<![CDATA[Pore Architecture and Selectivity in Shale Gas Reservoirs]]> 27869 This seminar is presented by the School of Materials Science and Engineering. A reception will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the atrium outside of MARC Auditorium in the Materials Research Science & Engineering Center. The seminar will follow at 4:00 p.m. David Bucknall hosts this event.

Abstract:
In the last several years, natural gas extracted from shale rocks has grown to become a major factor in the world’s energy supply. This is a result of improved extraction methods and the exploration of previously neglected areas. Unlike conventional oil and gas deposits, where the rock-fluid interactions are well understood, our understanding of the physics of gas encapsulation and flow in shale is evolving. As a result, the production rates of wells within the same geologic formation can vary significantly and, perhaps there is opportunity to seek efficiencies in the number of wells drilled. Understanding the pore structure and how they are interconnected is the goal of this work, a challenging goal because pores in such rock can range from nm to mm in size. Exxon studies this using a multi-technique approach utilizing small-angle scattering, mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) measurements and Helium ion microscopy. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements are used to characterize the pore size distribution. This work is providing new insight into the hydrocarbon source and storage mechanisms in unconventional shales that will be used to optimize reservoir production.

Biography:
Dr. Aaron  Eberle is a Senior Research Scientist with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company in Annandale, New Jersey. He joined ExxonMobil Corporate Strategic Research after completing post-doctoral research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NRC fellowship), and at the University of Delaware. He earned his B.S. degree from the University of Rochester in 2003, and his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in 2008, both in the field of Chemical Engineering. At ExxonMobil, Aaron utilizes scattering techniques to study polymers, catalysts, and reservoir rocks.

 

]]> Allison Caughey 1 1406198698 2014-07-24 10:44:58 1492118537 2017-04-13 21:22:17 0 0 event 2014-08-25T16:30:00-04:00 2014-08-25T18:30:00-04:00 2014-08-25T18:30:00-04:00 2014-08-25 20:30:00 2014-08-25 22:30:00 2014-08-25 22:30:00 2014-08-25T16:30:00-04:00 2014-08-25T18:30:00-04:00 America/New_York America/New_York datetime 2014-08-25 04:30:00 2014-08-25 06:30:00 America/New_York America/New_York datetime <![CDATA[]]>  

Hope Payne 
hope.payne@mse.gatech.edu 
404-894-0496 


]]> <![CDATA[Materials Design: Where Do We Go From Here?]]> 27869 The concept of materials by design and "bottom-up" approaches to material engineering have been around for more three decades.  More recently, these approaches have become nearly ubiquitous in grand challenges and federal initiatives, such as Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME), the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), and the Big Data Research and Development Initiative.  Dr. David Stepp, with more than 15 years of experience in the Materials Science Division at the U.S. Army Research Office, will provide a brief historical perspective on these approaches to materials science, discuss their strengths and their weaknesses in the broader context of extending the frontiers of materials science, critique some of the recent grand challenges and initiatives from this perspective, and seek to identify a viable path forward in materials design.

About David M. Stepp, PhD
Dr. Stepp has served as the Chief of the Materials Science Division at the Army Research Office since 2004, and as Chief of the Mechanical Behavior of Materials research branch since 1999. As chief of the Materials Science division, he oversees four scientific branches (totaling approximately $50M in extramural basic research) seeking to extend the frontiers of materials science in order to realize unprecedented material properties.  These unprecedented material properties provide new foundations and paradigms to enhance future war fighter and battle systems capabilities. As chief of the mechanical behavior of materials research branch, he oversees a diverse array of more than 50 extramural research programs seeking to develop and explore materials with revolutionary properties and function totaling more than $20M annually. He serves as the U.S. Army and deputy ASD (R&E) representative to the NSTC Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET), and as the U.S. Army representative to the Technical Cooperation Program MAT-TP-5: Nondestructive Characterization and Material State Awareness. Dr. Stepp earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Duke University in 1998, where he investigated the high-strain rate deformation and damage accumulation mechanisms governing tantalum and developed a novel, statistically-based, computational algorithm to enhance positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy under the guidance of Dr. Phillip Jones. He has published research in the areas of smart materials, structural ceramics, and polymer degradation and failure mechanisms. 

]]> Allison Caughey 0 1407163893 2014-08-04 14:51:33 1492118533 2017-04-13 21:22:13 0 0 event This lecture kicks off the Institute for Materials’ 2014-2015 Innovations Lecture Series. Guest Lecturer Dr. David M. Stepp, Materials Science Division Chief at the Army Research Office, will present an overview of past and present materials design initiatives and outline a viable path forward in his presentation, Materials Design: Where Do We Go from Here? 

]]> 2014-09-30T16:00:00-04:00 2014-09-30T17:30:00-04:00 2014-09-30T17:30:00-04:00 2014-09-30 20:00:00 2014-09-30 21:30:00 2014-09-30 21:30:00 2014-09-30T16:00:00-04:00 2014-09-30T17:30:00-04:00 America/New_York America/New_York datetime 2014-09-30 04:00:00 2014-09-30 05:30:00 America/New_York America/New_York datetime <![CDATA[]]> cecelia jones
cecelia.jones@me.gatech.edu 
404-894-7769


]]>