Fluid flow in porous media : NMR imaging and numerical simulation

Abstract

We use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging to obtain a three-dimensional image of the pore structure in a limestone core, 4.5 mm in diameter and 10 mm in length, with a resolution of 40 [mu]m. This image is converted into boundary conditions for simulation of fluid flow through the rock using the lattice gas method. The computed permeability is several orders of magnitude lower than the laboratory measured permeability, most likely a result of the image resolution being too coarse to resolve the smaller pore throats, which are believed to be significant for flow in this sample.