Effects of changes in rock microstructures on permeability: 3‐D printing investigation. Issue 14 (26th July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Head, D.; Vanorio, T.
• Is Part Of: Geophysical research letters. Volume 43:Issue 14(2016)
• Page Start: 7494
• Page End: 7502
• Publication Date: 2016-07-26
• Subjects: rock properties -- porosity -- permeability -- carbonate rocks; Geophysics -- Periodicals; Planets -- Periodicals; Lunar geology -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1002/2016GL069334
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8276

Abstract

Abstract: Rocks are naturally heterogeneous; two rock samples with identical bulk properties can vary widely in microstructure. Understanding how the microstructure and bulk properties of rocks then evolve during experiments and computations simulating diagenesis is inherently a multiscale problem. The advent of modern 3‐D printing has provided an unprecedented opportunity to link those scales by combining the strengths of digital and experimental rock physics. In this study, we take a computerized tomography‐scanned model of a natural carbonate pore space then iteratively digitally manipulate, 3‐D print, and measure the flow properties in the laboratory. This approach allows us to access multiple scales digitally and experimentally and test hypotheses about how changes in rock microstructure due to compaction and dissolution affect bulk transport properties in a repeatable manner. Key Points: Understanding rock property trends depends on linking properties from pore to core to outcrop scales We explore the capability of modern 3‐D printers to replicate a natural and manipulated pore geometry We demonstrate that 3‐D printing has potential to elucidate the link between pore structure and core transport properties