Under cyclic loading, aluminum alloys exhibit less fatigue life than steel alloys of similar strength and this is considered as Achilles's heel of such alloys. A nanosecond fiber laser was used to apply high speed laser shock peening process on thin aluminum plates in order to enhance the fatigue life by introducing compressive residual stresses. The effect of three working parameters namely the pulse repetition rate (PRR), spot size (ω) and scanning speed (v) on limiting the fatigue failure was investigated. The optimum results, represented by the longer fatigue life, were at PRR of 22.5 kHz, ω of 0.04 mm and at both v's of 200 and 500 mm/sec. The research yielded significant results represented by a maximum percentage increase in the fa

This paper presents a nonlinear finite element modeling and analysis of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) deep beams with and without openings in web subjected to two- point loading. In this study, the beams were modeled using ANSYS nonlinear finite element
software. The percentage of steel fiber was varied from 0 to 1.0%.The influence of fiber content in the concrete deep beams has been studied by measuring the deflection of the deep beams at mid- span and marking the cracking patterns, compute the failure loads for each deep beam, and also study the shearing and first principal stresses for the deep beams with and without openings and with different steel fiber ratios. The above study indicates that the location of openings an

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars are anisotropic in nature and have high tensile strength in the fiber direction. The use of High-Strength Concrete (HSC) allows for better use of the high-strength properties of FRP bars. The mechanical properties of FRP bars can yield to large crack widths and deflections. As a result, the design of concrete elements reinforced with FRP materials is often governed by the Serviceability Limit States (SLS). This study investigates the short-term serviceability behavior of FRP RC I-beams. Eight RC I-beams reinforced with carbon-FRP (CFRP) and four steel RC I-beams, for comparison purposes, were tested under two-point loading.
Deformations on the concrete and crack widths and spacing are measured and

The advancements in horizontal drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing have been historically proven as the most viable technologies in the exploitation of unconventional resources (e.g., shale and tight gas reservoirs). However, the number of fractures, well timing, and arrangement pattern can have a significant impact on the project economy. Therefore, such design and operating parameters need to be efficiently optimized for obtaining the best production performance from unconventional gas reservoirs. In this study, the process of selecting the optimal number of fractures was conducted on a section of a tight gas reservoir model (based on data from the Whicher Range (WR) tight gas field in Western Australia). Then, the optimal number

The increasing population growth resulting in the tremendous increase in consumption of fuels, energy, and petrochemical products and coupled with the depletion in conventional crude oil reserves and production make it imperative for Nigeria to explore her bitumen reserves so as to meet her energy and petrochemicals needs. Samples of Agbabu bitumen were subjected to thermal cracking in a tubular steel reactor operated at 10 bar pressure to investigate the effect of temperature on the cracking reaction. The gas produced was analyzed in a Gas Chromatograph while the liquid products were subjected to Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Heptane was the dominant gas produced in bitumen cracking at all temperatures and the r

Excessive water production is a persistent challenge in oil and gas wells, with polymer and gel solutions commonly employed for water control. This study investigates the rheological behaviour of cross-linked polyacrylamide gels and their impact on water shutoff treatment in gas wells. Rheological measurements, coreflooding experiments using Berea sandstone samples, and micromodel flow visualizations were conducted to evaluate gel performance. Results showed that during water injection, the water residual resistance factor ( Frrw ) decreases with increasing flow rates, mainly due to gel shear thinning behaviour and reduced residual gas saturation. Higher polymer concentrations in the gel enhance water permeability reduction. In contrast, un