<p dir="ltr">Transportation and energy production industries strongly rely on improvements in gas turbine performance. The quantification of these improvements is dependent on the accuracy of the measurements performed during testing. An increase of 0.5\% in efficiency is sufficient to secure a new development program worth millions of dollars, but in the case of temperature measurements, uncertainties below 0.5 K are required, which presents a challenge. This work selects heat flux estimation and total temperature measurement uncertainties as major contributors for efficiency uncertainty.</p><ul><li>Heat flux measurements are critical to evaluate the impact on the efficiency. Additionally, thermal fatigue in turbine airfoils defines the life cycle of the engine core. This work performs an estimation of the heat transfer via a simplified numerical model that uses infrared (IR) measurements in the surface of the casing to predict the temperature of the passage wall. The model is validated with real cool-down data of the turbine to yield results within a 10\% of the actual temperature.</li><li>Total temperature measurement suffers from errors due to heat transfer effects in the probe. Two dominant sources of errors are convection and conduction between the thermocouple wires, the probe support, and the flow. These effects can be treated in two different categories: the velocity error, created by a non-isentropic reduction of the flow velocity upstream the thermocouple junction, and the thermal equilibrium effects between the junction and the probe support, involving heat transfer through the wire to the shield and the probe stem due to temperature differences between each component (the so-called \emph{conduction error}). An open jet stand is used to evaluate the effects of velocity error at various Mach numbers. The conduction error is addressed with the design and manufacturing of dual-wire thermocouple probes. The readings from two wires with different length-to-diameter ratios are used to correct for the flow total temperature. This probe yielded a recovery factor of 0.99 +/- 0.01 at Mach 0.6.</li></ul><p></p>

<p>Many industrial organizations invest heavily in modeling and simulation (M&S) to support the design process. The primary business motivation for M&S is as a cheaper and faster alternative for obtaining information towards a better understanding of system behavior or to help with decision making. However, M&S predictions are known to be inexact because models and simulations are mathematical approximations of reality. To ensure that models are applicable for their intended use, organizations must collect evidence that the M&S is credible. Verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification (VVUQ) are the established methods for collecting this evidence. Structured frameworks for building credibility in M&S through VVUQ methods exist in the scientific literature but these frameworks and methods are generally not well developed, nor well implemented in industrial environments. The core motivation of this work is to help make existing VVUQ frameworks more suitable for industry.</p> <p>As part of this objective, this work proposes a new credibility assessment that turns VVUQ results into an intuitive, numerical decision-making metric. This credibility assessment, called the Credibility Index, identifies the important aspects of credibility, extracts the relevant VVUQ results, and converts the results into an overall Credibility Index score (CRED). This CRED score is unique for each specific prediction scenario and serves as an easy-to-digest measure of credibility. The Credibility Index builds upon widely accepted definitions of credibility, well-established VVUQ frameworks, and decision theory.</p> <p>The Credibility Index has been applied to several prediction scenarios for two publicly available benchmark problems and one Rolls-Royce funded subsystem case; all examples relate to the aerodynamic design of turbine-engine compressors. The results from these studies show how the Credibility Index serves as a decision-making metric, supplements traditional M&S outputs, and guides VVUQ efforts. A product feedback study, involving model end-users in industry, compared the Credibility Index to three other established credibility assessments; the study provides evidence that CRED consistently captures all key aspects of information quality when informing end-users on the credibility of model predictions. Due to the industry partnership, this research already has multiple avenues of practical impact, including implementation of the structured VVUQ and credibility framework in an industrial toolkit and workflow. </p>

