Quantitatively characterizing sandy soil structure altered by MICP using multi-level thresholding segmentation algorithm

The influences of biological,chemical,and flow processes on soil structure through microbially induced carbonate precipitation(MICP)are not yet fully understood.In this study,we use a multi-level thresholding segmentation algorithm,genetic algorithm(GA)enhanced Kapur entropy(KE)(GAE-KE),to accomplish quantitative characterization of sandy soil structure altered by MICP cementation.A sandy soil sample was treated using MICP method and scanned by the synchrotron radiation(SR)micro-CT with a resolution of 6.5 mm.After validation,tri-level thresholding segmentation using GAE-KE successfully separated the precipitated calcium carbonate crystals from sand particles and pores.The spatial distributions of porosity,pore structure parameters,and flow characteristics were calculated for quantitative characterization.The results offer pore-scale insights into the MICP treatment effect,and the quantitative understanding confirms the feasibility of the GAE-KE multi-level thresholding segmentation algorithm.

Pore structure and oxygen content design of amorphous carbon toward a durable anode for potassium/sodium-ion batteries

Both sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)and potassium-ion batteries(PIBs)are considered as promising candidates in grid-level energy storage devices.Unfortunately,the larger ionic radii of K+and Na+induce poor diffusion kinetics and cycling stability of carbon anode materials.Pore structure regulation is an ideal strategy to promote the diffusion kinetics and cyclic stability of carbon materials by facilitating electrolyte infiltration,increasing the transport channels,and alleviating the volume change.However,traditional pore-forming agent-assisted methods considerably increase the difficulty of synthesis and limit practical applications of porous carbon materials.Herein,porous carbon materials(Ca-PC/Na-PC/K-PC)with different pore structures have been prepared with gluconates as the precursors,and the amorphous structure,abundant micropores,and oxygen-doping active sites endow the Ca-PC anode with excellent potassium and sodium storage performance.For PIBs,the capacitive contribution ratio of Ca-PC is 82%at 5.0 mV s^(-1) due to the introduction of micropores and high oxygen-doping content,while a high reversible capacity of 121.4 mAh g^(-1) can be reached at 5 A g^(-1) after 2000 cycles.For SIBs,stable sodium storage capacity of 101.4 mAh g^(-1) can be achieved at 2 A g^(-1) after 8000 cycles with a very low decay rate of 0.65%for per cycle.This work may provide an avenue for the application of porous carbon materials in the energy storage field.

Spatio-temporal evolution of pore and fracture structures in coal induced by initial damage and creep behavior:A real-time NMR-based approach

Understanding the impact of mining disturbances and creep deformation on the macroscopic deformation and the microscopic pore and fracture structures(MPFS)of coal is paramount for ensuring the secure extraction of coal resources.This study conducts cyclic loading-unloading and creep experiments on coal using a low-field nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)experimental apparatus which is equipped with mechanical loading units,enabling real-time monitoring the T2spectrum.The experiments indicated that cyclic loading-unloading stress paths initiate internal damage within coal samples.Under identical creep stress conditions,coal samples with more initial damages had more substantial instantaneous deformation and creep deformation during the creep process.After undergoing nearly 35 h of staged creep,the total strains for coal samples CC01,CC02,and CC03 reach 2.160%,2.261%,and 2.282%,respectively.In the creep stage,the peak area ratio of seepage pores and microfractures(SPM)gradually diminishes.A higher degree of initial damage leads to a more pronounced compaction trend in the SPM of coal samples.Considering the porosity evolution of SPM during the creep process,this study proposes a novel fractional derivative model for the porosity evolution of SPM.The efficacy of the proposed model in predicting porosity evolution of SPM is substantiated through experimental validation.Furthermore,an analysis of the impact mechanisms on key parameters in the model was carried out.

