Analysis of thermal parameters of Triassic,Permian and Carboniferous sedimentary rocks in central Poland

The paper shows thermal tests results (thermal conductivity, specific heat) carried out during the research project to recognize the potential of hot dry rocks for heat and electricity production in Poland. Analysis of such parameters of the rock medium has fundamental significance in search of structures for location of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Analyses of thermal conductivity as well as specific heat determine the possibility of effective extraction of heat from hot rock formations and its efficient transfer to the land surface. Reservoir rock should be characterized by the lowest possible porosity and permeability, and the highest possible thermal conductivity. In order to recognize reservoir parameters of rocks that form potential reservoirs for EGS, 300 samples of sedimentary rocks were taken from 11 wells located in central Poland. For samples, sizes of which enabled measurement of thermal parameters, tests of thermal conductivity and specific heat were carried out. Independently, measurements of porosity were made. The porosity magnitude determines values of measured thermal parameters. Measurements of thermal conductivity of rocks were made for 24 samples collected from Triassic, Permian and Carboniferous deposits in six wells. Measurements of specific heat on rock samples were made for 20 rock samples. Among sedimentary rocks, principally sandstones and limestones with reservoir parameters favourable for this type of systems are considered to be petrogeothermal reservoirs and are often characterized by favourable thermal parameters for EGS. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal conductivity of sediments in high-latitude West Siberia

The thermal conductivity of rocks (λ) used previously to estimate heat flow in high-latitude Siberia was assumed to be λ = 1.8–2.0 W/(m?K), according to published evidence, but was almost never measured specially. We measured the thermal conductivity of core samples from boreholes drilled in the northeastern West Siberian Plate and in the Yenisei–Khatanga basin in the 1990s, using two advanced instruments: a comparator and a scanner of thermal conductivity. Altogether there were 305 samples of air-dry sediments (λ_d) from the 1100–4200 m interval of 23 holes, out of which 77 samples were then moistened (λ_w). The average thermal conductivities of rocks in dry and wet conditions were found to be λ_d = 1.9 ± 0.2 and λ_w = 2.6 ± 0.1 W/(m?K), respectively. Thus, the true thermal conductivity of sediments, which are saturated with water in this northern area, must be about 20–30% higher than that assumed in the previous heat flow determinations, and the latter are thus underestimated correspondingly. The updates to the thermal conductivity values imply major revision to the existing ideas of the thermal regime in the Siberian high latitudes. Such a serious revision of geothermal data will obviously require a large amount of additional experimental work.     

The thermal conductivity for granite with various water contents

The thermal conductivities of granite were measured under different conditions of porosity and water content to investigate the effects of the porosity and water content on the thermal conductivity. For the dry samples, the thermal conductivities range from 2.12 W/mK for the rocks with a high porosity to 3.12 W/mK for the ones with a low porosity. Water-sorbed samples have greater thermal conductivities than dry samples of the same granite. The thermal conductivities range from 2.99 W/mK for granites with a high porosity to 3.62 W/mK for ones with a low porosity under saturated condition.     

Impact of pore water conductivity and porosity on the electrical conductivity of kaolinite

The purpose of this study is to quantify the magnitudes of surface conduction and pore water conduction from the measured electrical conductivity of kaolinite, with the ultimate goal of estimating the electrical conductivity of kaolinite with a wide range of pore water conductivities (σ _w = 0.013–3.356 S/m) and porosities (n = 0.368–1.0). Therefore, the theoretical background of the electrical conductivity in soils was reviewed, and electrical conductivity measurements on kaolinite were performed using both slurry and consolidation tests in this study. The results of this study demonstrate that the variations of measured electrical conductivity (σ _mix) with n are debatable according to the values of σ _w, because a decrease in n results in both an increase in surface conduction (K _s) and a decrease in pore water conduction (K _w); this causes the relative magnitude of K _s compared to that of K _w to vary with σ _w and n. Consequently, this study develops the relation between the porosity-normalized K _s/K _w and 1/σ _w. Additionally, the surface conductivity of the tested kaolinite is back-calculated and compared with the previous relationship between K _s and zeta potential of kaolinite. The measured and estimated σ _mix values are compared with the varying pore water conductivity and porosity values.     

西南天山中新生代盆地成矿流体运移规律

乌拉根铅锌矿床和萨热克铜矿床是西南天山中新生代盆地最有代表性的两个层控砂砾岩型矿床,乌拉根铅锌矿床产于下白垩统克孜勒苏群第五岩性段(K1 kz5)的粗砂质细砾岩中,后期经历了弱的构造改造作用;萨热克铜矿床产于上侏罗统库孜贡苏组上段(J3 k2)杂砾岩中,其北矿段后期经历了强烈的构造改造作用,南矿段可见岩浆热液蚀变作用后...     

