Numerical reservoir simulation has been used to describe mechanism of methane gas desorption process, diffusion process, and fluid flow in a coalbed methane reservoir. The reservoir simulation model reflects the response of a reservoir system and the relationship among coalbed methane reservoir properties, operation procedures, and gas production. This work presents a procedure to select the optimum well spacing scenario by using a reservoir simulation. This work uses a two-phase compositional simulator with a dual porosity model to investigate well-spacing effects on coalbed methane production performance and methane recovery. Because of reservoir parameters uncertainty, a sensitivity and parametric study are required to investigate the effects of parameter variability on coalbed methane reservoir production performance and methane recovery. This thesis includes a reservoir parameter screening procedures based on a sensitivity and parametric study. Considering the tremendous amounts of simulation runs required, this work uses a regression analysis to replace the numerical simulation model for each wellspacing scenario. A Monte Carlo simulation has been applied to present the probability function. Incorporated with the Monte Carlo simulation approach, this thesis proposes a well-spacing study procedure to determine the optimum coalbed methane development scenario. The study workflow is applied in a North America basin resulting in distinct Net Present Value predictions between each well-spacing design and an optimum range of well-spacing for a particular basin area.

A distributed fiber optic sensor with the ability of detecting and locating intruders on foot and vehicles over long perimeters (>10 km) was studied. The response of the sensor to people walking over or near it and to vehicles driving nearby was observed and analyzed. The sensor works on the principle of phase sensitive optical time domain re ectometry, making use of interferometric effects of Rayleigh backscattered light along a single mode fiber. Light pulses from a highly stable Er:doped fiber laser emitting single longitudinal mode light and exhibiting low frequency drift are passed through one end of the buried fiber. The backscattered light emerging from the same fiber end was monitored using a photodetector. The phase changes produced in the light pulse due to the pressure of the intruder walking directly above or near the sensor or from the seismic disturbances created by vehicles moving in the vicinity of the sensor are detected using the phase sensitive Optical Time Domain Re ectometer (OTDR). Field tests were conducted with the sensing element as a single mode fiber in a 3-mm diameter cable buried at depths ranging from 8 to 18 inches in clay soil. It was observed that the sensor could detect intruders walking transverse to the cable line at a distance of 40 ft from it. A car moving at a speed of 30 mph on a rough road could be consistently detected up to a distance of 480 ft from the sensor, while a car driven on a smooth road 200 ft from the sensor could be detected only when passing through rough patches on the road. Tests were also performed with an intruder walking near the sensor while a car was driven at a speed of 30 mph on a rough road. The effect on the signal due to the intruder on foot could be distinguished clearly only when the car was at least 200 ft away from the sensor. The results in this thesis represent the first quantitative study of the sensitivity of the sensor under varied test conditions. It is expected that these findings will be helpful in the practical implementation of the long perimeter intrusion sensor along high security domains like national borders, military bases and government buildings.

This study focuses on the hygrothermal performance of Moso bamboo. The knowledge in this aspect is remarkable important for the research of building energy saving and the low carbon building design. However, the detailed hygrothermal properties of Moso bamboo are fairly rare. To obtain these data, a series of experimental works have been done for measurement of density, porosity, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, water vapour permeability, hygrothermal expansion and sorption isotherm of Moso bamboo. To obtain further understanding on the hygrothermal performance of Moso bamboo, a number of dynamic heat and moisture transfer experiments were conducted. These experiments simulated two extreme outdoor environments and one indoor environment. The temperature and RH responses of Moso bamboo panels were monitored. Then a coupled transient heat and moisture transfer numerical simulation at the material level was conducted to predict and validate the hygrothermal performance of Moso bamboo. A sensitivity study of the hygrothermal properties of bamboo was also presented to indentify the influence of each hygrothermal property of Moso bamboo. Major findings include the following aspects. Both experiment and simulation results appear to be consistent with the results of measurements of the basic hygrothermal parameters. The parametric study found that density can be regarded as the most sensible parameter to influence the temperature simulation results at the transient state, while the thermal conductivity dominated the temperature variation at the steady state. The water vapour diffusion resistance factor can be regarded as the most critical parameter to influence the RH simulation results. The influence of liquid water diffusivity is negligible in this study. The parametric study results indicated that the simulation with moisture is more accurate than the simulation without moisture in both equilibrium and transient state. The results also imply that the existence of moisture could increase the heat capacity and reduce the thermal conductivity. The results of this study recommend that the external part of the bamboo culm wall can be utilised to minimise the RH variation of the panel while the internal part of the bamboo culm wall is suitable to increase the thermal insulation performance of the panel. To avoid hygroexpansion, the implementation of external part of bamboo culm wall needs to be minimised.

The European standard Eurocode 5, a design method for timber structures,is currently under revision. In this study the draft for a reviseddesign method for vibrations in timber floors was compared to the currentmethod. The hypothesis of the thesis was that the revised designmethod might force some changes to the present construction practiceand that these changes may carry with them increased costs for the industry.Six common floor structures used in Sweden today were identifiedand for these floors design calculations were made according to the currentand the revised design method. It was checked whether the floorspassed the criteria in the two design methods and a comparison was madefor the only criterion which could be compared between the methods, thepoint load deflection. Floor structures could pass or fail the current designmethod based on two criteria, the point load deflection and the unitimpulse velocity response. All floors passed the current design methodexcept one which had a fundamental frequency below 8 Hz, because ofthe low frequency the current design method was not applicable to thefloor structure. In the revised design method the final result is a responsefactor and based on the response factor floors are given floor performancelevels. The seven step scale for the floor performance level go from I toVII where I is excellent and VII is unacceptable. All floor structures excepttwo achieved an acceptable floor performance level according to therevised design method. The two floors which failed were floors commonlyused in single family houses, they failed for a span length commonly usedtoday. A limited parametric study was performed where it was found thatthe modal mass used had a larger impact on the floor performance levelthan the mass per square meter included. For floors with a fundamentalfrequency above 8 Hz, including a higher mass per square meter resultedin a lower, i.e. better, response factor in all cases except one. For floorswith a fundamental frequency between 4.5 and 8 Hz, a higher mass resultedin a higher, i.e. worse, response factor. The study found that notall floor structures used in Sweden today are acceptable according to therevised design method therefore changes may have to be implemented andthese changes could result in an increased cost.

<p>In order to achieve results that are reliable when using the finite element method one has to use an acceptable element mesh with respect to the shape and size of the elements. As a help to produce an acceptable mesh there are quality criteria that must be fulfilled in most pre-processors.</p><p>One objective with this thesis is to perform a sensitivity study that can be used as a basis for a Mesh guideline for chassis parts which is requested from engineers at Volvo 3P. The software used in the sensitivity study is ANSA as pre-processor, Nastran as solver and Metapost as post-processor.</p><p>In the first part of the sensitivity study three different models are used for studying quality criteria such as aspect ratio, skewness, mid point alignment, mid point deviation and element size. Solid elements of second order, which are used in the three models, can be generated in two ways, which constitutes another part of the sensitivity study. They may either be generated from the beginning or can be converted from first order elements. This means geometrically that if second order elements where generated from the beginning the element mesh would follow the shape of the component in a better way compared to the other method.</p><p>Recently a pre- and post-processing program called SimLab was introduced on the market. Since SimLab supports geometry import from several CAD-systems without loss of feature information, the automatic element mesh generation is supposed to be better as the mesh generator has access to more information concerning the geometry. An evaluation of SimLab is the second major objective of the thesis. More specifically, the evaluation concerns the possibility of using the software at Volvo 3P.</p><p>Results show a surprising insensitivity regarding the criteria and that the method of generating second order elements from the beginning is to be preferred. SimLab is a new program with big potential and the conclusion is that it is possible to use it at Volvo 3P.</p>

The Oak Ridge Isotope Generation and Depletion – Automatic Rapid Proccessing (ORIGEN-ARP) deterministic code has been extensively utilized for determining nuclide concentrations at various specific burnup values for a variety of nuclear reactor designs. Given nuclide concentrations or ratios, such calculations can be used in nuclear forensics and nuclear non-proliferation applications to reverse-calculate the type of reactor and specific burnup of the fuel from which the nuclides originated. Recently, Los Alamos National Laboratory has released a version of its probabilistic radiation transport code, MCNPX 2.6.0, which incorporates a fuel burnup feature which can also determine, via the probabilistic Monte Carlo method, nuclide concentrations as a function of fuel burnup. This dissertation compares the concentrations of 46 nuclides significant to nuclear forensics analyses for different reactor types using results from the ORIGEN-ARP and the MCNPX 2.6.0 codes. Three reactor types were chosen: the Westinghouse 17x17 Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), the GE 8x8-4 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), and the Canadian Deuterium Uranium, CANDU-37, reactor. Additionally, a sensitivity study of the different reactor parameters within the MCNPX Westinghouse 17x17 PWR model was performed. This study analyzed the different nuclide concentrations resulting from minor perturbations of the following parameters: assembly rod pitch, initial moderator boron concentration, fuel pin cladding thickness, moderator density, and fuel temperature. / text