<p>This study, motivated by biomedical applications such as drug delivery and adsorption, is aimed at describing magneto- and dielectro-phoretic systems via dimensional analysis to quantitatively assess the relative contribution of hydrodynamics, electromagnetism, and particle dynamics. Magnetophoresis and dielectrophoresis, phenomena of magnetic and dielectric particle transports, respectively, have been used in various applications requiring selective collecting or separating magnetic particles, especially in microfluidic systems.</p> <p>A multiphysics computational model for a magnetophoretic system was developed to assess magnetophoretic characteristics. The magnetically induced mobility of the magnetic particles was simulated for a range of parameters relevant in biomedical applications, including the particle and fluid properties, fluid velocity, and geometries of the particle, flow channel, and magnet. With the help of dimensional analysis, dimensionless numbers were introduced to reduce the number of parameters characterizing the transport of the particles suspended in an electrically non-conducting fluid exposed to an external magnetic field. As a result, 14 relevant variables determining the particle capture were reduced to only 3 dimensionless numbers describing the magnetophoretic system. The results from multiphysics models supported this analysis, suggesting a scaling law. The functional relationship among the dimensionless numbers resulted in prediction curves to assess the particle capture. The performance of the magnetophoretic system predicted with the dimensional analysis was verified in comparison with the available experimental data. In addition, the dimensionless numbers introduced here were compared with established numbers in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD).</p> <p>These theoretical and parametrical analyses of the magnetophoretic system were applied to the novel magnetic filter proposed to capture the drug-loaded small magnetic particles (MPs) from the bloodstream during the Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy (IAC). The IAC is a preferred treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the primary liver cancer. In the IAC procedure, chemotherapeutic agents, e.g. doxorubicin (Dox), are administered via a catheter placed in an artery supplying the tumor. The effectiveness of the IAC, however, is limited due to the passage of excessive chemotherapy agents to the blood circulation after their effect on the tumor, causing systemic toxicity. To remove the excessive drugs, the endovascular filtration devices have been developed. The proposed magnetic filtration device could be deployed from a catheter placed in the hepatic vein or inferior vena cava (IVC) to remove the excessive Dox from the bloodstream. The Ferumoxytol approved by the FDA is one of the types of the ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles. The excessive Dox-coated USPIO can be filtered by a magnetic catheter-based device generating an external magnetic field. The filter utilizing magnetic fields is a promising method for therapeutic applications since an influence of magnetic field reaches comparatively wide ranges and magnetic fields do not affect biological tissues. To optimize the design, efficacy, and performance of the proposed magnetic filtration device, numerical models were developed based on the proposed dimensionless numbers characterizing drug transport and binding. Drug adsorption can be optimized by modifying magnetic field distribution and device configuration. To enhance the filtering up to 70-80 % of the excessive drug, multi-stage filters were developed by optimizing magnet configuration and flow patterns. By decreasing the concentration of toxins in the cardiovascular system, the drug dosage can be increased while reducing side effects, thus improving the effectiveness of the IAC treatment.</p> <p>In addition, new dimensionless numbers for dielectrophoresis analogous to magnetophoresis were introduced for a range of applications. The proposed dimensionless numbers for dielectrophoresis were evaluated for several conditions and compared with the previously established numbers in electrohydrodynamics (EHD). </p> <p>This study provides a promising framework for analyzing and predicting performance of various magneto- and dielectro-phoretic systems for a range of applications, particularly in biomedicine such as –drug filtering, targeted drug delivery, or small particle separation–, thus providing a reliable methodology for predicting particle manipulation. </p>

<p>In this work, two overarching global crises are addressed with an engineering lens; the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. Regarding the latter, an investigation is completed into the fluxes of CO2 in the wake of a simple wind farm for identification of potentially beneficial siting of Direct Capture of CO2. In this analysis, large-eddy simulations are used to quantify scalar entrainment in the turbines’ wake for several empirical CO2 profiles. In instances with positive or a combination of CO2 gradients, it was found that the concentration of CO2 increased in wake through downward mixing and entrainment. In a negative CO2 gradient, the opposite was found, with the wind turbine mixing away the increased surface<br> concentration and entraining down lower concentration air from above. These findings were used to make recommendations on scenarios in which wind turbines were beneficial to Direct Capture plants.<br> In addition, as part of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, an innovative new technology was designed and constructed; a prototype photoacoustic spectrometer for the rapid detection of viruses. With the vision to become a viral "breathalyzer", the primary stage of development involved the creation of a prototype for proof-of-concept of viral detection using PAS. An extensive literature review was completed to determine optimal<br> design, with several distinct innovations integrated with the end-product in mind; such as a pure silicon resonator cell and a light-emitting diode source for low-cost, portable detection.<br> This was estimated to be of sufficient quality to detect single virions, as found through Finite Element Analysis.<br> Additionally, the validation of a proposed improvement on the medical mask, named Hy-Cu, is shown. Through various tests, Hy-Cu was found to have greater breathability than KN95 or surgical masks, as well as comparable efficiency in filtration of viral droplets.<br> Additionally, the novel inclusion of a diamond-like carbon-coated copper mesh layer resulted in viral inactivation of 99% after a period of 2 hours, allowing Hy-Cu to be safely reused without risk of transmission.<br> </p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Generation IV high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR) are designed to exhibit passive safety under all off-normal circumstances. One such scenario, known as depressurized loss of forced circulation (DLOFC), occurs after a break in the coaxial inlet/outlet header. As the headers are traditionally located at the base of the reactor vessel, the low-density helium coolant is preserved in the core following the initial rupture accident. Upon depressurization, however, air from the surrounding reactor environment slowly enters the coolant channel through molecular diffusion. As the incoming fluid continues to deplete the helium concentration, the onset of natural circulation (ONC) can occur causing bulk air ingress leading to the oxidation and degradation of core components. Therefore, investigating methods to improve the time to ONC is critical in impeding reactor core component damage brought about by DLOFC in an HTGR.</p><p dir="ltr">The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) has similar features to those of an HTGR, but the primary difference is the use of a more complex, additively manufactured (AM) fuel geometry. The more compact, AM, ceramic fuel elements can be conveniently produced with optimally configured channels that suppress the air ingress progress and improve thermofluidic performance. DLOFC and air ingress are experimentally studied in a scaled HTGR flow test setup. Distributed temperature measurements and time to ONC data are collected for the experiments conducted. Multiple geometries are analyzed throughout the investigation. The thermal transient and time to ONC data gathered for the different test geometries and temperatures are compared. The results show that the AM and pebble bed elements deter ONC significantly longer than the baseline geometry representative of a prismatic fuel coolant channel. The AM part delayed ONC as compared to the pebble bed test piece at higher temperatures. The distributed temperature sensor shows intra-leg circulation at higher temperature tests.</p><p dir="ltr">Thermophysical properties of the 316 stainless steel AM component are compared to those of a standard 316 stainless steel round bar. The properties ascertained include the density, emissivity, specific heat, and thermal conductivity. The density of the AM part is 1.5% greater than the density of the standard bar. The emissivity of the AM part is determined to be over three times greater than the emissivity of the polished standard stainless steel round. The specific heat of the AM element is 16% greater than that of the standard 316 stainless steel specific heat. The thermal conductivity of the AM component is measured to be within 1.5% of the standard 316 stainless steel round bar thermal conductivity.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Gas turbines are widely used to provide propulsion, electrical-power, and mechanical power. Though tremendous advances have been made since Frank Whittle’s patent of a turbojet in 1930 and Hans von Ohain’s patent of the first operational turbojet in 1936, industry still has aggressive goals on improvements in efficiency and service life. One area where further advances are needed is better control of the flow across the gap between the blade tip and the shroud, referred to as tip-leakage flow (TLF). This is because TLF accounts for up to one-third of the aerodynamic losses in a turbine stage.</p><p dir="ltr">In this study, hybrid LES-RANS based on IDDES and steady RANS based on the SST turbulence model were used to study the compressible flow in a 1.5-stage turbine with geometry and operating conditions that are relevant to power-generation gas turbines. The focus is on the flow in the tip-gap region that account for the flow features created by the upstream stator vanes, stator-rotor interactions, and downstream stator vanes. Results obtained reveal the flow structures about the tip-gap region and the flow mechanisms that create them. Results obtained also show where steady RANS with mixing plane could predict correctly when compared with results from IDDES that resolve the unsteadiness of the turbulence and the motion of the rotor blades passing the stator vanes. Turbulent statistics from the IDDES were generated to guide the development of better RANS models. Results were also obtained by using RANS to examine the effects of blade loading, where mass flow rate through the 1.5 stage turbine was varied with the rotor’s rotational speed fixed at 3,600 RPM – the speed at which power-generation gas turbines operate in the U.S.