Gas Flow in Porous Media With Klinkenberg Effects

Gas flow in porous media differs from liquid flow because of the large gas compressibility and pressure-dependent effective permeability. The latter effect, named after Klinkenberg, may have significant impact on gas flow behavior, especially in low permeability media, but it has been ignored in most of the previous studies because of the mathematical difficulty in handling the additional nonlinear term in the gas flow governing equation. This paper presents a set of new analytical solutions developed for analyzing steady-state and transient gas flow through porous media including Klinkenberg effects. The analytical solutions are obtained using a new form of gas flow governing equation that incorporates the Klinkenberg effect. Additional analytical solutions for one-, two- and three-dimensional gas flow in porous media could be readily derived by the following solution procedures in this paper. Furthermore, the validity of the conventional assumption used for linearizing the gas flow equation has been examined. A generally applicable procedure has been developed for accurate evaluation of the analytical solutions which use a linearized diffusivity for transient gas flow. As application examples, the new analytical solutions have been used to verify numerical solutions, and to design new laboratory and field testing techniques to determine the Klinkenberg parameters. The proposed laboratory analysis method is also used to analyze data from steady-state flow tests of three core plugs from The Geysers geothermal field. We show that this new approach and the traditional method of Klinkenberg yield similar results of Klinkenberg constants for the laboratory tests; however, the new method allows one to analyze data from both transient and steady-state tests in various flow geometries.     

Stress and Strain Analysis of Pipelines with Localized Metal Loss

This paper presents the analysis of stress and strain data acquired with the finite element method and with tests that used post-yielding strain gages bonded onto the external surface of pipes that suffered thickness metal loss and that had been loaded with internal pressure. These metal loss areas were produced by three different processes: actual internal corrosion, careful machining of external patches by spark-erosion, and milling of internal or external patches to simulate limited or extensive strip corrosion defects with depths up to 70% of the pipe’s thickness. Results show that: (1) the extensive longitudinal internal or external defect areas behave as extensive strips with a high degree of freedom to deform elastically and plastically in the circumferential and thickness directions, and (2) large restraints are offered to the longitudinal strains by the non-corroded thick walls parallel to the strip. Using the above experimental observation, a simple mathematical model was developed to predict the burst pressure of pipes with longitudinal extensive and reasonably constant depths of metal loss. This model employed thin-pipe-strength-of-material equations associated to a bulging correction factor, the material’s uniaxial ultimate strength and the von Mises criterion. The onset of plastic collapse predicted by the simple model was successfully compared with results determined from actual hydrostatic tests that were carried out with full scale pipe specimens and from finite element results generated by the use of a commercial program. The developed model was also helpful in showing that the yield and burst behaviors of new or corroded pipeline specimens under laboratory test conditions can be directly compared and extended to the yield and burst behaviors of buried pipeline in field operation.     

Effects of static electric field on the fracture behavior of piezoelectric ceramics

The paper gives an overview on experimental observations of the failure behavior of electrically insulating and conducting cracks in piezoelectric ceramics. The experiments include the indentation fracture test, the bending test on smooth samples, and the fracture test on pre-notched (or pre-cracked) compact tension samples. For electrically insulating cracks, the experimental results show a complicated fracture behavior under electrical and mechanical loading. Fracture data are much scattered when a static electric field is applied. A statistically based fracture criterion is required. For electrically conducting cracks, the experimental results demonstrate that static electric fields can fracture poled and depoled lead zirconate titanate ceramics and that the concepts of fracture mechanics can be used to measure the electrical fracture toughness. Furthermore, the electrical fracture toughness is much higher than the mechanical fracture toughness. The highly electrical fracture toughness arises from the greater energy dissipation around the conductive crack tip under purely electric loading, which is impossible under mechanical loading in the brittle ceramics. The project supported by an RGC grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China     

Analysis of survivorship life insurance portfolios with stochastic rates of return

A general portfolio of survivorship life insurance contracts is studied in a stochastic rate of return environment with a dependent mortality model. Two methods are used to derive the first two moments of the prospective loss random variable. The first one is based on the individual loss random variables while the second one studies annual stochastic cash flows. The distribution function of the present value of future losses at a given valuation time is derived. For illustrative purposes, an AR(1) process is used to model the stochastic rates of return, and the future lifetimes of a couple are assumed to follow a copula model. The effects of the mortality dependence, the portfolio size and the policy type, as well as the impact of investment strategies on the riskiness of portfolios of survivorship life insurance policies are analyzed by means of moments and probability distributions.     

