Experimental Verification of the Predictive Value of Microtomography-Based Network Models for Multiphase Flow Properties of Petroleum Reservoir Rocks. Australia's oil and gas reserves are primarily dependent on exploration and development in remote offshore deep waters where the operational costs are highest. This is precisely the area where the emerging microtomography-based network model technology will have the most economic impact. The outcome will be of immense scientific interest to the n ....Experimental Verification of the Predictive Value of Microtomography-Based Network Models for Multiphase Flow Properties of Petroleum Reservoir Rocks. Australia's oil and gas reserves are primarily dependent on exploration and development in remote offshore deep waters where the operational costs are highest. This is precisely the area where the emerging microtomography-based network model technology will have the most economic impact. The outcome will be of immense scientific interest to the national/international community which has long been studying network models to understand multiphase flow in petroleum reservoirs. This will place Australia in the forefront of this technology. Furthermore, modelling studies of groundwater remediation and geosequestration of greenhouse gases which require a multiphase model will benefit from the project.Read moreRead less
Fundamental studies of the packing and compaction of fine particles. This project will investigate the fundamentals of the packing and compaction of fine particles at both microscopic and macroscopic levels through a combined theoretical and experimental program. It involves the use of advanced techniques to generate particle scale information, so that a packing and compaction process can be assessed at various time and length scales. It will produce a comprehensive understanding of the underlyi ....Fundamental studies of the packing and compaction of fine particles. This project will investigate the fundamentals of the packing and compaction of fine particles at both microscopic and macroscopic levels through a combined theoretical and experimental program. It involves the use of advanced techniques to generate particle scale information, so that a packing and compaction process can be assessed at various time and length scales. It will produce a comprehensive understanding of the underlying physics, computer models capable of predicting the micromechanic and transport properties of porous media, and an effective means to solve many packing and compaction problems widely encountered in minerals and materials processing industries.Read moreRead less
The micro-thermo-mechanics of sand crushing in geotechnical collapse problems. Oil and gas exploration is a major industry in Australia. Collapse problems in the soil to which structures such as oil rigs are anchored are a major challenge, involving issues of safety, longevity and maintenance. Research on this topic has been devoted to non-crushable sands, but Australia's offshore seabed is rich in breakable calcareous sediments. We will create a novel theory and visualisation techniques that wi ....The micro-thermo-mechanics of sand crushing in geotechnical collapse problems. Oil and gas exploration is a major industry in Australia. Collapse problems in the soil to which structures such as oil rigs are anchored are a major challenge, involving issues of safety, longevity and maintenance. Research on this topic has been devoted to non-crushable sands, but Australia's offshore seabed is rich in breakable calcareous sediments. We will create a novel theory and visualisation techniques that will allow us to gain a deep understanding of sand crushing and will be a major step towards minimising the occurrence of catastrophic failures in the offshore oil and gas industry. Read moreRead less
Towards efficient development of geothermal resources in Australia: an improved simulation package for fluid flow in fractured geothermal reservoirs. Australia possesses vast deep earth geothermal resources, which are cheap, clean, reliable, sustainable and renewable. By supporting the development of geothermal resources, the fundamental research project will greatly contribute to many Australian social and economic priorities: providing immediate mitigation of climate change and greenhouse gas ....Towards efficient development of geothermal resources in Australia: an improved simulation package for fluid flow in fractured geothermal reservoirs. Australia possesses vast deep earth geothermal resources, which are cheap, clean, reliable, sustainable and renewable. By supporting the development of geothermal resources, the fundamental research project will greatly contribute to many Australian social and economic priorities: providing immediate mitigation of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; reducing dependence on external sources of fuels and oil price uncertainty; meeting the country's growing energy needs; therefore, supporting an Environmentally Sustainable Australia. Moreover, the project enhances Australian research recognition in the fields of fractured and geothermal simulation. It also provides high level education for five research students.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775616
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,000.00