</p><p dir="ltr">Key findings are as follows: In the first-stage stator, horseshoe, passage, and corner vortices were found to be confined within 10 to 15% span from the hub and shroud, and both steady RANS and IDDES generated similar results. Steady RANS and IDDES, however, differed considerably in how they predicted the wake downstream of the vane’s trailing edge. This coupled with the use of mixing plane, steady RANS was unable to account for effects of stator-rotor interactions and their effects on the tip-leakage flow. In the rotor, steady RANS predicted passage vortices that extended up to 50% span from the hub and 25% span from the shroud. The flow through the tip gap was found to induce a separation bubble on the blade tip and one large and two small vortical structures on the suction side of the blade and a vortical structure next to the shroud. These structures were found to grow along the axial chord of the blade. Steady RANS also predicted the large tip leakage vortex that contained the fluid from the tip-leakage flow to breakdown. IDDES did not predict the vortex breakdown because all of the coherent vortical structures identified including the separated region on the blade tip were unsteady and constantly shedding. As a result, IDDES predicted much smaller mean passage vortices – albeit the instantaneous structures were nearly as large as those predicted by steady RANS.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Positive displacement machines are used in various industries spanning the power spectrum, from industrial robotics to heavy construction equipment to aviation. These machines should be highly efficient, compact, and reliable. It is very advantageous for designers to use virtual simulations to design and improve the performance of these units as they significantly reduce cost and downtime. The recent trends of electrification and the goal to increase power density force these units to work at higher pressures and higher rotational speeds while maintaining their efficiencies and reliability. This push means that the simulation models need to advance to account for various aspects during the operation of these machines. </p><p dir="ltr">These machines typically have several bodies in relative motion with each other. Quantifying these motions and solving for their effect on the fluid enclosed are vital as they influence the machine's performance. The push towards higher rotational speeds introduces unwanted cavitation and aeration in these units. To model these effects, keeping the design evaluation time low is key for a designer. The lumped parameter approach offers the benefit of computational speed, but a major drawback that comes along with it is that it typically assumes fluid inertia to be negligible. These effects cannot be ignored, as quantifying and making design considerations to negate these effects can be beneficial. Therefore, this thesis addresses these key challenges of cavitation dynamics, body dynamics, and accounting for fluid inertia effects using a lumped parameter formulation.</p><p dir="ltr">To account for dynamics features related to cavitation, this thesis proposes a novel approach combining the two types of cavitation, i.e., gaseous and vaporous, by considering that both vapor and undissolved gas co-occupy a spherical bubble. The size of the spherical bubble is solved using the Rayleigh-Plesset equation, and the transfer of gas through the bubble interface is solved using Henry's Law and diffusion of the dissolved gas in the liquid. These equations are coupled with a novel pressure derivative equation. To account for body dynamics, this thesis introduces a novel approach for solving the positions of the bodies of a hydraulic machine while introducing new methods to solve contact dynamics and the application of Elasto Hydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL) friction at those contact locations. This thesis also proposes strategies to account for fluid inertia effects in a lumped parameter-based approach, taking as a reference an External Gear Machine. This thesis proposes a method to study the effects of fluid inertia on the pressurization and depressurization of the tooth space volumes of these units. The approach is based on considering the fluid inertia in the pressurization grooves and inside the control volumes with a peculiar sub-division. Further, frequency-dependent friction is also modeled to provide realistic damping of the fluid inside these channels.</p><p dir="ltr">To show the validity of the proposed dynamic cavitation model, the instantaneous pressure of a closed fluid volume undergoing expansion/compression is compared with multiple experimental sources, showing an improvement in accuracy compared to existing models. This modeling is then further applied to a gerotor machine and validated with experiments. Integrating this modeling technique with current displacement chamber simulation can further improve the understanding of cavitation in hydraulic systems. Formulations for body dynamics are tested on a prototype Gerotor and Vane unit. For both gerotor and vane units, comparisons of simulation results to experimental results for various dynamic quantities, such as pressure ripple, volumetric, and hydromechanical efficiency for multiple operating conditions, have been done. Extensive validation is performed for the case of gerotors where shaft torque ripple and the motion of the outer gear is experimentally validated. The thesis also comments on the distribution of the different torque loss contributions. The model for fluid inertia effects has been validated by comparing the lumped parameter model with a full three-dimensional Navier Stokes solver. The quantities compared, such as tooth space volume pressures and outlet volumetric flow rate, show a good match between the two approaches for varying operating speeds. A comparison with the experiments supports the modeling approach as well. The thesis also discusses which operating conditions and geometries play a significant role that governs the necessity to model such fluid inertia effects in the first place.</p>

Les gaz issus de la combustion des énergies fossiles dans les centrales électriques contiennent une grande variété de polluants tels que les gaz-acides et ne peuvent être rejetés directement dans l'atmosphère. Ces polluants gazeux doivent être traités par des méthodes de captage en post combustion dans des colonnes d'absorption utilisant des solvants chimiques. L'objectif est donc de concevoir une unité d'élimination sélective des gaz-acides tels que CO2, H2S et COS en utilisant des solvants de la famille des alcanolamines. Cette thèse développe dans un premier temps, un modèle de non-équilibre, adapté aux systèmes multiconstituants électrolytiques et réactifs, pour la représentation des colonnes d'absorption réactive. Le modèle comporte des modules pour représenter la thermodynamique en espèces vraies (espèces ioniques et moléculaires), le transfert simultané de masse et de chaleur, et les réactions chimiques. Les équations généralisées de Maxwell-Stefan sont utilisées pour quantifier les interactions multiconstituants lors de la diffusion. Le schéma réactionnel est intégralement pris en compte dans la phase liquide, et les réactions chimiques peuvent être cinétiquement contrôlées ou à l'équilibre chimique instantané. La séparation réactive en régime permanent est ainsi simulée avec une description rigoureuse des phénomènes de réaction-diffusion dans les films diffusionnels. Dans un deuxième temps, une installation pilote de captage du CO2 par une solution aqueuse de diéthanolamine est mise en fluvre pour la validation expérimentale du modèle. La diéthanolamine a une forte réactivité vis-à-vis du CO2; ceci engendre un profil important de concentration du soluté dans la colonne. Le pilote est dédié à la validation de modèle, il est donc équipé de plusieurs unités d'échantillonnage gaz et liquide à différentes hauteurs de garnissage. Les profils longitudinaux de la concentration du CO2 en gaz et en liquide, de l'humidité absolue et de la température liquide peuvent être établis expérimentalement et être comparés avec ceux provenant de la simulation. L'outil de simulation validé devient alors un outil de prédiction de l'efficacité des unités réelles de captage par l'absorption réactive. / The exhaust gases coming from the combustion of fossil fuels in power plants contain a wide variety of pollutants such as acid gases and can not be discharged directly into the atmosphere. These gaseous pollutants must be treated by postcombustion capture methods in absorption columns using chemical solvents. The objective is then to design a selective removal unit of acid-gases such as CO2, H2S and COS by using solvents of the alkanolamine family. This thesis develops as the first step, a non-equilibrium model, adapted to multicomponent electrolytic and reactive systems, for the representation of reactive absorption columns. The model includes modules to represent the thermodynamics on the basis of true species (ionic and molecular species), the simultaneous heat and mass transfer, and the chemical reactions. The generalized equations of Maxwell-Stefan are used to take into account the multicomponent interactions during diffusion. The reaction scheme is fully included in the liquid phase, and the chemical reactions can be kinetically controlled or at instantaneous equilibrium. The reactive separation at steady-state conditions is then simulated with a rigorous description of the reaction-diffusion phenomena in diffusional films. In the second step, a pilot plant of CO2 capture with an aqueous solution of diethanolamine is implemented for experimental validation of the model. Diethanolamine has high reactivity with respect to CO2; this generates an important concentration profile of solute in the column. The pilot plant is dedicated to model validation; it is equipped with several gas and liquid sampling units at different heights of packing. The longitudinal profiles of the gas and liquid CO2 concentration, the absolute humidity and the liquid temperature can be established experimentally and compared with those from the simulation. The validated simulation tool then becomes a tool to predict the effectiveness of real capture units by reactive absorption.

