Joint numerical microscale simulations of multiphase flow and NMR relaxation behavior in porous media using Lattice Boltzmann methods

Abstract

AbstractNuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry is a useful tool to estimate transport and storage properties of rocks and soils. However, as there is no unique relation between the NMR signal and these properties in rocks, a variety of empirical models on deriving hydraulic properties from NMR relaxometry data have been published. Complementary to laboratory measurements, this paper introduces a numerical framework to jointly simulate NMR relaxometry experiments and two‐phase flow on the micrometer scale. Herein, the NMR diffusion equations were tied to an established Lattice Boltzmann algorithm used in computational fluid dynamics. The numerically simulated NMR data were validated for both surface‐limited and diffusion‐limited relaxation regimes using analytical solutions available for fully and partially water‐saturated simple pore geometries. Subsequently, simulations were compiled using a complex pore space derived from three‐dimensional computer tomography (CT) data of an unconsolidated sand and the results were compared to respective NMR T1 relaxometry data. The NMR transients simulated for different water saturations matched the measured data regarding initial amplitudes (i.e., porosity and saturation) and relaxation behavior (i.e., distribution of water‐saturated pores). Thus, we provide a simulation tool that enables study of the influences of structural and physicochemical properties, such as pore connectivity and pore coupling, surface relaxivity, or diffusivity, on partially saturated porous media, e.g, rocks or soils, with NMR T1 relaxometry data.