Pattern Size Research Articles

Numerical Simulation Study of Steam Injection Optimization in Shallow Reservoir

In an EOR project, process improvement must be continually pursued since EOR is often marginally profitable. In steamflood EOR project, steam injection rate is very important parameter to ensure that each pattern reach maturity within a certain early period that result in high oil recovery and meet the economic hurdles. In particularly shallow formation settings, steam injection target is often difficult to achieve because limited by fracturing pressure to avoid breaching the cap rock and creating environmental problem. In this study we simulate steam injection in a typical heavy oil reservoir (high API, shallow depth, low pressure) to enable optimization of steam injection. A model has been built using typical shallow reservoir in using Builder-CMG. Wellan data, fluid model and operating conditions (injection strategy, steam quality) and expected/ forecasted performance. CMOST package is then used to design optimization study by varying the steam injection rate. The best scenario is based on the lowest reservoir pressure and cumulative SOR. We created three development options: regular inverted 7-spot 15.5-acre pattern, horizontal well and pattern size reduction (PSR). From this numerical study it is found that for the case studied, steam injection rate can be ramped up from 250 - 300 BSPD within 6-7 years, followed by peak production. A wind down injection rate to 0 can be used after this peak production to achieve CSOR target of 3-4 bbl of steam/bbl of oil. If a quicker SBT is required, then more steam injectivity is needed to put underground. Several scenarios can be considered as follow: (1) reducing the pattern size (thus adding steam via additional injection wells) and (2) utilizing horizontal wells.

Nature-inspired surface for simultaneously harvesting water and triboelectric energy from ambient humidity using polymer brush coatings

Atmospheric water harvesting provides a promising, sustainable solution for alleviating the ever-growing water and energy crisis. Here, inspired by the Namib desert beetle, a wettability patterned surface was designed to simultaneously harvest water and triboelectric energy from ambient moisture. Indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive glass was coated by environmentally friendly perfluoropolyether (PFPE) polymer brushes to obtain a hydrophobic surface, decorated by hydrophilic patterns. The PFPE brushes enabled the droplet to slide down and served as the tribonegative material. The water and triboelectric energy harvesting performance of the hydrophilic-hydrophobic “patterned water and energy harvesting” (P-WEH) system was then investigated. In this regard, a water collection rate of 703 mg cm-2 h-1 was achieved when the P-WEH was placed within an artificial fog. The influence of pattern size and tilt angle, and their relationship with water droplet volume and speed on the triboelectric output, were measured. The effect of the water harvesting area on the output performance of the P-WEH was investigated. The P-WEH with an area of 100 cm2 and a tilt angle of 60° exhibited a high output current of 8.15 µA and a maximum output power of 3.35 µW. Finally, the P-WEH was integrated into a four-season greenhouse to demonstrate its application in reducing external water-energy consumption. This study presents insights into the design of simultaneous water and energy harvesting systems and may contribute to building a sustainable society.

Effect of infill pattern scaling on mechanical properties of FDM-printed PLA specimens

3D printing offers a significant advantage in the production of hollow parts through the use of infill patterns. However, these patterns are typically generated by slicer software with a primary focus on providing basic structural rigidity, while neglecting other important criteria. This paper presents a simplified infill scaling technique for fused deposition modeling (FDM) and evaluates its effectiveness through tensile tests. The research question addressed in this study is whether adjusting the size of the pattern can reduce print time while maintaining the same stiffness at a given infill ratio. The methodology involves analyzing the results obtained from the tensile tests. The findings reveal that the print time can be reduced to some extent by properly adjusting the size of the infill pattern. However, it is observed that the mechanical resistance is influenced by the layer formation process. In conclusion, this research contributes to understanding the relationship between infill scaling, print time reduction, and mechanical resistance in FDM 3D printing.

