bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Q-Model: An Artificial Intelligence Based Methodology for the Development of Autonomous Robots
Authors: Kurrek Philip , Zoghlami Firas , Jocas Mark , Stoelen Martin , Salehi Vahid 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The increasing individualization of products reinforces the importance of decoupled factories in production processes. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a recognized technology for problem solving and accelerates automation by enabling systems to act independently. In the field of robotics, there are new deep learning approaches which make robotic control systems human independent. This work provides a literature overview of the current state of development methodologies, showing that there are only limited methods available for the development of artificial intelligent robots. We present a novel development methodology based on artificial intelligence, particularly deep reinforcement learning. The so-called Q-model can enable robots to learn specific tasks independently. In summary, we show how an AI-based methodology assists the development of autonomous robots along the product lifecycle.
Effect of Diluent on the Blowout Limits of Jet Diffusion Flames
Authors: Papanikolaou N. , Wierzba I. , Liu V. W. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The paper will describe the results of an experimental investigation on the effect of diluents premixed with either the jet or co-flowing air stream on the blowout limits and flow field structure of jet diffusion flames. Experiments were conducted for a range of co-flowing air stream velocities with methane as the primary jet fuel, and nitrogen and carbon dioxide as diluents in the jet fuel; carbon dioxide was also used in the co-flowing air stream.
The addition of a diluent to the surrounding air stream had a much stronger effect on the blowout limits than the addition of the diluent to the jet fuel. The effect of partially premixing air with the jet fuel on the blowout limits was also investigated. The addition of air (to up to 30%) to the methane jet significantly reduced the blowout limits of lifted flames, but it had little effect on the blowout limits of attached flames, which was rather unexpected.
Durability of FRP Strengthened RC Beams Subjected to Hygrothermal and Aging Attacks
Authors: Li Guoqiang , Pang Su-Seng , Helms Jack E. , Ibekwe Samuel I. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The past decade has witnessed an ever increasing interest in strengthening, repairing, retrofitting, and upgrading of deteriorated concrete structures using fiber reinforced plastics (FRP). Enhanced load carrying capacity by FRP strengthening has been observed by a large number of researchers through experiments at ambient environments. In a harsh environment, however, FRP will degrade. This may result in structural degradation of FRP strengthened concrete members. The possible structural degradation has become a major obstacle for the wide-spread acceptance of this new strengthening technique. In the present study, boiling water and ultraviolet (UV) radiation are used to study the structural degradation of concrete beams strengthened with GRFP and CFRP fabrics. A total of eighteen 170 × 7.62 × 15.2 cm steel reinforced concrete (RC) beams are prepared as control specimens, conditioned specimens, and unconditioned specimens. The test results show that environmental attacks have a considerable effect on the structural degradation of FRP strengthened concrete beams. 57% ∼ 76% of the strengthening efficiency of FRP is lost after conditioning.
Bridging Length Scales Between Macroscopic Response and Microstructure Through Gradient Anisotropic Damage for MMC
Authors: Voyiadjis George Z. , Dorgan Robert J. , Dorroh J. R. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
This work provides a consistent and systematic framework for the gradient approach in coupled damage-plasticity that enables one to better understand the effects of material inhomogeneity on the macroscopic behavior and the material instabilities. The idea of multiple scale effects is made more general and complete by introducing damage and plasticity internal state variables and the corresponding gradients at both the macro and mesoscale levels. The development of evolution equations for plasticity and damage is treated in a similar mathematical approach and formulation since both address defects such as dislocations for the former and cracks/voids for the later.
H2S and Mercaptane in Gas Production: Practical Operating Experience
Authors: Juranic Tomislav , Meandzija Ivan , Steiner Ivo 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
INA-Naftaplin has been utilizing the LO-CAT® process in Croatia for protection of ambient air against H2S pollution at its Gas Treatment Plant Molve III already for seven years. This separation unit, incorporated into the gas treatment plant has been erected exclusively for the protection of ambient air against harmful effect of H2S. The unit is treating H2S+CO2, which is being removed from natural gas by an upstream amine process, under conditions of low H2S content and low pressure of gas. Catalytic oxidation is being used to convert H2S to elementary sulfur, and the emission concentration was decreased from 580 ppm to less than 30 ppm. The practice revealed a series of delicate situations: plugging of internals, solution filtering and achievement of required 60 wt% sulfur concentration, disposal of produced sulfur sludge and others. The Institute for Medical Research Zagreb has performed the ambient air quality monitoring, within the scope of its contract for annual base monitoring. H2S imission values were under 5 μg/m3. The continuous control of working area is achieved by twenty-four H2S sensors, and results obtained to this date have always been below allowable limits. The practical experience has revealed that the LO-CAT® desulfurization unit has fulfiled its purpose and existing environmental criteria till 1997, along with significant cost, primarily for power and chemicals. The actual Croatian Directive on TLV of pollutants in the waste gas requires H2S concentration of 3.5 ppmv max. and RSH concentration of 20 mg/m3 max. Now the GTP Molve and Ethane Recovery Plant have emission of H2S and mercaptane above the permissible limit value, which have to be solved until the year 2004. To meet the strict legal requirements, certain upgrading is to be undertaken. This capital investment requires a large financial expenditure of up to 5 million USD, and up to 1 million USD/year for operating cost for both plants. For process improvement a continuous monitoring system has to be solved also. In that respect, measuring of H2S+RSH emission is in accordance to ASTM D-4084-82 and ASTM D-23 85-81 methods. Periodical control by gas tube detector system could contribute to the most reliable and efficient monitoring system of the two most important natural gas plants in Croatia.
