3D Printing of True Pore-Scale Berea Sandstone and Digital Rock Verification

Abstract

Summary In this study, we used two-photon polymerization 3D printing technology to successfully print the first true pore-scale rock proxy of Berea sandstone with a submicrometer resolution. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and computed tomography (CT) images of the 3D-printed sample were compared with the digital file used for printing to verify the rock’s internal structures. Petrophysical properties were estimated with a digital rock physics (DRP) model based on the 3D-printed sample's initial pore network. The results show that our 3D-printing workflow was able to reproduce true-scale 3D porous media such as Berea sandstone with a submicrometer resolution. With a variety of materials and geometric scaling options, 3D printing of nearly identical rock proxies provides a method to conduct repeatable laboratory experiments without destroying natural rock samples. Rock proxy experiments can potentially validate numerical simulations and complement existing laboratory measurements.