The Autonomous Inflow Control Valve Design and Evaluation Criteria Along with Well Performance Review for Multiple Installations Across the Globe

Many wells across the globe have been installed with Inflow Control Device (ICD) technology to balance the production across the production interval, addressing some of the challenges associated with horizontal and deviated wells. Nevertheless, ICDs have limitations with restricting unwanted fluids upon breakthrough. Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV) technology functions similar to an ICD initially (i.e., balancing flux across the length of horizontal wells, effectively delaying breakthrough) but provides the additional benefit of shutting off the flow of unwanted fluids upon breakthrough. This paper will present comprehensive AICV completion design workflow along with multiple case histories highlighting the reservoir management benefits of the AICV technology in mitigating un-wanted inflow of water and gas and delivering improved oil production and recovery. Like other AICDs (Autonomous Inflow Control Device), AICV can differentiate the fluid flowing through it via fluid properties such as viscosity and density at reservoir conditions. However, AICV's performance is much more effective due to its advanced design which provides further benefits using both Hagen-Poiseuille's and Bernoulli's principles. AICV technology is based on the difference in the pressure drop in a laminar flow element (LFE) compared to a turbulent flow element (TFE) and has a capability to shut-off the main flow autonomously when an unwanted fluid such as water or gas breakthrough occurs. Thus, reduces well water cut (WC) and/or gas-oil ratio (GOR) significantly. Rigorous single-phase and multiphase flow-loop tests have been conducted covering a wide range of fluid properties to characterize the AICVs flow performance. Extensive plugging testing and accelerated erosion tests have also been conducted. This paper presents some of these flow performance analysis and testing results. Furthermore, the paper will also discuss in detail a reservoir-centric AICV completion modelling and design workflow. Finally, this papers also discuss in detail AICV well performance installed in a light oil as well as in heavy oil reservoirs and how operators achieved higher OPEX saving as well as higher ultimate recovery (UR) from the wells due to prolonged as well as significant reduction in water cut and/or lower GOR. The AICV design methodology and performance evaluation analysis is presented through several case studies. The analysis takes into account the whole cycle: from flow loop testing to characterization, reservoir modelling, optimized AICV completion design and post-installation well performance to evaluate the AICV technology benefits.

Destination-Based Cash Flow Taxation

This chapter sets out and evaluates our second main proposal: the Destination-based Cash Flow Tax (DBCFT). This has two basic components: (a) a ‘cash flow’ element, which gives immediate relief to all expenditure, and (b) a ‘destination-based’ element, which introduces border adjustments of the same form as under the value added tax (VAT): exports are untaxed, while imports are taxed. This is equivalent in its economic impact to introducing a broad-based, uniform rate VAT and making a corresponding reduction in taxes on wages and salaries. A central motivation for the DBCFT is to improve economic efficiency by taxing business income in a relatively immobile location; the DBCFT should not distort either the scale or the location of business investment. It also has the considerable advantage of being robust against avoidance through inter-company transactions.

A Viscoelastic-Plastic Constitutive Model of Shape Memory Polymer

ABSTRACTIt is of practical significance to develop a constitutive model which is able to predict the thermomechanical behaviors of the shape memory effect occurring in a shape memory polymer (SMP) accurately. The mechanism of shape memory effect of SMP is explained based on the assumption that SMP is composed by two phases, reversible phase and stationary phase. Especially the different flow elements are respectively added to the reversible phase and stationary phase in order to express the plastic behavior of SMP. There are two springs in series, one dashpot and one flow element in the reversible phase. There are two springs in parallel, one dashpot and one flow element in the stationary phase. A constitutive equation is developed to express the thermo-mechanical behaviors of shape memory effect in the SMP based on viscous-elastic mechanics and plastic theory. An internal variable, frozen ratio, is defined to follow the shape memory process in SMP, and the material properties are described as the functions of frozen ratio based on phase transition theorem. The developed constitutive model, which includes above constitutive equation and material parameter functions, is used to numerically simulate the thermo-mechanical behaviors of SMP under various load cycles. Results show that the developed constitutive model can not only predict the shape memory process of SMP accurately, but also express the rate-dependent behaviors of SMP effectively.

System description of the defect creation and elimination in the buildings

The paper deals with the dynamics of the system of defects creation in the buildings and also with the possibilities of the defects elimination. The problem is described by the dynamic model that includes key elements influencing the system behaviour. The model is based on the system dynamics method that uses the stock elements and the flow elements which change the stock element values. In the described problem the main stock is the number of the equipment defects. This parameter can be increased by the flow element that depends on the time of using and the load. For the defect elimination are two possibilities: the planned maintenance and the repair of broken parts. Other elements are number of workers available for the elimination of defects and the running cost depending on the maintenance effort. The case of the main system parameters calculation is presented. The model can be used for understanding the importance of the maintenance in the field of facility management.

THE OLVIOS, RETHIS AND INACHOS DRAINAGE SYSTEM EVOLUTION AND HUMAN ACTIVITIES INFLUNCE OF THEIR FUTURE EVOLUTION

Olvios, Rethis and Inachos Rivers are multistory drainage systems that occur in Northern Peloponnesus, and at the present day they have and a reversed, North to South, flow element. Dervenios, Skoupeikos and Fonissa Rivers are the misfit streams of Olvios and revealed as juvenile streams and discharge to the Corinth gulf. Agiorgitikos River is the misfit stream of Rethis River and Seliandros River is the juvenile stream. Asopos, Nemeas and Rachiani Rives are the misfit streams of Inachos River and they also discharge to the Corinth gulf. Asopos River characterized as re-established stream. Physical factors such as tectonic regime (active and inactive faults), lithology, erosion and distance from the source influenced the three drainage systems evolution and could be influence them also in the future. The increase of human activities both in their southern parts and in the distal parts close to the coast could be change the physical evolution of the studied drainages, producing a new wind gap in the coastal area and a lake or a lagoon backwards of the coastal area, destroying villages and towns.

Development of a Stall Barrier with Internal Flow Channel for Effective, Highly Separated Boundary Layer and Flow Control in the Rotor Blade Root Region

As part of a cluster project in the Aerospace research cluster at the Hochschule Bremen, the model rotor blade of a wind turbine is to be aerodynamically optimized with a more effective stall barrier. The flow element to be developed should provide very effective interruption of the radial flow on the rotor blade. A combination of this flow element and the "Splitflap" flow element allows the aerodynamic efficiency of the rotor blade to be further improved.

Computational Study on a Single Flow Element in a Nuclear Thermal Rocket

The nuclear thermal rocket is one of the candidate propulsion systems for future space exploration including traveling to Mars and other planets of the solar system. Nuclear thermal propulsion can provide a much higher specific impulse than the best chemical propulsion available today. A basic nuclear propulsion system consists of one or several nuclear reactors that heat hydrogen propellant to high temperatures and then allow the heated hydrogen and its reacting product to flow through a nozzle to produce thrust. This paper presents computational study on a single flow element in a nuclear thermal rocket. The computational results provide both detailed and global thermo-fluid environments of a single flow element for thermal stress estimation and insight for possible occurrence of mid-section corrosion.