Thermal conductivity of Higher Himalayan Crystallines from Garhwal Himalaya, India

We report the measurements of thermal conductivity for some Higher Himalayan Crystalline rocks from Joshimath and Uttarkashi areas of the Garhwal Himalaya. Seventy-three rock samples including gneiss, metabasic rock and quartzite were measured. Gneissic rocks, which include augen gneiss, banded gneiss, felsic gneiss and fine-grained gneiss, exhibit a wide range in conductivity, from 1.5 to 3.6 Wm^− 1K^− 1 for individual samples, and 2.1 to 2.7 Wm^− 1K^− 1 for the means. Among these, augen gneisses and banded gneisses show the largest variability. Of all the rock types, quartzites (mean 5.4 Wm^− 1K^− 1) and metabasic rocks (mean 2.1 Wm^− 1K^− 1) represent the highest and lowest mean values respectively. The range in conductivity observed for gneissic rocks is significantly higher than that generally found in similar rock types in cratonic areas. The rock samples have very low porosity and exhibit feeble anisotropy, indicating that they do not contribute to the variability in thermal conductivity. Besides variations in mineralogical composition, the heterogeneous banding as well as intercalations with metabasic rocks and quartz veins, a common occurrence in structurally complex areas, appears to cause the variability in conductivity. The study therefore brings out the need for systematic characterization of thermophysical properties of major rock types comprising the Himalayan region for lithospheric thermal modeling, assessment of geothermal energy and geo-engineering applications in an area. The dataset constitutes the first systematic measurements on the Higher Himalayan Crystalline rocks.     

Thermal conductivity of carbonate rocks

The thermal conductivities of several well-defined carbonate rocks were determined near 40°C. Values range from 1.2 W m^?1C^?1 for a highly porous chalk to 5.1 W m^?1C^?1 for a dolomite. The thermal conductivity of magnesite (5.0) is at the high end of the range, and that for Iceland Spar Calcite (3.2) is near the middle. The values for limestones decrease linearly with increasing porosity. Dolomites of comparable porosity have greater thermal conductivities than limestones.Water-sorbed samples have expected greater thermal conductivities than air-saturated (dry) samples of the same rock. An anomalously large increase in the thermal conductivity of a water-sorbed clayey dolomite over that of the same sample when dry is attributed to the clay fraction, which swells during water inhibition, causing more solid-to-solid contacts within the dolomite framework.Measurements were made with a Colora Thermoconductometer. Chemical and mineralogical analyses were made and tabulated. Porosity of the rocks was determined by mercury porosimetry and also from density measurements. The Iceland Spar Calcite and magnesite were included for reference.     

Physical properties of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks from the Perth Basin,Western Australia

The Perth Basin (PB) hosts important aquifers within the Yarragadee Formation and adjacent geological formations with potential for economic exploitation by both geothermal energy and carbon capture and sequestration. Published studies on the reservoir quality of the sedimentary units of the PB are very few. This study reports some petrophysical and lithological characteristics of the sedimentary units of interest for geothermal and geosequestration scenarios and help interpolation toward non-sampled intervals. A new fluvial-dominated lithofacies scheme was developed for the Mesozoic stratigraphy from four wells drilled in the central PB (Pinjarra-1, Cockburn-1, Gingin-1 and Gingin-2) based on grainsize, sorting, sedimentary structures and colour that relate to the environment of deposition. Systematic laboratory measurements of permeability, porosity, and thermal conductivity were conducted on core samples to investigate a variety of lithofacies and depths from these wells. Empirical correlations are established among the different physical properties, indicating encouraging relationships for full PB basin interpolation such as between porosity and permeability, when the samples are grouped into ‘hydraulic units’ defined by a ‘flow zone indicator’ parameter. The common principal controls on the PB thermal conductivity are the pore space arrangement and mineralogical content, which are strongly lithofacies-specific. Therefore, the lithofacies type could be a good first-order discriminator for describing spatial variations of thermal conductivity and then estimate their flow zone indicator.     

A model for the υp -pressure function of cracked lunar rocks and some possible seismological consequences

Changes in wave velocity in rocks are mainly caused by pressure and depend on porosity and pore filling. For terrestrial and lunar rocks two formulae can be stated which are comparable with each other and the coefficients of which can be determined from wave velocity and uniaxial stress measurements. The behaviour of rocks may be compared with dynamic phenomena in the earth's crust, and in particular with pre-rupture phenomena (shocks, etc.) in seismic regions. The coefficient K₀ of imperfect bonds in rock increase with the number of shocks and brings about a decrease in wave velocity in seismic regions. The variations in wave velocity are connected with changes in electrical and thermal conductivity and with magnetic variations.     

