1. Image-based effective medium approximation for fast permeability evaluation of porous media core samples
- Author
-
Jacques Franc, Franck Plouraboué, Pierre Horgue, Romain Guibert, Gérald Debenest, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS (FRANCE), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse - Toulouse INP (FRANCE), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT3 (FRANCE), Institut de mécanique des fluides de Toulouse (IMFT), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP)
- Subjects
Discretization ,Computer science ,Computation ,Mécanique des fluides ,Porous media ,Effective medium approximation ,01 natural sciences ,Permeability ,010305 fluids & plasmas ,Digital image ,0103 physical sciences ,Digital image processing ,Sensitivity (control systems) ,[PHYS.MECA.MEFL]Physics [physics]/Mechanics [physics]/Fluid mechanics [physics.class-ph] ,Computers in Earth Sciences ,Effective properties ,010306 general physics ,[PHYS.MECA.MEFL]Physics [physics]/Mechanics [physics]/Mechanics of the fluids [physics.class-ph] ,Binary image ,Computer Science Applications ,Image-based method ,Computational Mathematics ,Computational Theory and Mathematics ,Porous medium ,Focus (optics) ,Algorithm - Abstract
International audience; An image-based effective medium approximation (EMA) is developed so as to permit very fast transport properties evaluations of 3D porous media. From an image-based porous network (IBPN) built upon digital image processing of 3D binary images, we focus on throat’s local geometrical properties at the pore scale, for being the most sensible structural units which build up the local pressure. This approach is a 3D image–based extension of the critical point approach proposed in 2D fractures. We show, from analyzing various core rock samples available in the literature, that the asymptotic assumptions associated with the preeminence of critical points in throats are indeed geometrically relevant. We then describe how the image-based EMA evaluated from the conductances computed from the discrete IBPN can be reliably evaluated. The proposed method is evaluated upon the estimation of core sample permeability from binarized image obtained using X-ray tomography. Since it combines digital image treatments with statistical data post-processing without the need of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computation, it is extremely cost efficient. The results are compared with a micro-scale Stokes flow computation in various rock samples. The sensitivity to the pore discretization also is discussed and illustrated.
- Published
- 2021