Study on interaction between rocks and worn PDC's cutter

Abstract

A method of imaging the flow of liquid in fractures and matrix imbibition in tuff using x-ray radiography has been developed and a formulation for the calculation of saturation, in the matrix based on x-ray radiography is presented. Experiments were performed using different thermal gradients and hydrostatic heads. The distance that liquid penetrates the boiling region was found to be dependent on hydrostatic head: during the highest-head experiment, liquid water penetrated the entire fracture and continued to pass through the boiling region. For experiments where flow stopped at the boiling region, x-ray images indicate crystal deposition along the fracture. In some cases, when the sample was cooled, fracture flow resumed, and in other cases the fractures were sealed and flow did not continue.