Effect of Surrogate Aggregates on the Thermal Conductivity of Concrete at Ambient and Elevated Temperatures

The accurate assessment of the thermal conductivity of concretes is an important part of building design in terms of thermal efficiency and thermal performance of materials at various temperatures. We present an experimental assessment of the thermal conductivity of five thermally insulated concrete specimens made using lightweight aggregates and glass bubbles in place of normal aggregates. Four different measurement methods are used to assess the reliability of the thermal data and to evaluate the effects of the various sensor types. The concrete specimens are also assessed at every 100°C during heating to ~800°C. Normal concrete is shown to have a thermal conductivity of ~2.25 W m−1 K−1. The surrogate aggregates effectively reduce the conductivity to ~1.25 W m−1 K−1 at room temperature. The aggregate size is shown not to affect thermal conduction: fine and coarse aggregates each lead to similar results. Surface contact methods of assessment tend to underestimate thermal conductivity, presumably owing to high thermal resistance between the transducers and the specimens. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the stages of mass loss of the cement paste correspond to the evolution of thermal conductivity upon heating

Thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing sediments

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2009. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 114 (2009): B11103, doi:10.1029/2008JB006235.A thorough understanding of the thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing sediments is necessary for evaluating phase transformation processes that would accompany energy production from gas hydrate deposits and for estimating regional heat flow based on the observed depth to the base of the gas hydrate stability zone. The coexistence of multiple phases (gas hydrate, liquid and gas pore fill, and solid sediment grains) and their complex spatial arrangement hinder the a priori prediction of the thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing sediments. Previous studies have been unable to capture the full parameter space covered by variations in grain size, specific surface, degree of saturation, nature of pore filling material, and effective stress for hydrate-bearing samples. Here we report on systematic measurements of the thermal conductivity of air dry, water- and tetrohydrofuran (THF)-saturated, and THF hydrate–saturated sand and clay samples at vertical effective stress of 0.05 to 1 MPa (corresponding to depths as great as 100 m below seafloor). Results reveal that the bulk thermal conductivity of the samples in every case reflects a complex interplay among particle size, effective stress, porosity, and fluid-versus-hydrate filled pore spaces. The thermal conductivity of THF hydrate–bearing soils increases upon hydrate formation although the thermal conductivities of THF solution and THF hydrate are almost the same. Several mechanisms can contribute to this effect including cryogenic suction during hydrate crystal growth and the ensuing porosity reduction in the surrounding sediment, increased mean effective stress due to hydrate formation under zero lateral strain conditions, and decreased interface thermal impedance as grain-liquid interfaces are transformed into grain-hydrate interfaces.This work was supported by the Chevron Joint Industry Project on Methane Hydrates under contract DE-FC26- 01NT41330 to Georgia Institute of Technology from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. J.C.S. received additional support from the Goizueta Foundation. C.R. thanks the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society under AC8–31351 for early support of thermal conductivity research on hydrate-bearing sediments at Georgia Institute of Technology

Primary Cardiac Lymphoma Presenting With Atrioventricular Block

Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCL) are extremely rare. Clinical manifestations may be variable and are attributed to location. Here, we report on a case of PCL presenting with atrioventricular (AV) block. A 55 year-old male had experienced chest discomfort with unexplained dyspnea and night sweating. His initial electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed a first degree AV block. Along with worsening chest discomfort and dyspnea, his ECG changed to show second degree AV block (Mobitz type I). Computed tomography (CT) scan showed a cardiac mass (about 7 cm) and biopsy was performed. Pathologic finding confirmed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient was treated with multi-drug combination chemotherapy (R-CHOP: Rituximab, cyclophoshamide, anthracycline, vincristine, and prednisone). After treatment, ECG changed to show normal sinus rhythm with complete remission on follow-up CT scan

Determination of Malignant and Invasive Predictors in Branch Duct Type Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms of the Pancreas: A Suggested Scoring Formula

Prediction of malignancy or invasiveness of branch duct type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (Br-IPMN) is difficult, and proper treatment strategy has not been well established. The authors investigated the characteristics of Br-IPMN and explored its malignancy or invasiveness predicting factors to suggest a scoring formula for predicting pathologic results. From 1994 to 2008, 237 patients who were diagnosed as Br-IPMN at 11 tertiary referral centers in Korea were retrospectively reviewed. The patients' mean age was 63.1 ± 9.2 yr. One hundred ninty-eight (83.5%) patients had nonmalignant IPMN (81 adenoma, 117 borderline atypia), and 39 (16.5%) had malignant IPMN (13 carcinoma in situ, 26 invasive carcinoma). Cyst size and mural nodule were malignancy determining factors by multivariate analysis. Elevated CEA, cyst size and mural nodule were factors determining invasiveness by multivariate analysis. Using the regression coefficient for significant predictors on multivariate analysis, we constructed a malignancy-predicting scoring formula: 22.4 (mural nodule [0 or 1]) + 0.5 (cyst size [mm]). In invasive IPMN, the formula was expressed as invasiveness-predicting score = 36.6 (mural nodule [0 or 1]) + 32.2 (elevated serum CEA [0 or 1]) + 0.6 (cyst size [mm]). Here we present a scoring formula for prediction of malignancy or invasiveness of Br-IPMN which can be used to determine a proper treatment strategy

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Mechanical and Thermal Study of Hydrate Bearing Sediments

