This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.

Dr. Seyedbijan Mahbaz
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

Basic Info


Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Enhanced geothermal systems
0 FEA modelling
0 Numerical simulation in geological aspects
0 Optimization of well spacing and locations for increasing production and life cycle assessment of geothermal system
0 Developing codes for finite element modeling

Fingerprints

Numerical simulation in geological aspects

Honors and Awards

The user has no records in this section


Career Timeline

The user has no records in this section.


Short Biography

The user biography is not available.
Following
Followers
Co Authors
The list of users this user is following is empty.
Following: 0 users

Feed

Journal article
Published: 12 June 2021 in Geosciences
Reads 0
Downloads 0

This study focuses on determining the orientation and constraining the magnitude of present-day stresses in the Dezful Embayment in Iran’s Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. Two datasets are used: the first includes petrophysical data from 25 wells (3 to 4 km deep), and the second contains 108 earthquake focal mechanisms, mostly occurring in blind active basement faults (5 to 20 km deep). Formal stress inversion analysis of the focal mechanisms demonstrates that there is currently a compressional stress state (Aφ=2.02.2) in the basement. The seismologically determined SHmax direction is 37° ± 10°, nearly perpendicular to the strike of most faults in the region. However, borehole geomechanics analysis using rock strength and drilling evidence leads to the counterintuitive result that the shallow state of stress is a normal/strike-slip regime. These results are consistent with the low seismicity level in the sedimentary cover in the Dezful Embayment, and may be evidence of stress decoupling due to the existence of salt layers. The stress state situation in the field was used to identify the optimally oriented fault planes and the fault friction coefficient. This finding also aligns with the prediction Coulomb faulting theory in that the N-S strike-slip basement Kazerun Fault System has an unfavorable orientation for slip in a reverse fault regime with an average SW-NE SHmax orientation. These results are useful for determining the origin of seismic activity in the basin and better assessing fault-associated seismic hazards in the area.

ACS Style

Ali Yaghoubi; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice Dusseault; Yuri Leonenko. Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. Geosciences 2021, 11, 254 .

AMA Style

Ali Yaghoubi, SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice Dusseault, Yuri Leonenko. Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. Geosciences. 2021; 11 (6):254.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ali Yaghoubi; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice Dusseault; Yuri Leonenko. 2021. "Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt." Geosciences 11, no. 6: 254.

Article
Published: 14 March 2021
Reads 0
Downloads 0

This study focuses on determining the orientation and constraining the magnitude of the present-day stress in the Dezful Embayment in Iran's Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. Two datasets are used: the first includes petrophysical data from 25 wells (3 to 4 km), and the second contains 108 earthquake focal plane mechanisms mostly occurring in blind active basement faults (5 to 20 km). Formal stress inversion analysis of the focal plane mechanism demonstrates that the major basement faults are reverse faults with ( =2.0-2.2). The seismologically determined SHmax direction is 37{degree sign}{plus minus}10{degree sign}, nearly perpendicular to the strike of most faults in the region. However, borehole geomechanics analysis using rock strength and drilling evidence leads to the counterintuitive result that the shallow state of stress is a normal/strike-slip regime. These results are consistent with the low seismicity level in the sedimentary cover in the Dezful Embayment, and may be evidence of stress decoupling due to the existence of salt layers. This finding also aligns with the Mohr-Coulomb faulting theory in that the N-S strike-slip basement Kazerun fault has an unfavourable orientation for slip in a reverse fault regime with an average SW-NE SHmax orientation. The stress state situation in the field was used to identify the optimally oriented fault planes and the fault friction factor. The results are useful for determining the origin of seismic activity in the basin and better assessing fault-associated seismic hazards in the area.

