Patents by Inventor PETER WILLIAM BRYANT

PETER WILLIAM BRYANT has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11235320
    Abstract: A system for manipulating electric fields within a microscopic fluid channel includes a fluid channel with an inlet and an outlet to support fluid flow, at least one controllable electric field producer that applies a non-uniform and adjustable electric field to one or more regions of the fluid channel, one or more sensors that measure one or more parameters of a fluid flowing through the fluid channel, and a controller with hardware and software components that receives signals from the one or more sensors representative of values of the one or more parameters and, based on the parameter values, drives one or more actuators to adjust the electric field produced by the plurality of electric field producers. A complex fluid including at least two components flows through the fluid channel, where at least one of the at least two components comprises particles controllable by the non-uniform and adjustable electric field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jaione Tirapu Azpiroz, Peter William Bryant, Ronaldo Giro, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ricardo Luis Ohta
  • Patent number: 11080440
    Abstract: An apparatus to perform tests on fluid flow and configured to operate at field conditions includes one or more vessels and one or more sets of fluid injecting devices corresponding to respective ones of the one or more vessels. Each set of fluid injecting devices includes one or more fluid injecting devices each configured to inject a respective fluid through its respective vessel. The apparatus further includes one or more measurement devices operatively coupled to respective ones of the one or more vessels and configured to measure data associated with fluid flow of the one or more fluids injected into its respective vessel. The measured data comprises one or more of pressure gradient data and flow rate data. The apparatus is in communication with at least one processor configured to calculate a model based on the measured data. In calculating the model, the at least one processor is configured to infer one or more parameters for the model from the measured data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Peter William Bryant, William Fernando Lopez Candela, Michael Engel, Mathias Steiner
  • Patent number: 11052391
    Abstract: A microfluidic device, including a controllable shape-changing micropillar where a shape of the shape-changing micropillar is changed by a fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jaione Tirapu Azpiroz, Peter William Bryant, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ronaldo Giro, Ricardo Luis Ohta
  • Patent number: 10691846
    Abstract: A method is provided including receiving data corresponding to a three-dimensional physical representation of a porous rock sample; calculating a low-dimensional representation of a pore network in the porous rock sample based on the three-dimensional physical representation; extracting one or more geometrical parameter from the low-dimension representation; generating a capillary network model of the porous rock sample based at least on the at least one geometrical parameter for simulating fluid flow inside the porous rock sample; and performing at least one simulation of a flow of the fluid through the capillary network model of the porous rock sample with a fluid additive to provide a predicted enhanced fluid recovery efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Peter William Bryant, William Fernando Lopez Candela, Alexandre Ashade Lassance Cunha, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Mathias B Steiner
  • Patent number: 10648292
    Abstract: A method is provided including calculating a first property vector indicative of physical properties derived from a digital image of a first rock sample; determining a set of one or more similar rock samples by calculating a value indicating a similarity between the first rock sample and second rock samples based on the first property vector and second property vectors associated with the second rock samples; selecting a list of fluid additives based on existing enhanced fluid recovery efficiency values associated with the similar rock samples; performing, for each of the fluid additives, a simulation of a flow of fluid through a digital model of the first rock to determine a simulated enhanced fluid recovery efficiency value for the respective fluid additives; and outputting an optimal fluid additive for the first rock sample based at least in part on the calculated similarity values and simulated enhanced fluid recovery efficiency values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Peter William Bryant, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ronaldo Giro, Mathias B Steiner
  • Publication number: 20190210024
    Abstract: A microfluidic device, including a controllable shape-changing micropillar where a shape of the shape-changing micropillar is changed by a fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2019
    Publication date: July 11, 2019
    Inventors: Jaione Tirapu Azpiroz, Peter William Bryant, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ronaldo Giro, Ricardo Luis Ohta
  • Patent number: 10343162
    Abstract: A microfluidic device, including a matrix array of controllable shape-changing micropillars where a shape of the shape-changing micropillars is changed by a fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jaione Tirapu Azpiroz, Peter William Bryant, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ronaldo Giro, Ricardo Luis Ohta
  • Publication number: 20180373821
