Modification of rheological and filtration characteristics of water‐based mud for drilling oil and gas wells using green SiO2 @ZnO@Xanthan nanocomposite

In this study, a green, simple and economical approach was used to synthesise the SiO₂ @ZnO@Xanthan nanocomposite (NC) to modify the rheological and filtration characteristics of the water‐based drilling mud. The green synthesised NCs were identified using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, elemental mapping, X‐ray diffraction and UV–Vis analytical techniques. Additionally, the effect of SiO₂ @ZnO@Xanthan NCs on the filtration and rheological properties of mud including apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, yield point, gel strength, mud cake and fluid loss was investigated. The obtained results confirmed that the synthesised NCs effectively improved the rheological properties of drilling mud, and considerably decreased its fluid loss and filter cake by about 54 and 92.5%, respectively. The results highly recommend the SiO₂ @ZnO@Xanthan NC as an excellent additive to improve the rheological properties, and reduce the fluid loss and the filter cake of the drilling mud.Inspec keywords: X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, nanofabrication, additives, nanocomposites, X‐ray chemical analysis, drilling (geotechnical), yield point, rheology, filtration, industrial economics, silicon compounds, zinc compounds, ultraviolet spectra, visible spectra, nanofluidics, gelsOther keywords: rheological properties, fluid loss, drilling mud, filtration characteristics, water‐based mud, green approach, economical approach, X‐ray spectroscopy, mud cake, apparent viscosity, oil‐gas wells, nanocomposite synthesis, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, elemental mapping, X‐ray diffraction, Uv–Vis spectroscopy, plastic viscosity, yield point, gel strength, additive, SiO₂ , ZnO     

Plane wave scattering by a conducting elliptic cylinder coated by anonconfocal dielectric

The scattering properties of a dielectric-coated nonconfocal conducting elliptic cylinder are investigated. The theoretical treatment of such a problem is based on the boundary value solution, which is an exact treatment of the problem. Only the transverse magnetic (TM) case is considered, although the transverse electric (TE) case can be treated in the same way. It is shown that this solution is much more general than all previous solutions because it can handle a variety of scattering geometries. Numerical results are presented in graphical form for the echo width pattern of various geometries     

Narrow-band low-noise amplifier synthesis for high-performance system-on-chip design

In this paper, we present a systematic synthesis methodology for fully integrated narrow-band CMOS low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) in high-performance system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The methodology is based on deterministic gradient-based numerical nonlinear optimization and the normal boundary intersection (NBI) method for Pareto optimization. We simultaneously optimize transistor widths, bias voltages, and input and output matching network passive components, which yields integrated inductor values that are more than one order of magnitude less than those generated by several existing equation-based LNA design techniques. By generating significantly smaller inductor values, we enable the SoC integration of the complete LNA. When the synthesized LNAs are characterized using circuit-level simulation, our methodology yields up to 35% and 58% improvement in noise figure and gain, respectively.     

The modified Beckmann-Kirchhoff scattering theory for rough surface analysis

This paper focusses on how reflectance models based on scattering theory and reported in the physics literature can be used for making estimates of surface roughness parameters using reflectance measurements obtained with a digital camera. We commence by reviewing the Beckmann-Kirchhoff (B-K) scatter theory, and the recent modification to it by Vernold and Harvey. We show how this model can be used to estimate surface roughness parameters for dielectric surfaces using pixel brightness measurements. Using the roughness parameter measurements we compare the model with reflectance measurements from the CUReT database. This comparison shows that the Vernold-Harvey modification of the B-K model gives a better fit to data than the Oren-Nayar model for certain types of rough surface.     

On the performance of wireless ad hoc networks using bandwidth partitioning

Wireless Networks - We consider an hoc network where nodes are assumed to be distributed uniformly in space, according to a 2-D Poisson point process (PPP), and packets arrive at each transmitter...     

Complexity reduction of equalization/pre-emphasis using set membership filtering for NG LR-PON

Coherent receivers, with advanced and low-complexity digital signal processing (DSP), have the advantage of increasing the loss/power budget of next generation-long-reach passive optical networks (NG-LRPONs). This reduces the network capital expenditures by eliminating or reducing the number of amplifiers to be installed between the optical line terminal (OLT) and the optical network units (ONUs). In this paper, we investigate the complexity and convergence speed of two adaptive equalization and/or pre-emphasis strategies for mitigating chromatic and polarization mode dispersions (CD and PMD) in NG-LRPON. We first identify two potential deployment strategies of equalization and/or pre-emphasis. The first equally splits the signal processing in the OLT and ONU; however, the second concentrates most of DSP in the OLT trying to reduce the cost and alleviate the complexity of ONUs. Our investigation shows that the second strategy achieves 50 % faster convergence rate in terms of number of symbols for 16QAM/5 Gbaud. Moreover, we apply the enhanced set membership filtering (SMF) technique, recently introduced for next generation wireless communications, to our LR-PON in order to reduce the update rate of equalizers’ taps, hence reduce the calculation complexity of the OLT and ONUs. Our results show that by employing SMF technique a substantial reduction in the number of mathematical operations needed to attain convergence is achieved. Simulation results reveal that our proposed SMF can reduce the equalizers’ update rate, hence calculation complexity, by 55 % for 16QAM and 75 % for QPSK with marginal degradation of the BER.     