Influence of pore structure heterogeneity on channeling channels during hot water flooding in heavy oil reservoir based on CT scanning

Hot water flooding is an effective way to develop heavy oil reservoirs.However,local channeling channels may form,possibly leading to a low thermal utilization efficiency and high water cut in the reservoir.The pore structure heterogeneity is an important factor in forming these channels.This study proposes a method that mixes quartz sand with different particle sizes to prepare weakly heterogeneous and strongly heterogeneous models through which hot water flooding experiments are conducted.During the experiments,computer tomography(CT)scanning identifies the pore structure and micro remaining oil saturation distribution to analyze the influence of the pore structure heterogeneity on the channeling channels.The oil saturation reduction and average pore size are divided into three levels to quantitatively describe the relationship between the channeling channel distribution and pore structure heterogeneity.The zone where oil saturation reduction exceeds 20%is defined as a channeling channel.The scanning area is divided into 180 equally sized zones based on the CT scanning images,and threedimensional(3D)distributions of the channeling channels are developed.Four micro remaining oil distribution patterns are proposed,and the morphology characteristics of micro remaining oil inside and outside the channeling channels are analyzed.The results show that hot water flooding is more balanced in the weakly heterogeneous model,and the oil saturation decreases by more than 20%in most zones without narrow channeling channels forming.In the strongly heterogeneous model,hot water flooding is unbalanced,and three narrow channeling channels of different lengths form.In the weakly heterogeneous model,the oil saturation reduction is greater in zones with larger pores.The distribution range of the average pore size is larger in the strongly heterogeneous model.The network remaining oil inside the channeling channels is less than outside the channeling channels,and the hot water converts the network remaining oil into cluster,film,and droplet remaining oil.

Hydrodynamic resistance of pore–throat structures and its effect on shale oil apparent permeability

Oil transport is greatly affected by heterogeneous pore–throat structures present in shale.It is therefore very important to accurately characterize pore–throat structures.Additionally,it remains unclear how pore–throat structures affect oil transport capacity.In this paper,using finite element(FE)simulation and mathematical modeling,we calculated the hydrodynamic resistance for four pore–throat structure.In addition,the influence of pore throat structure on shale oil permeability is analyzed.According to the results,the hydrodynamic resistance of different pore throat structures can vary by 300%.The contribution of additional resistance caused by streamline bending is also in excess of 40%,even without slip length.Fur-thermore,Pore–throat structures can affect apparent permeability by more than 60%on the REV scale,and this influence increases with heterogeneity of pore size distribution,organic matter content,and organic matter number.Clearly,modeling shale oil flow requires consideration of porous–throat structure and additional resistance,otherwise oil recovery and flow capacity may be overestimated.

Modeling of multiphase flow in low permeability porous media:Effect of wettability and pore structure properties

Multiphase flow in low permeability porous media is involved in numerous energy and environmental applications.However,a complete description of this process is challenging due to the limited modeling scale and the effects of complex pore structures and wettability.To address this issue,based on the digital rock of low permeability sandstone,a direct numerical simulation is performed considering the interphase drag and boundary slip to clarify the microscopic water-oil displacement process.In addition,a dual-porosity pore network model(PNM)is constructed to obtain the water-oil relative permeability of the sample.The displacement efficiency as a recovery process is assessed under different wetting and pore structure properties.Results show that microscopic displacement mechanisms explain the corresponding macroscopic relative permeability.The injected water breaks through the outlet earlier with a large mass flow,while thick oil films exist in rough hydrophobic surfaces and poorly connected pores.The variation of water-oil relative permeability is significant,and residual oil saturation is high in the oil-wet system.The flooding is extensive,and the residual oil is trapped in complex pore networks for hydrophilic pore surfaces;thus,water relative permeability is lower in the water-wet system.While the displacement efficiency is the worst in mixed-wetting systems for poor water connectivity.Microporosity negatively correlates with invading oil volume fraction due to strong capillary resistance,and a large microporosity corresponds to low residual oil saturation.This work provides insights into the water-oil flow from different modeling perspectives and helps to optimize the development plan for enhanced recovery.