Mercury in Petroleum: Processing and Regulatory Issues
Authors: Wilhelm S. Mark 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Elemental mercury and several mercury compounds occur naturally in geologic hydrocarbons including petroleum and gas condensates. Recent advances in analytical chemistry are assisting our understanding of the chemistry of mercury in petroleum and its fate in petrochemical processes. Analytical techniques now are capable of measuring the concentration of mercury and mercury compounds in most hydrocarbon matrices to better than 1 part in 1010. A recently developed model proposes that the mean amount of mercury in crude oil is no more than 10 ppb.
The various chemical forms of mercury exhibit significantly different chemical and physical behavior and thus partition to fuels, products and effluents in a complex fashion. Speciation of compounds and accurate determination of species concentrations assists accounting for mercury in petrochemical processes and prediction of the magnitude of its occurrence in water and air emissions. From knowledge of the solubilities and partition factors of the mercury compounds in petroleum, one can predict concentrations in separations and distillations. The developing understanding of mercury concentrations in crude oil suggest that mercury discharges to the environment from petroleum are small as compared to those that originate from coal combustion.
Although it is generally recognized that reductions in anthropomorphic mercury emissions are beneficial to reducing mercury in the global cycle, the strategies to achieve this goal should be carefully constructed and based on the known amounts of mercury in industrial emissions. Regulations, both existing and anticipated, are major factors driving the development of mercury sequestration strategies. Emissions of mercury from petroleum production and processing are regulated by water, sediment and air criteria that are based on estimates of mercury concentrations in liquid fuels that may be in error by at least an order of magnitude.
Aside from environmental concerns, mercury also is problematic to both gas processors and refiners from the standpoint of operations. The issues relate to catalyst poisoning, health and safety and occasionally precipitation/condensation of mercury in cryogenic processes. Although mercury removal systems are applied to gas and gas liquids processing, such systems are ineffective for application to crude oil.
Soil Moisture Analyses to Locate Shallow Ground Water: A Solution to a Vexing Problem
Authors: Deuel Lloyd E. , Holliday George H. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
EPA and most States require a hydrogeologic assessment of contaminated sites to identify and characterize the upper most aquifer and potential pathways for contamination. The advancement of soil borings, followed by the completion of monitoring wells in boreholes is often the first step in direct site characterization. These monitoring wells have the potential to contaminate deeper ground waters; if the site has a contaminated seasonal perched water table from which water is allowed to enter the borehole before the well is cased. This condition is particularly troublesome when a temporary monitoring well is used for assessment purposes and contaminate concentrations are compared to maximum concentration limits (MCLs) for drinking water. A seasonal or permanent perched water table may be contaminated, but separated and protected from deeper useable groundwater by the unsaturated ‘vadose’ zone. The lack of saturation in the vadose naturally restricts the movement of water due to unsaturated flow dynamics and the corresponding flux of soluble constituents irrespective of attenuating reactions with soil. This paper presents a method of distinguishing saturated zones from unsaturated zones by comparative analysis of existing soil moisture and the field capacity or 33.3 kPa (1/3 bar) moisture equivalent. Moisture measurements are made for core samples collected in continuous fashion to a selected depth and sample interval determined by the use and sensitivity required in the interpretation of the data. Soil moisture profiles in conjunction with geophysical measurements of bulk density and particle density allow determination of volume wetness and degree of saturation. Additionally, these data are used to assess the movement of water in the soil profile and potential contaminant migration to useable groundwater. The authors have used this technique to differentiate vadose zones sandwiched between seasonal perched water and even thin continuous saturated zones from useable groundwater. Actual field data are presented to demonstrate the ease with which false positive results are generated that portends an adverse impact to groundwater and the need for costly risk reduction analysis or remediation.
Assessment and Inclusion of Capillary Pressure/Relative Permeability Hysteresis Effects in Downhole Water Sink (DWS) Well Technology for Water Coning Control
Authors: Inikori Solomon O. , Wojtanowicz Andrew K. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The objective of this study is to assess the effects of capillary pressures and relative permeability hysteresis on the performance of wells using the downhole water sink (DWS) technology for water coning control.
