Scaling Analysis of the Tensile Strength of Bamboo Fibers Using Weibull Statistics

This study demonstrates the effect of weak-link scaling on the tensile strength of bamboo fibers. The proposed model considers the random nature of fiber strength, which is reflected by using a two-parameter Weibull distribution function. Tension tests were performed on samples that could be scaled in length. The size effects in fiber length on the strength were analyzed based on Weibull statistics. The results verify the use of Weibull parameters from specimen testing for predicting the strength distributions of fibers of longer gauge lengths

Permeability evaluation on oil-window shale based on hydraulic flow unit: A new approach

Permeability is one of the most important petrophysical properties of shale reservoirs, controlling the fluid flow from the shale matrix to artificial fracture networks, the production and ultimate recovery of shale oil/gas. Various methods have been used to measure this parameter in shales, but no method effectively estimates the permeability of all well intervals due to the complex and heterogeneous pore throat structure of shale. A hydraulic flow unit (HFU) is a correlatable and mappable zone within a reservoir, which is used to subdivide a reservoir into distinct layers based on hydraulic flow properties. From these units, correlations between permeability and porosity can be established. In this study, HFUs were identified and combined with a back propagation neural network to predict the permeability of shale reservoirs in the Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China. Well data from three locations were used and subdivided into modeling and validation datasets. The modeling dataset was applied to identify HFUs in the study reservoirs and to train the back propagation neural network models to predict values of porosity and flow zone indicator. Next, a permeability prediction method was established, and its generalization capability was evaluated using the validation dataset. The results identified five HFUs in the shale reservoirs within the Dongying Depression. The correlation between porosity and permeability in each HFU is generally greater than the correlation between the two same variables in the overall core data. The permeability estimation method established in this study effectively and accurately predicts the permeability of shale reservoirs in both cored and un-cored wells. Predicted permeability curves effectively reveal favorable shale oil/gas seepage layers and thus are useful for the exploration and the development of hydrocarbon resources in the Dongying Depression.Cited as: Zhang, P., Lu, S., Li, J., Zhang, J., Xue, H., Chen, C. Permeability evaluation on oil-window shale based on hydraulic flow unit: A new approach. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2018, 2(1): 1-13, doi: 10.26804/ager.2018.01.0

Global Methylomic and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal the Broad Participation of DNA Methylation in Daily Gene Expression Regulation of Populus trichocarpa

Changes in DNA methylation patterns in different tissues, at various developmental stages, and under environmental stimuli have been investigated in plants. However, the involvement of DNA methylation in daily gene expression regulation and the plant circadian clock have not been reported. Here, we investigated DNA methylomes and mRNA transcriptomes from leaves of P. trichocarpa over 24 h by high-throughput sequencing. We found that approximately 15.63–19.50% of the genomic cytosine positions were methylated in mature poplar leaves, with approximately half being in the form of asymmetric CHH sites. Repetitive sequences and transposable elements (TEs) were heavily methylated, and the hAT and CMC-EnSpm transposons were more heavily methylated than other TEs. High methylation levels were observed upstream and downstream of the transcribed region, medium in exon and intron, low in untranslated region (5′-UTR and 3′-UTR) of genic regions. In total, about 53,689 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified and CHH context was the most abundant type among daily DNA methylation changes. The DMRs overlapped with over one third of the total poplar genes, including plant defense genes. In addition, a positive correlation between expression levels and DNA methylation levels in the gene body region were observed in DMR overlapping genes. About 1,895 circadian regulated genes overlapped with DMRs, with 871 hypermethylated genes with down-regulated expression levels and 881 hypomethylated genes with up-regulated expression levels, indicating the possible regulation of DNA methylation on the daily rhythmic expression of these genes. But rhythmic DNA methylation changes were not detected in any oscillator component genes controlling the plant circadian clock. Our results suggest that DNA methylation participates widely in daily gene expression regulation, but is not the main mechanism modulating the plant circadian clock

Preliminary taxonomical investigation of soil enchytraeids (Clitellata, Enchytraeidae) from south region of Tibet, China

Lu, Yajing, Xie, Zhicai, Zhang, Junqian (2018): Preliminary taxonomical investigation of soil enchytraeids (Clitellata, Enchytraeidae) from south region of Tibet, China. Zootaxa 4496 (1): 395-410, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4496.1.2

Two new Mesenchytraeus species (Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) from Changbai Mountain, China

Zhang, Junqian, Lu, Yajing, Xie, Zhicai (2018): Two new Mesenchytraeus species (Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) from Changbai Mountain, China. Zootaxa 4496 (1): 382-394, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4496.1.2

Revealing the Quantitative Connection between Electrode-level Cracks and Capacity Fading of Silicon Electrodes in Lithium-ion Battery