Effect of cyclic hydraulic stimulation on pore structure and methane sorption characteristics of anthracite coal: A case study in the Qinshui Basin, China

The cyclic hydraulic stimulation(CHS) has proven as a prospective technology for enhancing the permeability of unconventional formations such as coalbeds. However, the effects of CHS on the microstructure and gas sorption behavior of coal remain unclear. In this study, laboratory tests including the nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR), low-temperature nitrogen sorption(LTNS), and methane sorption isotherm measurement were conducted to explore changes in the pore structure and methane sorption characteristics caused by CHS on an anthracite coal from Qinshui Basin, China. The NMR and LTNS tests show that after CHS treatment, meso- and macro-pores tend to be enlarged, whereas micropores with larger sizes and transition-pores may be converted into smaller-sized micro-pores. After the coal samples treated with 1, 3, 5 and 7 hydraulic stimulation cycles, the total specific surface area(TSSA)decreased from 0.636 to 0.538, 0.516, 0.505, and 0.491 m^(2)/g, respectively. Fractal analysis based on the NMR and LTNS results show that the surface fractal dimensions increase with the increase in the number of hydraulic stimulation cycles, while the volume fractal dimensions exhibit an opposite trend to the surface fractal dimensions, indicating that the pore surface roughness and pore structure connectivity are both increased after CHS treatment. Methane sorption isothermal measurements show that both the Langmuir volume and Langmuir pressure decrease significantly with the increase in the number of hydraulic stimulation cycles. The Langmuir volume and the Langmuir pressure decrease from 33.47 cm^(3)/g and 0.205 MPa to 24.18 cm^(3)/g and 0.176 MPa after the coal samples treated with 7 hydraulic stimulation cycles, respectively. The increments of Langmuir volume and Langmuir pressure are positively correlated with the increment of TSSA and negatively correlated with the increments of surface fractal dimensions.

Influence of tectonic preservation conditions on the nanopore structure of shale reservoir:A case study of Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation shale in western Hubei area,south China

Tectonism is one of the dominant factors affecting the shale pore structure.However,the control of shale pore structure by tectonic movements is still controversial,which limits the research progress of shale gas accumulation mechanism in the complex tectonic region of southern China.In this study,34 samples were collected from two exploratory wells located in different tectonic locations.Diverse experiments,e.g.,organic geochemistry,XRD analysis,FE-SEM,low-pressure gas adsorption,and high-pressure mercury intrusion,were conducted to fully characterize the shale reservoir.The TOC,Ro,and mineral composition of the shale samples between the two wells are similar,which reflects that the shale samples of the two wells have proximate pores-generating capacity and pores-supporting capacity.However,the pore characteristics of shale samples from two wells are significantly different.Compared with the stabilized zone shale,the porosity,pore volume,and specific surface area of the deformed zone shale were reduced by 60.61%,64.85%,and 27.81%,respectively.Moreover,the macroscopic and fine pores were reduced by 54.01%and 84.95%,respectively.Fault activity and uplift denudation are not conducive to pore preservation,and the rigid basement of Huangling uplift can promote pore preservation.These three factors are important reasons for controlling the difference in pore structure between two wells shales.We established a conceptual model of shale pores evolution under different tectonic preservation conditions.This study is significant to clarify the scale of shale gas formation and enrichment in complex tectonic regions,and helps in the selection of shale sweet spots.