ACS Style

Ali Yaghoubi; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice Dusseault; Yuri Leonenko. Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Ali Yaghoubi, SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice Dusseault, Yuri Leonenko. Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ali Yaghoubi; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice Dusseault; Yuri Leonenko. 2021. "Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 13 January 2021 in Applied Sciences
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Renewable and sustainable energy sources can play an important role in meeting the world’s energy needs and also in addressing environmental challenges such as global warming and climate change. Geothermal well-doublet systems can produce both electrical and thermal energy through extracting heat from hot-water aquifers. In this paper, we examine some potential challenges associated with the operation of well-doublet systems, including heat conductivity, chemical, and mechanical issues. In these systems, geomechanics issues such as thermal short-circuiting and induced seismicity arise from temperature and pressure change impacts on the stress state in stiff rocks and fluid flow in fractured rock masses. Coupled chemical processes also can cause fluid channeling or formation and tubular goods plugging (scaling) with precipitates. Mechanical and chemical disequilibrium conditions lead to increased production uncertainties; hence risk, and therefore coupled geo-risk assessments and optimization analyses are needed for comparative commercialization evaluations among different sites. The challenges related to heat transfer processes are also examined. These studies can help better understand the issues that may arise during the operation of geothermal well-doublet systems and improve their effectiveness, subsequently reducing associated costs and risks.

ACS Style

Seyed Bijan Mahbaz; Ali Yaghoubi; Alireza Dehghani-Sanij; Erfan Sarvaramini; Yuri Leonenko; Maurice B. Dusseault. Well-Doublets: A First-Order Assessment of Geothermal SedHeat Systems. Applied Sciences 2021, 11, 697 .

AMA Style

Seyed Bijan Mahbaz, Ali Yaghoubi, Alireza Dehghani-Sanij, Erfan Sarvaramini, Yuri Leonenko, Maurice B. Dusseault. Well-Doublets: A First-Order Assessment of Geothermal SedHeat Systems. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11 (2):697.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Seyed Bijan Mahbaz; Ali Yaghoubi; Alireza Dehghani-Sanij; Erfan Sarvaramini; Yuri Leonenko; Maurice B. Dusseault. 2021. "Well-Doublets: A First-Order Assessment of Geothermal SedHeat Systems." Applied Sciences 11, no. 2: 697.

Research article
Published: 29 November 2020 in Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Despite holding a significant proportion of the known hydrocarbon reserves by the carbonates, enough studies have not been conducted to understand their geomechanical parameters and their predictability, especially in Iran. The present paper introduces a novel approach for obtaining geomechanical parameters of carbonate rocks through investigating the relationship between geomechanical parameters and Archie’s coefficients in one of the Iranian fractured carbonate reservoirs. The geomechanical parameters here included Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, and shear modulus, while Archie’s coefficients were the cementation factor and formation resistivity factor. For this purpose, 14 representative limestone core plugs were chosen and Archie’s coefficients were determined and the effect of increasing confining pressure on these parameters was investigated. Then, through numerical simulations using Particle Flow Code (PFC3D), the geomechanical parameters of the reservoir, including Young’s modulus (E), (dynamic and static), bulk and shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio were obtained. The numerical results were verified by the laboratory tests and wireline logs’ data and showed a satisfying matching. Finally, the empirical relations between geomechanical parameters and Archie’s coefficients were determined for the target reservoir. According to the obtained results, the average correlation between Young’s modulus and both the cementation factor and formation resistivity factor was about 95%, which is a satisfying accuracy. As expected, shear modulus and bulk modulus had a stronger relationship with E being respectively about 99% and 98%. Moreover, lab-measured porosity and Young’s modulus had a correlation coefficient of about 95%. The obtained results of the present study provide new insights into the simultaneous evolution of the reservoir’s mechanical and petrophysical characteristics.

ACS Style

Naser Golsanami; Elham Bakhshi; Weichao Yan; Huaimin Dong; Ehsan Barzgar; Guangchao Zhang; SeyedBijan Mahbaz. Relationships between the geomechanical parameters and Archie’s coefficients of fractured carbonate reservoirs: a new insight. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects 2020, 1 -25.