The production of aflatoxins in fresh date fruits and under simulated storage conditions

Sixteen varieties of date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) at three stages of maturation (Kimri, Rutab and Tamr) were examined for the presence of fungi and analysed for aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂ and sterigmatocystin. Single samples of each variety were used in the study. Samples as received were initially examined for mycoflora and toxin levels and then stored at 98% relative humidity and 30 °C for 14 days to investigate the effects of possible adverse storage conditions on mycoflora and, in particular, aflatoxin formation. All samples showed an absence of aflatoxins and their precusor, sterigmatocystin, after adverse storage for 14 days, although aflatoxin‐producing Aspergillus flavus isolates were identified in 10 varieties at the first stage of maturation (Kimri). High fungal counts were associated with the Rutab stage and low counts with the Tamr stage. The counts of A flavus ranged from 5.00 to 8.16 log₁₀(cfu g^?1) under simulated storage conditions, and three varieties contained significant levels of aflatoxin B₁ or B₂ ranging from 35 to 11 610 µg kg^?1. Sterigmatocystin was not detected in any of the samples as received or under simulated storage conditions. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

The Rectification Properties of an Electrode?Electrolyte Interface Operated at High Sinusoidal Current Density

The rectifying properties of a stainless steel/saline electrode-electrolyte interface were investigated using sinusoidal current (100, 1000, and 10 000 Hz) of increasing current density. The series-equivalent resistance, capacitance, and impedance were determined versus current density. At each frequency, with increasing current density, it was found that above a critical current density, the capacitance increased, the resistance and impedance decreased then increased. The current density for these transitions were higher as the frequency was increased. There was a threshold (peak-to-peak) current density for rectification, being 3.2, 30 and 390 mA/cm2 for 100, 1000, and 10 000 Hz, respectively. The most sensitive indicator of approaching rectification was the increase in capacitance of the electrode-electrolyte interface with increasing current density.     

Immunomagnetic capture PCR to detect viable Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts from environmental samples

A method to detect viable Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts was developed. Polyclonal immunoglobulin G against C. parvum oocyst and sporozoite surface antigens was purified from rabbit immune serum, biotinylated, and bound to streptoavidin-coated magnetic particles. C. parvum oocysts were captured by a specific antigen-antibody reaction and magnetic separation. The oocysts were then induced to excyst, and DNA was extracted by heating at 95 degrees C for 10 min. A 452-bp fragment of C. parvum DNA was amplified by using a pair of C. parvum-specific primers in PCR. The method detected as few as 10 oocysts in purified preparations and from 30 to 100 oocysts inoculated in fecal samples. The immunomagnetic capture PCR (IC-PCR) product was identified and characterized by a nested PCR that amplified a 210-bp fragment, followed by restriction endonuclease digestion of the IC-PCR and nested-PCR products at the StyI site and a nonradioactive hybridization using an internal oligonucleotide probe labeled with biotin. PCR specificity was also tested, by using DNAs from other organisms as templates. In the control experiments, inactivated oocysts were undetectable, indicating the ability of this method to differentiate between viable and nonviable oocysts. Thus, this system can be used to specifically detect viable C. parvum oocysts in environmental samples with great sensitivity, providing an efficient way to monitor the environment for C. parvum contamination.     

Neutronics and photonics of inertial confinement fusion pellets with internal breeding

The neutronics and photonics performance of a pellet with a small DT core spark trigger, surrounded by a large volume of D to enable tritium and He-3 breeding, is examined. The response to a 70% DD and 30% DT composite neutron spectrum is calculated using either W, Be, or Pb as structural materials at core density radius products ranging from 9.42 to 94.2 kg/m². At a core density-product of 94.2, the DT neutron source leads to an excess particle multiplication of 0.43 neutrons per source neutron. The percentage of energy leakage from the pellet in the form of escaped neutrons is 42.3% of the source energy for the DT source, and 28.8% for the DD source. The gamma-ray energy percentage deposited in the pellet is 26.7% for the DT source and 106.6% for the DD source. For the pellet with the composite source, the energy multiplication factor is 1.27. Thus the large DD contribution to the composite neutron source results in the pellet performing many of the functions normally reserved for the blanket such as spectral softening, breeding, and neutron and energy multiplication. The neutron energy leakage is 38.4% of the source energy for the composite source. It is estimated that the neutron energy leakage amounts to 10% of the fusion energy, compared with 70% as neutron energy in a DT pellet. These results are significantly different from those encountered in conventional DT inertial confinement designs, and thus lower tritium inventories, higher power densities, reduced radiation damage, and materials activation of the reactor coolant and structure may be achievable.