Experimental investigation on pyrolysis products and pore structure characteristics of organic-rich shale heated by supercritical carbon dioxide

The efficient pyrolysis and conversion of organic matter in organic-rich shale,as well as the effective recovery of pyrolysis shale oil and gas,play a vital role in alleviating energy pressure.The state of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))in the pyrolysis environment of shale reservoirs is the supercritical state.Its unique supercritical fluid properties not only effectively heat organic matter,displace pyrolysis products and change shale pore structure,but also achieve carbon storage to a certain extent.Shale samples were made into powder and three sizes of cores,and nitrogen(N_(2))and supercritical carbon dioxide(ScCO_(2))pyrolysis experiments were performed at different final pyrolysis temperatures.The properties and mineral characteristics of the pyrolysis products were studied based on gas chromatography analysis,Xray diffraction tests,and mass spectrometry analysis.Besides,the pore structure characteristics at different regions of cores before and after pyrolysis were analyzed using N_(2) adsorption tests to clarify the impact of fracturing degree on the pyrolysis effect.The results indicate that the optimal pyrolysis temperature of Longkou shale is about 430℃.Compared with N_(2),the oil yield of ScCO_(2) pyrolysis is higher.The pyrolysis oil obtained by ScCO_(2) extraction has more intermediate fractions and higher relative molecular weight.The ScCO_(2) can effectively improve the pore diameter of shale and its effect is better than that of N_(2).The micropores are produced in shale after pyrolysis,and the macropores only are generated in ScCO_(2) pyrolysis environments with temperatures greater than 430℃.The pore structure has different development characteristics at different pyrolysis temperatures,which are mainly affected by the pressure holding of volatile matter and products blocking.Compared to the surface of the core,the pore development effect inside the core is better.With the decrease in core size,the pore diameter,specific surface area,and pore volume of cores all increase after pyrolysis.

Effect of high-multiple water injection on rock pore structure and oil displacement efficiency

Experimental methods,including mercury pressure,nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)and core(wateroil)displacement,are used to examine the effects of high-multiple water injection(i.e.water injection with high injected pore volume)on rock properties,pore structure and oil displacement efficiency of an oilfield in the western South China Sea.The results show an increase in the permeability of rocks along with particle migration,an increase in the pore volume and the average pore throat radius,and enhanced heterogeneity after high-multiple water injection.Compared with normal water injection methods,a high-multiple water injection is more effective in improving the oil displacement efficiency.The degree of recovery increases faster in the early stage due to the expansion of the swept area,and the transition from oil-wet to water-wet.The degree of recovery increases less in the late stage due to various factors,including the enhancement of heterogeneity in the rocks.Considering both the economic aspect and the production limit of water flooding,it is recommended to adopt other technologies to further enhance oil recovery after 300 PV water injection.

Regulation of Pore Structure and Hightemperature Fracture Behavior of CACbonded Alumina-Spinel Castables Based on Hydration Design

The lamellar hydrates of CAC were designed with the introduction of nano CaCO_(3)or Mg-Al hydrotalcite(M-A-H),and the effects on the green strength,pore structures,and high-temperature fracture behavior of alumina-spinel castables were investigated.The results show that nano CaCO_(3)or M-A-H stimulates rapidly the hydration of CAC and the formation of lamellar C_(4)AcH_(11)or coexistence of C_(2)AH_(8)and C_(4)AcH_(11)at 25℃.The formation of lamellar hydrates can contribute to a more complicated pore structure,especially in the range of 400-2000 nm.Meanwhile,the incorporation of well-distributed CaO or MgO sources from nano CaCO_(3)or M-A-H also regulates the distribution of CA_(6)and spinel(pre-formed and in-situ).Consequently,the optimized microstructure and complicated pore structure can induce the deflection and bridging of cracks,thus facilitating the consumption of fracture energy and enhancing the resistance to thermal stress damage.

Generation and Analysis of Sandstone Pore Structure Images Based on CT Scanning and Generative Adversarial Network

In this study,cylindrical sandstone samples were imaged by CT scanning technique,and the pore structure images of sandstone samples were analyzed and generated by combining with StyleGAN2-ADA generative adversarial network(GAN)model.Firstly,nine small column samples with a diameter of 4 mm were drilled from sandstone samples with a diameter of 2.5 cm,and their CT scanning results were preprocessed.Because the change between adjacent slices was little,using all slices directly may lead to the problem of pattern collapse in the process of model generation.In order to solve this problem,one slice was selected as training data every 30 slices,and the diversity of slices was verified by calculating the LPIPS values of these slices.The results showed that the strategy of selecting one slice every 30 slices could effectively improve the diversity of images generated by the model and avoid the phenomenon of pattern collapse.Through this process,a total of 295 discontinuous two-dimensional slices were generated for the generation and segmentation analysis of sandstone pore structures.This study can provide effective data support for accurate segmentation of porous medium structures,and simultaneously improves the stability and diversity of generative adversarial network under the condition of small samples.