In the study a commercial reservoir simulator has been adopted to evaluate well performance under conditions of stabilized oil production/water drainage rates for various combinations of these rates. Operational domain of water-free oil production, Inflow Performance Window (IPW), was used to quantify the effects of capillary pressure transition zone and relative permeability hysteresis on the water coning - control performance of DWS wells. Field data from wells in Canada, West Africa and Louisiana exhibiting severe problems of water coning were used in this study.
The simulation results show that the basic concept of the DWS is unchanged by the inclusion of capillary pressure and relative permeability hysteresis. However, these effects may cause considerable reduction in the size of the water-free oil production domain and lead to increase in water production.
The results also indicate that, for the same reservoir, converting conventional wells with prior water coning history to DWS application would not be as beneficial as DWS completions on new wells. Thus the effect of drainage-imbibition relative permeability hysteresis should be included in the DWS well design practice.
Smart Sensors for Controlling Oil-Water Separation Processes
Authors: Jaworski Artur J. , Dyakowski Tomasz , Davies Graham A. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
In this paper we present a novel approach to designing sensors and instrumentation for monitoring and controlling multiphase processes. Our concept is based on using distributed sensor arrays, embedded within the vital plant components and thus forming smart structures. Distributed information obtained from such devices, coupled with appropriate data processing, could improve our understanding of the nature of multiphase processes and hence improve plant operation. We discuss the requirements for such sensors and, in the experimental part of this paper, present a short case study, conducted at UMIST Pilot Plant facility, to highlight the benefits of using smart sensing techniques in a process environment. We hope that this paper will open a general discussion on sensing multiphase flows.
A Numerical Model Coupling Reservoir and Horizontal Well Flow Dynamics: Applications in Well Completions, and Production Logging
Authors: Vicente Ronaldo , Sarica Cem , Ertekin Turgay 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
A fully implicit, three-dimensional simulator with local grid refinement around the wellbore is developed to solve reservoir and horizontal well flow equations simultaneously, for single-phase liquid and gas cases. The model consists of conservation of mass and Darcy’s law in the reservoir, and mass and momentum conservation in the wellbore for isothermal conditions. Establishing the continuity of pressure and preserving mass balance at the sandface satisfy the coupling requirements. The proposed simulator is tested against and verified with the results obtained from a commercial code ECLIPSE-100™, and available public domain simulators and semi-analytical models.
The proposed model can be used for multiple purposes such as well productivity prediction, well length optimization, completion design and optimization, and production logging interpretation. Different completion scenarios and reservoir anisotropy are simulated and their effects on the productivity of the horizontal wells are discussed. Completion cases include open-hole, partial and full completions with perforations and slotted liners. During the production logging of a horizontal well, the coil tubing reduces the wellbore cross sectional area and may cause substantial changes in the wellbore flow behavior. Depending on the well and coil tubing diameters, a significant difference between the actual production rates and the rates obtained from a production log can be observed.
A CFD Based Correlation for Erosion Factor for Long-Radius Elbows and Bends
Authors: Wang Jianrong , Shirazi Siamack A. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
A model for predicting sand erosion in 90 degree elbows and bends has been developed based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), particle tracking and erosion data. After the flow field was obtained from the flow (CFD) model, particles were introduced into the flow and particle trajectories were computed using a Lagrangian approach. A model was also implemented that accounts for the interaction between the particles and the target material. Based on predicted particle impingement velocities, erosion rates and penetration rates were predicted using the empirical equations for erosion ratio. The predicted penetration rates are compared with available experimental data for several different elbows. The agreement between the predicted penetration rates and the experimental data is good. The erosion model is applied to standard (short-radius) elbows and long-radius elbows to understand why long radius elbows have lower erosion (penetration) rates. In addition, based on many predictions and erosion rate results, a new CFD based correlation is developed and is recommended as a first-order approximation for engineering calculations to account for effects of elbow radius on erosion in long-radius elbows. This equation is for computing the ratio of the wall thickness loss (or the penetration rate) in a long-radius elbow to the penetration rate of a standard (short-radius) elbow. The results from the correlation agree well with the trend of available data in the literature.
New Developments in Multiphase Flow Modelling and Field Data Verification
Authors: Nossen Jan , Shea Richard H. , Rasmussen Jon 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The OLGA Verification and Improvement Project for Three-Phase Flow is a joint industrial project sponsored by 11 oil companies to improve the flow models in OLGA and verify the improved code against field data. To improve the stratified flow model, correlations for wall shear and entrainment were improved based on published experimental data as well as unique in-house data. For slug flow, the translational velocity and slug body pressure drop have been improved using models from literature. The improved OLGA code has been compared to the AGA data bank for wet gas pipelines and to data from Prudhoe Bay. The comparisons show that systematic prediction errors are greatly reduced.
