X-ray transparent core flood apparatus (2015-2016)
Abstract
The proposed facility is a novel x-ray transparent flow vessel and acillaries for achieving direct, near-realtime, 3D measurement and visualisation of material flow inside rock samples. It will enable direct evaluation of how liquid, liquid-solid, and gas-liquid and gas-liquid-solid flows behave in cores replicating conditions in underground reservoirs. The coal seam gas, shale gas and oil, and geothermal energy recovery rely on precise understanding and simulation of subsurface flow. This apparatus will provide a new method to measure and visualise otherwise inaccessible flow behaviour, at a high level of detail, providing characterisation and model validation data underpinning reservoir simulations.
