Engineering topics
Fu, W.
Publications and source records attributed to Fu, W..
A New Modeling Framework for Multi-Scale Simulation of Hydraulic Fracturing and Production from Unconventional Reservoirs
This paper describes a new modeling framework for microscopic to reservoir-scale simulations of hydraulic fracturing and production. The approach builds upon a fusion of two existing high-performance simulators for reservoir-scale behavior: the GEOS code for hydromechanical evolution during stimulation and the TOUGH+ code for multi-phase flow during production. The reservoir-scale simulations are informed by experimental and modeling studies at the laboratory scale to incorporate important micro-scale mechanical processes and chemical reactions occurring within the fractures, the shale matrix, and at the fracture-fluid interfaces. These processes include, among others, changes in stimulated fracture permeability as a result of proppant behavior rearrangement or embedment, or mineral scale precipitation within pores and microfractures, at µm to cm scales. In our new modeling framework, such micro-scale testing and modeling provides upscaled hydromechanical parameters for the reservoir scale models. We are currently testing the new modeling framework using field data and core samples from the Hydraulic Fracturing Field Test (HFTS), a recent field-based joint research experiment with intense monitoring of hydraulic fracturing and shale production in the Wolfcamp Formation in the Permian Basin (USA). Below, we present our approach coupling the reservoir simulators GEOS and TOUGH+ informed by upscaled parameters from micro-scale experiments and modeling. We provide a brief overview of the HFTS and the available field data, and then discuss the ongoing application of our new workflow to the HFTS data set.
Mega-Gauss Plasma Jet Creation Using a Ring of Laser Beams
Using 20 OMEGA laser beams at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, to irradiate a flat plastic target in a hollow ring configuration, we created supersonic cylindrical stable plasma jets with self-generated megagauss magnetic fields extending out to >4 mm. These well-collimated magnetized jets possess a number of distinct and novel properties that will allow us to study the dynamics, physical processes, and scaling properties of astrophysical jets with a dynamic range exceeding those of previous laboratory settings. The dimensionless parameters of these laboratory jets fall in the same regime as those of young stellar object jets. These jets will also provide new versatile laser-based platforms to study magnetized shocks, shear flows, and other plasma processes under controllable conditions.
Numerical simulation of magnetized jet creation using a hollow ring of laser beams
Three dimensional FLASH magneto-hydrodynamic modeling is carried out to interpret the OMEGA laser experiments of strongly magnetized, highly collimated jets driven by a ring of 20 OMEGA beams. The predicted optical Thomson scattering spectra and proton images are in good agreement with a subset of the experimental data. Magnetic fields generated via the Biermann battery term are amplified at the boundary between the core and the surrounding of the jet. The simulation predicts multiple axially aligned magnetic flux ropes with an alternating poloidal component. Future applications of the hollow ring configuration in laboratory astrophysics are discussed.
Mega-Gauss Plasma Jet Creation Using a Ring of Laser Beams
Using 20 OMEGA laser beams at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, to irradiate a flat plastic target in a hollow ring configuration, we created supersonic cylindrical stable plasma jets with self-generated megagauss magnetic fields extending out to >4 mm. These well-collimated magnetized jets possess a number of distinct and novel properties that will allow us to study the dynamics, physical processes, and scaling properties of astrophysical jets with a dynamic range exceeding those of previous laboratory settings. The dimensionless parameters of these laboratory jets fall in the same regime as those of young stellar object jets. As a result, these jets will also provide new versatile laser-based platforms to study magnetized shocks, shear flows, and other plasma processes under controllable conditions.
FY17 Report for Instrumentation Development for the Transient Testing Program
This report details the technical activities and accomplishment carried out under the in-pile instrumentation work package supporting the transient testing program. These activities were performed in direct support of cross-cutting transient testing experiment objectives. The purpose of this report is to provide a complete summary of all work, which is of particular interest to nuclear irradiation test experimenters and in-pile instrumentation engineers with emphasis on transient testing applications. Development activities are focused on devices to perform online measurement of neutron flux, temperature, and mechanical behaviors in nuclear fuels experiments. A brief summary of activities and accomplishments is first provided for each major activity. Detailed reports are presented in appendices.