Radial Permeability Research Articles

Permeability of poplar normal wood and tension wood bioincised by Physisporinus vitreus and Xylaria longipes

Bioincising impacts of white-rot fungus, Physisporinus vitreus and soft-rot fungus, Xylaria longipes on the porous structure and radial permeability of poplar normal wood and tension wood were studied. Fungal cultivation was performed in an incubator at 25 °C and 85% relative humidity for 15, 30 and 45 days. Fracture of pectin-rich gelatinous layer of tension wood occurred due to incubation with P. vitreus. However, a simultaneous degradation in the cell walls and middle lamellae was observed. Both fungi had negative effects on the permeability, probably due to blocking of fluid flow paths by the fungal hyphae. Reduction in the permeability was more remarkable with P. vitreus. Our results showed that the role of G-layer containing fibers can be neglected for radial permeability of tension wood. Overall, such fungal bioincising techniques cannot be considered as successful approaches to improve the permeability of tension wood.

The thermo-mechanical behaviour of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone

The Callovo-Oxfordian (COx) claystone is considered as a potential host rock in the French concept of high level radioactive waste disposal at great depth. To better understand and to complement existing published data on the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of the COx claystone, an experimental program was carried out using a hollow cylinder triaxial device specially developed for low permeability materials. Special care was devoted to the saturation of the specimens that was made under stress conditions close to in-situ, and to conditions ensuring full drainage thanks to a reduced drainage length and low shear rate. Tests were carried out under in-situ, half to in-situ and twice the Terzaghi mean effective in-situ stress at 25°C and 80°C to investigate the effects in the close field of the temperature elevation due to the exothermic nature of the waste. Some radial permeability tests were also conducted at various temperatures. The data obtained showed that there is little effect of temperature on the elastic parameters determined, whereas a tendency to a decrease in shear strength was noted, in accordance with the few available published data. Temperature also appeared to have little effect on the intrinsic permeability, with higher flows mainly due to the decrease in water viscosity.

Transient thermo-poroelastic analysis of drilling-induced mechanical damage in nonfractured rocks

Permeability variations in reservoirs and around boreholes are of great interest in petroleum engineering due to the fact that they can significantly affect reserve estimates, reservoir development, well production or injection rate, and the likely success of remedial actions of near-wellbore damage. A fully coupled transient thermo-poroelastic concept with and without rock mechanical damage models is employed to evaluate stress distribution and permeability variation around the boreholes and breakouts. The anisotropy concept is applied to permeability, rock modulus, and uniaxial compressive strength using Weibull distribution. The Mogi–Coulomb failure criterion is employed to model breakout initiation and propagation around the borehole. Strain-based stress–permeability equation and stress–permeability models based on the experimental results and correlations are used to evaluate permeability changes near the borehole. Two cases of overbalanced and underbalanced drilling conditions are employed. The simulations for medium with isotropic and anisotropic physical properties result in varied effective stress distribution, breakout geometries, and consequently different distributions of tangential and radial permeability. Generally, in isotropic medium, permeability reduces to less than 70 % of its original value in the overbalanced condition and 80 % in underbalanced operations; however, there are differences between permeability along x and y directions. For anisotropic medium, permeability increases to more than 150 % all over the borehole periphery in the overbalanced operations; moreover, permeability enhancement is essentially larger along maximum in situ springline. In the underbalanced condition, permeability decreases to less than 70 % along minimum in situ stress direction and increases to more than 200 % in a limited area near the borehole along maximum in situ stress springline.

Bandwidth enhancement of transformation optics-based cloak with reduced parameters

In this paper, dispersive cloak design with broad bandwidth and minimal scattering cross section is proposed by appropriately selecting a radial permeability for each shell in a discretized reduced cloak. The dispersive medium is constructed by artificially varying the inner radius of the cloak with frequency, and this variation results into unique material properties at every frequency. The variation of inner radius of the cloak with frequency is artificial since the actual physical dimension of inner radius remains invariant. The relation between bandwidth and geometrical parameters of cloak is obtained by ensuring that transformation media must satisfy the condition that group velocity must remain less than the speed of light along every direction for a finite frequency range. The proposed cloak provides $$8.9\,\%$$ bandwidth with respect to the center frequency for $$50\,\%$$ reduction in total scattering cross section, and at the design frequency, the minimum scattering cross section obtained is $$0.266$$ . The proposed dispersive cloak design is verified by numerical full-wave simulations results which also confirm good cloaking performance.

