to generate sample points and Partial Rank Correlation Coefficient (PRCC) method, uses those sample points to find out which parameters are important for the model. Based on our findings, we suggest some treatment strategies. We investigate the sensitivity of the parameters for tumor volume, y, cell nutrient density, Q and maximum tumor size, ymax. We also use Scatter Plot method using LHS samples to show the consistency of the results obtained by using PRCC. Moreover, we discuss the qualitative analysis of ovarian tumor growth model investigating the local and global stability.

Swine waste as a source of natural products: A carotenoid antioxidant

Development of Environmentally Superior Technologies swine waste management has focused on extraction of products with relatively low unit values. Analyses of the bacterial composition of swine waste lagoon samples confirmed the presence of several purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB) species known to produce a variety of carotenoids. We examined a carotenoid naturally abundant in North Carolina swine waste lagoons dominated by PNSB. Analytical methods including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) confirmed the identity of the dominant carotenoid as spirilloxanthin, C42H60O2, with 13 conjugated double bonds. This structure confers antioxidant properties as good as those of carotenoids currently marketed as antioxidants. Visual estimates of the “redness” of swine waste lagoon liquids were highly correlated with carotenoid content. Spirilloxanthin concentrations in a lagoon with a strong PNSB bloom were approximately 0.5 grams·m-3. These results support further investigations into the potential for extracting commercially valuable natural products from swine waste lagoons.

一般间隙与One-Off条件的序列模式匹配

带有间隙约束的模式匹配问题是序列模式挖掘的关键问题之一.目前,大多数的研究都为非负间隙,对字符串中每个字符的出现顺序有着严格的要求.为了增加匹配的灵活性,并且考虑到在序列模式挖掘中采用one-off条件更加合理,研究一般间隙与one-off条件下的模式匹配问题.该问题为NP-Hard问题.为了有效地求解该问题,提出了MSAING(maximum sequential pattern matching with one-off and general gaps condition)算法:首先,利用Reverse策略使模式与序列达到最佳的匹配状态;然后,使用线性表的结构使匹配过程中消耗的时间和空间大幅度地降低,同时,利用回溯机制提高匹配的成功率;最后,根据inside_Checking机制判断模式串是否会产生内部重复现象,以进一步提高算法的执行效率.理论证明了MSAING算法的完备性,实验结果验证了MSAING算法匹配结果的准确性以及在时间和空间方面的高效性.

A Sliding Mode Approach to Enhance the Power Quality of Wind Turbines Under Unbalanced Voltage Conditions

An integral terminal sliding mode-based control design is proposed in this paper to enhance the power quality of wind turbines under unbalanced voltage conditions. The design combines the robustness, fast response, and high quality transient characteristics of the integral terminal sliding mode control with the estimation properties of disturbance observers. The controller gains were auto-tuned using a fuzzy logic approach.The effectiveness of the proposed design was assessed under deep voltage sag conditions and parameter variations. Its dynamic response was also compared to that of a standard SMC approach.The performance analysis and simulation results confirmed the ability of the proposed approach to maintain the active power,currents, DC-link voltage and electromagnetic torque within their acceptable ranges even under the most severe unbalanced voltage conditions. It was also shown to be robust to uncertainties and parameter variations, while effectively mitigating chattering in comparison with the standard SMC.

Investigating User Ridership Sentiments for Bike Sharing Programs

Bike sharing is considered a state-of-the-art transportation program. It is ideal for short or medium trips providing riders the ability to pick up a bike at any self-serve bike station and return it to any bike station located within the system’s coverage area. The bike sharing programs in the United States are still very young compared to those in European countries. Washington DC was the first jurisdiction to devise a third generation bike sharing system in the US in 2008. To evaluate the popularity of a bike sharing program, a sentiment analysis of the riders’ feedback can be performed. Twitter is a great platform to understand people’s views instantly. Social media mining is, thus, gaining popularity in many research areas including transportation. Social media mining has two major advantages over conventional attitudinal survey methods—it can easily reach a large audience and it can reflect the true behavior of participants because of the anonymity social media provides. It is known that self-imposed censor is common in responding to conversational attitudinal surveys. This study performed text mining on the tweets related to a case study (Capital Bike share of Washington DC) to perform sentiment analysis or opinion mining. The results of the text mining mostly revealed higher positive sentiments towards the current system.