The performance advances of radar-guided missiles have created a need for radome materials with improved strength, toughness, and thermal shock capabilities. Zirconium phosphate bonded silicon nitride (Zr-PBSN), which has a low and thermally stable dielectric constant, high rain erosion resistance and a low-cost processing method, has been developed for radome applications in advanced tactical missiles. Pressureless sintering reduces processing costs, but is untried for radome manufacturing. The tendency for catastrophic failure requires that each radome fabricated with this material/method be inspected for defects prior to use. Visible, thermographic and ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods have been tested with Zr-PBSN discs containing fabricated flaws likely to be present in a radome. Ultrasonic C-scanning using a 0.25" diameter, 15 MHz focused transducer with a pulse-echo configuration was clearly superior at detecting cracks, delaminations, impurities, voids and porosity variation. A method for determining local porosity via the longitudinal elastic wave velocity was developed and can be incorporated into an ultrasonic scanning system. A system that uses a computer to perform all motion control, data acquisition, and data manipulation, but requiring a skilled operator for scan setup and interpretation of the data has been proposed. / Master of Science

The Fayetteville Shale is composed dominantly of clay, carbonate, and siliciclastic minerals. A variety of facies have been described by other workers and in this study, defined by mineral content, biota, fabric, and texture. Because the Fayetteville Shale is one of the top shale-gas producing plays in the U.S., an inquiry into key drivers of good-quality production is worthwhile. In particular, a hypothesis that intervals of high clay content should be avoided as production targets is investigated in this study. A high level of separation between wire-line log neutron porosity (NPHI) and density porosity (DPHI) in the Fayetteville Shale is observed in contrast to the wire-line log responses from the Barnett and Haynesville Shales. Clay minerals have a significant effect on NPHI, which in turn affects separation between NPHI and DPHI (PHISEP). X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) clay data was available for three wells, and efforts to correlate XRD results to PHISEP led to establishing NPHI as a reasonable proxy for clay. Using NPHI as a proxy it was possible to pick clay-rich intervals, map them across the study area, and to determine net clay in the Fayetteville Shale. Maps of net clay-rich intervals were compared to a map of production, but revealed no obvious correlation. Stratigraphic cross-sections showing the clay-rich intervals revealed a clay-poor interval in the upper part of the lower Fayetteville. This interval is the primary target for horizontal well completion. It is bounded above and below by more clay-rich intervals. Establishing the clay-rich intervals via porosity log separation (PHISEP) is one tool to help determine possible stratigraphic zones of gas production and can lead to a better understanding of intervals in which to expect production. / text

There have been many attempts to use mathematical method in order to characterize shale gas/oil reservoirs with multi-transverse hydraulic fractures horizontal well. Many authors have tried to come up with a suitable and practical mathematical model. To analyze the production data of a shale reservoir correctly, an understanding and choosing the proper mathematical model is required. Therefore, three models (the homogeneous linear flow model, the transient linear dual porosity model, and the fully transient linear triple porosity model) will be studied and compared to provide correct interpretation guidelines for these models. The analytical solutions and interpretation guidelines are developed in this work to interpret the production data of shale reservoirs effectively. Verification and derivation of asymptotic and associated equations from the Laplace space for dual porosity and triple porosity models are performed in order to generate analysis equations. Theories and practical applications of the three models (the homogeneous linear flow model, the dual porosity model, and the triple porosity model) are presented. A simplified triple porosity model with practical analytical solutions is proposed in order to reduce its complexity. This research provides the interpretation guidelines with various analysis equations for different flow periods or different physical properties. From theoretical and field examples of interpretation, the possible errors are presented. Finally, the three models are compared in a production analysis with the assumption of infinite conductivity of hydraulic fractures.