传导-对流型热流的计算模拟

本文对8个初始模型和7个组合模型中沿断层的水热对流、断层产状、山体地形和沉积盆地与基岩热导率反差等四个影响因素对传导型地表热流分布的影响进行了计算机模拟研究。模型设计和参数的选值以西藏中北部一些地热区实测的传导-对流型热流为主要参考依据,但不直接涉及对流组分的校正,而着眼于更广泛的单因子和多因素的模型研究。分析中采用无量纲参数:α=(K₁)/(K₂)(K₁和K₂分别为基岩和沉积盆地的热导率),β=(q₁)/(q₂)(q₁和q₂分别为地表热流的垂向分量和模型的底部热流)以及γ=L/H(L和H分别为离模型左侧边界的距离和山体的高度),以求更广的普适性。对模拟结果的分析表明,上述四项影响因素依其重要性可排序为对流强度—断层倾角—介质热导率反差—地形效应。     

南海北部琼东南盆地岩石热物性特征

岩石热物性是盆地模拟和预测深部温度时不可或缺的参数。琼东南盆地是当前我国海洋油气资源勘探开发的重点区 块，揭示该盆地的热状态和烃源岩热演化历史均离不开真实可靠的岩石热物性参数。前人虽然对南海北部地区的岩石热物 性开展过相关研究，仍存在实测数据偏少、代表性不足和相互矛盾等问题，亟需新增一批新的实测数据来弥补该区基础地 热参数的不足。文章对采自琼东南盆地19口钻孔的32块岩心样品开展了热导率、生热率以及密度和孔隙度等物性参数测 试，揭示了它们的空间展布特征、相互关系及其主控因素，建立了琼东南盆地新生界地层平均热导率和生热率，据此估算 出盆地沉积物的放射性生热贡献约占地表热流的33%。这些实测的岩石热物性参数为南海北部海域沉积盆地的盆地模拟和 地热相关研究提供了坚实的基础数据。     

南海北部琼东南盆地岩石热物性特征

岩石热物性是盆地模拟和预测深部温度时不可或缺的参数。琼东南盆地是当前我国海洋油气资源勘探开发的重点区 块,揭示该盆地的热状态和烃源岩热演化历史均离不开真实可靠的岩石热物性参数。前人虽然对南海北部地区的岩石热物 性开展过相关研究,仍存在实测数据偏少、代表性不足和相互矛盾等问题,亟需新增一批新的实测数据来弥补该区基础地 热参数的不足。文章对采自琼东南盆地19口钻孔的32块岩心样品开展了热导率、生热率以及密度和孔隙度等物性参数测 试,揭示了它们的空间展布特征、相互关系及其主控因素,建立了琼东南盆地新生界地层平均热导率和生热率,据此估算 出盆地沉积物的放射性生热贡献约占地表热流的33%。这些实测的岩石热物性参数为南海北部海域沉积盆地的盆地模拟和 地热相关研究提供了坚实的基础数据。     

Characteristics of the tight sand reservoirs in the delta front in the Xu-2 Member of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation (Hechuan area of the central Sichuan Basin,SW China)

The Xu-2 Member of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation (Hechuan area, southwestern China) is an important potential sedimentary sequence for gas exploration in the central Sichuan Basin. Thus, we performed a comprehensive study of drilling parameters, sedimentary cores, well logging, and core test data and combined our results with previous research and the geological background of the basin. We found that the Hechuan area was a delta front that included underwater distributary channels, interchannels, and mouth and distal bars during deposition of the Xu-2 Member. The sand body genetic types were divided into three categories based on where they developed: an underwater distributary channel, a mouth bar, or a distal bar. The lithology of the Xu-2 reservoirs is mainly feldspathic litharenite, lithic arkose, subarkose, litharenite, and sublitharenite. Residual intergranular pores and intergranular dissolution pores are the major pore types in the reservoirs. Reservoirs with porosities of 0.18–15.84% and permeabilities of 0.001–8.72?×?10^?3 μm² showed a correlation coefficient of 0.7592. The reservoir throats are mainly tubular and constricted. Overall, the sedimentary environment and diagenesis are the major controlling factors for reservoir formation in the study area. The reservoir zones with relatively high porosity and permeability mainly developed in a delta front with underwater distributary channels and mouth bars. Chlorite growth preserved the primary pores during early diagenesis stage B, and intergranular dissolution pores resulted from contact with organic acids derived from source rocks during middle diagenesis stage A₁. Compaction and cementation significantly decreased porosity during middle diagenesis stage A₂. These important factors influenced reservoir quality.     