A strategy for regulation of gas–liquid microflow patterns by changing gas kinetic energy

Controllable regulation of gas–liquid microflow pattern and bubble size is significant to bubble-based microfluidics, but it is hard to be realized with the existing technologies. Accordingly, this work reports a convenient strategy that changes the gas kinetic energy to controllably regulate the microflow patterns from Taylor flow to short bubble flow and bubbly flow. Results exhibit that the desired flow patterns and bubble size can be effectively obtained by varying the gas inlet size to change gas kinetic energy, and a much wider bubbly flow regime which could not be reached normally in conventional T-junction microchannels is easily obtained. Besides, from the bubble’s characteristic width and length, the behaviors of the bubble generation in different T-junctions were compared to reveal the mechanism behind the generation of bubbles. Importantly, as the hydraulic diameter of the gas inlet decreases from 365.0 to 50.0 μm, the dominative factors on the bubble generation transfer mainly from the liquid phase to both the two-phases because the gas–liquid Weber number ratio increases from 6.6 × 10−5–5.4 × 10−3 to 4.2 × 10−2–3.4. Finally, the parameter of the two-phase Weber number ratio is the first time introduced to the unified prediction model for bubble generation frequency.

Auto-generation of paper patterns for children’s jeans

This study aimed to address these limitations by employing a systematic approach. Initially, body measurements of 115 children were meticulously recorded and subjected to statistical analysis. Subsequently, a children’s jeans paper pattern was chosen, and a predictive model for pattern sizing was developed using BP neural networks. Additionally, a parametric mathematical model was constructed by integrating the design principles of the paper pattern. Using the Visual-LISP programming language on the Auto-CAD 2020 edition platform, an editing process was performed to create a children’s jeans automatic drawing program. The predicted pattern size data for children’s jeans were then imported into the DCL dialog box of Auto-CAD, enabling the automatic generation of paper patterns. To evaluate the effectiveness of the approach, the generated garment paper patterns were imported into the CLO-3D virtual fitting software.

Size convergence of the E×B staircase pattern in flux tube simulations of ion temperature gradient-driven turbulence

The radial size convergence of the E×B staircase pattern is addressed in local gradient-driven flux tube simulations of ion temperature gradient (ITG)-driven turbulence. It is shown that a mesoscale pattern size of ∼57–76 ρ is inherent to ITG-driven turbulence with Cyclone Base Case parameters in the local limit.

Size-dependent colouration balances conspicuous aposematism and camouflage.

Colour is an important component of many different defensive strategies, but signal efficacy and detectability will also depend on the size of the coloured structures, and how pattern size interacts with the background. Consequently, size-dependent changes in colouration are common among many different species as juveniles and adults frequently use colour for different purposes in different environmental contexts. A widespread strategy in many species is switching from crypsis to conspicuous aposematic signalling as increasing body size can reduce the efficacy of camouflage, while other antipredator defences may strengthen. Curiously, despite being chemically defended, the gold-striped frog (Lithodytes lineatus, Leptodactylidae) appears to do the opposite, with bright yellow stripes found in smaller individuals, whereas larger frogs exhibit dull brown stripes. Here, we investigated whether size-dependent differences in colour support distinct defensive strategies. We first used visual modelling of potential predators to assess how colour contrast varied among frogs of different sizes. We found that contrast peaked in mid-sized individuals while the largest individuals had the least contrasting patterns. We then used two detection experiments with human participants to evaluate how colour and body size affected overall detectability. These experiments revealed that larger body sizes were easier to detect, but that the colours of smaller frogs were more detectable than those of larger frogs. Taken together our data support the hypothesis that the primary defensive strategy changes from conspicuous aposematism to camouflage with increasing size, implying size-dependent differences in the efficacy of defensive colouration. We discuss our data in relation to theories of size-dependent aposematism and evaluate the evidence for and against a possible size-dependent mimicry complex with sympatric poison frogs (Dendrobatidae).

