Experimental Investigation into the Scale Dependence of Fluid Transport in Heterogeneous Rocks |
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Authors: | Song Insun Renner Jörg |
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Institution: | (1) Institute for Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics, Ruhr-University Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany |
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Abstract: | We investigated the dependence of hydraulic properties on the spatial scale of intrinsic and artificial heterogeneity, applying
harmonic pore pressure testing to two varieties of Fontainebleau sandstone at various periods and effective pressures. Blocks
with porosities of about 5 and 8% were chosen exhibiting a permeability of about 2·10−19 and 1·10−13 m2, respectively. The permeability of the less permeable variety strongly depends on sample size. Artificial heterogeneous rock
samples were prepared by stacking pieces of the two sandstone varieties perpendicular and parallel to the main flow direction.
The perturbation of the fluid flow owing to the interfaces between pieces of the same variety is controlled by the orientation
of and subordinately by the effective stress on the interfaces. Constraints on conduit geometry derived from the effect of
interfaces indicate that interconnectivity is more important than pore radius at the lower porosity. The effective permeability
of alternating stacks of the two varieties differs tremendously for the two interface orientations; arithmetic and harmonic
averages coincide with the effective properties parallel and perpendicular to the main flow, respectively. When the oscillation
period is varied two regimes are observed, one with constant permeability at long periods and a second with decreasing permeability
for decreasing period at short periods. Order of magnitude considerations of penetration depth suggest that this period dependence
may be related to heterogeneity. |
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Keywords: | Fluid transport dynamic permeability scale-dependent transport properties effective medium percolation threshold Fontainebleau sandstone |
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