In the middle of the 20th century, Genrich Altshuller, a Russian engineer, analysed hundreds of thousands of patents and scientific publications. From this analysis, he developed TRIZ (G. Altshuller, "40 Principles: TRIZ Keys to Technical Innovation. TRIZ Tools," Volume 1, First Edition, Technical Innovation Center, Inc. , Worcester, MA, January 1998; Y. Salamatov, "TRIZ: The Right Solution at the Right Time. A Guide to Innovative Problem Solving. " Insytec B. V. , 1999), the theory of inventive problem solving, together with a series of practical tools for helping engineers solving technical problems. Among these tools and theories, the substance-field theory gives a structured way of representing problems, the patterns of evolution show the lifecycle of technical systems, the contradiction matrix tells you how to resolve technical contradictions, using the forty principles that describe common ways of improving technical systems. For example, if you want to increase the strength of a device, without adding too much extra weight to it, the contradiction matrix tells you that you can use "Principle 1: Segmentation," or "Principle 8: Counterweight," or "Principle 15: Dynamicity," or "Principle 40: Composite Materials. " I really like two particular ones: "Principle 1: Segmentation," and Principle 15: Dynamicity. " "Segmentation" shows how systems evolve from an initial monolithic form into a set of independent parts, then eventually increasing the number of parts until each part becomes small enough that it cannot be identified anymore.

This comprehensive book highlights soft computing and geostatistics applications in hydrocarbon exploration and production, combining practical and theoretical aspects.It spans a wide spectrum of applications in the oil industry, crossing many discipline boundaries such as geophysics, geology, petrophysics and reservoir engineering. It is complemented by several tutorial chapters on fuzzy logic, neural networks and genetic algorithms and geostatistics to introduce these concepts to the uninitiated. The application areas include prediction of reservoir properties (porosity, sand thickness, lithology, fluid), seismic processing, seismic and bio stratigraphy, time lapse seismic and core analysis.There is a good balance between introducing soft computing and geostatistics methodologies that are not routinely used in the petroleum industry and various applications areas. The book can be used by many practitioners such as processing geophysicists, seismic interpreters, geologists, reservoir engineers, petrophysicist, geostatistians, asset mangers and technology application professionals. It will also be of interest to academics to assess the importance of, and contribute to, R&D efforts in relevant areas.

During last decade significant progress has been made in the oil indus try by using soft computing technology. Underlying this evolving technology there have, been ideas transforming the very language we use to describe problems with imprecision, uncertainty and partial truth. These developments offer exciting opportunities, but at the same time it is becoming clearer that further advancements are confronted by funda mental problems. The whole idea of how human process information lies at the core of the challenge. There are already new ways of thinking about the problems within theory of perception-based information. This theory aims to understand and harness the laws of human perceptions to dramatically im prove the processing of information. A matured theory of perception-based information is likely to be proper positioned to contribute to the solution of the problems and provide all the ingredients for a revolution in science, technology and business. In this context, Berkeley Initiative in Soft Computing (BISC), Univer sity of California, Berkeley from one side and Chevron-Texaco from another formed a Technical Committee to organize a Meeting entitled "State of the Art Assessment and New Directions for Research" to understand the signifi cance of the fields accomplishments, new developments and future directions. The Technical Committee selected and invited 15 scientists (and oil indus try experts as technical committee members) from the related disciplines to participate in the Meeting, which took place at the University of California, Berkeley, and March 15-17, 2002.

Textiles and computing have long been associated. High volume and low profit margins of textile products have driven the industry to invest in high technology, particularly in the area of data interpretation and analysis. Thus, it is virtually inevitable that soft computing has found a home in the textile industry. Contained in this volume are six chapters discussing various aspects of soft computing in the field of textiles and apparel.

Geometric properties and relations play central roles in the description and processing of spatial data. The properties and relations studied by mathematicians usually have precise definitions, but verbal descriptions often involve imprecisely defined concepts such as elongatedness or proximity. The methods used in soft computing provide a framework for formulating and manipulating such concepts. This volume contains eight papers on the soft definition and manipulation of spatial relations and gives a comprehensive summary on the subject.

RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION The second volume in the series, “Sustainable Energy Engineering,” written by some of the foremost authorities in the world on reservoir engineering, this groundbreaking new volume presents the most comprehensive and updated new processes, equipment, and practical applications in the field. Long thought of as not being “sustainable,” newly discovered sources of petroleum and newly developed methods for petroleum extraction have made it clear that not only can the petroleum industry march toward sustainability, but it can be made “greener” and more environmentally friendly. Sustainable energy engineering is where the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of energy production intersect and affect each other. This collection of papers covers the strategic and economic implications of methods used to characterize petroleum reservoirs. Born out of the journal by the same name, formerly published by Scrivener Publishing, most of the articles in this volume have been updated, and there are some new additions, as well, to keep the engineer abreast of any updates and new methods in the industry. Truly a snapshot of the state of the art, this groundbreaking volume is a must-have for any petroleum engineer working in the field, environmental engineers, petroleum engineering students, and any other engineer or scientist working with reservoirs. This outstanding new volume: Is a collection of papers on reservoir characterization written by world-renowned engineers and scientists and presents them here, in one volume Contains in-depth coverage of not just the fundamentals of reservoir characterization, but the anomalies and challenges, set in application-based, real-world situations Covers reservoir characterization for the engineer to be able to solve daily problems on the job, whether in the field or in the office Deconstructs myths that are prevalent and deeply rooted in the industry and reconstructs logical solutions Is a valuable resource for the veteran engineer, new hire, or petroleum engineering student

This book provides a practical guide to applying soft-computing methods to interpret geophysical data. It discusses the design of neural networks with Matlab for geophysical data, as well as fuzzy logic and neuro-fuzzy concepts and their applications. In addition, it describes genetic algorithms for the automatic and/or intelligent processing and interpretation of geophysical data.