High accuracy capillary network representation in digital rock reveals permeability scaling functions.

ABSTRACT: Permeability is the key parameter for quantifying fluid flow in porous rocks. Knowledge of the spatial distribution of the connected pore space allows, in principle, to predict the permeability of a rock sample. However, limitations in feature resolution and approximations at microscopic scales have so far precluded systematic upscaling of permeability predictions. Here, we report fluid flow simulations in pore-scale network representations designed to overcome such limitations. We present a novel capillary network representation with an enhanced level of spatial detail at microscale. We find that the network-based flow simulations predict experimental permeabilities measured at lab scale in the same rock sample without the need for calibration or correction. By applying the method to a b

SUBMITTER: Neumann RF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8206086 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature