Replication of Carbonate Reservoir Pores at the Original Size Using 3D Printing

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a powerful tool that enables visualization, replication, and experimentation with natural porous rocks. Over 100 years, natural rocks have been a focus of studies on how fluids such as hydrocarbons, greenhouse gases, and water flow through their porous systems. Scale and resolution are among the most challenging factors for current 3D printing methods when attempting to replicate the pore architecture of natural porous media. Most 3D printing techniques have resolution restraints during fabrication that makes feature reproduction at the 1:1 scale almost impossible. A new developing technology that uses two-photon lithography and ultraviolet (UV) light curable resin allows for nanometer features to be 3D printed. However, the main challenge of this 3D printing method is the small size of the resulting model (less than 20 mm in each direction). This technical note presents a detailed workflow on how to fabricate a carbonate rock replica at the micron scale. To test this workflow, a pore network was obtained from tomographic data of a reservoir rock core located in Mexico (1 mm in diameter and 2 mm in height) and was 3D printed at the original size. This replica was subjected to tomographic and scanning electron imaging to verify the accuracy of pore geometry. Incorporating lithographic printing into novel rock experiments that concern multiscale, multiphysics models of fluid flow and deformation open an unprecedented opportunity for more controlled prediction of reservoir fluid dynamics, carbon capture and storage, and continuum mechanics.