Permeability of compacting porous lavas

AbstractThe highly transient nature of outgassing commonly observed at volcanoes is in part controlled by the permeability of lava domes and shallow conduits. Lava domes generally consist of a porous outer carapace surrounding a denser lava core with internal shear zones of variable porosity. Here we examine densification using uniaxial compression experiments on variably crystalline and porous rhyolitic dome lavas from the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Experiments were conducted at 900°C and an applied stress of 3 MPa to 60% strain, while monitoring acoustic emissions to track cracking. The evolution of the porous network was assessed via X‐ray computed tomography, He‐pycnometry, and relative gas permeability. High starting connected porosities led to low apparent viscosities and high strain rates, initially accompanied by abundant acoustic emissions. As compaction ensued, the lavas evolved; apparent viscosity increased and strain rate decreased due to strain hardening of the suspensions. Permeability fluctuations resulted from the interplay between viscous flow and brittle failure. Where phenocrysts were abundant, cracks had limited spatial extent, and pore closure decreased axial and radial permeability proportionally, maintaining the initial anisotropy. In crystal‐poor lavas, axial cracks had a more profound effect, and permeability anisotropy switched to favor axial flow. Irrespective of porosity, both crystalline samples compacted to a threshold minimum porosity of 17–19%, whereas the crystal‐poor sample did not achieve its compaction limit. This indicates that unconfined loading of porous dome lavas does not necessarily form an impermeable plug and may be hindered, in part by the presence of crystals.

Nonlinear consolidation of vertical drains with coupled radial–vertical flow considering well resistance

The consolidation behavior of ground with vertical drains is known to be greatly affected by the finite permeability of the sand drains, also called the effect of well resistance. However, up to now, no analytical methods have been reported for evaluating this effect on the nonlinear consolidation behavior of vertical drains. In this paper, by considering the nonlinear compressibility and permeability of soil during consolidation, the effect of well resistance was incorporated into the derivation of the equations that govern the nonlinear consolidation of a vertical drain with coupled radial–vertical flow. In addition, the smear effect was considered by assuming three decay patterns for the radial permeability coefficients of the soil toward the sand drain in the smeared zone. After obtaining the governing equations, a simplified analytical solution is derived for a general time-variable surcharge loading. Based on the general solution obtained, detailed solutions are provided for three special types of loading schemes: constant loading, single-stage loading, and multi-stage loading. The validity of the solution is verified by reducing it to several special cases and comparing these to existing solutions. Finally, the effect of the well resistance, the ratios of the compression index to the radial and vertical permeability indices, various loading schemes, and various variation patterns of the radial permeability coefficient of the soil in the smeared soil zone are investigated using parametric analysis.

Air permeability of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) wood in the three directions

To investigate the air permeability of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and the effect of grain directions on it, the air permeabilities of air-dried sugi sapwood and heartwood were determined along the three material directions of wood. The value of the longitudinal permeability was the highest and that of the radial permeability was the lowest. The permeability of heartwood was about an order of magnitude less than the permeability of sapwood in the same direction. The ratio between the tangential and radial permeability was approximately 10, which was similar to softwoods that have impermeable rays. These results suggest that sugi has ray tissues that are either impermeable or have very low permeability. The radial permeability of sugi was much lower than that of Pinus, Sequoia, Juniperus, Abies, and Tsuga measured with gases reported in the literature, indicating that sugi is one of the least radially permeable softwoods. These findings explain the reasons for the difficulties encountered in the drying and chemical treatment of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica).

A fractal model for spherical seepage in porous media

The characters of spherical/radial seepage in porous media have attracted steadily attention in many sciences and technologies such as in oil/water exploration, nuclear waste disposal, and heat and mass transfer in aerospace materials, biological tissue and organs. Considering the effects of capillary pressure, in this work we study the effective radial permeability and relative permeability for spherical seepage in porous media by applying the fractal theory and technique for porous media. The proposed models are related to the structural parameters of porous media, such as fractal dimensions, porosity, tortuosity and fluid properties. The validity of the proposed model is verified by comparing the model predictions with the available model and the existing experimental data. The present results show that the effective radial permeability and radial porosity decrease with the increase of radial distance. The parametrical effects on the radial permeability are also studied. It is found that the relative permeability for spherical seepage of wetting phase increases with the increase of wetting phase saturation, and the relative permeability of the non-wetting phase decreases with the increase of the wetting phase saturation. The contributions for permeability and relative permeability for spherical/radial seepage from capillary pressure can be negligible when pc,av/pm<0.01, otherwise, the effect of capillary pressure on the seepage in porous media should be taken into account.

