Kinetic theory of cluster impingement in the framework of statistical mechanics of rigid disks

The paper centres on the evaluation of the function n(theta)=N(theta)/N0, that is the normalized number of islands as a function of coverage 0<theta<1, given N0 initial nucleation centres (dots) having any degree of spatial correlation. A mean field approach has been employed: the islands have the same size at any coverage. In particular, as far as the random distribution of dots is concerned, the problem has been solved by considering the contribution of binary collisions between islands only. With regard to correlated dots, we generalize a method previously applied to the random case only. In passing, we have made use of the exclusion probability reported in [S. Torquato, B. Lu, J. Rubinstein, Phys.Rev.A 41, 2059 (1990)], for determining the kinetics of surface coverage in the case of correlated dots, improving our previous calculation [M. Tomellini, M. Fanfoni, M. Volpe Phys. Rev.B 62, 11300, (2000)].Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

An experimental and theoretical approach for an estimation of DKth

The existence of a fatigue threshold value may affect the design process when a damage-tolerant design is considered that uses non-destructive techniques for evaluating the shape and dimensions of the defects inside materials. Obviously it should be possible to estimate the stress field surrounding these defects and this is not generally a problem with modern numerical methods.Many factors are involved in determining the growth rate of a fatigue crack. Some of these are highly significant and it is possible to obtain the coefficients of a correlation function. Some others are not well defined and the only effect is to expand the scatter of experimental data.Consider the sigmoidal curve we obtain when plotting the crack growth rate versus the applied DK_I . A very difficult parameter to measure but very useful for fatigue design is the DK_Ith value, because below this value a crack may be forming, hence, here DK_Ith is defined by the transition between a normal (e.g. 10-10 m/cycle) and a very low range of crack growth rate (&lt;10-10 m/cycle).The DgrKIth value is very difficult to obtain by experimental methods because the growth rate is of the order or less than the atomic lattice span (3 × 10-10 m/cycle), but we can correlate the transition value with the cyclic crack tip plastic zone size and other structural parameters of metallic materials.The aim of this work is to offer a contribution about the parameters which influence DK_Ith in stainless steels and welded joints based on the crack tip plastic zone radius

Facies and faunal assemblage changes in response to the Holocene transgression in the Lagoon of Mayotte (Comoro Archipelago, SW Indian Ocean)

This paper documents the facies change in response to the Holocene transgression within five sediment cores taken in the lagoon of Mayotte, which contain a Type-1 depositional sequence (lowstand, transgressive and highstand deposits underlain by an erosive sequence boundary). Quantitative compositional analysis and visual examination of the bioclasts were used to document the facies changes. The distribution of the skeletal and non-skeletal grains in the lagoon of Mayotte is clearly controlled by (1) the rate and amplitude of the Holocene sea-level rise, (2) the pre-Holocene basement topography and (3) the growth-potential of the barrier reef during sea-level rise, and the changes in bathymetry and continuity during this period. The sequence boundary consists of the glacial karst surface. The change-over from the glacial lowstand is marked by the occurrence of mangrove deposits. Terrigenous and/or mixed terrigenous-carbonate muds to sandy muds with a mollusc or mollusc-ostracod assemblage dominate the transgressive deposits. Mixed carbonate-siliciclastic or carbonate sand to gravel with a mollusc-foraminifer or mollusc-coral-foraminifer assemblage characterize the early highstand deposits on the inner lagoonal plains. The early highstand deposits in the outer lagoonal plains consist of carbonate muds with a mollusc-foraminifer assemblage. Late highstand deposits consist of terrigenous muds in the nearshore bays, mixed terrigenous-carbonate sandy muds to sands with a mollusc-foraminifer assemblage on the inner lagoonal plains and mixed muds with a mollusc-foraminifer assemblage on the outer deep lagoonal plains. The present development stage of the individual lagoons comprises semi-enclosed to open lagoons with fair or good water exchange with the open ocean

Quenched growth of nanostructured lead thin films on insulating substrates

Lead island films were obtained via vacuum vapor deposition on glass and ceramic substrates at 80 K. Electrical conductance was measured during vapor condensation and further annealing of the film up to room temperature. The resistance behavior during film formation and atomic force microscopy of annealed films were used as information sources about their structure. A model for the quenched growth, based on ballistic aggregation theory, was proposed. The nanostructure, responsible for chemiresistive properties of thin lead films and the mechanism of sensor response are discussed.Comment: 2 figures; accepted to Thin Solid Film

Secondary Natural Gas Recovery: Reservoir Heterogeneity and Potential for Reserve Growth through Infield Drilling: An Example from McAllen Ranch Field, Hidalgo County, Texas

Integrated engineering, geological, geophysical, and petrophysical analyses of McAllen Ranch field have delineated several controls on secondary recovery of natural gas. Barriers to the flow of natural gas within laterally continuous lower Vicksburg sandstone reservoirs can be demonstrated through finite-element modeling. These barriers are probably diagenetic in origin. In the B area of McAllen Ranch field, faults are unlikely to be the primary barriers to gas flow because faults were not inferred from analysis of high-quality three-dimensional seismic images between the key wells used in this study (Hill and others, 1991). Barriers result in incremental reserve additions when some reservoir domains contain no well completions. Areas containing potential incremental gas resources, identified through this analysis, were confirmed by subsequent recompletions in 1991. Three recompletions proposed by this project have proved successful. Our analysis of public domain production data indicates that new infield wells in the Vicksburg S reservoir have increased reserves 69 percent above an estimate made from analysis of 1980 public domain data. Additionally, more than 100 barrels per day of reserves has been added through new wells drilled between 1988 and 1991. Most of the McAllen Ranch Vicksburg S reserve increases are due to a geological reinterpretation that has stimulated infield step-out development of the Vicksburg S reservoir. Distributary-channel-fill sandstones are the most likely candidates to contain incremental reserves because they are laterally discontinuous and are predominant in areas where numerous reservoir sandstones are stacked.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Snow water equivalent retrieval over Idaho – Part 1: Using Sentinel-1 repeat-pass interferometry

Snow water equivalent (SWE) is identified as the key element of the snowpack that impacts rivers' streamflow and water cycle. Both active and passive microwave remote sensing methods have been used to retrieve SWE, but there does not currently exist a SWE product that provides useful estimates in mountainous terrain. Active sensors provide higher-resolution observations, but the suitable radar frequencies and temporal repeat intervals have not been available until recently. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has been shown to have the potential to estimate SWE change. In this study, we apply this technique to a long time series of 6 d temporal repeat Sentinel-1 C-band data from the 2020–2021 winter. The retrievals show statistically significant correlations both temporally and spatially with independent in situ measurements of SWE. The SWE change measurements vary between −5.3 and 9.4 cm over the entire time series and all the in situ stations. The Pearson correlation and RMSE between retrieved SWE change observations and in situ stations measurements are 0.8 and 0.93 cm, respectively. The total retrieved SWE in the entire 2020–2021 time series shows an SWE error of less than 2 cm for the nine in situ stations in the scene. Additionally, the retrieved SWE using Sentinel-1 data is well correlated with lidar snow depth data, with correlation of more than 0.47. Low temporal coherence is identified as the main reason for degrading the performance of SWE retrieval using InSAR data. We also show that the performance of the phase unwrapping algorithm degrades in regions with low temporal coherence. A higher frequency such as L-band improves the temporal coherence and SWE ambiguity. SWE retrieval using C-band Sentinel-1 data is shown to be successful, but faster revisit is required to avoid low temporal coherence. Global SWE retrieval using radar interferometry will have a great opportunity with the upcoming L-band 12 d repeat-pass NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) data and the future 6 d repeat-pass Radar Observing System for Europe in L-band (ROSE-L) data.</p

Secondary Natural Gas Recovery: Targeted Technology Applications for Infield Reserve Growth

Activities during the year comprised screening and selection of gas fields for detailed studies; integrated geological, petrophysical, geophysical, and engineering analyses of the fields selected; and data acquisition in cooperative wells. A comprehensive workplan was prepared, and a methodology for geological and engineering screening of sandstone reservoirs was developed and applied to leading candidate fields. Contacts made with field operators resulted in active participation of Mobil Exploration and Producing U.S., Inc., and Shell Western Exploration and Production Inc. Lake Creek, Seeligson, McAllen Ranch, and Stratton-Agua Dulce fields were selected for study. These fields are representative of a spectrum of depositional systems and reservoir heterogeneities in highly productive gas reservoirs in the Texas coastal plain. Producing intervals are fluvial Frio reservoirs in Seeligson and Stratton-Agua Dulce fields, deltaic Vicksburg reservoirs in McAllen Ranch field, and deltaic Wilcox reservoirs in Lake Creek field. New data, comprising cores, open- and cased-hole logs, vertical seismic profiles, and sequential formation-pressure tests, were acquired in two wells in Seeligson field and in one well in McAllen Ranch field. Results to date suggest that reservoir heterogeneity can be defined using integrated geologic, geophysical, and engineering data.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Decay of isolated surface features driven by the Gibbs-Thomson effect in analytic model and simulation

A theory based on the thermodynamic Gibbs-Thomson relation is presented which provides the framework for understanding the time evolution of isolated nanoscale features (i.e., islands and pits) on surfaces. Two limiting cases are predicted, in which either diffusion or interface transfer is the limiting process. These cases correspond to similar regimes considered in previous works addressing the Ostwald ripening of ensembles of features. A third possible limiting case is noted for the special geometry of "stacked" islands. In these limiting cases, isolated features are predicted to decay in size with a power law scaling in time: A is proportional to (t0-t)^n, where A is the area of the feature, t0 is the time at which the feature disappears, and n=2/3 or 1. The constant of proportionality is related to parameters describing both the kinetic and equilibrium properties of the surface. A continuous time Monte Carlo simulation is used to test the application of this theory to generic surfaces with atomic scale features. A new method is described to obtain macroscopic kinetic parameters describing interfaces in such simulations. Simulation and analytic theory are compared directly, using measurements of the simulation to determine the constants of the analytic theory. Agreement between the two is very good over a range of surface parameters, suggesting that the analytic theory properly captures the necessary physics. It is anticipated that the simulation will be useful in modeling complex surface geometries often seen in experiments on physical surfaces, for which application of the analytic model is not straightforward.Comment: RevTeX (with .bbl file), 25 pages, 7 figures from 9 Postscript files embedded using epsf. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B A few minor changes made on 9/24/9