Control of the permeability of a porous media using a thermally sensitive polymer

Experiments explore the reduction in permeability of a porous bead pack when a suspension of thermally responsive polymer is injected and the temperature then increased above the thermal activation temperature. The change in permeability is greater with higher polymer concentration, provided that the ionic concentration of the solution is sufficient for floc formation. The time for activation of the blocking effect is within tens of seconds to minutes of when the polymer solution is heated. This is consistent with the timescale for diffusion‐limited aggregation, although the detailed value depends on the geometry and polymer concentration. Dynamical experiments demonstrate that once the porous media is blocked, adding additional polymer has no effect. The mechanism for permeability reduction may be modeled in the context of a pore‐network model, and we build a simple model to illustrate the permeability reduction as a function of the fraction of pores links which are blocked. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1193–1201, 2014     

Oscillatory shear rheology of dilute solutions of flexible polymers interacting with oppositely charged particles

Fluids with both attractions and repulsions among its constituents can exist in multiple states depending on nature of the interactions. An external flow can induce such systems to transition between the different states, such as the globule‐stretch transition for polymers in poor solvents. Brownian dynamics simulations of a dilute solution of polymers and colloids interacting via short‐ranged potentials are presented. For some values of the strength and range of interactions, compact structures of polymers and colloids are formed. An external flow is capable of pulling these globules apart, causing the polymers to stretch at a critical shear rate. In oscillatory shear, the shear rate can cycle between being above and below this critical shear rate leading to interesting dynamics. These dynamics are quantified using the rheological response in large amplitude oscillatory shear. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1365–1371, 2014     

A review of fracturing fluid systems used for hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells

Hydraulic fracturing has been used by the oil and gas industry as a way to boost hydrocarbon production since 1947. Recent advances in fracturing technologies, such as multistage fracturing in horizontal wells, are responsible for the latest hydrocarbon production boom in the US. Linear or crosslinked guars are the most commonly used fluids in traditional fracturing operations. The main functions of these fluids are to open/propagate the fractures and transport proppants into the fractures. Proppants are usually applied to form a thin layer between fracture faces to prop the fractures open at the end of the fracturing process. Chemical breakers are used to break the polymers at the end of the fracturing process so as to provide highly conductive fractures. Concerns over fracture conductivity damage by viscous fluids in ultra‐tight formations found in unconventional reservoirs prompted the industry to develop an alternative fracturing fluid called “slickwater”. It consists mainly of water with a very low concentration of linear polymer. The low concentration polymer serves primarily to reduce the friction loss along the flow lines. Proppant‐carrying capability of this type of fluids is still a subject of debate among industry experts. Constraints on local water availability and the potential for damage to formations have led the industry to develop other types of fracturing fluids such as viscoelastic surfactants and energized fluids. This article reviews both the traditional viscous fluids used in conventional hydraulic fracturing operations as well as the new family of fluids being developed for both traditional and unconventional reservoirs. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40735.     

Immiscible liquid–liquid slug flow characteristics in the generation of aqueous drops within a rectangular microchannel for preparation of poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) cryogel beads

The microchannel liquid-flow focusing and cryo-polymerization is an efficient method for the preparation of cryogel beads with a narrow diameter distribution. In order to prepare cryogel beads with expected diameters, it is necessary to get insights in the liquid–liquid immiscible flow characteristics of the flow-focusing fluid and the monomer solution in microchannels. In this work, the slug flow behaviors of two immiscible liquids regarding the preparation of poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) (pHEMA) cryogel beads in a rectangular cross-junction microchannel were investigated experimentally by the high-speed imaging method. Correlations of the immiscible liquid–liquid slug flow parameters like the aqueous slug velocity and length, the aqueous slug nose and tail lengths, the water-immiscible slug length as well as the aqueous droplet size were obtained. The pHEMA cryogel beads were prepared under certain flow conditions and the bead sizes were measured by laser particle size analyzer. The obtained correlations were then employed to estimate the bead sizes and compared with those obtained experimentally. The results showed that the present correlations gave reasonable estimations of the mean bead diameters at various conditions and thus, could be useful and helpful in the preparation of cryogel beads with expected size distributions in rectangular microchannels.     

一种无卤阻燃缩合型有机硅灌封胶的研制

以端羟基聚二甲基硅氧烷为基胶、乙烯基三甲氧基硅烷为交联剂、氨丙基三乙氧基硅烷为偶联剂、液体磷酸酯和硬脂酸表面处理过的活性氢氧化铝(ATH)/活性氢氧化镁(MH)为阻燃剂,制备了一种无卤阻燃的缩合型有机硅灌封胶。研究结果表明,加入60份活性氢氧化铝,同时加入15份液体磷酸酯协助阻燃时,能够在保持较低黏度、较好流动性的前提下,阻燃效果达到UL94 V-0的级别。而且进一步深入研究发现,若加入48份活性氢氧化铝和12份活性氢氧化镁复配时,可以达到最佳的前后期阻燃效果,并仍保持较低的黏度。     

Analysis and suppression of hysteresis effect in semi-actively controlled MR-suspension

The semi-actively controllable magneto-rheological(MR) fluid-based dampers have superior potentials inrealizing intelligent vehicle suspension designs, thesynthesis of an effective semi-active controller forms theessential objective[1 -4]. However, the MR…     

超临界流体在非催化反应中的应用

依据超临界流体自身的特点,在反应中既作为溶剂又作为催化剂,从一个全新的角度介绍了超临界流体在非催化反应中的新成果、新动向。主要阐述了包括超临界水、甲醇、二氧化碳在有机反应中的应用,并与传统催化反应进行了比较,同时探讨了国内外研究现状、应用前景和发展趋势。     

复合处理剂FYS-1在油田注聚采出液处理中的应用

复合处理剂FYS-1是针对油田采出液中聚合物含量高、粘度高和油水乳化严重等特点而研制开发的一种非离子型高分子产品.室内和现场试验结果表明,该药剂具有优良的综合处理能力,一剂多用,在油田注聚采出液处理领域具有推广应用前景.     

A level set based immersed boundary method for simulation of non-isothermal viscoelastic melt filling process

In this work, the polymer melt filling process is simulated by using a coupled finite volume and level-set based immersed boundary (LS-IB) method. Firstly, based on a shape level set (LS) function to represent the mold boundary, a LS-IB method is developed to model the complex mold walls. Then the non-isothermal melt filling process is simulated based on non-Newtonian viscoelastic equations with differ-ent Reynolds numbers in a circular cavity with a solid core, and the effects of Reynolds number on the flow patterns of polymer melt are presented and compared with each other. And then for a true polymer melt with a small Reynolds number that varies with melt viscosity, the moving interface, the temperature distributions and the molecular deformation are shown and analyzed in detail. At last, as a commonly used application case, a socket cavity with seven inserts is investigated. The corresponding physical quantities, such as the melt velocity, molecular deformation, normal stresses, first normal stress differ-ence, temperature distributions and frozen layer are analyzed and discussed. The results could provide some predictions and guidance for the polymer processing industry.     

Experiment and computer simulation of particulate suspensions under shear flow

In this paper is described the role of molecular simulation as a useful quasi-‘experimental’ tool to help in understanding the interplay between molecular structure under shear flow and the manifested tribology/rheology. The development of non-equilibrium molecular simulation techniques are discussed, from the molecular dynamics approach through to the modelling of dispersions by brownian dynamics. Recent advances and extensions of the technique to weakly flocculated systems, such as electro-rheological fluids, are described.