Thermal analysis on permafrost subsidence on the North Slope of Alaska

Master's Project (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2015One of the major problems associated with the oil fields on the North Slope of Alaska is thawing permafrost around producing oil wells. In these wells, the heat from the producing well fluid gradually thaws the permafrost. This thawing in turn destroys the bond between the permafrost and the casing and causes instability that results in permafrost subsidence which further causes subsidence of the soil surrounding the wellbore and, subjects the casing to high mechanical stresses. The above problem has been addressed by several engineers, and several preventive measures, such as controlling the subsidence by refrigeration or by insulation of the wellbore, have been analyzed. Understanding the thermal behavior of the permafrost is imperative to analyzing permafrost subsidence and providing preventative measures. The current project focuses on building a scaled-down axi-symmetric model in FLAC 7.0 that will help us understand the thermal behavior (i.e., the heat input to the permafrost interval due to hydrocarbon production) and temperature distributions that result in permafrost subsidence. The numerical analysis estimated the thaw influence of steam injection used for heavy oil recovery and its effect on the area around the wellbore for 10 years. The developed model was compared with Smith and Clegg (1971) axi-symmetric model and COMSOL model and correlations of thaw radius and wellbore temperatures were obtained for different types of soils. Heat transfer mitigation techniques were also attempted which are discussed in the report further

Structural Changes and Ferroelectric Properties of BiFeO₃-PbTiO₃ Thin Films Grown via a Chemical Multilayer Deposition Method

Thin films of (1-x)BiFeO3-xPbTiO3 (BF-xPT) with x ~ 0.60 were fabricated on Pt/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition of precursor BF and PT layers alternately in three different multilayer configurations. These multilayer deposited precursor films upon annealing at 700{\deg}C in nitrogen show pure perovskite phase formation. In contrast to the equilibrium tetragonal structure for the overall molar composition of BF:PT::40:60, we find monoclinic structured BF-xPT phase of MA type. Piezo-force microscopy confirmed ferroelectric switching in the films and revealed different normal and lateral domain distributions in the samples. Room temperature electrical measurements show good quality ferroelectric hysteresis loops with remanent polarization, Pr, of up to 18 {\mu}C/cm2 and leakage currents as low as 10-7 A/cm2.Comment: 14 Pages and 6 figure

Improved Tubulars for Better Economics in Deep Gas Well Drilling Using Microwave Technology

The main objective of the entire research program has been to improve the rate-of-penetration in deep hostile environments by improving the life cycle and performance of coiled-tubing, an important component of a deep well drilling system for oil and gas exploration, by utilizing the latest developments in the microwave materials technology. Based on the results of the Phase I and insurmountable difficulties faced in the extrusion and de-waxing processes, the approach of achieving the goals of the program was slightly changed in the Phase II in which an approach of microwave sintering combined with Cold Isostatic Press (CIP) and joining (by induction or microwave) has been adopted. This process can be developed into a semicontinuous sintering process if the CIP can produce parts fast enough to match the microwave sintering rates. The main objective of the Phase II research program is to demonstrate the potential to economically manufacture microwave processed coiled tubing with improved performance for extended useful life under hostile coiled tubing drilling conditions. After the completion of the Phase II, it is concluded that scale up and sintering of a thin wall common O.D. size tubing that is widely used in the market is still to be proved and further experimentation and refinement of the sintering process is needed in Phase III. Actual manufacturing capability of microwave sintered, industrial quality, full length tubing will most likely require several million dollars of investment

Thermal Analysis of Small Re-Entry Probe

The Small Probe Reentry Investigation for TPS Engineering (SPRITE) concept was developed at NASA Ames Research Center to facilitate arc-jet testing of a fully instrumented prototype probe at flight scale. Besides demonstrating the feasibility of testing a flight-scale model and the capability of an on-board data acquisition system, another objective for this project was to investigate the capability of simulation tools to predict thermal environments of the probe/test article and its interior. This paper focuses on finite-element thermal analyses of the SPRITE probe during the arcjet tests. Several iterations were performed during the early design phase to provide critical design parameters and guidelines for testing. The thermal effects of ablation and pyrolysis were incorporated into the final higher-fidelity modeling approach by coupling the finite-element analyses with a two-dimensional thermal protection materials response code. Model predictions show good agreement with thermocouple data obtained during the arcjet test

Studies on plant regeneration and transformation efficiency of Agrobacterium mediated transformation using neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) and glucuronidase (GUS) as a reporter gene

Plant transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a soil plant pathogenic bacterium, is the most used method for the introduction of foreign genes into plant cells and the subsequent regeneration of transgenic plants. We have standardized the tissue culture media for the regeneration and transformation with the vector LBA 4404 (pCAMBIA 2301), so that in future, this system may be exploited for the expression of antibody fragment (single chain variable fragment) in plants (plantibody). The transformed green shoots tested positive for neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) gene and glucuronidase (GUS) were screened, rooted on MS medium and subsequently hardened to harvest seeds. The transformation frequency of Agrobacterium (LBA 4404) with the binary vector pCAMBIA 2301 on the basis of GUS resistance was found to be 2.9%.Key words: Agrobacterium, transformation, Nicotiana tabacum, tobacco, transformation frequency

Estimation and Management of Performance Limiting Factors in the Development of 1 kW Peak Power Pulsed Fiber MOPA at 1550 nm

An all-fiber three-stage master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA), based on Erbium and Erbium-Ytterbium co-doped fibers, has been designed and developed. The performance of such a laser is primarily limited by amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), Yb bottlenecking, and non-linear effects. Other important factors, that need to be considered towards performance improvement, are fiber bend diameter and heat generated in the fiber. This paper describes the methodology for the estimation and management of these limiting factors for each amplifier stage. The work presented here is limited to the fibers which are commercially easily available, unlike customised Yb- free large mode area (LMA) Erbium-doped fibers, where very high peak and average powers are being reported due to the absence of Yb ASE. Presented experimental results and discussion shall be beneficial for the fiber laser amplifier designers. With suitable management, 1 kW peak power pulses of 30 ns duration at 200 kHz repetition rate have been achieved with 30 % optical efficiency. The collimated output of 6 W average power (limited by Yb ASE) with high beam quality (M2 ≈ 1.6) at 1550 nm can be employed for a variety of applications. By adding additional amplifier stages, power can be scaled further

Investigation of Performance Envelope for Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA)

The present work provides the results of a short exploratory study on the performance of Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator, or PICA, at high heat flux and pressure in an arcjet facility at NASA Ames Research Center. The primary objective of the study was to explore the thermal response of PICA at cold-wall heat fluxes well in excess of 1500 W/cm (exp 2). Based on the results of a series of flow simulations, multiple PICA samples were tested at an estimated cold wall heat flux and stagnation pressure of 1800 W/cm (exp 2) and 130 kPa, respectively. All samples survived the test, and no failure was observed either during or after the exposure. The results indicate that PICA has a potential to perform well at environments with significantly higher heat flux and pressure than it has currently been flown