Interpretation of pressure tests in hydraulically fractured wells in bi-zonal gas reservoirs

Due to the recent increase in the fracturing of low permeability formations, mathematical wellbore data interpretation has become important to generate mathematical models to study their pressure behavior and formulate interpretation methodologies for a more accurate characterization of tight hydrocarbon-bearing formations. This paper presents an analytical methodology of interpretation using the pseudopressure and pseudopressure derivative log-log plot for the characterization of hydraulically fractured (partially or fully penetrating) vertical wells completed in bi-zonal gas reservoirs. The methodology provided uses characteristic points and lines found on the pseudopressure and pseudopressure derivative plot so that new analytical expressions and correlations are developed to estimate half-fracture length, fracture penetration ratio, mobility and storativity ratios, radial permeability, size of the inner zone, well drainage area, vertical permeability and skin factor. The new expressions were successfully verified and tested with synthetic examples.

Consolidation for Radial Drainage under Time-Dependent Loading

AbstractThis paper presents the investigation of consolidation for radial drainage under linear time-dependent loading with varying loading-dependent coefficients of radial consolidation by using a viscoelastic approach. By extending Barron’s solution for radial consolidation of small strain sustained constant load, the convolution integral with time as the variable was used to analyze the consolidation under time-dependent loading. Four different loading rates were applied in the consolidation tests on three types of remolded clay with various plasticity indices to study the behavior of radial consolidation. The variation of the coefficient of radial consolidation versus effective stress was determined by explicitly performing falling head radial permeability tests at various loading stages in a modified consolidometer through a series of radial consolidation tests. The aforementioned relationship was converted to the coefficient of radial consolidation with the loading time of the corresponding pressure...

Finite difference modelling of dipole acoustic logs in a poroelastic formation with anisotropic permeability

SUMMARY Sedimentary rocks can exhibit strong permeability anisotropy due to layering, pre-stresses and the presence of aligned microcracks or fractures. In this paper, we develop a modified cylindrical finite-difference algorithm to simulate the borehole acoustic wavefield in a saturated poroelastic medium with transverse isotropy of permeability and tortuosity. A linear interpolation process is proposed to guarantee the leapfrog finite difference scheme for the generalized dynamic equations and Darcy’s law for anisotropic porous media. First, the modified algorithm is validated by comparison against the analytical solution when the borehole axis is parallel to the symmetry axis of the formation. The same algorithm is then used to numerically model the dipole acoustic log in a borehole with its axis being arbitrarily deviated from the symmetry axis of transverse isotropy. The simulation results show that the amplitudes of flexural modes vary with the dipole orientation because the permeability tensor of the formation is dependent on the wellbore azimuth. It is revealed that the attenuation of the flexural wave increases approximately linearly with the radial permeability component in the direction of the transmitting dipole. Particularly, when the borehole axis is perpendicular to the symmetry axis of the formation, it is possible to estimate the anisotropy of permeability by evaluating attenuation of the flexural wave using a cross-dipole sonic logging tool according to the results of sensitivity analyses. Finally, the dipole sonic logs in a deviated borehole surrounded by a stratified porous formation are modelled using the proposed finite difference code. Numerical results show that the arrivals and amplitudes of transmitted flexural modes near the layer interface are sensitive to the wellbore inclination.

Radial permeability of fractured porous media by Monte Carlo simulations

The plane-radial seepage flow toward a well in fractured porous media is of pivotal importance for oil/water reservoir engineering. According to the fractal scaling laws of size distributions of fractures in naturally fractured porous media, a probability model is developed for radial flow in fractured porous media by fractal theory and Monte Carlo technique. The current numerical model, which was validated by comparison with an analytical model, shows that the effective radial permeability of fracture systems is an explicit function of geometrical parameters of the well and the size distributions of fractures. It is found that the effective radial permeability decreases rapidly with increasing radial distance, and the planar macroscopic porosity and fractal dimension of fractures on the well-rock interface show a significant effect on the effective permeability. The proposed Monte Carlo simulation technique has advantages compared with conventional numerical methods and may have the potential for prediction of other transport properties in fractured porous media.