An empirical model for estimating hydraulic conductivity of highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan

This paper presents the establishment of an empirical HC model for estimating rock mass hydraulic conductivity of highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan using high-resolution borehole acoustic televiewer and double packer hydraulic tests. Four geological parameters including rock quality designation (RQD), depth index (DI), gouge content designation (GCD), and lithology permeability index (LPI) were adopted for establishing the empirical HC model. To verify rationality of the proposed HC model, 22 in-situ hydraulic tests were carried out to measure the hydraulic conductivity of the highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in three boreholes at two different locations in Taiwan. Besides, the model verification using another borehole data with four additional in-situ hydraulic tests from similar clastic sedimentary rocks was also conducted to further verify the feasibility of the proposed empirical HC model. The field results indicated that the rock mass in the study area has a conductivity between the order of 10^− 10 m/s and 10^− 6 m/s at the depth between 34 m and 275 m below ground surface. Results demonstrate that the empirical HC model may provide a useful tool to predict hydraulic conductivity of the highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan based on measured HC-values.     

On the radiogenic heat production of metamorphic,igneous, and sedimentary rocks

Sedimentary rocks cover-73% of the Earth's surface and metamorphic rocks account for approximately91% of the crust by volume. Understanding the average behavior and variability of heat production for these rock types are vitally important for developing accurate models of lithospheric temperature. We analyze the heat production of ～204,000 whole rock geochemical data to quantify how heat production of these rocks varies with respect to chemistry and their evolution during metamorphism. The heat production of metaigneous and metasedimentary rocks are similar to their respective protoliths. Igneous and metaigneous samples increase in heat production with increasing SiO_2 and K_2 O, but decrease with increasing FeO, MgO and CaO. Sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks increase in heat production with increasing Al_2 O_3, FeO, TiO_2, and K_2 O but decrease with increasing CaO. For both igneous and sedimentary rocks, the heat production variations are largely correlated with processes that affect K_2 O concentration and covary with other major oxides as a consequence. Among sedimentary rocks,aluminous shales are the highest heat producing(2.9 μW~(-3)) whereas more common iron shales are lower heat producing(1.7 μW m~(-3)). Pure quartzites and carbonates are the lowest heat producing sedimentary rocks. Globally, there is little definitive evidence for a decrease in heat production with increasing metamorphic grade. However, there remains the need for high resolution studies of heat production variations within individual protoliths that vary in metamorphic grade. These results improve estimates of heat production and natural variability of rocks that will allow for more accurate temperature models of the lithosphere.     

火山碎屑岩的储层物性——以松辽盆地营城组为例

对松辽盆地营城组35口盆内深层钻井和2口剖面浅钻全取心井的对比研究揭示：在浅层（埋深<500 m）,火山碎屑岩储层物性（平均孔隙度18.7%、渗透率0.32×10^-3μm²）好于熔岩（14.0%,0.18×10^-3μm²）;在深层（埋深>2 800 m）,火山碎屑岩物性（2.6%,0.05×10^-3μm²）明显差于熔岩（7.3%,0.07×10^-3μm²）。熔岩和火山碎屑岩的储层物性总体上都随埋深增加而变差,但火山碎屑岩的变化率显著大于熔岩;所以当大于一定埋深（2 500~3 000 m）时,熔岩的物性优于火山碎屑岩而成为主力储层。熔岩与火山碎屑岩物性随埋深变化的差异主要源于它们成岩方式的不同：前者冷凝固结,骨架体积受压实影响很小;后者压实固结成岩,其特点同沉积岩。在中浅层勘探中（埋深小于2 500 m）火山碎屑岩可作为重点目标。     

A new generalized soil thermal conductivity model for sand–kaolin clay mixtures using thermo-time domain reflectometry probe test

As the demand of exploitation and utilization of geothermal energy increases, more geothermal-related earth structures occur recently. The design of the structures depends upon an accurate prediction of soil thermal conductivity. The existing soil thermal conductivity models were mostly developed by empirical fits to datasets of soil thermal conductivity measurements. Due to the gaps in measured thermal conductivities between any two tested natural soils, the models may not provide accurate prediction for other soils, and the predicted thermal conductivity might not be continuous over the entire range of soil type. In this research, a generalized soil thermal conductivity model was proposed based on a series of laboratory experiments on sand, kaolin clay and sand–kaolin clay mixtures using a newly designed thermo-time domain reflectometry probe. The model was then validated with respect to k _dry–n (thermal conductivity of dry soils and porosity) and k _r–S _r (normalized thermal conductivity and degree of saturation) relationships by comparing with previous experimental studies. The predicted thermal conductivities were found to be in a good agreement with the experimental data collected from both this study and the other literatures with at least 85% confidence interval. It is concluded that the proposed model accounts for the effects of both environmental factors (i.e., moisture content and dry density) and compositional factors (i.e., quartz content and soil type) on soil thermal conductivity, and it has a great potential in predicting soil thermal conductivity more accurately for geothermal applications.     