    Abstract: An apparatus to perform tests on fluid flow and configured to operate at field conditions includes one or more vessels and one or more sets of fluid injecting devices corresponding to respective ones of the one or more vessels. Each set of fluid injecting devices includes one or more fluid injecting devices each configured to inject a respective fluid through its respective vessel. The apparatus further includes one or more measurement devices operatively coupled to respective ones of the one or more vessels and configured to measure data associated with fluid flow of the one or more fluids injected into its respective vessel. The measured data comprises one or more of pressure gradient data and flow rate data. The apparatus is in communication with at least one processor configured to calculate a model based on the measured data. In calculating the model, the at least one processor is configured to infer one or more parameters for the model from the measured data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2017
    Publication date: December 27, 2018
    Inventors: Peter William Bryant, William Fernando Lopez Candela, Michael Engel, Mathias Steiner
  • Publication number: 20180257074
    Abstract: A microfluidic device, including a matrix array of controllable shape-changing micropillars where a shape of the shape-changing micropillars is changed by a fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Inventors: Jaione Tirapu Azpiroz, Peter William Bryant, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ronaldo Giro, Ricardo Luis Ohta
  • Patent number: 10071375
    Abstract: A microfluidic device, including a substrate including a microchannel, an activation setup disposed in the microchannel, and a matrix array of controllable shape-changing micropillars connected to the activation setup. A shape of the controllable shape-changing micropillars changes based on an activation of the activation setup.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jaione Tirapu Azpiroz, Peter William Bryant, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ronaldo Giro, Ricardo Luis Ohta
  • Publication number: 20180253514
    Abstract: A method is provided including receiving data corresponding to a three-dimensional physical representation of a porous rock sample; calculating a low-dimensional representation of a pore network in the porous rock sample based on the three-dimensional physical representation; extracting one or more geometrical parameter from the low-dimension representation; generating a capillary network model of the porous rock sample based at least on the at least one geometrical parameter for simulating fluid flow inside the porous rock sample; and performing at least one simulation of a flow of the fluid through the capillary network model of the porous rock sample with a fluid additive to provide a predicted enhanced fluid recovery efficiency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2017
    Publication date: September 6, 2018
    Inventors: Peter William Bryant, William Fernando Lopez Candela, Alexandre Ashade Lassance Cunha, Rodrigo Neuman Barros Ferreira, Mathias B. Steiner
  • Publication number: 20180252076
    Abstract: A method is provided including calculating a first property vector indicative of physical properties derived from a digital image of a first rock sample; determining a set of one or more similar rock samples by calculating a value indicating a similarity between the first rock sample and second rock samples based on the first property vector and second property vectors associated with the second rock samples; selecting a list of fluid additives based on existing enhanced fluid recovery efficiency values associated with the similar rock samples; performing, for each of the fluid additives, a simulation of a flow of fluid through a digital model of the first rock to determine a simulated enhanced fluid recovery efficiency value for the respective fluid additives; and outputting an optimal fluid additive for the first rock sample based at least in part on the calculated similarity values and simulated enhanced fluid recovery efficiency values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2017
    Publication date: September 6, 2018
    Inventors: Peter William Bryant, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ronaldo Giro, Mathias B. Steiner
  • Publication number: 20180085755
    Abstract: A microfluidic device, including a substrate including a microchannel, an activation setup disposed in the microchannel, and a matrix array of controllable shape-changing micropillars connected to the activation setup. A shape of the controllable shape-changing micropillars changes based on an activation of the activation setup.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2016
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventors: Jaione Tirapu Azpiroz, Peter William Bryant, Rodrigo Neumann Barros Ferreira, Ronaldo Giro, Ricardo Luis Ohta
  • Publication number: 20170102016
    Abstract: A system for manipulating electric fields within a microscopic fluid channel includes a fluid channel with an inlet and an outlet to support fluid flow, at least one controllable electric field producer that applies a non-uniform and adjustable electric field to one or more regions of the fluid channel, one or more sensors that measure one or more parameters of a fluid flowing through the fluid channel, and a controller with hardware and software components that receives signals from the one or more sensors representative of values of the one or more parameters and, based on the parameter values, drives one or more actuators to adjust the electric field produced by the plurality of electric field producers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Publication date: April 13, 2017
    Inventors: JAIONE TIRAPU AZPIROZ, PETER WILLIAM BRYANT, RONALDO GIRO, RODRIGO NEUMANN BARROS FERREIRA, RICARDOS LUIS OHTA