Gas hydrate is a naturally occurring crystalline compound formed by water molecules and encapsulated gas molecules. The interest in gas hydrate reflects scientific, energy and safety concerns - climate change, future energy resources and seafloor stability. Gas hydrates form in the pore space of sediments, under high pressure and low temperature conditions. This research focuses on the fundamental understanding of hydrate bearing sediments, with emphasis on mechanical behavior, thermal properties and lens formation. Load-induced cementation and decementation effects are explored with lightly cemented loose and dense soil specimens subjected to ko-loading; the small-strain stiffness evolution inferred from shear wave velocity measurement denounces stiffness loss prior to structural collapse upon loading. Systematic triaxial tests address the intermediate and large strain response of hydrate bearing sediments for different mean particle size, applied pressure and hydrate concentration in the pore space; hydrate concentration determines elastic stiffness and undrained strength when Shyd>45%. A unique sequence of particle-level and macro-scale experiments provide new insight into the role of interparticle contact area, coordination number and pore fluid on heat transfer in particulate materials. Micro-mechanisms and necessary boundary conditions are experimentally analyzed to gain an enhanced understanding of hydrate lens formation in sediments; high specific surface soils and tensile stress fields facilitate lens formation. Finally, a new instrumented high-pressure chamber is designed, constructed and field tested. It permits measuring the mechanical and electrical properties of methane hydrate bearing sediments recovered from pressure cores without losing in situ pressure (~20MPa).Ph.D.Committee Chair: J. Carlos Santamarina; Committee Member: Carolyn D. Ruppel; Committee Member: Glenn J. Rix; Committee Member: J. David Frost; Committee Member: Paul W. Mayn

Containment of sulfate in leachate as gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) mineral formation in bio-cemented sand via enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation

Abstract Enzymatically induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) using urea hydrolysis is a well-known bio-cementation process that not only promotes the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) but can provide excess calcium cations for further reaction depending on the substrate constituents and reaction stage. This study presents the EICP recipe to contain sulfate ions in landfill leachate sufficiently using remaining calcium cations and a series of tests were conducted to validate its ability to retain sulfates. The reaction rate for 1 M CaCl2 and 1.5 M urea was identified by controlling the purified urease content and the curing time of the EICP process. The results showed that 0.3 g/L of purified urease produced 46% CaCO3 and reduced sulfate ions by 77% after 3 days of curing. The shear stiffness in EICP-treated sand was enhanced 13 times by CaCO3 precipitation followed by 1.12 times increment due to subsequent precipitation of gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) crystals implying sulfate containment. A cost-efficient EICP treatment using soybean crude urease instead of lab-grade purified urease exhibited lower sulfate removal efficiency (i.e., 18%) with only nominal formation of gypsum in the EICP-treated sand. The addition of gypsum powder was effective in increasing sulfate removal by 40% when soybean crude urease was used for EICP

Reliable estimation of hydraulic permeability from 3D X-ray CT images of porous rock

The hydraulic permeability is a key parameter for simulating the flow-related phenomenon so that its accurate estimation is crucial in both experimental and numerical simulation studies. 3D pore structure can be readily taken by X-ray computed tomography (CT) and it often serves as a flow domain for pore-scale simulation. However, one encounters the challenges in segmenting the authentic pore structure owing to the finite size of image resolution and segmentation methods. Therefore, the loss of structural information in pore space seems unavoidable to result in the unreliable estimation of permeability. In this study, we propose a novel framework to overcome these limitations by using a flexible ternary segmentation scheme. Given the pore size distribution curve and porosity, three phases of pore, solid, and gray regions are segmented by considering the partial volume effect which holds the composition information of unresolved objects. The resolved objects such as solid and pore phases are taken to equivalently solve Stokes equation while the fluid flow through unresolved objects is simultaneously solved by Stokes-Brinkmann equation. The proposed numerical scheme to obtain the permeability is applied to Indiana limestone and Navajo sandstone. The results show that the computed hydraulic permeability is similar to the experimentally obtained value without being affected by image resolution. This approach has advantages of achieving consistent permeability values, less influenced by segmentation methods

Development of microcracks in granitic rock by liquid CO2 fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing by liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2) generates fracture and cracking patterns that vary from those generated by water injection. The use of LCO2 as a fracturing fluid can minimize water usage and potentially sequester CO2. In this study, hydraulic fracturing by LCO2 and water in a granitic specimen was performed, and the micro-scale characteristics of generated microcracks were investigated using an X-ray imaging technique and thin-section analysis. The results revealed that LCO2 and water injection produced different fracture characteristics. The injection of LCO2 with less viscosity and high compressibility required a greater fluid volume for fracture initiation to generate a lower breakdown pressure, and also generated higher crack-density zones located near the borehole hole possibly because of facilitated permeation amount into the rock matrix as compared to the water-injection case. In both the LCO2- and water-injection cases, the fractures developed along the rift cleavage plane, and an increase in microcrack density was observed in regions within 6 mm from the borehole. It was confirmed that the statistical and spatial distributions of developed microcracks were affected by the fracturing fluid and anisotropic properties of granitic rocks. The results of this study could be applied to fracturing that employs less water, CO2 sequestration, and recovery of geothermal energy

Evolution of pore characteristics in the 3D numerical direct shear test

The quantitative analysis of the pore characteristics of granular materials has been often challenging due to arbitrarily shaped geometry of pores despite its significant implications. In this study, we investigate the size distribution and orientation of pores in dilative and contractive assemblies in the direct shear test by performing 3D discrete element simulations in conjunction with image processing of pore geometry. We quantitatively define unit pores by the Delaunay Tessellation followed by pore mergence and fitting them with ellipsoids. It is observed that the evolution of pore size distribution depends on the dilatancy of assemblies. Results also show that the direction of principal stresses governs the orientations of pores during shearing, with respect to the size of pores. This study highlights that the dominant factors of the pore characteristics upon shearing are stress anisotropy and particle mobilization to make the internal structure stable. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex