Study of anisotropy through microscopy, internal friction and electrical resistivity measurements of Ti-6Al-4V samples fabricated by selective laser melting

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the microstructural anisotropy of Ti-6Al-4V samples fabricated by selective laser melting. Design/methodology/approach Specimens are fabricated through a Renishaw AM400 selective laser melting machine. Three microstructures (as-built, 850°C annealed and 1,050°C annealed) and two building orientations, parallel (PA) and perpendicular (PE) to the building platform, are considered. Starting from in-depth microscopic observations and comprehensive electron backscattered diffraction imaging, the study addresses non-conventional techniques such as internal friction and electrical resistivity measurements to assess the anisotropy of the fabricated parts. Findings Microscope observations highlight a fine texture with columnar grains parallel to the building direction in the as-built and 850°C annealed samples. Besides, coarse grains characterized the 1,050°C annealed specimens. Internal friction measurements pointed out the presence of internal stress while storage modulus analyses appear sensitive to texture. Electrical resistivity is resulted to be dependent on grain orientation. Originality/value The work uses some novel characterization techniques to study the anisotropy and internal stresses of Ti-6Al-4V samples processed by selective laser melting. Mechanical spectroscopy results suitable in this kind of study, as it mimics the operating conditions of the material.

A deep learning approach to design a borehole instrument for geosteering

Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based methods are suitable for the rapid inversion of borehole resistivity measurements. They approximate the forward and the inverse problem offline during the training phase and they only require a fraction of a second for the online evaluation (aka prediction). Herein, we propose a DNN-based iterative algorithm to design a borehole instrument such that the inverse solution is unique for a given earth parametrization. We select a large set of electromagnetic measurement systems routinely employed in logging operations, and our proposed DNN algorithm selects a subset of measurements that are suitable for inversion purposes. Numerical results with synthetic data confirm that this approach can provide valuable insight when designing borehole logging instruments.

Resistivity Testing of Palladium Dilution Limits in CoPd Alloys for Hydrogen Storage

Palladium satisfies most of the requirements for an effective hydrogen storage material with two major drawbacks: it has a relatively low gravimetric hydrogen density and is prohibitively expensive for large scale applications. Pd-based alloys should be considered as possible alternatives to a pure Pd. The question is how much one can dilute the Pd concentration in a variety of candidate materials while preserving the hydrogen absorption capability. We demonstrate that the resistivity measurements of thin film alloy samples can be used for a qualitative high-throughput screening and study of the hydrogen absorbing properties over the entire range of palladium concentrations. Contrary to palladium-rich alloys where additional hydrogen scattering indicates a degree of hydrogen content, the diluted alloy films respond by a decrease in resistance due to their thickness expansion. Evidence of significant hydrogen absorption was found in thin CoPd films diluted to just 20% of Pd.

Heisenberg spins on an anisotropic triangular lattice: PdCrO2 under uniaxial stress

When Heisenberg spins interact antiferromagnetically on a triangular lattice and nearest-neighbor interactions dominate, the ground state is 120◦ antiferromagnetism. In this work, we probe the response of this state to lifting the triangular symmetry, through investigation of the triangular antiferromagnet PdCrO2 under uniaxial stress by neutron diffraction and resistivity measurements. The periodicity of the magnetic order is found to change rapidly with applied stress; the rate of change indicates that the magnetic anisotropy is roughly forty times the stress-induced bond length anisotropy. At low stress, the incommensuration period becomes extremely long, on the order of 1000 lattice spacings; no locking of the magnetism to commensurate periodicity is detected. Separately, the magnetic structure is found to undergo a first-order transition at a compressive stress of ∼0.4 GPa, at which the interlayer ordering switches from a double- to a single-q structure.

Enhanced Assessment of Fluid Saturation in the Wolfcamp Formation of the Permian Basin

Conventional resistivity models often overestimate water saturation in organic-rich mudrocks and require extensive calibration efforts. Conventional resistivity-porosity-saturation models assume brine in the formation as the only conductive component contributing to resistivity measurements. They also do not reliably assimilate the spatial distribution of the clay network and pore structure. Moreover, they do not incorporate other conductive minerals and organic matter, impacting the resistivity measurements and leading to uncertainty in water saturation assessment. We recently introduced a resistivity-based model that quantitatively assimilates the type and spatial distribution of all rock constituents to improve reserves evaluation in organic-rich mudrocks using electrical resistivity measurements. This paper aims to expand the application of this model for well-log-based assessment of water/hydrocarbon saturation and to verify the reliability of the introduced method in the Wolfcamp Formation of the Permian Basin. Our recently introduced resistivity model uses pore combination modeling to incorporate conductive (clay, pyrite, kerogen, brine) and nonconductive (grains, hydrocarbon) components in estimating effective resistivity. The inputs to the model are volumetric concentrations of minerals, conductivity of rock components, and porosity obtained from laboratory measurements or interpretation of well logs. Geometric model parameters are also critical inputs to the model. To simultaneously estimate the geometric model parameters and water saturation, we developed an inversion algorithm with two objectives: (a) to estimate the geometric model parameters as inputs to the new resistivity model and (b) to estimate the water saturation. The geometric model parameters are determined for each rock type or formation by minimizing the difference between the measured resistivity and the resistivity estimated from pore combination modeling. We applied the new method to two wells drilled in the Wolfcamp Formation of the Permian Basin. The formation-based inversion showed variation in geometric model parameters, which improved the assessment of water saturation. Results demonstrated that the new method improved water saturation estimates by 24.1% and 32.4% compared to Archie’s and Waxman-Smits models, respectively, in the Wolfcamp Formation. The most considerable improvement was observed in the Middle and the Lower Wolfcamp Formations, where the average clay concentration was relatively higher than the other zones. There was an additional 70,000 bbl/acre of hydrocarbon reserve using the proposed method compared to when water saturation was quantified using Archie’s model in the Permian Basin, which is a 33% relative improvement. It should be highlighted that the new method did not require any calibration effort using core water saturation measurements, which is a unique contribution of this rock-physics-based workflow.

Superconductivity of BSCCO Compound Substituted Partially by Zr Nanoparticles at Bi Site

High-temperature superconductors with a nominal composition Bi2- xZrxPb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy for (0≤x≤0.3) were prepared by solid-state reaction method. Effects of the Zr nanoparticles substitution at Bi sites have been studied to obtain the optimum concentration for the formation and stabilization of the superconducting samples. Electrical resistivity measurements of the samples showed that the higher critical temperature TC was found at 118 K, which is for the composition Bi1.95Zr0.05Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy. Semiconductor behavior noticed for samples with concentration higher than 0.2. The X-ray diffraction results for all superconducting samples showed an orthorhombic structure with two phases, 2223 high-TC phase and 2212 low-TC phase. The scanning electron microscope has been used to identify the morphology of the superconducting phase. The plate-like grains of the high Bi-2223 phase appeared in most samples besides changes in morphology of the samples with increasing dopant concentration

Algorithm for inversion of resistivity logging-while-drilling data in 2D pixel-based model

Multi-frequency and multi-component extra-deep azimuthal resistivity measurements with depth of investigation of a few tens of meters provide advanced possibilities for mapping of complex reservoir structures. Inversion of the induction measurements set becomes an important technical problem. We present a regularized Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm for inversion of resistivity measurements in a 2D environment model with pixel-based resistivity distribution. The cornerstone of the approach is an efficient parallel algorithm for computation of resistivity tool signals and its derivatives with respect to the pixel conductivities using volume integral equation method. Numerical tests of the suggested approach demonstrate its feasibility for near real time inversion.