Reservoir studies of new multilateral well architecture

Hydrocarbon recovery from conventional reservoirs is decreasing and the need to produce oil cheaply from mature, marginal and unconventional reservoirs poses a big challenge to the industry today. Multilateral well technology can provide innovative solutions to these problems and prove to be the most likely tool to propel the industry in the next century. In this research we propose a new multilateral well architecture for more efficient and effective field drainage. We study the architecture from a reservoir engineering point of view and analyze the effect of various design parameters such as branch density and penetration extent of laterals on the performance of the proposed architecture for homogeneous reservoirs. We also analyze the performance in case of anisotropic reservoirs. The numerical simulation results show that the multilateral wells usually help improve the overall cumulative production from a reservoir as compared to conventional wells. Also, they provide the added benefit of faster field drainage and present a more attractive return on investment. In this thesis we also present the results for a representative field case analysis. The rapidly changing Solution GOR contributed to making the oil viscous, which reduced the problem to optimize the mother bore location. In addition to these numerical studies we perform analytic studies to develop quick estimates of the theoretical limits of Productivity Index of the proposed architecture. We use known results from the literature to test their validity to estimate the upper and lower bounds on productivity. The results show that current tools to determine the lower limit is insufficient to predict performance

PREVALENCE OF ALTERED FOOT POSTURE IN OSTEOARTHRITIS OF KNEE

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a non-inflammatory progressive degenerative disorder of weight bearing joint. Changes in foot posture may cause increased mechanical rotational stress on the knee joint and may alter alignment and dynamic function of lower limb. To understand the effect of foot orthosis and footwear modification as a non-operative treatment and to identify patients who are most likely to benefit from it, greater knowledge of foot structure in this population is required to find altered foot posture in medial and lateral compartment OA knee using Navicular Drop Test (NDT) and Arch Index (AI). A cross sectional study done on 100 Osteoarthritis patients diagnosed with ACR clinically diagnostic criteria. Patients were evaluated using NDT and AI. NDT: Using a rigid ruler the height of navicular tuberosity in neutral talus position and relaxed standing position was measured. AI: A foot print was taken on graph paper and divided into 3 equal parts A (anterior), B(middle), C(posterior). The results showed that 64% had medial compartmental OA knee and 36% had lateral compartmental OA knee. Out of total population patient showed equal amount of pronation and supination i.e. 36%, while 28% having no alteration in foot posture. Medial compartment had 19.20% pronated foot due to knee adduction moment arm. 28.12% had supinated foot in order to decrease load on lateral compartment and to delay further degenerative process. The study concluded that medial compartment OA and lateral compartment OA showed more pronated and supinated foot type respectively

How do novel seat positions impact usability of child restraints?

Autonomous driving technology and changes in regulations may create an environment that allows novel vehicle interiors. It is important to consider impact on all types of passengers when contemplating interior design, particularly for vehicles that may be used by families with children. We developed a fixture that enables us to change the orientation of each of 4 car seats and used it to simulate three different vehicle interiors. Ten families with children aged 3 months to 7 years interacted with each of the simulated interiors as part of a usability study. Times to install and remove child restraint systems were not significantly different across the three simulated vehicle interiors, but parents were able to release children fastest when using the “X” configuration, which had all seats on a diagonal facing the middle of the vehicle. While overall experience ratings didn’t differ significantly, seven out of ten parents indicated that they liked the “X” configuration better than the other two configurations tested. Reasons included: ability to interact with other passengers, ability to see the road, and legroom/comfort. However, many participants disliked having some passengers not facing forward. Overall, parents liked facing their children, but several said that they would only be comfortable if they could see out of the front windshield; meanwhile, children liked seeing their parents’ faces but also preferred to face forward. Child restraint system and vehicle manufacturers could benefit from considering this study when designing new products

A study on the thermal degradation of rubber in dilute solutions

The kinetics of low-temperature (60-100°C.) thermal degradation of deproteinized and deresinified petroleum ether soluble fraction of natural rubber in two chemically inert solvents, cyclohexane and trans-decalin, have been studied. The changes in Mw, A2, and (r-2-)½at various stages of degradation have been obtained from the lightscattering data. The rate constants and the energy of activation for chain scission have been calculated from the observed variation in Mu. The scission has been found to be random and the average energy of activation is 25.8 kcal./mole. This low-energy requirement suggests the presence of weak links in the rubber molecule which get ruptured at low temperature

PREVALENCE OF ALTERED FOOT POSTURE IN OSTEOARTHRITIS OF KNEE

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a non-inflammatory progressive degenerative disorder of weight bearing joint. Changes in foot posture may cause increased mechanical rotational stress on the knee joint and may alter alignment and dynamic function of lower limb. To understand the effect of foot orthosis and footwear modification as a non-operative treatment and to identify patients who are most likely to benefit from it, greater knowledge of foot structure in this population is required to find altered foot posture in medial and lateral compartment OA knee using Navicular Drop Test (NDT) and Arch Index (AI). A cross sectional study done on 100 Osteoarthritis patients diagnosed with ACR clinically diagnostic criteria. Patients were evaluated using NDT and AI. NDT: Using a rigid ruler the height of navicular tuberosity in neutral talus position and relaxed standing position was measured. AI: A foot print was taken on graph paper and divided into 3 equal parts A (anterior), B(middle), C(posterior). The results showed that 64% had medial compartmental OA knee and 36% had lateral compartmental OA knee. Out of total population patient showed equal amount of pronation and supination i.e. 36%, while 28% having no alteration in foot posture. Medial compartment had 19.20% pronated foot due to knee adduction moment arm. 28.12% had supinated foot in order to decrease load on lateral compartment and to delay further degenerative process. The study concluded that medial compartment OA and lateral compartment OA showed more pronated and supinated foot type respectively