Geothermal resources in the Asal Region,Republic of Djibouti: An update with emphasis on reservoir engineering studies

Three independent geothermal systems have been identified, so far, in the Asal region of the Republic of Djibouti (i.e. Gale le Goma, Fiale and South of Lake). Six deep wells have been drilled in the region, the first two in 1975 and the others in 1987–88. Well A2 was damaged and wells A4 and A5 encountered impermeable yet very hot (340–365 °C) rocks. Wells A1, A2, A3 and A6 produce highly saline (120 g/L TDS) fluids leading to mineral scaling. Well test data indicate that the reservoir might be producing from fractured and porous zones. The estimated permeability-thickness of the deep Gale le Goma reservoir is in the 3–9 darcy-meter range. Lumped-parameter modeling results indicate that well A3 should be operated at about 20 kg/s total flow rate and that injection should be considered to reduce pressure drawdown. The estimated power generation potential of well A3 is 2.5 MWe, and that of all Asal high-temperature hydrothermal systems is between 115 and 329 MWe for a 25-year exploitation period.     

El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Rainfall Variability in Central and Southern Sudan

Abstract

In this study, the effects of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the rainfall variability in the central (Savannah) and southern (Equatorial) regions of Sudan are examined. The annual rainfall data from 12 rainfall stations for 49 years are used in this examination. The results of the study show that the areal annual regionally averaged rainfall values in the two regions have decreased markedly since the early 1960s, with co-existence between the driest years and the warm ENSO events. The correlation between the annual regional rainfall values and the ENSO events is found to be relatively higher for the Savannah region than for the Equatorial region. Two regional ENSO-rainfall prediction models are developed, one for each region. These models use the ENSO sea surface temperature. The results of the models test show that both models can significantly improve the predictability of the annual rainfall values, which is essential for the planning and the management of water resources in Sudan     

Maximizing lifetime of large-scale wireless sensor networks using multi-objective whale optimization algorithm

Telecommunication Systems - The sink nodes in large-scale wireless sensor networks (LSWSNs) are responsible for receiving and processing the collected data from sensor nodes. Identifying the...     

Studies of the hydrogen held by solids: XXII. The surface chemistry of reduced molybdenaalumina catalysts

The surface hydroxyl concentrations of a fresh molybdenaalumina catalyst (8% Mo) and of the alumina from which it was made have been determined as a function of the temperature of pretreatment. Similar data were obtained for catalysts reduced with H₂ or with CO. In all cases, the hydroxyl concentrations decreased with increasing pretreatment temperatures. The difference between the curves for the parent alumina and the molybdenaalumina preparation made from it provided a measure of the number of hydroxyl groups eliminated as the epitaxial monolayer of molybdena was grown onto the surface. The values obtained (1.7 ± 0.6 OH/Mo) showed that the surface hydroxyl groups of alumina are replaced by molybdate anions. When the catalyst was reduced with CO to about $\text{e}\text{Mo}\text{= 1.5}$ (average valence, Mo^+4.5), the curve obtained was almost identical with that for the unreduced catalyst, but when the catalyst was reduced with H₂, values for the retained hydrogen were higher than for the oxidized catalyst and approached those of the parent alumina as its evacuation temperature was increased to 550 °C. This increase in hydroxyl concentration was in agreement with earlier deductions.The hydroxyl region of the infrared spectra of similar preparations was recorded. Four distinct bands could be characterized for the parent alumina at 3780, 3740, 3705, and 3650 cm^?1 and a shoulder at 3795 cm^?1. The same bands were present on the oxidized catalyst, but with lower intensities and with altered intensity ratios; i.e., some bands were affected more than others as hydroxyl groups were replaced by molybdena species. Spectra from catalysts reduced with CO were indistinguishable in the OH region from those for the unreduced catalyst. No new bands appeared when the catalysts were reduced with H₂, but the intensities of bands attributable to alumina OH increased with the 3795 cm^?1 band strengthening noticeably more than the others. Thus, the new hydroxyl groups introduced on reduction are probably alumina OH rather than MoOH as previously supposed. A form of hydrogen which is chemisorbed but which can be removed from the catalyst as H₂ on evacuation at the reduction temperature also appeared in the OH region, mainly as a continuous contribution to the low frequency edge. From absorption coefficients derived from the present data, it was deduced that about twice as many hydrogen atoms were present in the H₂ formed than were supplied by these OH groups; i.e., the chemisorption appears heterolytic with half the atoms unseen by ir. A search was made for a band attributable to MoH, but without success. A brief study was made of this adsorption process, which was found to be slow but reversible, and to have a positive pressure dependence. When the catalyst was reduced with CO, rather than with H₂, a portion of the CO remained irreversibly chemisorbed in electronically comparable amounts. Infrared spectra of such samples contained a band at about 1585 cm^?1 attributable to a carbonate species. Data for the two reducing gases differed in that no reversibly chemisorbed CO was observed. At room temperature, CO was also chemisorbed as a linear species with the stretching frequency (2190 cm^?1) higher than that of the gaseous molecule (2143 cm^?1).     

