T2 Distribution Research Articles

Machine learning in the classification of lithology using downhole NMR data of the NGHP-02 expedition in the Krishna-Godavari offshore Basin, India

We apply machine learning techniques to classify the lithology using downhole nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data of gas hydrate reservoirs in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin, eastern Indian offshore. We choose two sites of the second expedition of the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP-02) for our study, one with clay dominated site NGHP-02-01 from Area E and another with silt/sand dominated site NGHP-02-05 from Area C. We obtain five distinct classes in NMR signals at two sites using unsupervised techniques such as Davies-Bouldin index, silhouette, self-organizing map, k-means clustering and emergent self-organizing map. Obtained classes are interpreted using the NMR T2 distribution pattern with time in terms of clay, silt, sand and pebble/gravels with depth and reconciled with gamma-ray, density, porosity, resistivity, velocity and photoelectric factor. Our results demonstrate the lithology as silty-clay with minor sand at Hole NGHP-02-01A, and silt, sand with less clay and minor pebble/gravel at Hole NGHP-02-05A. The presence of gas hydrate is identified by observing an overall low amplitude T2 distribution curve, which is due to the reduction of pore space by solid gas hydrate. The maximum concentration of gas hydrate of about 43% of pore space estimated using NMR- and density-porosity are distributed mainly in silty-clay at Hole 01A and of about 75% in clayey-silt and silty-sand at Hole 05A. Low amplitude NMR T2 signals observed in clay-dominated sediments at higher relaxation time may be due to the fracture-filled gas hydrates at both holes. Interestingly, high porosity (90–95%), high permeability (4 mD), low bulk-density (1.2 gm/cm3) and low photoelectric factor (0.8 b/electron) are found in sandy layers within the gas hydrate-stability zone at Hole 05A, which possibly comprising buried channels. Comparison of the lithology obtained from other log data with that from NMR data and core samples illustrates that the NMR data are most effective for characterization of reservoirs, except for a high concentration of gas hydrate in a sandy/coarse-grained reservoir, which needs further studies.

Water Absorption Properties in Transverse Direction of Heat-Treated Chinese Fir Wood Determined Using TD-NMR

Heat treatment is an environmentally friendly method that improves the moisture-resistant properties and increases the service life of timber. In this work, Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata [Lamb.] Hook.) wood was heat-treated in a chamber with steam at temperatures of 160, 180, 200 and 220 °C for 2 h, and the absorption of water was studied by gravimetric analysis and time domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR). The results show that both the amount of bound water and free water decreased with the increasing treatment temperature. The water absorption of wood in the radial direction was faster than that in the tangential direction due to the existence of rays, and this difference remained after the heat treatment. The heat treatment at 220 °C had a significant effect on water absorption in the tangential direction of wood, and the moisture content (MC) was approximately 20% lower than that of samples absorbing water in the radial direction. T2 (spin–spin relaxation time) distributions showed two main components which were associated with bound water and free water, and for samples absorbing water in the radial or tangential direction, there was only a difference in the amount of free water. The amount of free water significantly decreased for the samples that were heat-treated at 220 °C and absorbed water in the tangential direction, indicating that the high-temperature heat-treated samples tended to close the pits in wood cells.

Effects of texture and precipitates characteristics on anisotropic hardness evolution during artificial aging for an Al–Cu–Li alloy

Anisotropy of mechanical properties has limited the further application of Al–Cu–Li alloys. Previous research efforts were mostly focused on the anisotropic tensile properties. In the present study, significant hardness anisotropy evolution, measured during artificial aging, was also established when loading in different directions. It was found that different amounts of inclined/face-on would be encountered when loading along different directions, resulting from the fiber texture and inhomogeneous distribution of T1 (Al2CuLi) variants along different directions for the samples without pre-stretching. The resistance to hardness loading is different between the face-on/inclined T1 and edge-on T1 due to its high aspect ratio, so the measured anisotropic hardness is obtained. Moreover, the characteristics of precipitates also play an important role in the anisotropic hardness evolution, the strong anisotropy of hardness only appears in the alloys that contained large diameters and a low density of T1 phase or θ' (Al2Cu) phase. After applying pre-stretching, the predominant T1 phase precipitates with small diameters and a high density, which helps to facilitate the isotropic hardness evolution during artificial aging. These findings provide a necessary supplement for the hardness evaluation where a high aspect ratio of precipitate is involved.