Lisovanie za tepla (HIP) je pokročilá technológia pre výrobu plne hutných keramických materiálov, ktoré majú množstvo štruktúrnych (napr. rezné nástroje), biologických (napr. implantáty hutných kostí a kĺbov) alebo funkčných (napr. transparentné štíty a okná) aplikácií. Pre úspešné použitie tejto technológie je potrebné, aby predspekané vzorky boli plynotesné, teda bez otvorených pórov. Výskum zaoberajúci sa premenou otvorených pórov na uzatvorené je preto veľmi dôležitý, avšak iba málo publikovaný v odbornej literatúre. Preto bolo experimentálne a teoretické štúdium tohto javu hlavným cieľom diplomovej práce. Analýzy teoretických modelov ukazujú, že transformácia z otvorenej na uzatvorenú pórovitosť je materiálová charakteristika, ktoré sa mení iba s dihedrálnym uhlom, nezávisle na veľkosti častíc prášku alebo na spôsobe tvarovania a nastáva od 92.6% t.d. do 93.7% t.d pre daný materiál (oxid hlinitý, oxid zirkoničitý a horečnato-hlinitý spinel). Tieto teoretické výpočty boli porovnané s experimentálnymi dátami z literatúry a dátami z experimentálnej časti diplomovej práce s úspešnou zhodou pre kubické systémy (spinel a kubický oxid zirkoničitý). Výsledky experimentov s oxidom hlinitým boli v dobrej zhode s experimentálnymi dátami publikovanými v literatúre, ale boli vyššie ako teoretické hodnoty. Na objasnenie týchto odlišností bolo vytvorených niekoľko hypotéz a tiež boli navrhnuté spôsoby riešenia tejto témy.

An innovative application of existing technology is proposed for attenuating the effects of transient phenomena, such as rotor-stator and rotor-strut interactions, linked to noise and fatigue failure in turbomachinery environments. A computational study was designed to assess the potential of Passive Porosity Technology as a mechanism for alleviating interaction effects and radiated noise by reducing the fluctuating forces acting on the vane surfaces. The study involved a typical high bypass fan stator airfoil immersed in a subsonic free field and exposed to the effects of a transversely moving wake. Time histories of the primitive aerodynamic variables obtained from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations were input into an acoustic prediction code to estimate noise levels at a radial distance of ten chords from the stator airfoil. This procedure was performed on the solid airfoil to obtain a baseline, and on approximately fifty porous configurations in order to isolate those that would yield maximum noise reductions without compromising the aerodynamic performance of the stator. It was found that, for a single stator immersed in a subsonic flow field, communication between regions of high pressure differential - made possible by the use of passive porosity - tends to induce a time-dependent oscillatory pattern of small inflow-outflow regions near the stator leading edge (LE), which is well established before wake effects come into play. The oscillatory pattern starts at the LE, and travels downstream on both suction and pressure sides of the airfoil. The amplitude of the oscillations seemed to be proportional to the extension of the porous patch on the pressure side. Regardless of this effect, which may not have occurred if the airfoil were placed within a stator cascade, communication between regions of high pressure differential is necessary to significantly alter the noise radiation pattern of the stator airfoil. Whether those changes result in noise abatement or enhancement depends primarily on the placement and extension of the porous patches. For most viable configurations, porosity reduced loading noise but increased thickness noise. Variations in nominal porosity were of secondary importance. In general, the best aerodynamic performers (i.e., those configurations that were able to reduce unsteady lift without severely altering the lift and/or drag characteristics of the solid airfoil) were also the best acoustic performers. As a result of using passive surface porosity, overall peak radiated noise was reduced by approximately 1.0 dB. This reduction increased to about 2.5 dB when the effects of loading noise alone were considered. / Ph. D.