Improving a thermal conductivity model of unsaturated soils based on multivariate distribution analysis

Soil thermal conductivity (k) is a key parameter for the design of energy geo-structures, and it depends on many soil properties such as saturation degree, porosity, mineralogical composition, soil type and others. Capturing these diversified influencing factors in a soil thermal conductivity model is a challenging task for engineers due to the nonlinear dependencies. In this study, a multivariate distribution approach was utilized to improve an existing soil thermal conductivity model, Cote and Konrad model, by quantitatively considering the impacts of dry density (ρ_d), porosity (n), saturation degree (S_r), quartz content (m_q), sand content (m_s) and clay content (m_c) on thermal conductivity of unsaturated soils. A large database containing these seven soil parameters was compiled from the literature to support the multivariate analysis. Simplified bivariate and multivariate correlations for improving the Cote and Konrad model were derived analytically and numerically to consider different influencing factors. By incorporating these simplified correlations, the predicted k values were more concentrated around the measured values with the coefficient of determination (R²) increased from 0.83 to 0.95. It is concluded that the developed correlations with the information of different soil properties provide an efficient, rational and simple way to predict soil thermal conductivity more accurately. Moreover, the quartz content is a more important factor than the porosity that shall be considered in the establishment of thermal conductivity models for unsaturated soils with high quartz content.

     

A quantitative fluorescence technique for evaluating thermal maturity: Instrumentation and examples

Fluorescence microscopy is useful not only for identifying most of the oil-prone organic matter (macerals) in sedimentary rocks and coals but also for assessing their thermal maturities (ranks). This report introduces a violet-light excitation system which induces more than one order of magnitude stronger fluorescence intensity that the commonly used UV-light excitation system. The red/green quotient from violet-light excited fluorescence, Q_v, of sporinite can be easily measured using this system. Several examples using coal and cuttings samples are presented to demonstrate the use of this technique for evaluating the thermal maturities of coals and sedimentary rocks.From the results of our studies we conclude that:

• 1.(1) Violet-light excited fluorescence from sporinites can be routinely measured to assess thermal maturity.
• 2.(2) Spectral (Quantitative) fluorescence technique is useful for evaluating thermal maturity when samples are poorly polished or deficient in vitrinite.
• 3.(3) Visual (Strew-mounted) kerogen slides can not be used for fluorescence measurements unless a non-fluorescent mounting medium is used.

     

The impact of diagenetic fluid–rock reactions on Rotliegend sandstone composition and petrophysical properties (Altmark area, central Germany)

In the framework of the German R&D joint project CLEAN (CO₂ large-scale enhanced gas recovery in the Altmark natural gas field), Rotliegend reservoir sandstones of the Altensalzwedel block in the Altmark area (Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany) have been studied to characterise litho- and diagenetic facies, mineral content, geochemical composition, and petrophysical properties. These sands have been deposited in a playa environment dominated by aeolian dunes, dry to wet sand flats and fluvial channel fills. The sediments exhibit distinct mineralogical, geochemical, and petrophysical features related to litho- and diagenetic facies types. In sandstones of the damp to wet sandflats, their pristine red colours are preserved and porosity and permeability are only low. Rocks of the aeolian environment and most of the channel fill deposits are preferentially bleached and exhibit moderate to high porosity and permeability. Although geochemical element whole rock content in these rocks is very similar, element correlations are different. Variations in porosity and permeability are mainly due to calcite and anhydrite dissolution and differences in clay coatings with Fe-bearing illitic-chloritic composition exposed to the pore space. Moreover, mineral dissolution patterns as well as compositions (of clays and carbonate) and morphotypes of authigenic minerals (chlorite, illite) are different in red and bleached rocks. Comparison of the geochemical composition and mineralogical features of diagenetically altered sandstones and samples exposed to CO₂-bearing fluids in laboratory batch experiments exhibit similar character. Experiments prove an increase in wettability and water binding capacity during CO₂ impact.