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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Master’s Thesis Defense
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Characterizing Salinity-Dependent Double layer effects on Clay Properties
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Panuswee Dwivedi
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Date: Thursday, December 7, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Location: Energy Research Park, Building 9, Room 124<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Time 3:00 to 5:00 PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Committee Chair: Dr. Michael T. Myers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Committee Members:
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Dr. Lori Hathon
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Dr. Konstantinos Kostarelos
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Lucida Bright""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Lucida Bright"">The terminal velocity of a settling spherical particle in a laminar flow environment is described by Stoke’s Law as a product of particle sizes squared and the difference of densities
of the solids and the fluid. We decoupled the effects of density and particle sizes performing a series of experiments to characterize influence of clay mineral double layer effects on the porosity, and textural properties as a function of salinity. We performed
settling experiments in distilled water, and 75,000 ppm NaCl solution for three different mud-rock samples having different CEC values. NMR spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric Analyses (TGA), and grain density calculations using Boyle’s Law experiments were performed
to compare the properties of the samples after settling. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Lucida Bright""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Lucida Bright"">In the settling column, the settling rate is a function of particle-size, with larger floccules settling with a higher velocity. An increase in salinity in the column increases the
flocculation of clay particles. The volume of bound water associated with clay minerals, increases with decreasing particle size. Once the settling experiments were complete (constant hydrometer readings), sample material was divided into three different particle
sizes. The volume of associated bound water was calculated for each size fraction (diameters ranging from ~0.1 to 0.04 mm, 0.04mm to 0.01mm and finer) of the samples for both salinity experiments using NMR spectroscopy. TGA was also performed on each sample
to validate with the bound water volume measured using NMR. Boyle’s Law experiments were performed on each grain-size fraction to calculate the grain density as a function of salinity dependent particle-size. Both, NMR porosity and grain density are functions
of the bound and free water volumes. The SEM images of the final samples will be used to visually characterize grain size and clay morphology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Lucida Bright""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Increasing salinity causes clay particles to bind together rapidly, and more strongly than in distilled water. As salinity increases, and particle size decreases, dewatering of the
slurries take longer. This influences the measured grain density. At a given particle size, clay minerals saturated with brine are less dense than those saturated with distilled water. These data were interpreted using the model of Hill, Shirley and Klein
model. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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