AMA Style

Naser Golsanami, Elham Bakhshi, Weichao Yan, Huaimin Dong, Ehsan Barzgar, Guangchao Zhang, SeyedBijan Mahbaz. Relationships between the geomechanical parameters and Archie’s coefficients of fractured carbonate reservoirs: a new insight. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects. 2020; ():1-25.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Naser Golsanami; Elham Bakhshi; Weichao Yan; Huaimin Dong; Ehsan Barzgar; Guangchao Zhang; SeyedBijan Mahbaz. 2020. "Relationships between the geomechanical parameters and Archie’s coefficients of fractured carbonate reservoirs: a new insight." Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects , no. : 1-25.

Article
Published: 22 September 2020
Reads 0
Downloads 0

This study focuses on determining the orientation and constraining the magnitude of the present-day stress in the Dezful Embayment in Iran's Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. Two datasets are used: the first includes petrophysical data from 25 wells (3 to 4 km), and the second contains 108 earthquake focal plane mechanisms mostly occurring in blind active basement faults (5 to 20 km). Formal stress inversion analysis of the focal plane mechanism demonstrates that the major basement faults are reverse faults with ( =2.0-2.2). The seismologically determined SHmax direction is 37{degree sign}{plus minus}10{degree sign}, nearly perpendicular to the strike of most faults in the region. However, borehole geomechanics analysis using rock strength and drilling evidence leads to the counterintuitive result that the shallow state of stress is a normal/strike-slip regime. These results are consistent with the low seismicity level in the sedimentary cover in the Dezful Embayment, and may be evidence of stress decoupling due to the existence of salt layers. This finding also aligns with the Mohr-Coulomb faulting theory in that the N-S strike-slip basement Kazerun fault has an unfavourable orientation for slip in a reverse fault regime with an average SW-NE SHmax orientation. The stress state situation in the field was used to identify the optimally oriented fault planes and the fault friction factor. The results are useful for determining the origin of seismic activity in the basin and better assessing fault-associated seismic hazards in the area.

ACS Style

Ali YaghoubiiD; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice Dusseault; Yuri Leonenko. Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Ali YaghoubiiD, SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice Dusseault, Yuri Leonenko. Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ali YaghoubiiD; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice Dusseault; Yuri Leonenko. 2020. "Seismicity and the State of Stress in the Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 26 July 2020 in Construction and Building Materials
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Steel reinforcement corrosion, the most significant cause for Reinforced Concrete (RC) structural failure, should be monitored to reduce human and financial risk. A novel passive-magnetic based Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) method has been developed to assist in quantifying steel reinforcement condition. In this study, the magnetic properties of six rebars with different mass loss percentages are experimentally recorded. Then, to ensure the method’s viability, reliability and utility, the magnetic data sets are subjected to different methods of statistical analysis, including T-testing, F-testing, and the calculation of Pearson’s correlation. As an example, statistical analysis results show that five scans are needed over the same path of every rebar to ensure a significance level of less than 5% and a power of greater than 90%. The recorded data sets are then interpreted using data-processing approaches based on three features: the power of the magnetic flux density's derivative; the dominant frequency analysis; and the standard deviation of the data. Among these three data-processing approaches, the method based on the standard deviation of the data is demonstrated to be the most reliable. As a result, good correspondence is observed between these magnetic data sets’ features and the rebars’ general corrosion state. For instance, a regression model with an R-squared value of 0.5 demonstrates that the average of standard deviations calculated for a magnetic data set decreases when corrosion increases.

ACS Style

Milad Mosharafi; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault. Statistical methods to assess the reliability of magnetic data recorded over steel corrosion sites. Construction and Building Materials 2020, 264, 120260 .

AMA Style

Milad Mosharafi, SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice B. Dusseault. Statistical methods to assess the reliability of magnetic data recorded over steel corrosion sites. Construction and Building Materials. 2020; 264 ():120260.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Milad Mosharafi; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault. 2020. "Statistical methods to assess the reliability of magnetic data recorded over steel corrosion sites." Construction and Building Materials 264, no. : 120260.

