Furqan Hussain

Bio: Furqan Hussain is an academic researcher from University of New South Wales. The author has contributed to research in topics: Relative permeability & Enhanced oil recovery. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 38 publications receiving 756 citations.

A laboratory and numerical-simulation study of co-optimizing CO2 storage and CO2 enhanced oil recovery

Abstract: This paper presents experimental observations that delineate co-optimization of carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and storage. Pure supercritical CO2 is injected into a homogeneous outcrop sandstone sample saturated with oil and immobile water under various miscibility conditions. A mixture of hexane and decane is used for the oil phase. Experiments are run at 70 degrees C and three different pressures (1,300, 1,700, and 2,100 psi). Each pressure is determined by use of a pressure/volume/temperature simulator to create immiscible, near-miscible, and miscible displacements. Oil recovery, differential pressure, and compositions are recorded during experiments. A co-optimization function for CO2 storage and incremental oil is defined and calculated using the measured data for each experiment. A compositional reservoir simulator is then used to examine gravity effects on displacements and to derive relative permeabilities.Experimental observations demonstrate that almost similar oil recovery is achieved during miscible and near-miscible displacements whereas approximately 18% less recovery is recorded in the immiscible displacement. More heavy component (decane) is recovered in the miscible and near-miscible displacements than in the immiscible displacement. The co-optimization function suggests that the near-miscible displacement yields the highest CO(2)storage efficiency and displays the best performance for coupling CO2 EOR and storage. Numerical simulations show that, even on the laboratory scale, there are significant gravity effects in the near-miscible and miscible displacements. It is revealed that the near-miscible and miscible recoveries depend strongly on the endpoint effective CO2 permeability.

Adsorption/desorption characteristics for methane, nitrogen and carbon dioxide of coal samples from Southeast Qinshui Basin, China

Abstract: This paper presents an experimental and modelling study of the adsorption/desorption of pure gases CH4, CO2 and N2 and their binary and ternary mixtures on coal samples obtained from southeast Qinshui Basin, China Results show that the adsorbed amounts of N2, CH4 and CO2 have approximate ratios of 10:13:24, respectively No significant hysteresis from adsorption to desorption is observed for pure N2 and CH4 whereas significant hysteresis is measured for CO2 in CO2-CH4 and CO2-CH4-N2 mixtures and CH4 in the N2-CH4 mixture The experimental observations are modelled using three different models, namely the extended Langmuir (EL), the Langmuir-based ideal adsorbed solution (L-IAS) and the Dubinlin-Radushkevich-based ideal adsorbed solution (D-R-IAS) The models predict well the experimental observations for desorption tests But the measurements for the low adsorbate capacity in binary and ternary mixtures are overestimated by the prediction models It is found that the EL model predicts the CO2-CH4 deso

A Semi-Analytical Model for Two Phase Immiscible Flow in Porous Media Honouring Capillary Pressure

Abstract: This article describes a semi-analytical model for two-phase immiscible flow in porous media. The model incorporates the effect of capillary pressure gradient on fluid displacement. It also includes a correction to the capillarity-free Buckley–Leverett saturation profile for the stabilized-zone around the displacement front and the end-effects near the core outlet. The model is valid for both drainage and imbibition oil–water displacements in porous media with different wettability conditions. A stepwise procedure is presented to derive relative permeabilities from coreflood displacements using the proposed semi-analytical model. The procedure can be utilized for both before and after breakthrough data and hence is capable to generate a continuous relative permeability curve unlike other analytical/semi-analytical approaches. The model predictions are compared with numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. The comparison shows that the model predictions for drainage process agree well with the numerical simulations for different capillary numbers, whereas there is mismatch between the relative permeability derived using the Johnson–Bossler–Naumann (JBN) method and the simulations. The coreflood experiments carried out on a Berea sandstone core suggest that the proposed model works better than the JBN method for a drainage process in strongly wet rocks. Both methods give similar results for imbibition processes.

Computation of Relative Permeability from Imaged Fluid Distributions at the Pore Scale

Abstract: Image-based computations of relative permeability for capillary-dominated quasi-static displacements require a realistic description of the distribution of the fluids in the pore space. The fluid distributions are usually computed directly on the imaged pore space or on simplified representations of the pore space extracted from the images using a wide variety of models which capture the physics of pore-scale displacements. Currently this is only possible for uniform strongly wetting conditions where fluid–fluid and rock–fluid interactions at the pore-scale can be modelled with a degree of certainty. Recent advances in imaging technologies which make it possible to visualize the actual fluid distributions in the pore space have the potential to overcome this limitation by allowing relative permeabilities to be computed directly from the imaged fluid distributions. The present study explores the feasibility of doing this by comparing laboratory measured capillary-dominated drainage relative permeabilities with relative permeabilities computed from micro-CT images of the actual fluid distributions in the same rock. The agreement between the measurements and the fluid image-based computations is encouraging. The paper highlights a number of experimental difficulties encountered in the study which should serve as a useful guide for the design of future studies.

VALIDITY OF CUBIC LAW FOR FLUID FLOW IN A DEFORMABLE ROCK FRACTURE - eScholarship

Abstract: The validity of the cubic law for laminar flow of fluids through open fractures consisting of parallel planar plates has been established by others over a wide range of conditions with apertures ranging down to a minimum of 0.2 µm. The law may be given in simplified form by Q/Δh = C(2b)3, where Q is the flow rate, Δh is the difference in hydraulic head, C is a constant that depends on the flow geometry and fluid properties, and 2b is the fracture aperture. The validity of this law for flow in a closed fracture where the surfaces are in contact and the aperture is being decreased under stress has been investigated at room temperature by using homogeneous samples of granite, basalt, and marble. Tension fractures were artificially induced, and the laboratory setup used radial as well as straight flow geometries. Apertures ranged from 250 down to 4µm, which was the minimum size that could be attained under a normal stress of 20 MPa. The cubic law was found to be valid whether the fracture surfaces were held open or were being closed under stress, and the results are not dependent on rock type. Permeability was uniquely defined by fracture aperture and was independent of the stress history used in these investigations. The effects of deviations from the ideal parallel plate concept only cause an apparent reduction in flow and may be incorporated into the cubic law by replacing C by C/ƒ. The factor ƒ varied from 1.04 to 1.65 in these investigations. The model of a fracture that is being closed under normal stress is visualized as being controlled by the strength of the asperities that are in contact. These contact areas are able to withstand significant stresses while maintaining space for fluids to continue to flow as the fracture aperture decreases. The controlling factor is the magnitude of the aperture, and since flow depends on (2b)3, a slight change in aperture evidently can easily dominate any other change in the geometry of the flow field. Thus one does not see any noticeable shift in the correlations of our experimental results in passing from a condition where the fracture surfaces were held open to one where the surfaces were being closed under stress.

Team Effectiveness Theory from Industrial and Organizational Psychology Applied to Engineering Student Project Teams: A Research Review

Abstract: Background Engineering student team projects are frequently used to meet professional learning outcomes. Industrial and organizational psychologists study teams in the industry settings for which we prepare students, yet this research does not effectively inform engineering education. Purpose This research review sought to demonstrate the relevance of literature on teams literature from industrial and organizational psychology to engineering education and to identify implications for practice and future directions for research. Scope/Method Phase 1 systematically reviewed 104 articles published from 2007 to 2012 describing engineering and computer science student team projects and sought to answer the following questions: What professional learning outcomes have been met by team projects? What negative student team behaviors have faculty sought to minimize? What literature has been used to inform development of teamwork outcomes? Phase 2 reviewed five team effectiveness constructs selected according to the results of Phase 1: social loafing, interdependence, conflict, trust, and shared mental models. Examples from Phase 1 articles and our own work explain how this research informs facilitation and assessment of engineering student teams. Conclusions Engineering faculty sought to achieve a variety of outcomes through team projects, including teamwork, communication, sustainability, and consideration of global/societal design context. They sought to avoid social loafing and conflict while building trust to ensure equal team effort. That few Phase 1 articles engaged the literature about team effectiveness indicates there is great opportunity to apply industrial and organizational psychology research to engineering education.