Inhibition of diffusion controlled corrosion in pipelines by drag reducing polymers under turbulent flow conditions

The effect of adding carboxymethylcellulose drag reducing polymer on the rate of corrosion of aluminium tube through which sodium hydroxide solution flows, was studied by a weight loss technique. The variables studied were solution flow rate and polymer concentration. Reynolds number and polymer concentration were varied over the range 3500 to 30 000 and 10 to 500 ppm, respectively. Polymer addition was found to decrease the rate of corrosion by a maximum of 63% depending on polymer concentration and Reynolds number.Nomenclature Re Reynolds number - Solution density - d tube diameter - u solution viscosity     

Electron beam melting of gamma titanium aluminide and investigating the effect of EBM layer orientation on milling performance

Electron beam melting (EBM) is one of the growing processes of additive manufacturing technology (AMT) to fabricate 3D parts from various difficult-to-process materials such as titanium alloys. A major limitation of the EBM process is the poor surface finish of the produced parts which ultimately demands a subsequent subtractive method (secondary finishing operation) to improve the surface finish for shaping the part to be fit for-end use applications where high surface finish is commonly required. With respect to the EBM layer build direction, the fabricated part has different orientations with varying surface characteristics. Therefore, in order to perform secondary finishing operation (e.g., milling) there are different choices of EBM part orientation to select the direction of tool feed. In this research, 3D parts of titanium alloy (gamma titanium aluminide; γ-TiAl) are additively manufactured through EBM process. The effect of EBM layer/part orientation on the milling performance is further investigated in terms of surface finish improvement and edge chipping evaluation. It has been observed that the EBM layer/part orientation with respect to milling tool feed direction (TFD) plays a vital role in milling performance. Thus, a care must be taken to select the appropriate tool feed direction and layer/part orientation in order to achieve maximum surface finish with minimum edge chipping. The results revealed the vertical milling can be adopted as a secondary finishing operation to be performed on EBM produced parts of γ-TiAl and it allows to significantly improve the poor surface finish generated by EBM (R_a 31 μm). Furthermore, among the available part orientation choices, the part orientation in which the milling tool is fed across the EBM layer build direction is the best orientation resulting into high surface finish (R_a 0.12 μm) with relatively smooth edges (minimum chipping-off).     

The correlation among morphology,oxygen vacancies and properties of ZnO nanoflowers

Despite numerous reports have investigated the effect of morphology on the properties of nanomaterials, its role in tuning nanomaterials properties is still not clear to date. This work introduces a unique attempt to explore the correlation among morphology, surface defects (oxygen vacancies), and properties of nanomaterials. To achieve this task, three different morphologies of ZnO nanoflowers were prepared via hydrothermal method by varying the concentration of diethylamine. It was observed that a change in ZnO nanoflowers morphology results in changes in their optical, photocatalytic, and antibacterial properties. Photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses reveal the presence of oxygen vacancies (V_O) in ZnO nanoflowers with a concentration varies with respect to morphology. V_O concentration plays a key role in tuning ZnO band gap and the concentration of reactive oxygen species and thereby tuning optical, photocatalytic, and antibacterial properties of ZnO nanoflowers. Our results suggest that V_O concentration, morphology, and properties of ZnO nanoflowers are correlated.     

Uncertainty quantification in dynamic system risk assessment: a new approach with randomness and fuzzy theory

Quantifying uncertainty during risk analysis has become an important part of effective decision-making and health risk assessment. However, most risk assessment studies struggle with uncertainty analysis and yet uncertainty with respect to model parameter values is of primary importance. Capturing uncertainty in risk assessment is vital in order to perform a sound risk analysis. In this paper, an approach to uncertainty analysis based on the fuzzy set theory and the Monte Carlo simulation is proposed. The question then arises as to how these two modes of representation of uncertainty can be combined for the purpose of estimating risk. The proposed method is applied to a propylene oxide polymerisation reactor. It takes into account both stochastic and epistemic uncertainties in the risk calculation. This study explores areas where random and fuzzy logic models may be applied to improve risk assessment in industrial plants with a dynamic system (change over time). It discusses the methodology and the process involved when using random and fuzzy logic systems for risk management.