Journal article
Published: 24 October 2019 in Energies
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The cold, remote, northern regions of Canada constitute a challenging environment for the provision of reliable energy and food supply to communities. A transition from fossil fuels to renewables-based sources of energy is one positive step in reducing the greenhouse gases from the energy supply system, which currently requires long-distance transport of diesel for electricity and heating needs. Geothermal energy can not only displace diesel for part of this energy need, it can provide a base-load source of local energy to support food production and mitigate adverse impacts of food insecurity on communities. In this proof-of-concept study, we highlight some potential benefits of using geothermal energy to serve Canada’s northern communities. Specifically, we focus on food security and evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of producing vegetables in a “controlled environment”, using ground sources of heat for energy requirements at three remote locations—Resolute Bay, Nunavut, as well as Moosonee and Pagwa in Ontario. The system is designed for geothermal district heating combined with efficient use of nutrients, water, and heat to yield a diverse crop of vegetables at an average cost up to 50% lower than the current cost of these vegetables delivered to Resolute Bay. The estimates of thermal energy requirements vary by location (e.g., they are in the range of 41 to 44 kW of thermal energy for a single greenhouse in Resolute Bay). To attain adequate system size to support the operation of such greenhouses, it is expected that up to 15% of the annually recommended servings of vegetables can be provided. Our comparative analysis of geothermal system capital costs shows significantly lower capital costs in Southern Ontario compared to Northern Canada—lower by one-third. Notwithstanding high capital costs, our study demonstrates the technical and economic feasibility of producing vegetables cost-effectively in the cold northern climate. This suggests that geothermal energy systems can supply the heat needed for greenhouse applications in remote northern regions, supplying a reliable and robust source of cost-competitive sustainable energy over the long-term and providing a basis for improved food security and economic empowerment of communities.

ACS Style

Carson Kinney; Alireza Dehghani-Sanij; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault; Jatin S. Nathwani; Roydon A. Fraser; Dehghani- Sanij. Geothermal Energy for Sustainable Food Production in Canada’s Remote Northern Communities. Energies 2019, 12, 4058 .

AMA Style

Carson Kinney, Alireza Dehghani-Sanij, SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice B. Dusseault, Jatin S. Nathwani, Roydon A. Fraser, Dehghani- Sanij. Geothermal Energy for Sustainable Food Production in Canada’s Remote Northern Communities. Energies. 2019; 12 (21):4058.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Carson Kinney; Alireza Dehghani-Sanij; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault; Jatin S. Nathwani; Roydon A. Fraser; Dehghani- Sanij. 2019. "Geothermal Energy for Sustainable Food Production in Canada’s Remote Northern Communities." Energies 12, no. 21: 4058.

Journal article
Published: 14 July 2018 in Applied Sciences
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Reinforced concrete is the most commonly used material in urban, road, and industrial structures. Quantifying the condition of the reinforcing steel can help manage the human and financial risks that arise from unexpected reinforced concrete structure functional failure. Also, a quantitative time history of reinforcing steel condition can be used to make decisions on rehabilitation, decommissioning, or replacement. The self-magnetic behavior of ferromagnetic materials is useful for quantitative condition assessment. In this study, a ferromagnetic rebar with artificial defects was scanned by a three-dimensional (3D) laser scanner. The obtained point cloud was imported as a real geometry to a finite element software platform; its self-magnetic behavior was then simulated under the influence of Earth’s magnetic field. The various passive magnetic parameters that can be measured were reviewed for different conditions. Statistical studies showed that 0.76% of the simulation-obtained data of the rebar surface was related to the defect locations. Additionally, acceptable coincidences were confirmed between the magnetic properties from numerical simulation and from experimental outputs, most noticeably at hole locations.

ACS Style

Milad Mosharafi; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault. Simulation of Real Defect Geometry and Its Detection Using Passive Magnetic Inspection (PMI) Method. Applied Sciences 2018, 8, 1147 .