Effect of pore structure on seismic rock-physics characteristics of dense carbonates

The Ordovician carbonate rocks of the Yingshan formation in the Tarim Basin have a complex pore structure owing to diagenetic and secondary structures. Seismic elastic parameters（e.g., wave velocity） depend on porosity and pore structure. We estimated the average specific surface, average pore-throat radius, pore roundness, and average aspect ratio of carbonate rocks from the Tazhong area. High P-wave velocity samples have small average specific surface, small average pore-throat radius, and large average aspect ratio. Differences in the pore structure of dense carbonate samples lead to fluid-related velocity variability. However, the relation between velocity dispersion and average specific surface, or the average aspect ratio, is not linear. For large or small average specific surface, the pore structure of the rock samples becomes uniform, which weakens squirt fl ow and minimizes the residuals of ultrasonic data and predictions with the Gassmann equation. When rigid dissolved（casting mold） pores coexist with less rigid microcracks, there are significant P-wave velocity differences between measurements and predictions.

3D characterization and analysis of pore structure of packed ore particle beds based on computed tomography images

Methods and procedures of three-dimensional （3D） characterization of the pore structure features in the packed ore particle bed are focused. X-ray computed tomography was applied to deriving the cross-sectional images of specimens with single particle size of 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 6-7, 7-8, 8-9, 9-10 ram. Based on the in-house developed 3D image analysis programs using Matlab, the volume porosity, pore size distribution and degree of connectivity were calculated and analyzed in detail. The results indicate that the volume porosity, the mean diameter of pores and the effective pore size （d50） increase with the increasing of particle size. Lognormal distribution or Gauss distribution is mostly suitable to model the pore size distribution. The degree of connectivity investigated on the basis of cluster-labeling algorithm also increases with increasing the particle size approximately.

Effect of pore structures on corrosion resistance of porous Ni_3Al intermetallics

Porous Ni3Al intermetallics were fabricated by elemental powder reactive synthesis method, using carbamide powders as space holders. Corrosion behavior of porous Ni3Al intermetallics was investigated in a 6 mol/L KOH solution using electrochemical methods and immersion test. Effect of porous structures on the corrosion behavior of the porous Ni3Al intermetallics was studied. The results indicate that the porous Ni3Al intermetallics with higher porosities suffer more serious corrosion than the ones with lower porosities because the complicated interconnected porous structures and the large true surface areas exist in the samples with a higher porosity. But the corrosion rates of the porous Ni3Al intermetallics are not proportional to the true surface areas. The reason is that the pore size, pore size distribution and pore shape of the porous Ni3Al intermetallics change with the increasing porosity. All the porous Ni3Al intermetallics with different porosities exhibit excellent corrosion resistance in a strong alkali solution.

Mechanical properties and pore structure deformation behaviour of biomedical porous titanium

Porous titanium has been shown to exhibit desirable properties as biomedical materials. In view of the load-bearing situation, the mechanical properties and pore structure deformation behaviour of porous titanium were studied. Porous titanium with porosities varying from 36%-66% and average pore size of 230 μm was fabricated by powder sintering. Microstructural features were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Uniaxial compression tests were used to probe the mechanical response in terms of elastic modulus and compressive strength. The mechanical properties of porous titanium were found to be close to the those of human bone, with stiffness values ranging from 1.86 to 14.7 GPa and compressive strength values of 85.16-461.94 MPa. The relationships between mechanical properties and relative densities were established, and the increase in relative density showed significant effects on mechanical properties and deformations of porous titanium. In a lower relative density, the microscopic deformation mechanism of porous titanium was yielding, bending and buckling of cell walls, while the deformation of yielding and bending of cell walls was observed in the porous titanium with higher relative density.

