Modeling and petrophysical properties of digital rock models with various pore structure types: An improved workflow

Pore structure is a crucial factor affecting the physical properties of porous materials,and understanding the mechanisms and laws of these effects is of great significance in the fields of geosciences and petroleum engineering.However,it remains a challenge to accurately understand and quantify the relationship between pore structures and effective properties.This paper improves a workflow to focus on investigating the effect of pore structure on physical properties.First,a hybrid modeling approach combining process-based and morphology-based methods is proposed to reconstruct 3D models with diverse pore structure types.Then,the characteristics and differences in pore structure in these models are compared.Finally,the varia-tion laws and pore-scale mechanisms of the influence of pore structure on physical properties(permeability and elasticity)are discussed based on the reconstructed models.The relationship models between pore structure parameters and perme-ability/elastic parameters in the grain packing model are established.The effect of pore structure evolution on permeability/elasticity and the microscopic mechanism in three types of morphology-based reconstruction models are explored.The influence degree of pore structure on elastic parameters(bulk modulus,shear modulus,P-wave velocity,and S-wave veloc-ity)is quantified,reaching 29.54%,51.40%,18.94%,and 23.18%,respectively.This work forms a workflow for exploring the relationship between pore structures and petrophysical properties at the microscopic scale,providing more ideas and references for understanding the complex physical properties in porous media.

Three-dimensional modeling and porosity calculation of coal rock pore structure

Coal rock is a type of dual-porosity medium,which is composed of matrix pores and fracture-cutting matrix.They play different roles in the seepage and storage capacity of coal rock.Therefore,constructing the micropore structure of coal rock is very important in the exploration and development of coalbed methane.In this study,we use a coal rock digital core and three-dimensional modeling to study the pore structure of coal rock.First,the micropore structure of coal rock is quantitatively analyzed using a two-dimensional thin-section image,and the quantitative information of the pore and fracture(cleat)structure in the coal rock is extracted.The mean value and standard deviation of the face porosity and pore radius are obtained using statistical analysis.The number of pores is determined using dichotomy and spherical random-packing methods based on compression.By combining with the results of the petrophysical analysis,the single-porosity structure model of the coal rock is obtained using a nonequal-diameter sphere to represent the pores of the coal rock.Then,an ellipsoid with an aspect ratio that is very much lesser than one is used to represent the fracture(cleat)in the coal rock,and a dual-pore structure model of the coal rock is obtained.On this basis,the relationship between the different pore aspect ratios and porosity is explored,and a fitting relationship is obtained.The results show that a nonlinear relationship exists between them.The relationship model can provide a basis for the prediction of coal rock pore structure and the pore structure parameters and provide a reference for understanding the internal structure of coalbed methane reservoirs.