Waste heat recovery is a multi-billion-dollar industry with a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% assessed between 2016 to 2024 and low-grade waste heat (< 230^oC ± 20^oC) makes up 66% of this ubiquitous resource. Thermoelectric generators are preferred for the recovery process because they are cheap and are well suited for this temperature range. They generate power by converting thermal potential to electric potential, known as the Seebeck effect. Since they have no moving parts, they are inherently immune to mechanical failure or an intermittent need for maintenance. However, the challenge has been to effectively harvest waste heat with these modules to generate power, using passive processes. This work is focused on designing a device for optimized harvesting of waste energy from the ambient with a custom, evaporatively-cooled heat sink. This heat sink is designed to passively handle the cooling of the other side of the thermoelectric module so as to enable the attainment of a minimum of 5V, which is the minimum voltage required to power small mobile devices. The heat sink model is similar to a loop heat pipe but engineered for compactness. To ensure this level of efficacy is attained, several studies are made to optimize the wick. Non-metal wicks were considered as they do not contribute to an increase in temperature of the compensation chamber in loop heat pipes. A non-metal wick integrated with nanoparticles is tested and results show a clear thermal management enhancement over similar but virgin non-metal wicks, at over 16%. The heat source section of the device is optimized for energy-harvesting in low grade temperature regimes by incorporating a near-black body coating on the metal heat source section. Experimental results show that both the heat source and sink sections were able to induce sufficient thermal potential for the thermoelectric modules to passively generate up to 5V using eight 40mm by 40mm Bismuth Telluride modules in 3.5 minutes. The prototype is relatively cheap, inherently reliable and presents the possibility of passively harvesting low-grade waste heat for later use, including powering small electronic devices.

A significant amount of Viscous Oil (e.g., heavy oil, extra heavy oil, and bitumen) is trapped in Naturally Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs also known as NFCRs. The word VO endowment in NFCRs is estimated at ~ 2 Trillion barrels mostly reported in Canada, the USA, Russia, and the Middle East. To date, contributions to the world daily oil production from this immense energy resource remains negligible mainly due to the lack of appropriate production technologies. Implementation of a VO production technology such as steam injection is expensive (high capital investment), time-consuming, and people-intensive. Hence, before selecting a production technology for detailed economic analysis, use of cursory or broad screening tools or guides is a convenient means of gaining a quick overview of the technical feasibility of the various possible production technologies applied to a particular reservoir. Technical screening tools are only available for the purpose of evaluation of the reservoir performance parameters in oil sands for various thermal VO exploitation technologies such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), Horizontal well Cyclic steam Stimulation (HCS), and so on. Nevertheless, such tools are not applicable for VO NFCRs assessment without considerable modifications due to the different nature of these two reservoir types (e.g., presence and effects of fracture network on reservoir behavior, wettability, lithology, fabric, pore structure, and so on) and also different mechanisms of energy and mass transport. Considering the lack of robust and rapid technical reservoir screening tools for the purpose of quick assessment and performance prediction for VO NFCRs under thermal stimulation (e.g., steamflooding), developing such fast and precise tools seems inevitable and desirable. In this dissertation, an attempt was made to develop new screening tools for the purpose of reservoir performance prediction in VO NFCRs using all the field and laboratory available data on a particular thermal technology (vertical well steamflooding). Considering the complex and heterogeneous nature of the NFCRs, there is great uncertainty associated with the geological nature of the NFCRs such as fracture and porosity distribution in the reservoir which will affect any modeling tasks aiming at modeling of processes involved in thermal VO production from these types of technically difficult and economically unattractive reservoirs. Therefore, several modeling and analyses technqiues were used in order to understand the main parameters controlling the steamflooding process in NFCRs and also cope with the uncertainties associated with the nature