An Analytical Elastic Solution for Right-Angle Trapezoidal Opening in Steeply Inclined Coal Seam

In the process of underground mining, steeply inclined rocks or coal seams are often encountered, forming the openings of right-angle trapezoid. According to the geological conditions of a mining project in China, an analytical elastic solution of stress and displacement around right-angle trapezoidal opening in a homogeneous, isotropic, and linear elastic geomaterial is presented, which is based on the evaluation of the conformal mapping representation by an appropriate numerical calculation and the complex potential functions. The different results from other shaped openings are shown as follows. In a right-angle trapezoidal opening, the maximum displacements of roof falling occur on the low side, while the most horizontal displacements on the low side are around the roof and the most horizontal displacements on the high side are around the middle of the high side in this opening. These results are also compared with the numerical calculations in FLAC software, illustrating that the solution may be easily applied to rock mechanics or rock engineering for understanding the deformation of floor heave and roof falling down. The solution is also suitable for optimum design of bolt supporting in a right-angle trapezoidal opening, which is different from the traditional concept of symmetrical bolt supporting. Finally, a methodology is proposed for the estimation of conformal mapping coefficients for a given cross-sectional shape of an opening without symmetrical axis.

Quantification of Fluid Production Distribution in Deviated Wells with High Gas-Liquid Ratio Using a Flow Array Sensing Tool

The objective of this paper is to depict the quantification of the production rates of the different phases in deviated wells with high gas-liquid relation using the Flow Array Sensing Tool (FAST). The readings of standard Production Logging Tools (fullbore flowmeter, density, and capacitance) are centralized, therefore they are affected if there is re-circulation of the heavy phase (liquid). The phase segregation and possible apparent down flow of the heavy phase makes it very difficult to determine the distribution of the produced fluids, and in some cases the spinner flowmeter tends to stop or gives inaccurate readings. The cause of these inaccurate readings is that the centralized spinner is affected by positive flow in the high side and negative flow in the low side of the wellbore, and the spinner shows no flow or even apparent downhole flow, when there is a real positive flow. The FAST tool used during the acquisition of the production logs is an ultracompact production logging tool (3 ft long) that is capable to measure multiphase flows with an array of 8 sensors, two in each arm and located 90° apart. These sensors are based on MEMS (Microelectromechanichal Systems), and among the interchangeable sensors we have optical probes that takes ultra-rapid measurements of the refractive index and can determine hold-up of water, oil and gas; the electrical probes that measures conductivity to differentiate hydrocarbons from water, and magnetic probes with micro-spinners to determine the flow rate. Both the three phase optical probes and the electrical probes have excellent response including water hold-ups over 90% that cannot be measured with a standard capacitance tool. The data logged with FAST in deviated wells was processed and interpreted to obtain the apparent flow velocity profiles of each of the 4 micro-spinners and with the three phase optical probes, and the relative bearing curves the velocity maps, and hold-up maps where obtained. The velocity map showed that there was negative flow in the low side of the well and positive flow in the high side while the hold-up map showed the light phase (gas) in the high side of the well. Both maps showed clearly the flow pattern and were used to quantify the production of each perforation and the total rate matched closely the surface rate (within 2% deviation). With the hold-up and velocity maps, the real flow rates were obtained with high confidence, and the flow pattern were shown clearly in deviated wells. The three phase optical probes, and electrical probes are excellent indicators of water and hydrocarbons inflow in a wide range of hold-ups.

Measurement and Analysis of Roadway Deformation and Stress under Mining-Induced Stress

Small coal pillars, which are used to protect roadways, have a significant influence on mining operations and roadway stability and safety. Consequently, the optimal width of coal pillars that provides suitable performance under mining-induced stress must be determined accurately. Based on the deformation data of the surrounding rock along the gob roadway of the 13318 working face in Xieqiao Coal Mine, we analyzed the surface deformation data of the roadway and the displacement of the deep surrounding rock of the roadway under the action of mining-induced stress herein. The separation fractures of the low side of the roadway can be divided into four zones: 0–2 m, 2–5 m, 5–9 m, and 9–11 m. The absolute displacement of the surrounding rock relative to the center of the roadway in the 0–2 m zone was large, and the displacement region in the side of the roadway extended from 0 m to 11 m. The separation fractures of the high side of the roadway can be divided into three zones: 0–3 m, 3–5 m, and 5–5.5 m. The absolute displacement of the surrounding rock relative to the center of the roadway in the 0–3 m zone was large, whereas the deformation separation of the coal pillar was small. The surrounding rock in the 5–5.5 m zone also exhibited absolute displacement relative to the center of the roadway. Furthermore, the stress increased faster on the low side of the roadway than the high side; the core stress region on the high side occurred at approximately 3 m, whereas that on the low side occurred at approximately 8 m. The findings obtained herein can help determine the optimal preset width of small pillars.

Getting Your Perforations in a Line Can Mean More-Productive Fracturing

Want more production from a shale well? Consider lining up the perforations. A handful of speakers at the recent SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference talked about improved fracturing results with oriented perforating—shooting the holes at the same place in the casing, often the top. This breaks from designs that arranged the holes in a helical pattern with each charge angled 60° from the previous one. “We did see indications we are getting better production from oriented perforating,” said Blake Horton, senior completions engineer for Ovintiv (SPE 204177). Production gains were also reported by ConocoPhillips which compared production from similar wells with and without oriented perforating. The analysis was designed to filter out differences in the geology, drilling, and completions. It concluded the value of the added production far exceeded the $20,000-per-well cost of installing the assembly, including a weight bar to tilt the perforating guns into position. “That’s less than the undiscounted value of 400 barrels of oil. An internal study indicated that ConocoPhillips improved estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) by a minimum of 5% when using high-side-oriented perforating,” said Dave Cramer, senior engineering fellow at ConocoPhillips and an early advocate for the method. “For an initial choked flow rate of 1,000 B/D, the payout on investment is 10 days or less,” he said. Ovintiv declined to provide a number, but Horton said ConocoPhillips’ estimate is within Ovintiv’s range based on similar comparisons of wells with and without oriented perforating. That number is at the low end of the estimates offered in discussions about oriented perforating performance at the conference. Higher estimates are questioned by those who doubt the test results can be sustained when the method is scaled up. What was certain is the number of users is rising and includes names such as Shell and Chevron. “We found that oriented perforating definitely helps to treat all the clusters,” said Jon Snyder, a staff completion engineer for ConocoPhillips who presented the paper, adding, “by oriented perforating we mean that when we are perforating, we aim for the high side of the wellbore” (SPE 204203). When Horton polled the audience at a recent talk, more than half of the respondents said they were using gun systems designed to orient the perforating charges at a target angle. “A year from now, few people will not be doing oriented perforating; the advantages of it are clear,” Cramer said. He has been promoting the idea within the company for years with mixed acceptance.

Optimization of Daylighting Pattern of Museum Sculpture Exhibition Hall

In this study, based on the current daylighting situation of a museum sculpture exhibition hall, the exhibition space is classified according to the daylighting requirements of the sculptures. Additionally, the daylighting pattern for the sculpture exhibition hall and the display layout of the exhibits are summarized. The daylighting parameters of the exhibition space under different scenarios are calculated. The exhibition space is simulated and analyzed under three daylighting conditions (flat skylights, flat skylights with side windows, and flat skylights with high side windows), and the daylighting parameters are optimized based on the daylighting patterns and components. It is discovered that with the combination of flat skylights and high side windows, the daylight factor (DF) and uniformity of daylighting (UD) of the sculpture exhibition as well as glare rating of the windows are the most favorable. Therefore, the appropriate daylighting pattern and components are determined, and the corresponding optimization strategy for daylighting is proposed. The results show that the daylighting optimization strategy proposed herein can improve the daylighting quality of the museum sculpture exhibition space and yield a suitable light environment.