Assessment of mechanical properties of isolated bovine intervertebral discs from multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging

BackgroundThe treatment planning of spine pathologies requires information on the rigidity and permeability of the intervertebral discs (IVDs). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers great potential as a sensitive and non-invasive technique for describing the mechanical properties of IVDs. However, the literature reported small correlation coefficients between mechanical properties and MRI parameters. Our hypothesis is that the compressive modulus and the permeability of the IVD can be predicted by a linear combination of MRI parameters.MethodsSixty IVDs were harvested from bovine tails, and randomly separated in four groups (in-situ, digested-6h, digested-18h, digested-24h). Multi-parametric MRI acquisitions were used to quantify the relaxation times T1 and T2, the magnetization transfer ratio MTR, the apparent diffusion coefficient ADC and the fractional anisotropy FA. Unconfined compression, confined compression and direct permeability measurements were performed to quantify the compressive moduli and the hydraulic permeabilities. Differences between groups were evaluated from a one way ANOVA. Multi linear regressions were performed between dependent mechanical properties and independent MRI parameters to verify our hypothesis. A principal component analysis was used to convert the set of possibly correlated variables into a set of linearly uncorrelated variables. Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering was performed on the 3 principal components.ResultsMultilinear regressions showed that 45 to 80% of the Young’s modulus E, the aggregate modulus in absence of deformation HA0, the radial permeability kr and the axial permeability in absence of deformation k0 can be explained by the MRI parameters within both the nucleus pulposus and the annulus pulposus. The principal component analysis reduced our variables to two principal components with a cumulative variability of 52-65%, which increased to 70-82% when considering the third principal component. The dendograms showed a natural division into four clusters for the nucleus pulposus and into three or four clusters for the annulus fibrosus.ConclusionsThe compressive moduli and the permeabilities of isolated IVDs can be assessed mostly by MT and diffusion sequences. However, the relationships have to be improved with the inclusion of MRI parameters more sensitive to IVD degeneration. Before the use of this technique to quantify the mechanical properties of IVDs in vivo on patients suffering from various diseases, the relationships have to be defined for each degeneration state of the tissue that mimics the pathology. Our MRI protocol associated to principal component analysis and agglomerative hierarchical clustering are promising tools to classify the degenerated intervertebral discs and further find biomarkers and predictive factors of the evolution of the pathologies.

Estimation of soil air permeability components at a laboratory-scale pilot

Soil air permeability is a key parameter in the design of soil vapour extraction. The purpose of this study is to verify the applicability of different analytical solutions, developed to determine soil characteristics in field conditions, to estimate soil air permeability in a small-scale pilot, since field testing may be expensive. A laboratory tridirectional pilot and a unidirectional column were designed in order to achieve the objectives of this work. Use of a steady-state unconfined analytical solution was found to be an appropriate method to determine soil air permeability components for the pilot conditions. Using pressure data collected under open, steady-state conditions, the average values of radial and vertical permeability were found to be, respectively, 9.97×10−7 and 8.74×10−7 cm2. The use of semi-confined analytical solutions may not be suitable to estimate soil parameters since a significant difference was observed between simulated and observed vacuums. Air permeability was underestimated when transient solutions were used, in comparison with methods based on steady-state solutions. The air radial and vertical permeability was found to be, respectively, 7.06×10−7 and 4.93×10−7 cm2, in the open scenario, and 2.30×10−7 and 1.51×10−7 cm2 in the semi-confined scenario. However, a good estimate of soil porosity was achieved using the two transient methods. The average values were predicted to be 0.482, in the open scenario, and 0.451 in the semi-confined scenario, which was in good agreement with the real value.

State of the Art on Permeability Characterization of Fibrous Reinforcements used in Resin Transfer Molding Process

The physical and mathematical fundamentals that are required for the measurement of permeability of fibrous reinforcement used in Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) and to interpret correctly the results of those experiments are considered in this article. The basic concepts of fluid dynamics through porous media applied to the analysis of the impregnation phenomena in fibre preforms are discussed. The principal assumptions to simplify the governing equations into the Darcy's law are summarized in order to give an idea of some typical features of the permeability tests regarding the injection parameters and types of fluids and preforms used. Three important concepts for determining permeability in any direction for anisotropic preforms are introduced: permeability tensor ( Kij), permeability ellipse and effective permeability ( Keff). This paper also deals with the deduction, from Darcy's law and Laplace Equation, of the basic equations used on the unidirectional and divergent radial permeability tests. The final conclusion remarks the importance of the concepts exposed in this work.

A technique for measuring permeability of samples of anisotropic rocks for water and gas

A technique, equipment, and software for measuring permeability (including anisotropic) of rock samples for water and gas, taking variations of density and dynamic viscosity of the flowing medium into account, is described. The proposed method is intended to determine permeability with a high accuracy (up to 3–5%) in a range of 10−22 to 10−15 m2 at efficient pressures up to 50 MPa and temperatures up to 300°C. In the course of one experiment on a single sample, the developed equipment and technique ensure the simultaneous determination of the axial and radial permeability components of the sample for water and Klinkenberg’s parameter which characterizes a pore space of the rock.

Permeability measuremens of brazilian Eucalyptus

The permeability of Brazilian Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus citriodora wood was measured in a custom build gas analysis chamber in order to determine which species could be successfully treated with preservatives. Liquid permeability was tested using an emulsion of Neen oil and a control of distillated water. Air was used to test the gas phase permeability. For both Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus citriodora, the longitudinal permeability of gas was shown to be about twice as great as the liquid phase permeability. No radial permeability was observed for either wood. The permeability of air and water through the sapwood of Eucalyptus grandis was greater than that through the sapwood of Eucalyptus citriodora. The permeability of neen oil preservative through the sapwood of Eucalyptus grandis was also greater than through the sapwood of E. Citradora, but the difference was not statistically significant. Scanning Electron Microscopy images showed that the distribution and obstruction in the vessels could be correlated with observed permeability properties. Irrespective of the causes of differences in permeability between the species, the fluid phase flux through the sapwood of both species was significant, indicating that both Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus citriodora could be successfully treated with wood preservative.

Permeability of Tectona grandis L. as affected by wood structure

This experiment describes some anatomical features of Tectona grandis L. relating to the variation of liquid permeability in radial and longitudinal directions. Safranine aqueous solution was used to measure the permeability for its brilliant color and staining properties. Even in presence of abundant rays, penetration depth of liquid in radial direction was found very low in comparison with axial flow. Herein ray length and perimeter of cross-sectional area, interparenchymatous pit number and diameter determined the radial permeability. On the other hand, vessel length and diameter, intervessel pit size, and fiber length affected the longitudinal flow of liquids. Following a go-stop-go cycle, penetration speed of liquid decreased over time.

Leaf hydraulic architecture and water relations of three ferns from contrasting light habitats

Leaf hydraulic architecture and water relations of three fern species were measured. The species selected were adapted either to deeply shaded (Woodwardia radicans), moderately shaded (Dryopteris affinis) or moderately sunny (Polystichum setiferum) habitats, as confirmed by microclimatic measurements performed in the field. Leaf water potential (Ψleaf) was lower and leaf conductance to water vapour (gL) was higher in P. setiferum than in the shade-adapted ferns. Leaf osmotic potential and water potential at the turgor loss point were lower in the sun-adapted species than in the other ferns. Leaf hydraulic resistance (Rleaf) was lowest in P. setiferum and Rleaf was correlated with gL across species. Low Rleaf was coordinated with low rachis hydraulic resistance (Rrachis). Low values of Rrachis in P. setiferum were not due to the presence of wide xylem conduits as checked on the basis of anatomical measurements, but to increased radial permeability of vascular bundles. This was a consequence of the absence of endodermis surrounding the vascular bundles in P. setiferum, which was observed in the rachis of shade-adapted species. We conclude that hydraulic adjustment of fern fronds is a key component of adaptation of pteridophytes to contrasting light habitats.

Design and evaluation of flow distributors for microfabricated pillar array columns

Five different flow distributors have been compared as a function of the flow rate for their ability to distribute small sample volumes over the entire width of flat rectangular microfabricated pillar array columns. The investigated designs can be divided in two major categories: (1) bifurcating, radially non-interconnecting distributors and (2) radially interconnecting distributors consisting of diamond-shaped pillars, elongated in the direction perpendicular to the flow, providing a high ratio of radial permeability over axial permeability. The quality of the flow distribution was evaluated experimentally by injecting equal volumes of fluorescent tracer into each of the tested designs and calculating the obtained peak variances using the method of moments. Purely bifurcating distributors perform less well than the best possible radially interconnected distributors, because the former inevitably require the use of wide open channels (d > 10 microm), wherein a lot of band broadening can occur. By doubling the aspect ratio of the radially stretched pillars from 5 to 10, the measured peak variance drops to 1/8 of the original value. The best results were obtained with a distributor in which the flow is distributed by a bed of anisotropic pillars with an aspect ratio of 10, but our results indicate that a substantial improvement can still be made by increasing the aspect ratio and adding gradually diverging sidewalls to the inlet.