Structural characterization and numerical simulations of flow properties of standard and reservoir carbonate rocks using micro-tomography

Abstract With advances in imaging techniques and computational power, Digital Rock Physics (DRP) is becoming an increasingly popular tool to characterize reservoir samples and determine their internal structure and flow properties. In this work, we present the details for imaging, segmentation, as well as numerical simulation of single-phase flow through a standard homogenous Silurian dolomite core plug sample as well as a heterogeneous sample from a carbonate reservoir. We develop a procedure that integrates experimental results into the segmentation step to calibrate the porosity. We also look into using two different numerical tools for the simulation; namely Avizo Fire Xlab Hydro that solves the Stokes' equations via the finite volume method and Palabos that solves the same equations using the Lattice Boltzmann Method. Representative Elementary Volume (REV) and isotropy studies are conducted on the two samples and we show how DRP can be a useful tool to characterize rock properties that are time consuming and costly to obtain experimentally.

[1]  Cyrus K. Aidun,et al.  Lattice-Boltzmann Method for Complex Flows , 2010 .

[2]  P. Gouze,et al.  Multi-scale X-ray tomography analysis of carbonate porosity , 2014 .

[3]  Grunde Løvoll,et al.  Competition of gravity, capillary and viscous forces during drainage in a two-dimensional porous medium, a pore scale study , 2005 .

[4]  S. M. Hassanizadeh,et al.  Simulating drainage and imbibition experiments in a high‐porosity micromodel using an unstructured pore network model , 2009 .

[5]  J. Sheng.  Enhanced Oil Recovery Field Case Studies , 2013 .

[6]  Joanne T. Fredrich,et al.  Predicting macroscopic transport properties using microscopic image data , 2005 .

[7]  Riyadh I. Al-Raoush,et al.  Representative elementary volume analysis of porous media using X-ray computed tomography , 2010 .

[8]  Mohammad Piri,et al.  The representative sample size in shale oil rocks and nano-scale characterization of transport properties , 2015 .

[9]  M. Enamul Hossain,et al.  Modified Kozeny–Carmen correlation for enhanced hydraulic flow unit characterization , 2011 .

[10]  Pierre M. Adler,et al.  Flow in simulated porous media , 1990 .

[11]  Alex Hansen,et al.  A Two-Dimensional Network Simulator for Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media , 1997 .

[12]  Tapan Mukerji,et al.  Digital rock physics benchmarks - part II: Computing effective properties , 2013, Comput. Geosci..

[13]  S. Torquato,et al.  Reconstructing random media , 1998 .

[14]  R. Hilfer,et al.  Quantitative analysis of experimental and synthetic microstructures for sedimentary rock , 1999, cond-mat/9908478.

[15]  Nicos Martys,et al.  Virtual permeametry on microtomographic images , 2004 .

[16]  Christoph H. Arns,et al.  Pore Scale Characterization of Carbonates Using X-Ray Microtomography , 2005 .

[17]  Tapan Mukerji,et al.  Digital rock physics benchmarks - Part I: Imaging and segmentation , 2013, Comput. Geosci..

[18]  Michael C. Sukop,et al.  Lattice Boltzmann Modeling: An Introduction for Geoscientists and Engineers , 2005 .

[19]  Stig Bakke,et al.  Extending Predictive Capabilities to Network Models , 1998 .

[20]  J. Thovert,et al.  Reconstructed porous media and their application to fluid flow and solute transport , 1993 .

[21]  M. Tuller,et al.  Segmentation of X‐ray computed tomography images of porous materials: A crucial step for characterization and quantitative analysis of pore structures , 2009 .

[22]  Karsten E. Thompson,et al.  Effects of image resolution and numerical resolution on computed permeability of consolidated packing using LB and FEM pore-scale simulations , 2013 .

[23]  Sam L. Butler,et al.  Numerical modeling of fluid and electrical currents through geometries based on synchrotron X-ray tomographic images of reservoir rocks using Avizo and COMSOL , 2014, Comput. Geosci..

[24]  R. Hazlett.  Statistical characterization and stochastic modeling of pore networks in relation to fluid flow , 1997 .

[25]  Klaus Regenauer-Lieb,et al.  From characterisation of pore-structures to simulations of pore-scale fluid flow and the upscaling of permeability using microtomography: A case study of heterogeneous carbonates , 2014 .

[26]  J. Bear.  Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media , 1975 .

[27]  Nicos Martys,et al.  Transport in sandstone: A study based on three dimensional microtomography , 1996 .

[28]  P. Carman.  Fluid flow through granular beds , 1997 .

[29]  Riyadh Al-Raoush,et al.  Change in Microstructure Parameters of Porous Media Over Representative Elementary Volume for Porosity , 2012 .

[30]  Liang Hao,et al.  Lattice Boltzmann simulations of anisotropic permeabilities in carbon paper gas diffusion layers , 2009 .

[31]  Erik H. Saenger,et al.  Digital rock physics: numerical prediction of pressure-dependent ultrasonic velocities using micro-CT imaging , 2012 .

[32]  Karthik K. Bodla,et al.  3D reconstruction and design of porous media from thin sections , 2014 .

[33]  P. Bhatnagar,et al.  A Model for Collision Processes in Gases. I. Small Amplitude Processes in Charged and Neutral One-Component Systems , 1954 .

[34]  Florian Fusseis,et al.  A brief guide to synchrotron radiation-based microtomography in (structural) geology and rock mechanics , 2014 .

[35]  D. d'Humières,et al.  Multiple–relaxation–time lattice Boltzmann models in three dimensions , 2002, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.