CONSTRAINING FLOW PROPERTIES OF SANDSTONES AND DOLOSTONES THROUGH X -RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
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2019-09-21
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Water-rock interactions in porous underground formations can impact the effectiveness of energy technologies ranging from natural gas extraction to geologic CO2 storage and geothermal energy production. Numerical simulators known as Reactive Transport Models (RTMs) have been developed to predict the effects of these interactions on the flow and transport properties of subsurface energy reservoirs, but these models have been historically plagued by the inability to quantify the pore scale properties, such as porosity, mineral surface area, and permeability, that impact the evolution of reservoir-scale flow and transport properties during energy extraction operations. In this PURE summer research project, I will use previously-acquired, three-dimensional, high-resolution X–ray Computed Tomography (XRCT) images from the Advanced Photon Source (Chicago, USA) to constrain the pore-scale flow properties of a suite of sedimentary rock samples, including sandstones and dolostones. The 3D image data will be analyzed using the recently-acquired Pergeos software package and accompanying high-performance Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)-outfitted workstation in the RTG laboratory to determine and constrain porosity, permeability, and mineral surface areas in the sedimentary rock samples. This novel, important data set will provide inputs to pore-scale RTMs of the samples, which will, in turn, permit the effective prediction of the evolution of pore-scale flow properties of these important rock types.
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Mitchell, N. (2019). CONSTRAINING FLOW PROPERTIES OF SANDSTONES AND DOLOSTONES THROUGH X -RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY. Final report and reflection. Program for Undergaduate Research Experience (PURE), University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. 1-7.