Pore structure effect on reservoir electrical properties and well logging evaluation

The reservoir pore structure controls the reservoir quality and resistivity response of hydrocarbon-bearing zones and thus, critically affects logging interpretation. We use petrophysical data in three types of reservoir with different pore structure characteristics to show that the complexity of pore structure had a significant effect on the effective porosity and permeability regardless of geological factors responsible for the formation of pore structure. Moreover,, the distribution and content of conductive fluids in the reservoir varies dramatically owing to pore structure differences, which also induces resistivity variations in reservoir rocks. Hence, the origin of low-resistivity hydrocarbon-bearing zones, except for those with conductive matrix and mud filtrate invasion, is attributed to the complexity of the pore structures. Consequently, reservoir-specific evaluation models, parameters, and criteria should be chosen for resistivity log interpretation to make a reliable evaluation of reservoir quality and fluids.

Numerical simulation of rock pore-throat structure effects on NMR T_2 distribution

We built a three-dimensional irregular network model which can adequately describe reservoir rock pore-throat structures. We carried out numerical simulations to study the NMR T2 distribution of water-saturated rocks. The results indicate that there is a good correlation between T2 distribution and the pore radius frequency histogram. The total T2 distribution can be partitioned into pore body and pore throat parts. The effect of parameters including throat radius, pore-throat ratio, and coordination number of the micro- pore structure on the T2 distribution can be evaluated individually. The result indicates that： 1 ） with the increase of the pore throat radius, the T2 distribution moves toward longer relaxation times and its peak intensity increases; 2） with the increase of the pore-throat ratio, the T2 distribution moves towards longer T2 with the peak intensity increasing and the overlap between pore body T2 and pore throat T2 decreasing; 3） With the increase of connectivity, the short T2 component increases and peak signal intensity decreases slightly.

Anisotropic rock physics models for interpreting pore structures in carbonate reservoirs

We developed an anisotropic effective theoretical model for modeling the elastic behavior of anisotropic carbonate reservoirs by combining the anisotropic self-consistent approximation and differential effective medium models.By analyzing the measured data from carbonate samples in the TL area,a carbonate pore-structure model for estimating the elastic parameters of carbonate rocks is proposed,which is a prerequisite in the analysis of carbonate reservoirs.A workflow for determining elastic properties of carbonate reservoirs is established in terms of the anisotropic effective theoretical model and the pore-structure model.We performed numerical experiments and compared the theoretical prediction and measured data.The result of the comparison suggests that the proposed anisotropic effective theoretical model can account for the relation between velocity and porosity in carbonate reservoirs.The model forms the basis for developing new tools for predicting and evaluating the properties of carbonate reservoirs.

The constructing of pore structure factor in carbonate rocks and the inversion of reservoir parameters

With a more complex pore structure system compared with clastic rocks, carbonate rocks have not yet been well described by existing conventional rock physical models concerning the pore structure vagary as well as the influence on elastic rock properties. We start with a discussion and an analysis about carbonate rock pore structure utilizing rock slices. Then, given appropriate assumptions, we introduce a new approach to modeling carbonate rocks and construct a pore structure algorithm to identify pore structure mutation with a basis on the Gassmann equation and the Eshelby-Walsh ellipsoid inclusion crack theory. Finally, we compute a single well＇s porosity using this new approach with full wave log data and make a comparison with the predicted result of traditional method and simultaneously invert for reservoir parameters. The study results reveal that the rock pore structure can significantly influence the rocks＇ elastic properties and the predicted porosity error of the new modeling approach is merely 0.74%. Therefore, the approach we introduce can effectively decrease the predicted error of reservoir parameters.