In order to achieve results that are reliable when using the finite element method one has to use an acceptable element mesh with respect to the shape and size of the elements. As a help to produce an acceptable mesh there are quality criteria that must be fulfilled in most pre-processors. One objective with this thesis is to perform a sensitivity study that can be used as a basis for a Mesh guideline for chassis parts which is requested from engineers at Volvo 3P. The software used in the sensitivity study is ANSA as pre-processor, Nastran as solver and Metapost as post-processor. In the first part of the sensitivity study three different models are used for studying quality criteria such as aspect ratio, skewness, mid point alignment, mid point deviation and element size. Solid elements of second order, which are used in the three models, can be generated in two ways, which constitutes another part of the sensitivity study. They may either be generated from the beginning or can be converted from first order elements. This means geometrically that if second order elements where generated from the beginning the element mesh would follow the shape of the component in a better way compared to the other method. Recently a pre- and post-processing program called SimLab was introduced on the market. Since SimLab supports geometry import from several CAD-systems without loss of feature information, the automatic element mesh generation is supposed to be better as the mesh generator has access to more information concerning the geometry. An evaluation of SimLab is the second major objective of the thesis. More specifically, the evaluation concerns the possibility of using the software at Volvo 3P. Results show a surprising insensitivity regarding the criteria and that the method of generating second order elements from the beginning is to be preferred. SimLab is a new program with big potential and the conclusion is that it is possible to use it at Volvo 3P.

In accident analysis regarding nuclear power plants, it is very common to use thermal hydraulic system codes, such as TRACE, developed by U.S. NRC. In the case of licensing a power plant, this is one of the necessities. TRACE is a relatively new thermal hydraulic system code and a lot of knowledge is needed to implement it in a correct way, especially in accident analysis, where it is a requirement that the rules and statements in Appendix-K, dealing with criteria for ECCS-models, are modelled. In this thesis an improved model of a Swedish Boiling Water Reactor within TRACE is realized and tested. Afterwards, once a working and representative model has been obtained, a sensitivity study in conducted in order to investigate the sensitivity of TRACE for a couple of thermal hydraulic parameters. The sensitivity study is focussing on the eect of the peak cladding temperature, as well as the coolability of the nuclear fuel in terms of quenching and quench-front velocities. It is found to be hard to say unilaterally what the eect of changing a certain number of parameters on the reactor behaviour is. As it turns out to be, although strongly related, the peak cladding temperatures and the quench phenomena can behave dierently

In this report, we aim to assess the sensitivity and 5$\sigma$ discovery potential of IceCube, the largest neutrino observatory on Earth, and compare it with prior findings. Our thesis will focus on a point source analysis, exploring the energy and declination dependencies, with particular emphasis on high-energy neutrinos. The primary objective is to establish the feasibility of detecting 5$\sigma$ evidence supporting the hypothesis that blazars serve as sources of neutrinos in the Southern sky, as suggested in a recent publication. Our findings indicate a substantial improvement in both discovery potential and sensitivity for the Southern sky in recent years. Furthermore, we highlight the increasing significance of investigating the origins of high-energy neutrinos in the Southern sky.

Rolling contact fatigue is a problem encountered with many machine elements.In the current report a numerical study has been performed in order to predictthe crack path and crack propagation cycles of a surface initiated rolling contactfatigue crack. The implementation of the contact problem is based on theasperity point load mechanism for rolling contact fatigue. The practical studiedproblem is gear contact. Different loading types and models are studied andcompared to an experimental spall profile. Good agreement has been observedconsidering short crack lengths with a distributed loading model using normalloads on the asperity and for the cylindrical contact and a tangential load on theasperity. Several different crack propagation criteria have been implemented inorder to verify the validity of the dominant mode I crack propagation assumption.Some general characteristics of rolling contact fatigue cracks have beenhighlighted. A quantitative parameter study of the implemented model hasbeen performed. / Utmattning med rullande kontakter är ett ofta förekommande problem för många maskinelement. I den aktuella rapporten utfördes en numerisk studieför att förutsäga sprickvägen hos utmattningssprickor som initierats i ytan vidrullande kontakter. Implementeringen av kontaktproblemet bygger på asperitpunktlastmekanismen för rullande kontakter. Studien av kontaktproblemetär tillämpad till kugghjul. Olika belastningstyper och modeller studeradesoch jämfördes med profilen hos en experimentell spall. Bra överensstämmelseobserverades för korta spricklängder när en modell med fördelad belastninganvänds för en belastningstyp där en normalbelastning agerar på asperiten ochvid cylindriska kontakten och en tangentialbelastning införs på asperiten. Olikakriterier för spricktillväxt implementerades för att verifiera giltigheten av antagandetatt mode I spricktillväxt är dominant. Några generella kännetecken avutmattningssprickor med rullande kontakter framhävdes. En kvantitativ parameterstudie för den implementerade modellen utfördes.