• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • Master's Projects
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • Master's Projects
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Scholarworks@UACommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypeThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsType

    My Account

    Login

    First Time Submitters, Register Here

    Register

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Thermal analysis on permafrost subsidence on the North Slope of Alaska

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Agrawal_N_2015.pdf
    Size:
    11.19Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Agrawal, Neha Dinesh
    Chair
    Patil, Shirish
    Chen, Gang
    Committee
    Dandekar, Abhijit
    Bray, Matthew
    Keyword
    Permafrost
    Thermal conductivity
    Alaska
    North Slope
    Thermal properties
    Oil fields
    Methods
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8028
    Abstract
    One of the major problems associated with the oil fields on the North Slope of Alaska is thawing permafrost around producing oil wells. In these wells, the heat from the producing well fluid gradually thaws the permafrost. This thawing in turn destroys the bond between the permafrost and the casing and causes instability that results in permafrost subsidence which further causes subsidence of the soil surrounding the wellbore and, subjects the casing to high mechanical stresses. The above problem has been addressed by several engineers, and several preventive measures, such as controlling the subsidence by refrigeration or by insulation of the wellbore, have been analyzed. Understanding the thermal behavior of the permafrost is imperative to analyzing permafrost subsidence and providing preventative measures. The current project focuses on building a scaled-down axi-symmetric model in FLAC 7.0 that will help us understand the thermal behavior (i.e., the heat input to the permafrost interval due to hydrocarbon production) and temperature distributions that result in permafrost subsidence. The numerical analysis estimated the thaw influence of steam injection used for heavy oil recovery and its effect on the area around the wellbore for 10 years. The developed model was compared with Smith and Clegg (1971) axi-symmetric model and COMSOL model and correlations of thaw radius and wellbore temperatures were obtained for different types of soils. Heat transfer mitigation techniques were also attempted which are discussed in the report further.
    Description
    Master's Project (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2015
    Date
    2015-11
    Type
    Other
    Collections
    Master's Projects
    Master's Projects (Petroleum Engineering)

    entitlement

     
    ABOUT US|HELP|BROWSE|ADVANCED SEARCH

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution and is a part of the University of Alaska system.

    ©UAF 2013 - 2022 | Questions? ua-scholarworks@alaska.edu | Last modified: September 25, 2019

    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.