Sandstone modal compositions and detrital zircon U-Pb analysis of the Paleocene-Eocene Wilcox Group of the southern Gulf Coast of Texas indicate long-distance sediment transport primarily from volcanic and basement sources to the west, northwest and southwest. The Wilcox Group of south Texas represents the earliest series of major post-Cretaceous pulses of sand deposition along the western margin of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Laramide basement uplifts have long been held to be the provenance of the Wilcox Group, implying that initiation of basement uplifts was the driving factor for this transition from carbonate sedimentation to clastic deposition. To determine the provenance of the Wilcox Group and test this conventional hypothesis, 40 thin sections were point-counted using the Gazzi-Dickinson method to determine sandstone composition and 10 detrital zircon samples were analyzed by LA-ICP-MS to determine U-Pb age spectra for each of the sampled areas. Modal data for sand grain populations suggest mixed sources including basement rocks, magmatic arc rocks and subordinate sedimentary rocks for the Wilcox Group. Zircon age spectra for these sandstones reveal a complex grain assemblage derived from older sediments and crystalline rocks ranging in age from Archean to Cenozoic. Sediment was primarily derived from Laramide uplifted crystalline blocks of the central and southern Rocky Mountains, the Cordilleran arc of western North America, and arc related extrusive and intrusive igneous rock of northern Mexico. Comparisons of Upper and Lower Wilcox zircon age spectra show that more arc related material was deposited in the Lower Wilcox, whereas more basement material was deposited in the Upper Wilcox. / text

This study aims to integrate groundwater geochemistry and mathematical modeling to determine the dominant geochemical processes and groundwater residence time within the Wilcox aquifer in the northern Gulf Coastal Plain. Groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for major ion chemistry, stable isotopes (18O, 2H, and 13C), and radioisotope 36Cl content. Geochemical modeling enabled the identification of major sources and sinks of solutes in the aquifer. A two-dimensional, finite-difference, numerical model was used to determine the deep groundwater flow rate and transport of 36Cl in the aquifer. Major ion chemistry shows a chromatographic pattern along the flow path in which a gradual increase of Na+ and decrease of Ca2+ and Mg2+ is evident. The most plausible inverse models in the downgradient section of the aquifer indicate that oxidation of organic matter (OM), which may be associated with discontinuous lenses of lignite, and consequent release of CO2 sustain the reduction of Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxides and sulfate and the dissolution of carbonate minerals (calcite and, in some instances, siderite). These processes, in turn, result in pyrite precipitation and exchange of Ca2+ for Na+ on clay-mineral surfaces. Models constrained with 13C are consistent with mole transfers between pairs of wells in close proximity, but not for the entire flow path. The observed range of δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon (-7.3‰ to -12.4‰) is interpreted as a result of both oxidation of OM and dissolution of carbonates. Calculated values of 36Cl/Cl show an abrupt discontinuity between the upgradient and downgradient sections that was also observed in δ18O and δ2H data. The gradual enrichment of 18O and 2H along the flow path could be the result of diffusion. The distinct differences in δ18O and δ2H between the upgradient and downgradient Wilcox aquifer suggest that the latter preserves a paleoclimatic signal.

<p>More and more attention has been paid to decreasing the number and size of non-metallic inclusions existing in the final products recently in steel industries. Therefore, more efforts have been made to monitor the inclusions' size distributions during the metallurgy process, especially at the secondary steelmaking period. A liquid sampling procedure is one of the commonly applied methods that monitoring the inclusion size distribution in ladles, for example, during the secondary steelmaking. Here, a crucial point is that the steel sampler should be filled and solidified without changing the inclusion characteristics that exist at steel making temperatures. In order to preserve the original size and distributions in the extracted samples, it is important to avoid their collisions and coagulations inside samplers during filling. Therefore, one of the first steps to investigate is the flow pattern inside samplers during filling in order to obtain a more in-depth knowledge of the sampling process to make sure that the influence is minimized.</p><p>The main objective of this work is to fundamentally study the above mentioned sampler filling process. A production sampler employed in the industries has been scaled-up according to the similarity of Froude Number in the experimental study. A Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to capture the flow field and calculate the velocity vectors during the entire experiment. Also, a mathematical model has been developed to have an in-depth investigate of the flow pattern in side the sampler during its filling. Two different turbulence models were applied in the numerical study, the realizable k-ε model and Wilcox k-ω model. The predictions were compared to experimental results obtained by the PIV measurements. Furthermore, it was illustrated that there is a fairly good agreement between the measurements obtained by PIV and calculations predicted by the Wilcox k-ω model. Thus, it is concluded that the Wilcox k-ω model can be used in the future to predict the filling of steel samplers.</p>

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More and more attention has been paid to decreasing the number and size of non-metallic inclusions existing in the final products recently in steel industries. Therefore, more efforts have been made to monitor the inclusions' size distributions during the metallurgy process, especially at the secondary steelmaking period. A liquid sampling procedure is one of the commonly applied methods that monitoring the inclusion size distribution in ladles, for example, during the secondary steelmaking. Here, a crucial point is that the steel sampler should be filled and solidified without changing the inclusion characteristics that exist at steel making temperatures. In order to preserve the original size and distributions in the extracted samples, it is important to avoid their collisions and coagulations inside samplers during filling. Therefore, one of the first steps to investigate is the flow pattern inside samplers during filling in order to obtain a more in-depth knowledge of the sampling process to make sure that the influence is minimized. The main objective of this work is to fundamentally study the above mentioned sampler filling process. A production sampler employed in the industries has been scaled-up according to the similarity of Froude Number in the experimental study. A Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to capture the flow field and calculate the velocity vectors during the entire experiment. Also, a mathematical model has been developed to have an in-depth investigate of the flow pattern in side the sampler during its filling. Two different turbulence models were applied in the numerical study, the realizable k-ε model and Wilcox k-ω model. The predictions were compared to experimental results obtained by the PIV measurements. Furthermore, it was illustrated that there is a fairly good agreement between the measurements obtained by PIV and calculations predicted by the Wilcox k-ω model. Thus, it is concluded that the Wilcox k-ω model can be used in the future to predict the filling of steel samplers.

Submitted by Marco Antonio Oliveira da Silva (maosilva@ipen.br) on 2016-12-21T12:55:48Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-21T12:55:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / O reator IEA-R1 do Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPENCNEN/ SP) é um reator de pesquisa tipo piscina aberta, projetado e construído pela empresa norte-americana \"Babcock & Wilcox\", tendo, como refrigerante e moderador, água leve deionizada e berílio e grafite como refletores. Até cerca de 1988, os sistemas de segurança do reator recebiam alimentação de uma única fonte de energia. Nos anos de 1989 e 1990, uma reforma de modernização do sistema elétrico para aumentar a potência do reator e, também, para atender às normas técnicas da Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN) e da Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (ABNT) foi realizada. Este trabalho tem o objetivo de mostrar a relação entre o sistema de energia elétrica e a segurança do reator IEA-R1. Além disso, ele demonstra que, caso ocorra alguma interrupção de energia elétrica durante a operação do reator, esta ocorrência não irá começar um evento de acidente. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP