Ranking of multiple realizations is an important step when the processing time for a realization is large. This is the case in reservoir flow simulation and in other areas of geology, environmental and even medical applications. Significant uncertainty exists in all reservoirs especially at unsampled locations where the geological heterogeneity and connectivity are impossible to exactly predict between wells. Geostatistical techniques are used to construct models of static properties such as lithofacies, porosity, permeability and residual fluid saturations and provide multiple equally probable realizations of these properties. The number of realizations that is required for modeling the uncertainty may be large; usually 100 realizations are considered enough to quantify uncertainty. However, this number of realizations is still too high for processing by a flow simulator. This thesis aims at developing a robust and reliable ranking methodology to rank the realizations using a static ranking measure. The outcome is the identification of the high, low, and intermediate ranking realizations for further detailed simulations. The methodology was developed for the steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) reservoir application. This thesis will consider the cumulative oil produced (COPrate) and cumulative steam-oil-ratio (CSOR) as the ranking parameters in the flow simulations, hereafter called performance parameter. Connected hydrocarbon volume (CHV) was the parameter that was used in the ranking methodology as the static ranking measure. High calibration between the performance parameters and the CHV would indicate the success of the proposed ranking methodology. The ranking methodology was validated against the results of the flow simulations. The results indicate a mediocre correlation between the SAGD performance parameters and CHV. The ranking methodology was modified by incorporating the average reservoir permeability. Significant improvement in the correlation between the static ranking measure and the SAGD performance parameters resulted. / Petroleum Engineering

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Mechanical forces are important regulators of cell function in many tissues including, for example, bone and components of the cardiovascular system. The endothelial lining of blood vessels has been shown to respond in an atheroprotective manner to unidirectional, laminar flow-induced shear stress and in an atherogenic manner to oscillating and low levels of shear. We have developed a cone and plate shear apparatus to simulate fluid shear stress on endothelial cells in vitro. The significant feature of this apparatus is that, unlike other in vitro flow systems, it accurately produces varying levels of shear stress, consistent with those created in vivo during the cardiac cycle. Flow characteristics of this system were verified by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV). Cellular responses were monitored by cell morphology and protein expression. These responses are consistent with in vivo responses as well as previous work using other in vitro flow systems.

This dissertation considers modeling groundwater flow under imprecisely known parameters and managing a plume of contaminant. A new approach has been developed to study the effects of parameters uncertainty on the dependent variable, here the head. The proposed approach is developed based on fuzzy set theory combined with interval analysis. The kind of uncertainty modeled here is the imprecision associated with model parameters as a result of machine or human imprecision or lack of information. In this technique each parameter is described by a membership function. The fuzzy inputs into the model are in the form of intervals so are the outputs. The resulting head interval represents the change in the output due to interval inputs of model parameters. The proposed technique is illustrated using a two dimensional flow problem solved with a finite element technique. Three different cases are studied: homogeneous, mildly heterogeneous and highly heterogeneous transmissivity field. The groundwater flow problem analysis requires interval input values for the parameters, the output may be presented in terms of mean value, upper and lower bounds of the hydraulic head. The width of the resulting head interval can be used as a measure of uncertainty due to imprecise inputs. The degree of uncertainty associated with the predicted hydraulic head is found to increase as the width of the input parameters interval increases. Compared to Monte Carlo simulation approach, the proposed technique requires less computer storage and CPU time, however at this stage autocorrelation and crosscorolation are not configured in the presented formulation. In the plume containment problem two formulations are presented using the hydraulic gradient technique to control the movement of the contaminants. The first one is based on multiobjective analysis and the second, on fuzzy set theory. Multiobjective analysis yields a set of alternative strategies each of which satisfies the multiple objectives to a certain degree. Three different techniques have been used to choose a compromise strategy. Although they follow different principles, the same preferred strategies are selected. It is also noticed that rapid restoration results in a large pumping volumes and high costs. Using a fuzzy formulation for plume containment yields the optimum pumping rates and locations in addition to the membership function at each pumping location. The resulting membership functions at these pumping locations can be used to study the sensitivity of each location to a change in objective function and constraints bounds. Overall, both the fuzzy and multiobjective methodologies, presented in this dissertation, provide new and encouraging approaches to groundwater quality management.

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The simulation of the turbulent and potentially separating flow around a rotating, twisted, and tapered airfoil is a challenging task for CFD simulations. This thesis describes CFD simulations of the NREL Phase VI turbine that was experimentally characterized in the 24.4m X 36.6m NREL/NASA Ames wind tunnel. All computations in this research are performed on the experimental base configuration of 0o yaw angle, 3o tip pitch angle, and a rotation rate of 72 rpm. The significance of specific mesh resolution regions to the accuracy of the CFD prediction is discussed. The ability of CFD to capture bulk quantities, such as the low speed shaft torque, and the detailed flow characteristics, such as the surface pressure distributions, are explored for different inlet wind speeds. Finally, the significant three-dimensionality of the boundary layer flow is demonstrated.

This work discusses the modification and analysis of the Blue Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVAC) located at the Space Environments Lab at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The modified design has a cylindrical test section and can accommodate 6U Cubesats or larger for educational or research purposes. The sizing process for the modified shroud cooling system and modular heating plates is discussed. The modified cooling system uses existing nitrogen plumbing into the chamber and control systems with a new copper shroud. The modified heating system uses modular heater plates, which utilize the existing three heater strips. The modified system includes high emissivity coatings for improved heat transfer performance, lower thermal mass materials to minimize thermal mass and liquid nitrogen consumption, and modular components for flexibility in operation. Analysis presented shows correlation between experimental results and a steady state thermal model using SolidWorks and SolidWorks Flow Simulation. The results demonstrate a maximum absolute difference in modeled vs experimental temperatures at measured locations of 11C in all cases, and 3C for test article temperatures only. Chamber performance is compared and characterized through a series of thermal vacuum tests and demonstrates capability exceeding ISO 19683 requirements for all thermal vacuum chamber testing categories except tolerance, with a tested temperature range of -145C at the shroud to 95C at the heater plates, >10 cycles between -15C and 55C, dwells in excess of 3 hours, ramp rates of 1-2C/min, and chamber pressures under

The flow of traffic at an intersection is often controlled by a traffic signal. This research report models a T-intersection with a disjoint network for each direction of traffic flow, eastbound, westbound and southbound. The traffic signal is modeled with a fourth network. Three types of signal control (pretimed, semi-actuated and full-actuated) are modeled to examine the effect of each type on the average delay time and average length of queues for each lane of traffic queue at the intersection. The computer models presented in the report use SLAM computer language to simulate the traffic signal and vehicle flow.