Identification of the Physical Parameters Used in the Thermo-Hygro-Mechanical Model

This paper describes different methods used to identify a large number of physical parameters of the thermo-hygro-mechanical coupling model. This model is developed on the basis of mechanics of porous media and deals with the prediction of response of a structure submitted to thermal, hygrometric and mechanical loading. The aim of this work is mainly to propose some experimental methods for the determination of physical parameters used previously in the model such as hygrometric parameters (liquid Biot's coefficient b _l , vapour and liquid permeability _v, _l and tangent capillary modulus N _ll). Thermal parameters such as thermal conductivity (), specific heat (C) and the thermo-hydrous expansion coefficient ( _i ^p ) have been identified using some works published previously. The different physical parameters were identified in the case of cement mortar without taking into account the influence of hysteresis.     

软土地区人工冻土无侧限瞬时抗压强度的试验研究

冻结法施工在上海隧道建设中(如隧道旁通道、地下泵房等的设计与施工)得到广泛应用,也曾引发过严重的地质灾害(如上海地铁4号线外滩段的地质灾害)。因此安全、经济、合理地将冻结法用于上海软土地区隧道建设中已经成为上海工程建设中的一个重要的研究课题。本文以上海复兴东路越江隧道旁通道冻结法施工中遇到的第⑥层粉质粘土及第⑦层粉细砂为研究对象,针对设计冻结壁重要强度参数无侧限瞬时抗压强度,进行了室内试验研究,揭示了两种土的冻结强度随温度的变化关系,同时研究了粉细砂的冻结强度随含水率的变化规律。     

不同体型建筑物尾流作用下的高层建筑的风荷载特性

采用高频底座力天平方法,研究了不同断面形状的施扰建筑对一典型断面受扰建筑的静力和动力干扰影响,分析了正方形断面施扰建筑和非正方形断面施扰建筑的干扰效应的差异和产生差异的干扰机理。结果表明:施扰建筑断面形状的改变对静力干扰的影响不显著,但对于动力响应方面则有非常明显的影响。由于位于上游的切角断面施扰建筑脱落的在其尾流中的漩涡频率要明显大于正方形断面施扰建筑的涡脱频率,使得其产生的最大包络动力干扰因子值(EIF)要显著高于断面为正方形施扰建筑的EIF值,最大可达4.41(顺风向)和3.69(横风向),相比断面为正方形的高出142%和82.7%。     

Indentation tests investigation of mechanical behavior of two-dimensional materials

准确了解二维材料的力学性能对于推动其应用具有重要意义, 无基底压痕技术是目前最广泛采用的二维材料力学性能测试方法之一, 本文综述了二维材料压痕研究的最新进展以及所面临的问题, 并对将来的研究工作进行了展望.无基底压痕技术是将二维材料转移到带有沟槽或柱形孔的基底上, 制备二维材料"梁"和"鼓"模型, 然后利用原子力显微镜测量其在压针作用下的载荷--位移关系, 最后通过基于连续介质薄膜导出的压痕响应分析模型拟合实验结果, 估算出二维材料的弹性模量和本征强度.由于二维材料的厚度远小于连续介质薄膜, 来自于压头以及基底孔侧壁的范德华力对二维材料的压痕响应具有显著影响, 造成二维材料与传统压痕分析模型中的基本假设不符, 导致不能准确预测二维材料的弹性模量; 另外, 由于传统压痕模型无法准确描述二维材料在大变形下的非线性行为, 以及由缺陷等引起的应力集中, 导致由压痕测试表征的二维材料(特别是多晶二维材料)本征强度具有较大的偏差. 因此, 一方面需要正确了解由压痕技术获得的二维材料力学性能, 另一方面还需对目前的研究方法做进一步的改进和完善.     

基于J-C本构模型的Comp.B炸药落锤冲击数值模拟

为研究Comp.B炸药在惯性冲击下的力学响应特性, 基于Johnson-Cook本构模型, 对 点火前的Comp.B炸药大落锤(400kg)冲击实验进行了数值模拟. 在不同应力加载条件下模 拟计算得到了用状态方程和不用状态方程的$\sigma$-$t$曲线, 对比应力峰值、应 力上升时间等主要力学参数, 结果表明考虑了状态方程的数值模 拟结果与实验吻合最好, 可以很好地模拟炸药惯性冲击下的力学响应.