State of water in calcium sulfoaluminate cement paste modified by hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose ether

To obtain satisfying water retention and improved viscosity, cellulose ether (CE) has been widely used in fields such as tile adhesives, repair mortars and self-levelling mortars. But the impacts of CE on the hydration and microstructure of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cements, especially on the hydration and water evolution are still missing some basic insights. This paper mainly focusses on the influence of two hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose ether (HEMC) on the water evolution and hydration properties of commercial CSA cements with variable composition. The properties at fresh state such as setting times, air void content and water retention were recorded, while the interaction between HEMC and CSA cements was investigated by the combination of calorimetry, 1H NMR and DSC-TG. Results indicate that regardless of the composition of CSA cements, HEMC greatly increases the air void content and water retention. Setting time and hydration heat evolution within 1 d as well as the formation of cement hydrates (ettringite, monosulfate and alumina gel) are only slightly or unaffected by the addition of HEMC. As shown in the T2 distribution of 1H NMR pattern, it is interesting to notice that the addition of HEMC leads to the appearance of a new peak around 100 ms–1000 ms within 1 h and it disappears after 150 min. This finding is assigned to the evolution of a special water state in cement pastes containing HEMC. Additionally, variations in the polymer structure of HEMC have comparatively weaker impact than CSA cement type on the properties of prepared cementitious materials.

O09 Recurring brachial plexopathy- the zebra among the horses

O09 Recurring brachial plexopathy- the zebra among the horses

Study of pre-strain before artificial aging on mechanical property and stress corrosion behavior of 2297 Al–Cu–Li alloy

The influence of pre-strain (2%, 5%, 8% and 12.5%) and aging state (under, peak and over aging) on mechanical properties and stress corrosion behavior of 2297 Al–Cu–Li alloy was studied. The peak microhardness of the alloy reaches 156.3 HV at 15 h with 12.5% pre-strain, and that of the alloy is only 115.6 HV at 31 h without pre-strain. The slow strain rate testing results indicate the low stress corrosion cracking factor for the samples without pre-strain and high stress corrosion cracking factor for the samples with pre-strain, and the stress corrosion cracking factor of the peak-aged sample with 12.5% pre-strain reaches to 33.3%. From the transmission electron microscopy characterization, it can be inferred that the quantity and distribution of T1 (Al2CuLi) precipitates significantly affect the stress corrosion behavior of 2297 Al–Cu–Li alloy. The over-aged sample exhibits poor stress corrosion resistance, resulting from the large numbers of coarse T1 precipitates and precipitation free zone at the grain boundary.

Influence of microstructural and crystallographic inhomogeneity on tensile anisotropy in thick-section Al–Li–Cu–Mg plates

Thick-section plates made from a recently developed Al–Cu–Mg–Li alloy have been evaluated to understand the influence of microstructure on the anisotropy of tensile strengths after natural and artificial ageing treatment. Pancake-shaped grains with a coarse substructure and strong crystallographic texture with a β-fibre orientation at the mid-thickness position are observed. In addition, an inhomogeneous distribution of T1 precipitates through the plate thickness has been revealed with the volume fraction of intragranular precipitates ∼40% higher at the plate centre than the ¼ thickness position. Altogether these microstructural features contribute to the in-plane anisotropy of tensile strengths that is ∼5% higher at the mid-thickness position than the ¼ thickness position. The variation of ageing-induced T1 precipitates through the plate thickness further contributes to the through-thickness anisotropy that is ∼3% higher in T8 temper as compared to T3 temper.

