Theoretical and Experimental Studies Relating to the Purging of Radioactivity from a Gas Well Stimulated by a Nuclear Explosion

Abstract

One question associated with the use of nuclear explosions for natural gas well stimulation is that of eliminating or controlling the radioactivity in the gas produced from the well. A proposed solution is to purge the chimney before permitting the gas to enter the pipeline, and to phase-in the production of the well so as to obtain a dilution of activity to an acceptable level. The variation in the radioactivity concentration during a purge is pertinent to the problem. A previous analysis was reviewed and it was determined that further study on this problem was necessary. After being revised and extended, the resultant estimated variation of radioactivity concentrations during well production for a range of chimney geometries was prepared and compared with uniform mixing models. The revised analysis indicates that the quantity of gas which may be flared to remove substantially all the radioactivities may be only about one-half that previously estimated.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 24, 1968
Accession Number
ADA382754

Entities

People

  • D. D. Rabb
  • G. H. Higgins
  • H. C. Rodean

Organizations

  • University of California

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Dispersions
  • Explosions
  • Flow
  • Flow Rate
  • Flux Density
  • Geometry
  • Incompressible Flow
  • Materials
  • Mixing
  • Models
  • Natural Gas
  • Nuclear Explosions
  • Ph Meters
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Pressure Gradients
  • Production
  • Test Methods

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Systems Analysis and Design