Solutions of the Right Classes for Laminated Composites Satisfying Interlamina Physics
Authors: Surana K. S. , Ngyun H. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
This paper presents a new theoretical and computational framework for computing solutions of right classes for laminated composites using 2D p-version least squares finite element formulation incorporating the correct physics of interlamina behavior. At the interface between two laminas of dissimilar materials we have continuity of displacements u, v, stresses σyy, τxy, and strain εxx, while the stress σxx and the strains εyy and γxy are discontinuous. Thus, a finite element formulation, incorporating the physics of laminate behavior, would require interpolation of u, v, εxx, σyy and τxy instead of u, v, σxx, σyy and τxy which is generally the case in most mixed formulations. In the p-version LSFEF presented here, we interpolate u, v and σyy, τxy (εxx = ∂u/∂x is used to eliminate εxx as a variable) using appropriate p-version interpolations which would ensure correct interlamina behavior of these components. When the mating lamina properties are different, interlamina discontinuity of σxx, εyy and γxy is automatically generated due to dissimilar material properties of the laminas. In this formulation interlamina jumps in σxx, εyy and γxy do not constitute singularities, hence mesh refinements and higher p-levels are not needed in the vicinity of inter-lamina boundaries. The major thrust of this paper is to construct interpolations for the dependant variables that are of right classes in appropriate spaces so that a sequence of converged solutions in these spaces may be computed which, when converged, would yield a numerical solution that has exactly the same characteristics (in terms of continuity and differentiability) as the analytical or theoretical (strong) solution.
Models for Inspected Systems Under General Degradation
Authors: Klutke Georgia-Ann 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Many protective devices, as well as spare and standby systems, exhibit what are known as non self-announcing failures; that is, failures can be observed only by inspection. Inspections can usually reveal only whether the device is operational or not, and not the level of deterioration of the device. This paper considers the availability of such systems when degradation is driven by an exogenous random environment. We allow this environment to be quite general; it includes both continuous (graceful) degradation and degradation due to discrete shocks. For periodic inspection schemes, we compute the limiting average availability and discuss opportunities for more effective inspection policies.
Financing Improvements and Expansion: A Case of the Sunnyhill Health & Racquet Club
Authors: Chard Chris , McCrory Liam , Spence Kirsty 
Published: April 2020

The Sunnyhill Health & Racquet Club (SHRC) is a very small, private, volunteer-run, not-for-profit club located on a swath of prime real estate in the heart of a wealthy community in Sunnyhill Township. At the behest of the club’s board, SHRC President David Wilson has been tasked with developing financing strategies to address the current (perceived) shortcomings of the club. Like he did for decades working in Post Office Square, in Boston’s Financial District, Wilson knew he had to (1) understand the current financial capacity of SHRC, (2) discern the members’ desire for financial contribution, and (3) develop financing options. Here, strategies to finance improvements to the club include debt utilization (and the necessary servicing of any debt commitments), one-time capital injections through the disposition of club property, and/or enhanced revenue generation. Developing strategies in an environment of disparate stakeholder goals provides additional challenges for Wilson.
A Contemporary Variable-Power Cycling Protocol to Discriminate Race-Specific Performance Ability
Authors: Sharma Avish P. , Bentley David J. , Mejuto Gaizka , Etxebarria Naroa 
Published: April 2020

Purpose: Traditional physiological testing and monitoring tools have restricted our ability to capture parameters that best relate to cycling performance under variable-intensity race demands. This study examined the validity of a 1-h variable cycling test (VCT) to discriminate between different-performance-level cyclists. Methods: Ten male national- and 13 club-level cyclists (body mass, 67 [9] and 79 [6] kg; peak power output, 359 [43] and 362 [21] W, respectively) completed a VO2max test and two 1-h VCT protocols on 3 separate occasions. The VCT consisted of 10 × 6-min segments containing prescribed (3.5 W·kg−1) and open-ended phases. The open-ended phases consisted of 4 × 30–40 s of “recovery,” 3 × 10 s at “hard” intensity, and 3 × 6-s “sprint” with a final 10-s “all-out” effort. Results: Power output for the 6- and 10-s phases was moderately higher for the national- compared with club-level cyclists (mean [SD] 10.4 [2.0] vs 8.6 [1.6] W·kg−1, effect size; ±90% confidence limits = −0.87; ±0.65 and mean [SD] 7.5 [0.7] vs 6.2 [1.0] W·kg−1, effect size; ±90% confidence limits = −1.24; ±0.66, respectively). Power output for the final 10-s “all-out” sprint was 15.4 (1.5) for the national- versus 13.2 (1.9) W·kg−1 for club-level cyclists. Conclusion: The 1-h VCT can successfully differentiate repeat high-intensity effort performance between higher-caliber cyclists and their lower-performing counterparts.