Etching mechanism of high-aspect-ratio array structure

Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) is an significant technology that is being widely employed in micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) manufactories. However, it is remain challenging to obtain a deep silicon etching with vertical-angle and smooth-sidewall characterizes by silicon-etching anisotropy through TSV technology. Herein, we use inductively coupled plasma (ICP) to obtain the deep silicon etching anisotropy. Chamber pressure, Bosch process cycles, bias powers, and the size of the etching pattern, which are the critical controllable process parameters, have been investigated to achieve the silicon-etching anisotropy. The results reveal that the sidewall angle of the array structure becomes increasingly slanted while raising chamber pressure from 2 to 15 Pa in the SF6 etching process of the first step of the cycle in the Bosch process. As the cycles increase from 60 to 240 cycles at the bias power of 100 w, the anisotropy decreases from 0.80 to 0.5. With RF bias powers rise from 200 to 400 w, the anisotropy enhances from 0.80 to 0.94. Due to the collision of active ions with each other, the sidewall angle and anisotropy of a high aspect-ratio array structure severely depend on the incidence angle of the active ions. The “Si etching balance model” has been established for the fabrication of TSV.

Four-dimensional dynamics of multirotational transition stimulated rotational Raman scattering in air

Stimulated rotational Raman scattering in air is a powerful parasitic process that degrades high intensity laser beams and pulses propagated over significant distances. Conversely, it is used beneficially in the context of Raman lasers. Through this inelastic scattering process, laser photons are converted to higher (anti-Stokes) or lower (Stokes) energies, according to rotational mode transitions in nitrogen and oxygen diatomic molecules. The full wave-mixing problem involves numerous frequencies, and it is consistently assumed that only one rotational mode contributes to the conversion process. We instead present a dynamic 4D multirotational model that is implemented in a parallelized manner within the Virtual Beamline++ optical modeling package allowing high-resolution 4D studies. We highlight the effect that spontaneous emission plays in large and small beam-width setups, even in the highly saturating regime. The weaker transition modes play a large role in the persistent dynamics and can lead to complex spatiotemporal coupling through nonlinear competition of the modes. We highlight how and why these weaker modes persist, how the size and shape of speckle patterns depends highly on the initial beam profile, and how weaker modes can transiently become stronger as a result of such competition.

Unveiling Subtle Geographical Clines: Phenotypic Effects and Dynamics of Circadian Clock Gene Polymorphisms.

Our understanding of the gene regulatory network that constitutes the circadian clock has greatly increased in recent decades, notably due to the use of Drosophila as a model system. In contrast, the analysis of natural genetic variation that enables the robust function of the clock under a broad range of environments has developed more slowly. In the current study, we analyzed comprehensive genome sequencing data from wild European populations of Drosophila, which were densely sampled through time and space. We identified hundreds of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in nine genes associated with the clock, 276 of which exhibited a latitudinal cline in their allele frequencies. While the effect sizes of these clinal patterns were small, indicating subtle adaptations driven by natural selection, they provided important insights into the genetic dynamics of circadian rhythms in natural populations. We selected nine SNPs in different genes and assessed their impact on circadian and seasonal phenotypes by reconstructing outbred populations fixed for either of the SNP alleles, from inbred DGRP strains. The circadian free-running period of the locomotor activity rhythm was affected by an SNP in doubletime (dbt) and eyes absent (Eya). The SNPs in Clock (Clk), Shaggy (Sgg), period (per), and timeless (tim) affected the acrophase. The alleles of the SNP in Eya conferred different levels of diapause and the chill coma recovery response.