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Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is a rapid prototyping technique that allows for direct and rapid manufacturing of complex components. DMLS is however an intricate process and the quality of the final product is influenced by multiple manufacturing parameters (or DMLS settings) and powder characteristics. The effect which each of these manufacturing parameters and powder characteristics has on the final parts is not well understood and the success of process manufacturing mainly relies on empirical knowledge. Consequently high dimensional deformation and relatively poor mechanical properties are still experienced in many DMLS products, in particular in copper-based laser sintered parts. A need therefore exists to systematically examine the effect of process parameters on the quality of final parts in order to determine the most appropriate manufacturing parameters for specific applications of copper-based laser sintered parts. This document summarises the effect of different process parameters on the quality of Direct Metal 20 laser sintered parts produced with a EOSINT M250 Xtended laser sintering machine from powder consisting of Ni5Cu, Cu15Sn – Cu5Sn and Cu8P – Cu2P material grains. The quality of the sintered parts is defined in terms of the microstructures, porosities and dimensional deformations obtained. The effects of three different geometric sintering strategies currently in standard use namely Solid Skin, Skin Stripes and Skin Chess were examined, and the more appropriate process parameters and scanning technique for the available set-up is presented. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is a rapid prototyping technique that allows for direct and rapid manufacturing of complex components. DMLS is however an intricate process and the quality of the final product is influenced by multiple manufacturing parameters (or DMLS settings) and powder characteristics. The effect which each of these manufacturing parameters and powder characteristics has on the final parts is not well understood and the success of process manufacturing mainly relies on empirical knowledge. Consequently high dimensional deformation and relatively poor mechanical properties are still experienced in many DMLS products, in particular in copper-based laser sintered parts. A need therefore exists to systematically examine the effect of process parameters on the quality of final parts in order to determine the most appropriate manufacturing parameters for specific applications of copper-based laser sintered parts. This document summarises the effect of different process parameters on the quality of Direct Metal 20 laser sintered parts produced with a EOSINT M250 Xtended laser sintering machine from powder consisting of Ni5Cu, Cu15Sn – Cu5Sn and Cu8P – Cu2P material grains. The quality of the sintered parts is defined in terms of the microstructures, porosities and dimensional deformations obtained. The effects of three different geometric sintering strategies currently in standard use namely Solid Skin, Skin Stripes and Skin Chess were examined, and the more appropriate process parameters and scanning technique for the available set-up is presented. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Uniaxial consolidation tests of resedimented mudrocks from the offshore Gulf of Mexico reveal compression and permeability behavior that is in many ways similar to those of intact core specimens and field measurements. Porosity (n) of the resedimented mudrock also falls between field porosity estimates obtained from sonic and bulk density well logs at comparable effective stresses. Laboratory-prepared mudrocks are used as testing analogs because accurate in-situ measurements and intact cores are difficult to obtain. However, few direct comparisons between laboratory-prepared mudrocks, field behavior, and intact core behavior have been made. In this thesis, I compare permeability and compressibility of laboratory-prepared specimens from Gulf of Mexico material to intact core and field analysis of this material. I resediment high plasticity silty claystone obtained from Plio-Pleistocene-aged mudrocks in the Eugene Island Block 330 oilfield, offshore Louisiana, and characterize its compression and permeability behavior through constant rate of strain consolidation tests. The resedimented mudrocks decrease in void ratio (e) from 1.4 (61% porosity) at 100 kPa of effective stress to 0.34 (26% porosity) at 20.4 MPa. I model the compression behavior using a power function between specific volume (v=1+e) and effective stress ([sigma]'v): v=1.85[sigma]'v-⁰̇¹⁰⁸. Vertical permeability (k) decreases from 2.5·10-¹⁶ m² to 4.5·10-²⁰ m² over this range, and I model the permeability as a log-linear function of porosity (n): log₁₀ k=10.83n - 23.21. Field porosity estimates are calculated from well logs using two approaches; an empirical correlation based on sonic velocities, and a calculation using the bulk density. Porosity of the resedimented mudrock falls above the sonic-derived porosity and below the density porosity at all effective stresses. Measurements on intact core specimens display similar compression and permeability behavior to the resedimented specimens. Similar compression behavior is also observed in Ursa Basin mudrocks. Based on these similarities, resedimented Gulf of Mexico mudrock is a reasonable analog for field behavior. / text

With the recent increase in natural gas production, the demand for college educated petroleum engineers has increased. A greater number of high school graduates are now applying to petroleum engineering degree programs, however, the admission requirements to petroleum engineering schools are becoming increasingly stricter. Secondary educators have a greater challenge to better prepare students to compete for these positions and there is a need to introduce petrophysical concepts to students in the most effective manner. One petrophysical concept is porosity of rock. In this report, background information on rock formation and porosity of rocks is provided along with a brief summary on how 3D printers operate. But primarily, a lesson plan is presented to teach rock porosity in a novel way using 3D printed enlargements of porous rock from x-ray microtomography images of packed sand. The hypothesis was that students will gain greater understanding of petrophysical properties when using 3D prints of rocks. The porosity lesson with a lab using the 3D printed rocks was taught to a treatment group of 20 upcoming 6th graders. A porosity lesson without the use of 3D printed rocks was didactically taught to a control group of 14 additional 6th graders. Because of time limitations, not all of the students from the treatment group were able to experience all elements of the lab. However, every student in the control group received instruction and practice on how to calculate porosity of rock. The treatment group showed greater gain in learning the abstract concept about porosity that rocks of similar structure will have equivalent porosity regardless of grain size. However, the control group indicated greater gain learning the fundamental concepts of the definition of porosity, how to calculate porosity, and at being able to transfer their knowledge of percent porosity to a general problem about percentages. Despite the limited sample size and other sources of error, using 3D printed enlargements of rock was found to enhance students’ abilities to visualize abstract petrophysical properties. However, benefits from didactic instruction of fundamental concepts of petrophysical properties were found as well. / text