For the coupling problems of lithium-ion batteries, a key issue at hand is that it is still unclear which mechanical failures can cause degradation and how, which is particularly salient at the electrode level. In this work, the correlation between electrode-level cracks and cycling capacity of silicon electrodes is investigated. Unexpectedly, for cracks in active layers, the capacity decreases with the increase of crack width, while the connection of other crack features to the capacity is weaker or even absent. Meanwhile, the modeling results, however, suggest that the increase in crack width cannot directly cause the capacity fading. To explain these results, the relationship between electrode debonding and active layer crack opening is also described quantitatively. By combining the debonding model and the porous electrode model, the connection between crack widths of active layers and capacity fading is clarified, and accurate predictions are obtained. These results indicate that the easily measurable width of active layer cracks is qualified to evaluate degradation, while the electrode debonding is in fact the direct cause of capacity fading. The findings in this work provide a more precise understanding of the degradation mechanism in lithium-ion battery electrodes

Deformation of Copper Nanowire under Coupled Tension–Torsion Loading

Metallic nanowires (NWs) are essential building blocks for flexible electronics, and experi-ence different deformation modes due to external mechanical loading. Using atomistic simulations, this work investigated the deformation behavior of copper nanowire under coupled tension–torsion loading. A transition in both yielding pattern and dislocation pattern were observed with varying torsion/tension strain ratios. Specifically, increasing the torsion/tension strain ratio (with larger torsional strain) triggered the nucleation of different partial dislocations in the slip system. At low torsion/tension strain ratios, plastic deformation of the nanowire was dominated by stacking faults with trailing partial dislocations pinned at the surface, shifting to two partial dislocations with stacking faults as the strain ratio increases. More interestingly, the NW under tension-dominated loading exhibited a stacking fault structure after yielding, whereas torsion-dominated loading resulted in a three-dimensional dislocation network within the structure. This work thus suggests that the deformation behavior of the NW varies depending on the coupled mechanical loading, which could be beneficial for various engineering applications.</p

Permeability evaluation on oil-window shale based on hydraulic flow unit: A new approach

Permeability is one of the most important petrophysical properties of shale reservoirs, controlling the fluid flow from the shale matrix to artificial fracture networks, the production and ultimate recovery of shale oil/gas. Various methods have been used to measure this parameter in shales, but no method effectively estimates the permeability of all well intervals due to the complex and heterogeneous pore throat structure of shale. A hydraulic flow unit (HFU) is a correlatable and mappable zone within a reservoir, which is used to subdivide a reservoir into distinct layers based on hydraulic flow properties. From these units, correlations between permeability and porosity can be established. In this study, HFUs were identified and combined with a back propagation neural network to predict the permeability of shale reservoirs in the Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China. Well data from three locations were used and subdivided into modeling and validation datasets. The modeling dataset was applied to identify HFUs in the study reservoirs and to train the back propagation neural network models to predict values of porosity and flow zone indicator (FZI). Next, a permeability prediction method was established, and its generalization capability was evaluated using the validation dataset. The results identified five HFUs in the shale reservoirs within the Dongying Depression. The correlation between porosity and permeability in each HFU is generally greater than the correlation between the two same variables in the overall core data. The permeability estimation method established in this study effectively and accurately predicts the permeability of shale reservoirs in both cored and un-cored wells. Predicted permeability curves effectively reveal favorable shale oil/gas seepage layers and thus are useful for the exploration and the development of hydrocarbon resources in the Dongying Depression

Adsorption Properties of Hydrocarbons (n-Decane, Methyl Cyclohexane and Toluene) on Clay Minerals: An Experimental Study

Adsorption of hydrocarbons may significantly affect hydrocarbon migration in unconventional reservoirs. Clay minerals form the primary adsorbent surfaces for hydrocarbons adsorbed in mudstone/shale. To study the adsorption properties of hydrocarbons (n-decane (C10H22), methyl cyclohexane (C7H14) and toluene (C7H8)) on clay minerals (i.e., cookeite, ripidolite, kaolinite, illite, illite/smectite mixed-layer, Na-montmorillonite and Ca-montmorillonite), hydrocarbon vapor adsorption (HVA) tests were conducted at 298.15 K. The results showed that (i) the adsorption amounts of C10H22, C7H14 and C7H8 ranged from 0.45–1.03 mg/m2, 0.28–0.90 mg/m2 and 0.16–0.53 mg/m2, respectively; (ii) for cookeite, ripidolite and kaolinite, the adsorption capacity of C10H22 was less than C7H14, which was less than C7H8; (iii) for illite, Na-montmorillonite and Ca-montmorillonite, the adsorption capacity of C10H22 was greater than that of C7H8, and the adsorption capacity of C7H14 was the lowest; (iv) for an illite/smectite mixed-layer, C7H14 had the highest adsorption capacity, followed by C10H22, and C7H8 had the lowest capacity. Adsorption properties were correlated with the microscopic parameters of pores in clay minerals and with experimental pressure. Finally, the weighted average method was applied to evaluate the adsorption properties of C10H22, C7H14 and C7H8 on clay minerals in oil-bearing shale from the Shahejie Formation of Dongying Sag in the Bohai Bay Basin, China. For these samples, the adsorbed amounts of C7H14 ranged from 18.03–28.02 mg/g (mean 23.33 mg/g), which is larger than that of C10H22, which ranges from 15.40–21.72 mg/g (mean 18.82 mg/g). The adsorption capacity of C7H8 was slightly low, ranging from 10.51–14.60 mg/g (mean 12.78 mg/g)