Different Phenomena Encountered during Dilatometry of Low-density Steels

In recent decades, highly alloyed low-density steels are being developed to reduce the weight of different automotive parts. Dilatometry can be a very useful experimental technique to understand phase transformations during heating or cooling of new low-density steel alloys. When performing dilatometry measurements some assumptions are made such as the homogeneity of the sample material tested during the experiment. In this study, dilatometry tests were performed for two different low-density steels, and the variations of the composition between the surface and the inner part of the sample were analyzed. The migration of manganese by diffusion from the interior of the samples and finally its evaporation on the surface under vacuum were observed. This compositional gradient generated in the samples may influence the veracity and interpretation of the results obtained in dilatometry when working with high manganese steel alloys. The detachment of surface grains created by this compositional change near the surface of the samples is also investigated.

The Effect of Compositional Gradient in Field Development

The existence of fluid’s compositional gradient in a reservoir drives convective flow which brings significant impacts to the operations, e.g., in formulation of injected fluid for well stimulation and enhanced oil Recovery (EOR). However, fluid compositional gradient is not always included in modeling reservoir performance due to PVT sampling limitation and simulation constraint. This work aims to show the significance of compositional convection in oil/gas reservoir and provides our experiences in dealing with this issue in Indonesian’s fields. PHE ONWJ as one of the most prolific producers of oil and gas in Indonesia currently operates an offshore block that has been producing for almost 40 years. Operating in a relatively mature well, PHE ONWJ often encounters significant fluid property change namely oil viscosity and specific gravity that changes overtime as depletion process occur. Data from X field, operated by PHE ONWJ, shows that compositional convection impacts workover and tertiary operations, by deviating from simulation results. We present the evidence of compositional convection using mechanistic models. We firstly adopt field data for setting the initial composition stratification. The stratification is identified through DST or fluid sampling. We secondly perform similarity simulation to analyze the effect of compositional gradient towards oil production. Similarity simulation is performed in the simplified domain for providing generalized solution. This solution is then scaled for the real domain. Finally, we show our approach to encounter the problems. Based on the similarity study inspired by the case of X Field, it shows that the compositional stratification affects geochemistry and near-wellbore flow behavior. The compositional convection develops multiple fluid properties at different depth, which create cross flow among layers. It also causes scale deposition in near wellbore which reduces the permeability and alters rock-fluid interactions, such as wettability and relative permeability. The alteration of near-wellbore geochemistry creates severe flow assurance issues in the wellbore. The mixing of multiple fluids from different layers cause paraffin and scale deposition. In some fields, the mixing triggers severe corrosions which could impact on wellbore integrity. The compositional stratification forces us to develop multiple treatments for different layers in single wellbore. Since the fluid’s properties are different for each layer, the compatibility between injected fluid and reservoir fluids varies.

Diversity of lichens, mosses and vascular plants in the paludified herb-rich spruce forests of the Pinego-Mezen watershed (Arkhangelsk Region)

The paludified herb-rich spruce forests of the Pinego-Mezen watershed are characterized by a high speciesand coenotical diversity. The habitat type (floodplain, stream valley, mire margin) is the main compositional gradientfor vascular plant and moss diversity. The density, basal area and proportion of spruce and deciduous species in thetree stand are less significant. The main compositional gradient of the lichen diversity is the tree stand structure, whichprovides the availability and quality of the substrate for the epiphytic and epixilic lichens that prevail in such communities.The gradient of paludified herb-rich spruce forests from floodplain habitat to mire margins is less significant for thecomposition of lichen flora.

Self-Induced Internal Corrosion Stress Transgranular Cracking in Gradient-Structural Ploycrystalline Materials at High Temperature

Self-induced internal corrosion stress transgranular cracking is investigated theoretically and experimentally linking grain boundary wetting (GBW) and grain boundary diffusion (GBD) to improve the ability to reveal the micro mechanism of crack in compositional gradient-structural intermetallic materials. Theoretical analysis shows that the grain boundary wetting and diffusion induce the diffusion-coupled dynamic internal stresses, and their interaction leads to crack nucleation. The experimental results show a stress concentration zone have been established at the grain boundary interface where the cracks preferentially nucleate and then extend through the inside of the grain to both sides, forming a typical transgranular fracture.

Modeling of Compositional Grading in Heavy Oil Fields

Field data for the compositional variation with depth in five petroleum reservoirs have been analyzed including one rich in asphaltenes with a very high compositional gradient. The data follows the well-known pattern with an increasing concentration of heavy components with depth. The observed compositional variation is higher than what could be explained by gravity segregation alone. An enthalpy term was added to take into account that the components have different preferences for residing at a higher or a lower temperature. It was found necessary to modify the enthalpy term to account for the impact of fluid viscosity and concentration of aromatic components on the relative rate at which smaller and larger molecules move in a fluid column. With this modification, a good match was seen of the compositional variation in the five reservoirs initially analyzed. The method was successfully tested on three other reservoirs, not part of the initial analysis, one of which had a fluid column of 970 m.

Dielectric tunable characteristics of compositional-gradient BaTi1−xSnxO3 thin films

Compositional-gradient [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]O3 thin films on Pt(100)/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates are fabricated with sol–gel using spin coating. All of the structures of the prepared thin films are of single-phase crystalline perovskite with a dense and crack-free surface morphology. BTS10/15/20 thin film exhibits enhanced temperature stability in its dielectric behavior. The temperature coefficient of capacitance [Formula: see text] in the temperature range from [Formula: see text]C to [Formula: see text]C is [Formula: see text]C and that of [Formula: see text] in the temperature range from [Formula: see text]C to [Formula: see text]C is [Formula: see text]C. Furthermore, the thin films show low leakage current density and dielectric loss. High and stable dielectric tunable performances are found in BTS10/15/20 thin films: the dielectric tunability of the thin films is around 20.1% under a bias voltage of 8 V at 1 MHz and the corresponding dielectric constant is in the range between 89 and 111, which is beneficial for impedance matching in circuits. Dielectric tunability can be obtained under a low tuning voltage, which helps ensure safety. The simulated resonant frequency of the compositional-gradient BTS thin films depends on the bias electric field, showing compositional-gradient BTS thin films could be used in electrically tunable components and devices. These properties make compositional-gradient BTS thin films a promising candidate for dielectric tuning.

On the Convergence of Stochastic Compositional Gradient Descent Ascent Method

The compositional minimax problem covers plenty of machine learning models such as the distributionally robust compositional optimization problem. However, it is yet another understudied problem to optimize the compositional minimax problem. In this paper, we develop a novel efficient stochastic compositional gradient descent ascent method for optimizing the compositional minimax problem. Moreover, we establish the theoretical convergence rate of our proposed method. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work achieving such a convergence rate for the compositional minimax problem. Finally, we conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.

Spontaneously formed gradient chemical compositional structures of niobium doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles enhance ultraviolet- and visible-light photocatalytic performance

Semiconductor photocatalysts showing excellent performance under irradiation of both ultraviolet (UV)- and visible (VIS)-light are highly demanded towards realization of sustainable energy systems. TiO2 is one of the most common photocatalysts and has been widely investigated as candidate showing UV/VIS responsive performance. In this study, we report synthesis of Nb doped TiO2 by environmentally benign mechanochemical reaction. Nb atoms were successfully incorporated into TiO2 lattice by applying mechanical energy. As synthesized Nb doped TiO2 were metastable phase and formed chemical compositional gradient structure of poorly Nb doped TiO2 core and highly Nb doped TiO2 surface after high temperature heat treatment. It was found that formed gradient chemical compositional heterojunctions effectively enhanced photocatalytic performance of Nb doped TiO2 under both of UV- and VIS-light irradiation, which is different trend compared with Nb doped TiO2 prepared through conventional methods. The approach shown here will be employed for versatile systems because of simple and environmentally benign process.