Pore and fracture development in coal under stress conditions based on nuclear magnetic resonance and fractal theory

In this paper, triaxial compression tests on coals with real-time T2 and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) image measurement are performed by using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) testing system equipped with a loading device. Pore and fracture development in coal under stress conditions are investigated based on NMR and fractal theory. The results show that the accumulation of NMR signal intensity as well as sample porosity decrease slightly at first, then increase slowly, and finally increase rapidly during the deformation of coal. The measured T2 distributions indicate that stress damage mainly induces the generation of mesopores and macropores (or micro-fractures). A new method for estimating crack-initiation stresses is proposed based on the evolution of T2 curve. By using this method, we estimate the crack-initiation stress of the tested coal samples, which is 34.6%, 32.2%, and 30.1% of its corresponding peak strength, respectively. Fractal dimensions of seepage pores show significant fractal characteristics, while fractal characteristics of adsorption pores are not obvious. The evolution of fractal dimension DT of the total pores with stress is similar to the changing trend of porosity. But the fractal dimension of DS shows a negative correlation with the stress.

Revisiting the T2 spectrum imaging inverse problem: Bayesian regularized non-negative least squares

Multi-echo T2 magnetic resonance images contain information about the distribution of T2 relaxation times of compartmentalized water, from which we can estimate relevant brain tissue properties such as the myelin water fraction (MWF). Regularized non-negative least squares (NNLS) is the tool of choice for estimating non-parametric T2 spectra. However, the estimation is ill-conditioned, sensitive to noise, and highly affected by the employed regularization weight. The purpose of this study is threefold: first, we want to underline that the apparently innocuous use of two alternative parameterizations for solving the inverse problem, which we called the standard and alternative regularization forms, leads to different solutions; second, to assess the performance of both parameterizations; and third, to propose a new Bayesian regularized NNLS method (BayesReg). The performance of BayesReg was compared with that of two conventional approaches (L-curve and Chi-square (X2) fitting) using both regularization forms. We generated a large dataset of synthetic data, acquired in vivo human brain data in healthy participants for conducting a scan-rescan analysis, and correlated the myelin content derived from histology with the MWF estimated from ex vivo data. Results from synthetic data indicate that BayesReg provides accurate MWF estimates, comparable to those from L-curve and X2, and with better overall stability across a wider signal-to-noise range. Notably, we obtained superior results by using the alternative regularization form. The correlations reported in this study are higher than those reported in previous studies employing the same ex vivo and histological data. In human brain data, the estimated maps from L-curve and BayesReg were more reproducible. However, the T2 spectra produced by BayesReg were less affected by over-smoothing than those from L-curve. These findings suggest that BayesReg is a good alternative for estimating T2 distributions and MWF maps.

Novel Method for Predicting Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure Curves of Tight Sandstone Reservoirs Using NMR T2 Distributions

Novel Method for Predicting Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure Curves of Tight Sandstone Reservoirs Using NMR <i>T</i>₂ Distributions

CO2 – brine – sandstone wettability evaluation at reservoir conditions via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance measurements

CO2-rock wettability is a key parameter which governs CO2 trapping capacities and containment security in the context of CO2 geo-sequestration schemes. However, significant uncertainties still exist in terms of predicting CO2 rock wettability at true reservoir conditions. This study thus reports on wettability measurements via independent Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments on sandstone (CO2–brine systems) to quantify Wettability Indices (WI) using the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) scale. The results show that CO2 (either molecularly dissolved or as a separate supercritical phase) significantly reduced the hydrophilicity of the sandstone from strongly water-wet (WI ≈ 1) to weakly water-wet (WI = 0.26), and associated with that the water-wetness of the rock for the two-phase systems. This was caused by additional protonation of surface silanol groups on the quartz, induced by carbonic acid. Capillary pressure and relative permeability curves and residual CO2 saturation were also measured; these results were compared with literature data, and general consistency was found. NMR T2 distribution measurements also demonstrated preferential water displacement in large pores (r > 1 µm) following scCO2 flooding, while no change was observed for smaller pores (r < 1 µm). These insights add confidence to the assessments of CO2-rock wettability and therefore reduce project risk. This work thus aids in the implementation of large-scale CO2 sequestration.

A hybrid compression method for the NMR data based on window averaging and Discrete Cosine Transform

A large amount of raw echo data is collected by NMR logging, especially in multi-dimensional NMR logging, and a direct inversion for the raw echo data is time-consuming, so the echo data collected need to be compressed before inversion to improve inversion speed. This paper proposes a multi-dimensional NMR data compression method based on Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT). Utilizing the energy concentration characteristics of DCT, the low-frequency information of the echo data is retained to realize the compression of raw echo data. On this basis, a hybrid compression (WAC-DCT) method is proposed, which uses the window averaging method (WAC) to pre-compress the raw echo data, and then uses the DCT compression method to compress the pre-compressed echo data again to achieve a high compression rate. The compression effects of the WAC method, the FastSVD method, the WAC-SVD method, the DCT method and the WAC-DCT method are compared by numerical simulation. The results show that some fluid information is lost in the DCT compression process with a low compression rate. The FastSVD method, the WAC-SVD method and the WAC-DCT method all have the characteristic of a high compression rate. When the number of compressed echoes is very small, the WAC-DCT method has obvious advantage in T1 distribution. Compared with the case of without compression, the WAC-DCT method not only ensures a high compression rate, but also effectively reduces the inversion time, which has a good application effect in multi-dimensional NMR data compression.

Establishment of novel standardised operating procedures for LF‐NMR: used in rapid detection of typical fruit and vegetable

SummaryAlthough LF‐NMR has been widely used in many fields of food science, the lack of NMR expertise of many food researchers needs to be bridged. Using samples of carrots, bananas, and king oyster mushroom, this work systematically studied the influence of LF‐NMR parameters (repetition time (TR), echo time (TE)) on experimental results. The result showed that the TR of carrot, mushroom and banana were 2684, 4572 and 4317 ms, respectively. The rate of change of signal amplitude can be used as an index to optimise TR. The change of TE has different effects on the short relaxation components of the T2 distributions and long relaxation components in different TR samples. TE and Nech should be set according to T2 to record completely the decay process. What’s more, the method of normalised CPMG decay was suggested to eliminate the effects of parameters such as number of scan (NS), pre‐amp regulate gain (PRG) and mass of sample. At last, the standardised operating procedures were proposed to provide a strategy of improving the properties and applications of LF‐NMR.

NMR Fluid Substitution–A New Method of Reconstructing T2 Distributions Under Primary Drainage and Imbibition Conditions

Most nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based petrophysics models, such as pore structure characterization and permeability prediction, were developed using T2 distributions measured at fully water-saturated conditions (i.e., Sw = 1). The downhole implementation of those models across the hydrocarbon zones is disputable due to partial saturation (Sw &lt; 1) conditions; hence, a correction to such effects on T2 distributions is required. This paper provides a critical review of the fluid substitution methods currently available in the industry and presents an improved method for enhanced formation evaluation. In the new method presented, an effective irreducible water saturation model is used to account for the pore structure and capillary pressure effects, which were barely considered by the currently available NMR fluid substitution methods. For water-wet reservoir rocks, the typical NMR T2 distribution at the partial saturation condition displays a clear separation between the wetting and nonwetting phases. The water phase can be classified as irreducible and movable fluid volumes. Then, using a T2 mapping relationship and a total porosity constraint, the T2 distribution of movable water at Sw &lt; 1 is shifted and amplified to determine the T2 distribution of movable water at Sw = 1. To validate the new method, NMR measurements were conducted on sandstone samples at Sw = 1 as well as Sw &lt; 1. The reconstructed T2 distribution at Sw = 1 was compared with the measured T2 distribution at Sw = 1. Results showed that the reconstructed T2 distribution matched very well with the T2 distribution measured at Sw = 1, confirming the robustness of the new technique. Parameters used in the reconstruction methodology are observed to be a good indicator of pore connectivity. During desaturation, the water T2 in large pores shifts to a shorter T2 because of the enhanced surface relaxation as the water volume decreases while the surface area remains constant. Therefore, the amplitude at the short T2 increases. The increased amplitude was remapped to large pores in reconstructing T2 spectra of full saturation.

Spontaneous imbibition characteristics of carbon nanofluids in carbonate reservoirs

Altering the wettability of the rock–oil–brine system plays a substantial role in the oil recovery process from carbonate reservoirs. Hence, there arises a need for understanding the wetting and wettability alteration of this system. In this study, we ran a suite of spontaneous imbibition tests and investigated the efficiency of Carbon nanodots (CND) and an in-house cationic Gemini surfactant (GS8) on the wettability alteration of and recovery from oil-wet carbonate rock samples. The study considered the effects of additives concentrations, sample aging, initial water saturation, and rock permeability. Both CND and GS8 proved efficient at concentrations below 200 ppm. At 200 ppm, separately CND in seawater and GS8 in seawater demonstrated each about 22%–25% incremental oil recovery over neat seawater. Low field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements supported this observation. NMR T2 distribution and NMR T2D fluid typing measurements helped evaluate the recovery in terms of the pore size distribution and the oil and brine water saturation at different imbibition stages. CND exhibited a strong positive effect on the wettability of all tested samples, and accordingly, on the imbibition characteristics and oil recovery. It altered the wettability from strongly oil-wet to water-wet with equal efficiency in all pore systems making it a strong candidate for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). GS8, on the other hand, was most efficient in the macropores. Unlike CND, the efficiency of GS8 decreased in the mesopores and more so in the micropores. Rock–oil–brine surface contact angle and oil–brine interfacial tension measurements supported the imbibition test results and helped interpret the recovery mechanism. Overall, CND proved effective for EOR in the harsh carbonate reservoir environment and demonstrated itself as a viable and economical substitute to the more costly and complex oilfield chemicals for recovery operations.

Water-Fat Separation in MR Fingerprinting for Quantitative Monitoring of the Skeletal Muscle in Neuromuscular Disorders.

Background Quantitative MRI is increasingly proposed in clinical trials related to neuromuscular disorders (NMDs). Purpose To investigate the potential of an MR fingerprinting sequence for water and fat fraction (FF) quantification (MRF T1-FF) for providing markers of fatty replacement and disease activity in patients with NMDs and to establish the sensitivity of water T1 as a marker of disease activity compared with water T2 mapping. Materials and Methods Data acquired between March 2018 and March 2020 from the legs of patients with NMDs were retrospectively analyzed. The MRI examination comprised fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging, mapping of the FF measured with the three-point Dixon technique (FFDixon), water T2 mapping, and MRF T1-FF, from which the FF measured with MRF T1-FF (FFMRF) and water T1 were derived. Data from the legs of healthy volunteers were prospectively acquired between January and July 2020 to derive abnormality thresholds for FF, water T2, and water T1 values. Kruskal-Wallis tests and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were performed, and linear models were used. Results A total of 73 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 47 years ± 12; 45 women) and 15 healthy volunteers (mean age, 33 years ± 8; three women) were evaluated. A linear correlation was observed between FFMRF and FFDixon (R2 = 0.97, P < .001). Water T1 values were higher in muscles with high signal intensity at fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging than in muscles with low signal intensity (mean value, 1281 msec [95% CI: 1165, 1604] vs 1198 msec [95% CI: 1099, 1312], respectively; P < .001), and a correlation was found between water T1 and water T2 distribution metrics (R2 = 0.66 and 0.79 for the median and 90th percentile values, respectively; P < .001). Water T1 classified the patients' muscles as abnormal based on quantitative water T2, with high sensitivity (93%; 68 of 73 patients) and specificity (80%; 53 of 73 patients) (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.92 [95% CI: 0.83, 0.97]; P < .001). Conclusion Water-fat separation in MR fingerprinting is robust for deriving quantitative imaging markers of intramuscular fatty replacement and disease activity in patients with neuromuscular disorders. © RSNA, 2021 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Abdominal T2-Weighted Imaging and T2 Mapping Using a Variable Flip Angle Radial Turbo Spin-Echo Technique.

T2 mapping is of great interest in abdominal imaging but current methods are limited by low resolution, slice coverage, motion sensitivity, or lengthy acquisitions. Develop a radial turbo spin-echo technique with refocusing variable flip angles (RADTSE-VFA) for high spatiotemporal T2 mapping and efficient slice coverage within a breath-hold and compare to the constant flip angle counterpart (RADTSE-CFA). Prospective technical efficacy. Testing performed on agarose phantoms and 12 patients. Focal liver lesion classification tested on malignant (N=24) and benign (N=11) lesions. 1.5 T/RADTSE-VFA, RADTSE-CFA. A constrained objective function was used to optimize the refocusing flip angles. Phantom and/or in vivo data were used to assess relative contrast, T2 estimation, specific absorption rate (SAR), and focal liver lesion classification. STATISTICAL TESTS: t-Tests or Mann-Whitney Rank Sum tests were used. Phantom data did not show significant differences in mean relative contrast (P=0.10) and T2 accuracy (P=0.99) between RADTSE-VFA and RADTSE-CFA. Adding noise caused T2 overestimation predominantly for RADTSE-CFA and low T2 values. In vivo results did not show significant differences in mean spleen-to-liver (P=0.62) and kidney-to-liver (P=0.49) relative contrast between RADTSE-VFA and RADTSE-CFA. Mean T2 values were not significantly different between the two techniques for spleen (T2VFA =109.2 ± 12.3msec; T2CFA =110.7 ± 11.1msec; P=0.78) and kidney-medulla (T2VFA =113.0 ± 8.7msec; T2CFA =114.0 ± 8.6msec; P=0.79). Liver T2 was significantly higher for RADTSE-CFA (T2VFA =52.6 ± 6.6msec; T2CFA =60.4 ± 8.0msec) consistent with T2 overestimation in the phantom study. Focal liver lesion classification had comparable T2 distributions for RADTSE-VFA and RADTSE-CFA for malignancies (P=1.0) and benign lesions (P=0.39). RADTSE-VFA had significantly lower SAR than RADTSE-CFA increasing slice coverage by 1.5. RADTSE-VFA provided noise-robust T2 estimation compared to the constant flip angle counterpart while generating T2-weighted images with comparable contrast. The VFA scheme minimized SAR improving slice efficiency for breath-hold imaging. 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 1.

Testing 1D and 2D single-sided NMR on Roman age waterlogged woods

Waterlogged archaeological wood can provide information on past human activities and technology but its structure may be modified due to microbial deterioration. Knowing its conservation state is fundamental for its restoration. Aim of this work was to test the use of non-destructive portable NMR for the microstructural characterization and preservation state of three archaeological wood samples (Roman age, 5th century AD). 1D T1 and T2 relaxation time distributions, as well as 2D T1-T2 and D-T2 distributions were measured by single-sided NMR and interpreted with the help of high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical microscopy. Due to the complexity of the ancient wood samples, in this first study a multi-analytical approach was required. It allowed the characterization of both waterlogged softwood (spruce) and hardwood (chestnut and maple) by quantifying relaxation times and diffusion water components affected by the presence of degradation products such as fungi, paramagnetic agents, and microstructural changes. Optical microscopy was needed to investigate the sub-microscopic wood elements not resolved by MRI and validate indirect single-sided NMR investigations. Observations and results of this study will allow the improvement of single-sided NMR protocols for the analyses of archaeological wood in situ with portable NMR.

