Understanding the transport of three fluid phases through porous media has important applications in subsurface contaminant remediation, oil and gas recovery, and geological CO��� sequestration. Existing transport models may be improved by including physical phenomena that govern fluid flow at the pore scale. In particular, thermodynamic arguments suggest that hysteresis in the capillary pressure-saturation (P[subscript c]-S) relationship may be resolved by including an additional parameter, fluid-fluid interfacial area per volume (a[subscript nw]). Synchrotron-based Computed X-ray Microtomography (CMT) is a method that allows observation of fluid interfaces. Flow experiments were conducted using CMT to investigate uniqueness of the P[subscript c]-S[subscript w]-a[subscript nw] relationship in a porous media system containing three immiscible fluid phases. Drainage and imbibition surfaces were fit to P[subscript c]-S[subscript w]-a[subscript nw] data collected over a limited range of water saturations. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) between the drainage and imbibition surfaces was negligible, indicating that the P[subscript c]-S[subscript w]-a[subscript nw] relationship is unique. These results are a first step in validating the P[subscript c]-S[subscript w]-a[subscript nw] relationship for three-phase porous media systems. In addition, spreading intermediate-phase layers were observed to bring oil and solid into contact, which in the presence of X-rays changed the solid wettability within a relatively short time period. These observations confirm a proposed theoretical scenario that three-phase systems are more susceptible to wettability changes than to two-phase systems due to intermediate-phase spreading behavior. / Graduation date: 2013

Graduation date: 1996

Graduation date: 1995

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Wave interaction with a rubble-mound breakwater has been studied experimentally in the thesis. The breakwater may contain multi-layer anisotropic but homogeneous media. Fluid outside the porous layer field is assumed to incompressible and viscous,and the flow field is irrational. The study applies the velocity potential to describe the wave field with small amplitude incident wave. Under the consideration of linearity, Analytical solution is solved from boundary value program by the method of separation of variables. It bases on dispersion equation. Try to find the range and position of the complex eigenvalues in each porous column and to solve the velocity potential in the field by numerical methods. Wave reflection, transmission, and energy dissipation with a rubble-mound breakwater have been investigated experimentally, and consider the wave close linear wave theory, the wave steepness smaller than 0.035. Three different sizes of grain are used to construct the porous base, they are 16mm, 25mm, and 35mm, respectively. Single and double layers of porous base are considered. Some of the reflection coefficient are convergence, but they are the unreasonable results. Maybe the trouble is in the process of the computation with determination of .eigenvalues. When the wave has long period, the double-layer porous model reduces more wave energy, when the wave has short period, the single-layer porous and the smaller porous material model can disappears more wave energy. The characteristic of internal resistance in the porous has the difference along with the wave period. When the model crest is higher than the sea level, the consumption of wave energy are more when it is shorter along with the wave period. As a submerged breakwater, the effect for disappears wave energy to be limited.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-155). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S. in Mechanical Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Hixson, Robert S. Second Reader: McNelley, Terry. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 27, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Porous foams, dynamic compaction, multi-layered armor, ballistic performance, shock wave attenuation. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-90). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 79 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-79).

Thesis (Ph.D)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Pennell, Kurt; Committee Member: Hughes, Joseph; Committee Member: Kim, Jaehong; Committee Member: Snyder, Robert; Committee Member: Yiacoumi, Sotira. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.