Summary
Advanced Testing Facility for Geological Sequestration of Greenhouse Gases. Predicted climate changes can cause disastrous impacts on nation's human health, agriculture, infrastructure and natural ecosystems. The reduction of greenhouse emissions as required by Kyoto Protocol while protecting Australian industries and jobs is a massive challenge. The long-term sequestration of CO2 in deep geological formations is considered to be the most viable solution. This technology, however, is at its i ....Advanced Testing Facility for Geological Sequestration of Greenhouse Gases. Predicted climate changes can cause disastrous impacts on nation's human health, agriculture, infrastructure and natural ecosystems. The reduction of greenhouse emissions as required by Kyoto Protocol while protecting Australian industries and jobs is a massive challenge. The long-term sequestration of CO2 in deep geological formations is considered to be the most viable solution. This technology, however, is at its infancy and a concerted national research effort is urgently required. The multi-user Facility will enable closer collaboration with researchers in academia and industry, and will be integral in training the next generation of Australian scientists in the geological sequestration and wealth from the earth and the ocean.Read moreRead less
Shear heating in granular materials: micromechanics of thermal conduction and production. Oil, gas and geothermal exploration are amongst the major energy industries in Australia and must be optimised to enable efficient production. These processes are dominated by the transfer of heat through granular soil media. Past research was based on continuum heat-flow solutions, but these problems are governed by distinct networks of particle-particle contacts and interparticle pore-fluids. Heat-flow so ....Shear heating in granular materials: micromechanics of thermal conduction and production. Oil, gas and geothermal exploration are amongst the major energy industries in Australia and must be optimised to enable efficient production. These processes are dominated by the transfer of heat through granular soil media. Past research was based on continuum heat-flow solutions, but these problems are governed by distinct networks of particle-particle contacts and interparticle pore-fluids. Heat-flow solutions depend on effective terms of thermal conduction, production and convection, but these change with loading. A systematic study must therefore be accomplished to formulate the micromechanics of the effective thermal properties, such that continuum solutions are refined to optimise energy exploration.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989675
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,000.00
Summary
Interface-specific facility for quantifying adsorption and structures at particulate interfaces. The facility will be used by the collaborating universities to investigate adsorption and interface properties with great precision, and to develop new and improved technologies for coal and mineral processing, saline water utilisation, water desalination, energy production and environment protection. In particular, the project will investigate innovative ways of using ion-interface interactions in ....Interface-specific facility for quantifying adsorption and structures at particulate interfaces. The facility will be used by the collaborating universities to investigate adsorption and interface properties with great precision, and to develop new and improved technologies for coal and mineral processing, saline water utilisation, water desalination, energy production and environment protection. In particular, the project will investigate innovative ways of using ion-interface interactions in saline water for cleaning coal and recovering value minerals by flotation, and for improving dissolved air flotation used in water treatment and desalination to produce drinking water. The project will further investigate novel ways of capturing CO2, storing natural gases and hydrogen, and tailoring nutrient nano-crystals for foliar delivery.Read moreRead less
Dynamic behaviour of foams. Foam flow occurs in many industrial processes such as the fractionation of proteins and coal flotation. The proposed research will investigate transient behaviour at start-up of such processes and how the method of foam production affects process efficiency. The dispersion of liquid tracers in foam and a newly discovered phenomenon of ?upwards rippling? will be studied as it is likely that these could illuminate the physical processes that lay behind foam flow. Remova ....Dynamic behaviour of foams. Foam flow occurs in many industrial processes such as the fractionation of proteins and coal flotation. The proposed research will investigate transient behaviour at start-up of such processes and how the method of foam production affects process efficiency. The dispersion of liquid tracers in foam and a newly discovered phenomenon of ?upwards rippling? will be studied as it is likely that these could illuminate the physical processes that lay behind foam flow. Removal of unwanted material from a pipeline is often a major industrial problem and the ability of foams to perform this role will be assessed.Read moreRead less