High-durability organic electrochromic devices based on in-situ-photocurable electrochromic materials

•Organic electrochromic materials with in situ photocuring features were proposed •The electrochromic film and device showed attractive durability and calendar life •A high-resolution electrochromic photolithographic patterning was demonstrated Electrochromic materials can undergo electrochemically driven redox processes resulting in optical signal changes, and they have shown attractive application potential in smart windows, wearable electronics, electronic papers, etc. However, their research and development (R&D) are still limited due to the lack of suitable materials and processing strategies to achieve high durability. Here, in-situ-photocurable electrochromic molecules were designed and synthesized to overcome the aforementioned challenges. Compared with the existing doping mode and polymerization mode, in-situ-photocured electrochromic films and devices showed superior durability (e.g., adhesion, multi-dimension stability, and full-contrast calendar life of >120 days) and remarkable overall performance (e.g., transparency = ∼90%, optical modulation = 72.7%, and full-contrast cycle life > 21,000). Furthermore, a high-resolution electrochromic photolithography for micro-nano patterning (recognizable pattern size: ∼2 μm, the best electrochromic resolution to date) was successfully achieved. Based on this, some potential applications in multi-level information encryption and tunable secondary colors were demonstrated. Electrochromic materials can undergo electrochemically driven redox processes resulting in optical signal changes, and they have shown attractive application potential in smart windows, wearable electronics, electronic papers, etc. However, their research and development (R&D) are still limited due to the lack of suitable materials and processing strategies to achieve high durability. Here, in-situ-photocurable electrochromic molecules were designed and synthesized to overcome the aforementioned challenges. Compared with the existing doping mode and polymerization mode, in-situ-photocured electrochromic films and devices showed superior durability (e.g., adhesion, multi-dimension stability, and full-contrast calendar life of >120 days) and remarkable overall performance (e.g., transparency = ∼90%, optical modulation = 72.7%, and full-contrast cycle life > 21,000). Furthermore, a high-resolution electrochromic photolithography for micro-nano patterning (recognizable pattern size: ∼2 μm, the best electrochromic resolution to date) was successfully achieved. Based on this, some potential applications in multi-level information encryption and tunable secondary colors were demonstrated.

The LASSIE MPS panel: Predicting externally visible traits in dogs for forensic purposes

Predicting the outward appearance of dogs via their DNA, also known as Canine DNA Phenotyping, is a young, emerging field of research in forensic genetics. The few previous studies published in this respect were restricted to the consecutive analysis of single DNA markers, a process that is time- and sample-consuming and therefore not a viable option for limited forensic specimens. Here, we report on the development and evaluation of a Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) based molecular genetic assay, the LASSIE MPS Panel. This panel aims to predict externally visible as well as skeletal traits, which include coat color, coat pattern, coat structure, tail morphology, skull shape, ear shape, eye color and body size from DNA using 44 genetic markers in a single molecular genetic assay. A biostatistical naïve Bayes classification approach was applied to identify the most informative marker combinations for predicting phenotypes. Overall, the predictive performance was characterized by a very high classification success for some of the trait categories, and high to moderate success for others. The performance of the developed predictive framework was further evaluated using blind samples from three randomly selected dog individuals, whose appearance was well predicted.

Breeding and demographic aspects of Montemys delectorum, an East African endemic rodent

AbstractMontemys delectorum is the only member of the genus Montemys within the family Muridae, which is an endemic rodent of the Eastern Africa Highlands. It is a threatened species due to habitat loss, and its current conservation status is uncertain. We studied the breeding pattern and population size of M. delectorum, two of the most important factors in understanding the conservation status of a species. Capture–mark–release studies were conducted from February 2021 to June 2022 in open patchy forests and dense forest habitats. Montemys delectorum showed bimodal breeding seasonality: a low rate for the short interval between December and February and a pronounced rate for May–July, following the high rainfall in April. This shows that rainfall promotes vegetation availability, which stimulates breeding activity and adds offspring to the population, resulting in increased population abundance. The population of M. delectorum is not stable in this landscape, as indicated by the significant differences in population size between the two forest types, with a significantly greater population in the patchy open forest. This indicates that the patchy open forest should be considered an essential refuge for the species.