NMR characterization of fluid mobility in tight sand: Analysis on the pore capillaries with the nine-grid model

Pore fluids are generally classified into movable fluid and irreducible fluid by one or two NMR T2 cut-offs (T2C). Fluid movability in tight sands may not be accurately characterized by pore size-based classification methods solely because of the complex pore structure and heterogeneity in pore size. In this study, we propose a nine-grid model to characterize fluid movability and calculate the percentages of free fluid (FF), capillary-bound fluid (CAF), and clay-bound fluid (CBF). The pore size distributions and capillarity boundaries are converted from T2 and mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP). Three T2 spectra (TFF, TCAF, and TCBF) under water saturation, centrifugation, and heat-treatments are measured to classify pore fluids as FF, CAF, and CBF according to the pore capillary force needed to displace them. T2C1 and T2C2 are calculated to classify pores into three size categories. Finally, the nine-grid model that is composed of the three T2 distributions and two T2C is applied to explain results of a N2 displacement test and evaluate fluid movability in two samples. The results suggest that the conventional classification method based on fixed T2C results in the underestimation of CAF and overestimation of CBF. The macro-pores (T2 > T2C1) range in size larger than 85.20 nm and 113.64 nm and have pore capillary pressures lower than 6.46 MPa and 8.62 MPa. Micro-pores (T2 < T2C2) are smaller, ranging in size lower than 13.96 nm and 31.84 nm, and have high capillary pressures. Compared with conventional methods, the introduced model interprets the pore capacity-related displacement process well, especially for the remarkable displacement ratio of medium pores. The co-effect of fluid types and pore sizes in gas-displacing-water tests indicates that the process is primarily governed by fluid-matrix interaction and the connections among pores, rather than a simple sequential displacement of larger-to-smaller pores.

Objective-Driven Solid-Surface-Roughness Characterization for Enhanced Nuclear-Magnetic-Resonance Petrophysics

Summary Typically, smooth solid surfaces of reservoir rocks are assumed in formation evaluation, such as nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) petrophysics and reservoir-wettability characterization through contact-angle measurements. Measuring the degree of surface roughness (R), or smoothness, and evaluating its effects on formation evaluation are topics of much research. In this paper, we primarily focus on details in characterizing solid-surface roughness and its applications in NMR pore-size analysis. R can be measured by contact techniques and noncontact techniques, such as stylus profilometer, atomic-force microscopy, and different kinds of optical measurements. Each technique has different sensitivities, measurement artifacts, resolutions, and field of view (FOV). Intuitively, although a finer resolution measurement provides the closest account of all surface details, the correspondingly small FOV might compromise the representativeness of the measurement, which is particularly challenging for charactering heterogeneous samples such as carbonates. To balance the FOV and measurement representativeness, and to minimize artifacts, laser scanner confocal microscopy (LSCM) is selected in this study. Results for the more than 27 rock samples tested indicate that rocks of similar rock types have similar R-values. Grainy limestones have relatively higher R-values compared with dolostones, consistent with the dolostone’s crystallization surface features. Muddy limestones have smoother surfaces, resulting in the lowest R-values among the rocks studied. For sandstones, R varies with clay types and content. For rocks containing two distinct minerals, two R-values are observed from the R profiles, which for these rock types justifies the use of two NMR surface relaxivity (ρ2) parameters for determining the pore-size distribution (PSD) from the NMR T2 distribution. The novelty here is the integration of LSCM and NMR to obtain an NMR PSD relevant for permeability, capillary pressure, and other petrophysical parameters. Typically, ρ2 is calibrated using the total surface area from Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET; Brunauer et al. 1938) gas adsorption, but this underestimates the NMR pore size because of surface-roughness effects. In our novel approach, we use R measured from LSCM to correct ρ2 for surface-roughness effects, and thereby obtain the NMR pore size more relevant for permeability and other petrophysical parameters. We then compare the roughness-corrected NMR PSD against pore size from microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) scanning (which is roughness independent). The good agreement between roughness-corrected NMR and micro-CT pore sizes in the micropore region validates our new technique, and highlights the importance of surface-roughness characterization in NMR petrophysics.