of geologic, reservoir and fluid properties data. Thermal geomechanics effects are well-known in VO production from oil sands using thermal technologies such as SAGD and cyclic steam processes. Hence, possible impacts of thermal processes on VO NFCRs performance was studied despite the lack of adequate field data. This dissertation makes the following contributions to the literature and the oil industry: Two new statistical correlations were developed, introduced, and examined which can be utilized for the purpose of estimation of Cumulative Steam to Oil Ratio (CSOR) and Recovery Factor (RF) as measures of process performance and technical viability during vertical well steamflooding in VO Naturally Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs (NFCRs). The proposed correlations include vital parameters such as in situ fluid and reservoir properties. The data used are taken from experimental studies and also field trials of vertical well steamflooding pilots in viscous oil NFCRs reported in the literature. The error percentage for the proposed correlations is < 10% for the worst case and contains fewer empirical constants compared with existing correlations for oil sands. The interactions between the parameters were also considered. The initial oil saturation and oil viscosity are the most important predictive factors. The proposed correlations successfully predicted steam/oil ratios and recovery factors in two heavy oil NFCRs. These correlations are reported for the first time in the literature for this type of VO reservoirs. A 3-D mathematical model was developed, presented, and examined in this research work, investigating various parameters and mechanisms affecting VO recovery from NFCRs using vertical well steamflooding. The governing equations are written for the matrix and fractured medium, separately. Uncertainties associated with the shape factor for the communication between the matrix and fracture is eliminated through setting a continuity boundary condition at the interface. Using this boundary condition, the solution method employed differs from the most of the modeling simulations reported in the literature. A Newton-Raphson approach was also used for solving mass and energy balance equations. RF and CSOR were obtained as a function of steam injection rate and temperature and characteristics of the fractured media such as matrix size and permeability. The numerical solution clearly shows that fractures play an important role in better conduction of heat into the matrix part. It was also concluded that the matrix block size and total permeability are the most important parameters affecting the dependent variables involved in steamflooding. A hybrid Artificial Neural Network model optimized by co-implementation of a Particle Swarm Optimization method (ANN-PSO) was developed, presented, and tested in this research work for the purpose of estimation of the CSOR and RF during vertical well steamflooding in VO NFCRs. The developed PSO-ANN model, conventional ANN models, and statistical correlations were examined using field data. Comparison of the predictions and field data implies superiority of the proposed PSO-ANN model with an absolute average error percentage < 6.5% , a determination coefficient (R2) > 0.98, and Mean Squared Error (MSE) < 0.06, a substantial improvement in comparison with conventional ANN model and empirical correlations for prediction of RF and CSOR. This indicates excellent potential for application of hybrid PSO-ANN models to screen VO NFCRs for steamflooding. This is the first time that the ANN technique has been applied for the purpose of performance prediction of steamflooding in VO NFCRs and also reported in the literature. The predictive PSO-ANN model and statistical correlations have strong potentials to be merged with heavy oil recovery modeling softwares available for thermal methods. This combination is expected to speed up their performance, reduce their uncertainty, and enhance their prediction and modeling capabilities. An integrated geological-geophysical-geomechanical approach was designed, presented, and applied in the case of a NFCR for the purpose of fracture and in situ stresses characterization in NFCRs. The proposed methodology can be applied for fracture and in situ stresses characterization which is beneficial to various aspects of asset development such as well placement, drilling, production, thermal reservoir modeling incorporating geomechanics effects, technology assessment and so on. A conceptual study was also conducted on geomechanics effects in VO NFCRs during steamflooding which is not yet well understood and still requires further field, laboratory, and theoretical studies. This can be considered as a small step forward in this area identifying positive potential of such knowledge to the design of large scale thermal operations in VO NFCRs.