Ultraviolet modificated hydrophobic glass on-demand hydrophobic/superhydrophilic patterned surface for fog harvesting and underwater oil resistance

Atmospheric water collection provides a new solution to overcome the issue of water shortage. Learning from the smart creatures, biomimetic materials with the ability of fog harvesting have been development based on the surface wettability. Herein, a hydrophobic glass with high transparency could be fabricated to mimic the wettability patterns on the back of Stenocara beetle, by combining with different patterned masks and ultraviolet (UV) treatment method. The water collection rate of hydrophobic/superhydrophilic patterned glass has been optimized by changing and combining the size of superhydrophilic patterns on the hydrophobic surface, as well as the percent of superhydrophilic area. Comparing with uniform superwetting surfaces, the fog harvesting efficiency of fabricated patterned surface has been improved. The surface with smaller superhydrophilic pattern size and larger percent of superhydrophilic pattern area exhibits a higher fog harvesting efficiency. In the other hand, the hydrophobic glass could be modified to be superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic without mask under UV treatment, which has the ability of acid and alkali resistance.

Design of Bistable Soft Deployable Structures via a Kirigami‐Inspired Planar Fabrication Approach

AbstractFully soft bistable mechanisms have shown extensive applications ranging from soft robotics, wearable devices, and medical tools, to energy harvesting. However, the lack of design and fabrication methods that are easy and potentially scalable limits their further adoption into mainstream applications. Herein, a top–down planar approach is presented by introducing Kirigami‐inspired engineering combined with a pre‐stretching process. Using this method, Kirigami‐Pre‐stretched Substrate‐Kirigami trilayered precursors are created in a planar manner; upon release, the strain mismatch—due to the pre‐stretching of substrate—between layers will induce an out‐of‐plane buckling to achieve targeted 3D bistable structures. By combining experimental characterization, analytical modeling, and finite element simulation, the effect of the pattern size of Kirigami layers and pre‐stretching on the geometry and stability of resulting 3D composites is explored. In addition, methods to realize soft bistable structures with arbitrary shapes and soft composites with multistable configurations are investigated, which may encourage further applications. This method is demonstrated by using bistable soft Kirigami composites to construct two soft machines: (i) a bistable soft gripper that can gently grasp delicate objects with different shapes and sizes and (ii) a flytrap‐inspired robot that can autonomously detect and capture objects.

Thermosensitive Plasmonic Color Enabled by Sodium Metasurface

AbstractActive plasmonic nanostructures have attracted tremendous interest in nanophotonics and metamaterials owing to the dynamically switchable capabilities of plasmonic resonances. In this study, tunable hybrid plasmon resonances (HPR) of sodium metasurfaces through heat‐initiated structural transformation is experimentally demonstrated. A HPR is formed by coupling surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) and gap plasmon resonances (GPR), whose resonant wavelengths are highly sensitive to gaseous nanogaps. By carefully manipulating the thermo‐assisted spin‐coating process and post‐thermal treatment, tuning of the HPR is achieved because of the phase transition between the antidome and nanodome structural profiles of liquid sodium inside the patterned fused silica substrates. Furthermore, the figure of merit of the heat initiated variable structure‐spectrum is demonstrated that is highly dependent on the size of the substrate patterns, based on which temperature‐sensitive plasmonic color and “invisible ink” of sodium metasurfaces are demonstrated. These findings can lead to new solutions for manipulating low‐cost and high‐performance active plasmonic devices.

