Hydrogen permeability in subsurface

Clean hydrogen is a promising option for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but it has not yet been used as an energy carrier at the scale required for meeting the net-zero target by 2050. Hydrogen molecules are smaller than nitrogen and methane molecules. Hydrogen, nitrogen, and methane have densities of 0.09 g/L, 1.25 g/L, and 0.71 g/L, respectively, at the standard temperature and pressure. Our knowledge of the geological formations is based on responses to the larger and heavier gases; it is unclear whether we can apply this knowledge to store hydrogen at the required scale.We investigate the single-phase flow of hydrogen in the subsurface and compare it with the single-phase flows of nitrogen and methane. The comparison with nitrogen is helpful because it is used under laboratory conditions. The comparison with methane is also beneficial because engineers understand its behavior under in-situ conditions. We use the Knudsen number (Kn) to determine the flow behaviors under laminar conditions within two domains. The first is a permeable medium representing a conventional gas reservoir, and the second is caprock. Our study shows that the existing knowledge of the first domain's permeability applies to hydrogen flow; however, it is unrealistic for the second domain. The single-phase permeability of the caprock obtained by nitrogen in the laboratory underestimates hydrogen permeability at low pressures (<10 MPa), and the deviation is a non-linear function of pressure. Our study also shows that hydrogen permeability is always larger than methane permeability in the caprock. The difference between the two, controlled by the reservoir pressure, reached 70% in the caprock. The presented results have applications if hydrogen storage in gas reservoirs becomes a reality.     

Hydrogen wettability in carbonate reservoirs: Implication for underground hydrogen storage from geochemical perspective

Hydrogen has been considered as a promising renewable source to replace fossil fuels to meet energy demand and achieve net-zero carbon emission target. Underground hydrogen storage attracts more interest as it shows potential to store hydrogen at large-scale safely and economically. Meanwhile, wettability is one of the most important formation parameters which can affect hydrogen injection rate, reproduction efficiency and storage capacity. However, current knowledge is still very limited on how fluid-rock interactions affect formation wettability at in-situ conditions. In this study, we thus performed geochemical modelling to interpret our previous brine contact angle measurements of H₂-brine-calcite system. The calcite surface potential at various temperatures, pressures and salinities was calculated to predict disjoining pressure. Moreover, the surface species concentrations of calcite and organic stearic acid were estimated to characterize calcite-organic acid electrostatic attractions and thus hydrogen wettability. The results of the study showed that increasing temperature increases the disjoining pressure on calcite surface, which intensifies the repulsion force of H₂ against calcite and increases the hydrophilicity. Increasing salinity decreases the disjoining pressure, leading to more H₂-wet and contact angle increment. Besides, increasing stearic acid concentration remarkably strengthens the adhesion force between calcite and organic acid, which leads to more hydrophobic and H₂-wet. In general, the results from geochemical modelling are consistent with experimental observations that decreasing temperature and increasing salinity and organic acid concentration increase water contact angle. This work also demonstrates the importance of involving geochemical modelling on H₂ wettability assessment during underground hydrogen storage.     

基于伪布尔模型和启发式算法求解无容量设施选址问题

采用伪布尔模型和启发式算法来求解无容量设施选址问题。首先给出了问题的伪布尔(pseudo-Boolean)表示，然后基于Khumawala规则对问题进行预处理，最后提出两种启发式分支准则来求解问题。实验结果表明所提算法简单有效。     

γ辐照加工用新型工作模体设计研究

本文研究设计了一种用于获取γ辐照装置辐射场和货物剂量场真实分布的新型工作模体。基于真实γ辐照装置参数构建了有效可用的模拟辐射场，提出了新型工作模体的结构和填料设计方法。采用蒙特卡罗方法和随机填充方法（RCS）模拟计算剂量计套管材料与壁厚、填料小球尺寸、空心填料小球尺寸与壁厚、小球填充方式等影响模体剂量学性能的主要因素的分布规律。在满足计算置信度的前提下，参数优化取值范围为：套管采用壁厚为3~5 mm的铝管，对辐射场干扰不超过4.372 23%；填料选择外径为1~4 cm、壁厚为1.1~11.5 mm、材料等效性好、货物密度模拟范围为0.1~0.5 g/cm³的聚丙烯小球，对辐射场干扰不超过9.998 44%；均匀填充和随机填充模式对辐射场干扰基本持平，且均不超过10%。结果表明，当前设计可行有效，投入低、兼顾参数多且量程更宽，适合推广应用。     

Pumped-hydro in Bendigo: Room for wider reform?

As the world adjusts to a rapidly changing climate, interest in renewable energy technologies has increased. One disadvantage of renewables is that they’re only intermittently reliable; when the sun doesn’t shine, or the wind stops blowing the energy generation capacity of these infrastructures tapers off. In light of these changes there has been renewed interest in the creation of Pumped Hydro-Electricity Storage (‘PHES’), which acts as a ‘battery’ storing excess electricity generated when consumption of energy is at its lowest. In addition new technologies allow for legacy infrastructures, that would otherwise be a liability for the community, to now be used in a productive way for projects like PHES. Although there are many exciting opportunities the Bendigo PHES project presents, there is a dearth of regulatory issues for a small-medium scale project like this. This paper will explore the way in which such a project would fit within the national electricity market, as well as the limitations and barriers to implementation it might face before making some brief recommendations on changes that would benefit other such schemes in the future.     

