The Colorado School of Mines Uses Simulation to Track Fluid Movement
A. Haas, H. Mahardika, M. Karaoulis, and A. Revil
Colorado School of Mines, USA
Combining acoustic and electromagnetic analyses helps scientists to more efficiently measure and survey subterranean regions. Acoustic waves can travel long distances, but have limitations when it comes to providing details about formation properties, and cannot be used to identify the liquids flowing through them. Electromagnetic waves do not propagate as far as acoustic waves, but can identify and track the flow of pore water. Combining these methods makes the process easier in particular for scientists who track fracking fluids underground.
The Colorado School of Mines has created a system for locating fracking fluids by finding subsurface electromagnetic disturbances that occur based on the kinds of formations the water passes through. They wanted to simulate fracking events and produce synthetic seismograms and electrograms with the help of simulation. By linking COMSOL Multiphysics and MATLAB®, they designed a laboratory experiment in which they repeatedly hydraulically-fractured a porous cement cube by pumping in saline water under high pressure.
Suggested Stories
Defending Automotive Components Against Corrosive Destruction
Galvanic corrosion, which occurs when the surfaces of different adjoining metals begin to degrade, costs the ...
From Nanoantennas to Deep Space Satellites, Electron Emission Enables Efficient Power Generation
Researchers from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are developing power ...
Developing a New Microreactor for Organic Synthesis Using Microwave Heating
The chemical reactions used to generate solvents and certain pharmaceuticals rely on organic synthesis, a process of ...
Keeping Cool: SRON Develops Thermal Calibration System for Deep-Space Telescope
Deep-space telescopes require ultrasensitive detectors and calibration to pick up weak far-infrared signals. The SpicA ...