AMA Style

Milad Mosharafi, SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice B. Dusseault. Simulation of Real Defect Geometry and Its Detection Using Passive Magnetic Inspection (PMI) Method. Applied Sciences. 2018; 8 (7):1147.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Milad Mosharafi; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault. 2018. "Simulation of Real Defect Geometry and Its Detection Using Passive Magnetic Inspection (PMI) Method." Applied Sciences 8, no. 7: 1147.

Journal article
Published: 30 April 2018 in Energies
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Passive cooling systems, such as wind towers, can help to reduce energy consumption in buildings and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Wind towers can naturally ventilate buildings and also can create enhanced thermal comfort for occupants during the warm months. This study proposes a modern wind tower design with a moistened pad. The new design includes a fixed column, a rotating and movable head, an air opening with a screen, and two windows at the end of the column. The wind tower can be installed on roof-tops to take advantage of ambient airflow. The wind tower’s head can be controlled manually or automatically to capture optimum wind velocity based on desired thermal condition. To maximize its performance, a small pump was considered to circulate and spray water on an evaporative cooling pad. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of airflow around and inside the proposed wind tower is conducted to analyze the ventilation performance of this new design of wind tower. Thereby, the velocity, total pressure, and pressure coefficient distributions around and within the wind tower for different wind velocities are examined. The simulation results illustrate that the new wind tower design with a moistened pad can be a reasonable solution to improve naturally the thermal comfort of buildings in hot and dry climates.

ACS Style

Madjid Soltani; Alireza Dehghani-Sanij; Ahmad Sayadnia; Farshad M. Kashkooli; Kobra Gharali; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault. Investigation of Airflow Patterns in a New Design of Wind Tower with a Wetted Surface. Energies 2018, 11, 1100 .

AMA Style

Madjid Soltani, Alireza Dehghani-Sanij, Ahmad Sayadnia, Farshad M. Kashkooli, Kobra Gharali, SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice B. Dusseault. Investigation of Airflow Patterns in a New Design of Wind Tower with a Wetted Surface. Energies. 2018; 11 (5):1100.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Madjid Soltani; Alireza Dehghani-Sanij; Ahmad Sayadnia; Farshad M. Kashkooli; Kobra Gharali; SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault. 2018. "Investigation of Airflow Patterns in a New Design of Wind Tower with a Wetted Surface." Energies 11, no. 5: 1100.

Journal article
Published: 01 June 2017 in Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Defects in steel reinforcement are critical factors in the evaluation of the service life of reinforced concrete (RC). Steel reinforcement (bar) defects or deterioration may lead to crack propagation and strength decrease in RC structural members. Deterioration also changes the steel magnetic properties; the evaluation of these changes can be investigated by an indirect passive and non-invasive method to locate and quantify defect in RC structures. Herein, a passive magnetic inspection (PMI) method is modified and used to examine its potential as a non-destructive testing (NDT) method for condition assessment of steel reinforcement. The passive magnetic flux density of steel bar with three small holes in three different positions and locations along the bar is measured in the laboratory. A signal processing methodology based on frequency spectrum analysis and filtering is applied to the experimental data, and the results are compared with the numerical simulation. The processed data from the experimental test shows the potential of PMI method to detect, locate and evaluate bar condition. Both experimental results (after signal processing) and simulation results show a good similarity for top and bottom holes. Cross-correlation of numerical simulation with experimental data was necessary to reveal detection of the side hole.

ACS Style

SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault; Giovanni Cascante; Philippe Vanheeghe. Detecting Defects in Steel Reinforcement Using the Passive Magnetic Inspection Method. Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics 2017, 22, 153 -166.

AMA Style

SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice B. Dusseault, Giovanni Cascante, Philippe Vanheeghe. Detecting Defects in Steel Reinforcement Using the Passive Magnetic Inspection Method. Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics. 2017; 22 (2):153-166.

Chicago/Turabian Style

SeyedBijan Mahbaz; Maurice B. Dusseault; Giovanni Cascante; Philippe Vanheeghe. 2017. "Detecting Defects in Steel Reinforcement Using the Passive Magnetic Inspection Method." Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics 22, no. 2: 153-166.