双层过道布置问题的混合整数非线性规划模型及两阶段改进模拟退火算法

结合实际布局活动中，设施在多层空间布置的实际情况，提出了双层过道布置问题，并构建了该问题的混合整数非线性规划（MINLP）模型。针对问题特征，提出了一种改进模拟退火算法，通过采用两阶段改进策略，对退火过程及抽样过程进行改进。该算法以自适应搜索策略替代马氏链搜索长度，并引入记忆功能、回火操作以提高求解质量，通过设置双阈值来提高求解效率。应用所提算法对24个基准算例进行测试，并将其与原模拟退火算法和GUROBI精确方法作对比，验证了所提算法的有效性。     

泳池式轻水反应堆内电磁线圈可控温辐照装置设计

本文设计了在泳池式轻水反应堆（简称泳池堆）内在线测量电磁线圈电性能的可控温辐照装置。采用MCNP程序进行中子物理计算，对泳池堆、线圈骨架的结构尺寸与物质组分进行了精细全尺寸模拟，得出辐照装置的发热功率和中子注量率。通过初步估算，使用ANSYS CFX进行了数值模拟，得出辐照装置内线圈在堆运行时的温度，并提出温度控制的方法。辐照装置采用铝材加工制造，并进行了垂直度测试、气压测试、检漏测试。增加了绝缘设计，将辐照装置与泳池堆之间进行绝缘。在线圈处预埋铠装热电偶，对线圈温度进行实时监测。在泳池堆内对电磁线圈进行辐照试验，结果表明，本文设计的辐照装置能满足电磁线圈在泳池堆孔道内进行辐照试验的要求，并可对电磁线圈进行实时温度控制。     

Hydrogen wettability of clays: Implications for underground hydrogen storage

This study investigates the ability of hydrogen (H₂) to wet clay surfaces in the presence of brine, with implications for underground hydrogen storage in clay-containing reservoirs. Rather than measuring contact angles directly with hydrogen gas, a suite of other gases (carbon dioxide (CO₂), argon (Ar), nitrogen (N₂), and helium (He)) were employed in the gas-brine-clay system under storage conditions (moderate temperature (333 K) and high pressures (5, 10, 15, and 20 MPa)), characteristic of a subsurface environment with a shallow geothermal gradient. By virtue of analogies to H₂ and empirical correlations, wettabilities of hydrogen on three clay surfaces were mathematically derived and interpreted. The three clays were kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite and represent 1:1, 2:1 non-expansive, and 2:1 expansive clay groups, respectively. All clays showed water-wetting behaviour with contact angles below 40° under all experimental set-ups. It follows that the presence of clays in the reservoir (or caprock) is conducive to capillary and/or residual trapping of the gas. Another positive inference is that any tested gas, particularly nitrogen, is suitable as cushion gas to maintain formation pressure during hydrogen storage because they all turned out to be more gas-wetting than hydrogen on the clay surfaces; this allows easier displacement and/or retrieval of hydrogen during injection/production. One downside of the predominant water wettability of the clays is the upstaged role of biogeochemical reactions at the wetted brine-clay/silicate interface and their potential to affect porosity and permeability. Water-wetting decreased from kaolinite as most water-wetting clay over illite to montmorillonite as most hydrogen-wetting clay. Their wetting behaviour is consistent with molecular dynamic modelling that establishes that the accessible basal plane of kaolinite's octahedral sheet is highly hydrophilic and enables strong hydrogen bonds whereas the same octahedral sheet in illite and montmorillonite is not accessible to the brine, rendering these clays less water-wetting.     

Reasons for breaking of chemical bonds of gas molecules during movement of explosion products in cracks formed in rock mass

The purpose of this study was to develop a physico-mathematical model and technique for estimation of chemical bond stability depending on electric field intensity of an external point charge. A hypothesis for a possible physico-chemical mechanism of the formation of additional harmful gases in the rock destruction by blasting was proposed. The theoretical basis of the hypothesis is the method of theretical evaluation of bond energy depending on the distance to a point charge, the third Coulomb centre. The quantum-mechanical model for calculating the electronic terms of molecules makes it possible to solve problems associated with the determination of parameters of molecules under the action of various physical fields on the system under consideration. The model was approved for some diatomic molecules. The discrepancy between the experimental data and calculated data did not exceed 14%, which proves accuracy of the obtained results. The model can be used in the field of research into the causes of gas-dynamic phenomena in underground coal mines, in studies of the degree of stability of nanostructured components of coal under physical influences, and in the theoretical design of new compounds and structures in the field of nanomaterial science and nanotechnology.     

European legal framework related to underground mining and tunnelling concerning commission directive(EU) 2017/164, 31 January establishing a fourth list of indicative occupational exposure limit values

Directive(EU) 2017/164 establishes a fourth list of indicative occupational exposure limit values(IOELVs)to protect workers from risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals. It states that in underground mining and tunnelling, Member States may benefit from a transitional period regarding IOELVs for nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide, during which the existing established IOELVs may be applied. The European Advisory Committee on Health and Safety at Work questions the technical feasibility of the proposed IOELVs in underground mining(CO, NO and NO_2) and tunnelling(NO and NO_2).Challenges arise concerning the availability of measurement methodologies for compliance with proposed IOELVs(NO_2) in underground mining and tunnelling environments.