Visit the Central Materials Facility website here. 

The Engine Research and Testing Laboratory (ERTL) at Texas A&M at Qatar provides state-of-the-art research services that promote the detailed investigation of gas mixtures and the performance of internal combustion (IC) engines. Industrial and research activities at ERTL focus on improving fuel economy and reducing emissions through the in-house development of bespoke experimental setups. 

Fundamental understanding of the properties of engine systems is possible, allowing the optimum design of industrial processes. Analysis capabilities at the ERTL provide a better understanding of engines’ performance, which allows the improvement of the final products such as fuel blends and emission reductions.

This facility is equipped with versatile gasoline and diesel engines inventory, engine dynamometer setups, data acquisition, and emission analysis benches with fast response for analyzing cycle-by-cycle measurements of emissive gases: CO, CO₂, NO, NO_X.

The ERTL provides certified quality-controlled services that include measurements of: 

• Power output and RPM
• Torque output and RPM
• Specific fuel consumption
• Exhaust gas temperature
• Brake mean effective pressure
• Brake thermal efficiency
• Temperatures of exhaust gases, coolant and oil
• fuel and air flow rates
• Emission analysis for gases — CO, CO₂, O₂, NO, NO₂, and hydrocarbons
• In-cylinder pressure
• In-cylinder temperature

The lab is well equipped to conduct:

• Identification of various rock-fluid interaction parameters for wettability
• Relative permeability and capillary pressure
• Perform thin-section analysis
• Studies of rock-fluid compatibility issues for various applications including acid stimulation, water flooding and enhanced oil recovery
• Reservoir fluid characterization and phase behavior studies

This lab is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to conduct flow tests and perform flow measurements through rock-cores at reservoir conditions. It includes the capabilities to measure various petro-physical properties of rocks. It has fully operational flow setups for different fluid injections in reservoir and outcrop cores. It also includes a Goniometer for wettability studies.

A Foam Loop and Core Flow Tester is available. The system combines the functionality of a foam loop rheometer with a core flow tester. Foam can be created, measured (flow, rheology, density), modified, and passed through a core flow system for complete core flow analysis, including temperature, pressure, and viscosity parameters. Foam rheometry is hence accomplished and offered as service. The core flow system accurately measures any permeability changes of the various core formation samples when they are exposed to different injected fluids, including acids. Cores that can be handled can be of 1-in. or 1.5-in. diameter and of length up to 6-in. with temperatures up to 1760C and pressures of up 350 bar. Acidization and any other core-flooding studies can be performed.

A benchtop Magnetic Resonance Imager (MRI) for EOR studies and rock characterization is expected to be operational by end of March 2015. The proposed instrument is expected to provide unique information on rock cores, well construction and drilling materials, the interaction between chemicals and reservoir fluids, all in two- and three-dimensional maps. MRI is an excellent tool for 3-D analysis of the microstructure of porous media, multiphase flow processes, and chemical interactions at fluid-grain interfaces. It offers notable advantages over traditional core analysis methodologies as it is capable of high spatiotemporal resolution of the full 3-D volume, including the interior of the sample.

The equipment available to support the activities includes:

• HPHT rheometer
• Thin section
• Foam rheometer and acid core flooding system
• Research-grade PVT