CDDO–HS: Child Drawing Development Optimization–Harmony Search Algorithm

Child drawing development optimization (CDDO) is a recent example of a metaheuristic algorithm. The motive for inventing this method is children’s learning behavior and cognitive development, with the golden ratio being employed to optimize the aesthetic value of their artwork. Unfortunately, CDDO suffers from low performance in the exploration phase, and the local best solution stagnates. Harmony search (HS) is a highly competitive algorithm relative to other prevalent metaheuristic algorithms, as its exploration phase performance on unimodal benchmark functions is outstanding. Thus, to avoid these issues, we present CDDO–HS, a hybridization of both standards of CDDO and HS. The hybridized model proposed consists of two phases. Initially, the pattern size (PS) is relocated to the algorithm’s core and the initial pattern size is set to 80% of the total population size. Second, the standard harmony search (HS) is added to the pattern size (PS) for the exploration phase to enhance and update the solution after each iteration. Experiments are evaluated using two distinct standard benchmark functions, known as classical test functions, including 23 common functions and 10 CEC-C06 2019 functions. Additionally, the suggested CDDO–HS is compared to CDDO, the HS, and six others widely used algorithms. Using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, the results indicate that CDDO–HS beats alternative algorithms.

Block-based compressed sensing for fast optic fiber bundle imaging with high spatial resolution.

The resolution of traditional fiber bundle imaging is usually limited by the density and the diameter of the fiber cores. To improve the resolution, compression sensing was introduced to resolve multiple pixels from a single fiber core, but current methods have the drawbacks of excessive sampling and long reconstruction time. In this paper, we present, what we believe to be, a novel block-based compressed sensing scheme for fast realization of high-resolution optic fiber bundle imaging. In this method, the target image is segmented into multiple small blocks, each of which covers the projection area of one fiber core. All block images are independently and simultaneously sampled and the intensities are recorded by a two-dimensional detector after they are collected and transmitted through corresponding fiber cores. Because the size of sampling patterns and the sampling numbers are greatly reduced, the reconstruction complexity and reconstruction time are also decreased. According to the simulation analysis, our method is 23 times faster than the current compressed sensing optical fiber imaging for reconstructing a fiber image of 128 × 128 pixels, while the sampling number is only 0.39%. Experiment results demonstrate that the method is also effective for reconstructing large target images and the number of sampling does not increase with the size of the image. Our finding may provide a new idea for high-resolution real-time imaging of fiber bundle endoscope.

Numerical study on condensation heat transfer in vertical channel with hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterned surfaces

A numerical study was conducted of condensation phenomenon in a vertical channel with hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterned surfaces. The Volume of Fluid (VOF) method was adopted to detect the phase interface and the Lee's phase-change model was used. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was constructed to predict the heat transfer coefficient using experimental data and model was used for the numerical validation. From the force balance around a liquid droplet, a theoretical relationship between the inflow velocity and the droplet movement angle was derived. The size, arrangement and angle of the pattern were considered as design variables, together with the channel height. The results showed that a decrease of the pattern size and increases of pattern angle and channel height caused heat transfer augmentation. In contrast, increased pressure drop was observed as the pattern size and the channel height decreased and the pattern angle increased. Bridging droplets in the channel were observed depending on the arrangement of patterns between two plates; surfaces with staggered patterns showed better performance. It was found that the thermal performance of the plate was highly influenced by the pattern angle, because of the performance of the condensate liquid removal.

Bioelectricity in Developmental Patterning and Size Control: Evidence and Genetically Encoded Tools in the Zebrafish Model.

Developmental patterning is essential for regulating cellular events such as axial patterning, segmentation, tissue formation, and organ size determination during embryogenesis. Understanding the patterning mechanisms remains a central challenge and fundamental interest in developmental biology. Ion-channel-regulated bioelectric signals have emerged as a player of the patterning mechanism, which may interact with morphogens. Evidence from multiple model organisms reveals the roles of bioelectricity in embryonic development, regeneration, and cancers. The Zebrafish model is the second most used vertebrate model, next to the mouse model. The zebrafish model has great potential for elucidating the functions of bioelectricity due to many advantages such as external development, transparent early embryogenesis, and tractable genetics. Here, we review genetic evidence from zebrafish mutants with fin-size and pigment changes related to ion channels and bioelectricity. In addition, we review the cell membrane voltage reporting and chemogenetic tools that have already been used or have great potential to be implemented in zebrafish models. Finally, new perspectives and opportunities for bioelectricity research with zebrafish are discussed.