Developments in Synchrotron X-Ray Microtomography with Applications to Flow in Porous Media
Authors: Coles M.E. , Hazlett R.D. , Muegge E.L. , Jones K.W. , Andrews B. , Dowd B. , Siddons P. , Peskin A. , Spanne P. , Soll W.E. 
Published: December 2007

M.E. Coles, SPE, R.D. Hazlett, and E.L. Muegge, Mobil E& P Technical Center, K.W. Jones, B. Andrews, B. Dowd, P. Siddons, and A. Peskin, Brookhaven National Laboratory, P. Spanne, European Synchrotron Facility, W.E. Soll, Los Alamos National Laboratory

High resolution computed microtomography (CMT) using synchrotron X-ray sources provides the ability to obtain three-dimensional images of specimens with a spatial resolution on the order of micrometers. Microimaging capabilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory's National Synchrotron Light Source have been enhanced to provide larger and higher resolution 3-D renderings of pore networks in reservoir rocks at a fraction of the time required in previous first generation scanning methods. Such data are used to model single and multiphase flow properties in digital images of real porous media. Pore networks are analyzed for tortuosity and connectivity measures, which have been elusive parameters in transport property models. We present examples of porosimetry simulation via network modeling to produce initial water saturation and residual oil distributions in a water-wet pore system. Furthermore, pore networks can provide the boundary condition framework for more rigorous simulations of displacement, such as in the lattice Boltzmann simulated waterflood example provided. Direct comparison between simulation and experiment is also possible. CMT images of a 6 mm subsection of a one inch diameter reservoir core sample were obtained prior and subsequent to flooding to residual oil. The fluid distributions from CMT, lattice Boltzmann waterflood simulation, and percolation-based network modeling were found to be highly correlated. Advances in 3-D visualization, implemented in Brookhaven National Laboratory's 3-D theater, will allow even greater digestion and interpretation of phenomena dependent upon pore interconnectivity and multipore interactions.

Introduction

Computed Microtomography (CMT) has been available at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory for many years. First generation scanning methods gave high resolution images of geological and biological samples approaching 1 m resolution. First generation scanning provided necessary detail in moderate to high permeability porous media samples for transport property modeling with computational fluid dynamics methods. The time requirements of first generation methods limited the number of samples which could be investigated and restricted the potential of in-situ experimental monitoring. Implementation of array detection technology enables acquisition of larger 3-D volumes at a fraction of the time required in first generation scanning. Initial implementation, however, was limited by the resolution of fluorescing elements of the detector material, on the order of 10 m rather than 1 m. With the introduction of expansion optics, images of 2.7 m resolution have been obtained containing in the neighborhood of 3x 107 voxels. Improvements in data acquisition, transmission, and reconstruction have reduced the time requirements to produce such a volume to a few hours. Herein we document the status of CMT at the NSLS and display a variety of applications using both first generation and state-of-the-art image data on reservoir rock samples.

Advances in Imaging

A schematic of the CMT apparatus is provided as Figure 1, X-ray CMT produces a cross-sectional map, or slice, of linear x-ray attenuation coefficients inside a small sample. To obtain the data for a reconstructed slice, the x-rays transmitted through a single slice of the sample are recorded on a linear array of detectors. The sample is rotated, with the axis of rotation perpendicular to the plane of the incident beam, by a discrete angular interval determined by the linear resolution desired. The transmission of each ray through the sample, along a line from the source to the detector is recorded; this represents a line integral of the attenuation coefficients along this ray. The procedure is repeated for each angular view until the sample has been rotated by 180 in the x-ray beam. P. 413