Digital rock physics (DRP) is used to estimate physical properties of rocks by means of digital models. Conventional digital rock physics requires very high resolution images, as grains and pores need to be well resolved in order to assign each voxel the properties of an endmember. Using the targeted method, which does not require segmentation, voxels that capture a mixture of pore and grain are assigned the properties of the mixture by means of an effective medium theory. The targeted method, therefore, does not require resolving individual grain boundaries, and lower resolution scanning is possible. Here we show the results of segmentation-less DRP where four Berea sandstone samples were scanned with a resolution at 40 microns per voxel, and two of the samples were also scanned at 60 and 80 microns per voxel. Density, porosity and elastic properties were estimated for each scan, then compared to laboratory measurements. At a first order, the rocks scanned at multiple resolutions show no obvious effect on property estimation compared to laboratory measurements. The low resolution scans were computationally efficient, and accuracy was not compromised. This abstract provides further validation of the targeted DRP methodology.
Presentation Date: Thursday, October 18, 2018
Start Time: 8:30:00 AM
Location: 202A (Anaheim Convention Center)
Presentation Type: Oral
