Feasibility of using Wood's metal porosimetry techniques to measure the fracture-void geometry of cleats in coal. Topical report, September 1990-June 1991

Technical Report · Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5687164

Pyrak-Nolte, L J

Fractures and cleats in coal are the primary conduits along which fluids move through coalbed reservoirs. Fluid flow through a fracture is controlled by the geometry and the distribution of the void spaces. In the report, the feasibility of using a Wood's metal porosimetry technique to investigate the fracture void geometry of cleats in a whole coal drill core specimen is demonstrated. Wood's metal (a low melting point alloy) was injected into a coal specimen and allowed to solidify to form metal casts of the flow paths. The volume of voids forming the flow paths through the sample was determined gravinometrically. The casts were examined using computerized tomographic (CT) analysis and micrographs, showing the variable void geometry of cleats. The geometrical information on the cleat void geometry and the cleat network obtained from the Wood's metal porosimetry experiment include effective cleat porosity, cleat aperture, cleat density, and cleat spacing. Preliminary quantitative analysis was performed to characterize the spatial distribution of the flow paths in a cleat.

• Research Organization: Purdue Univ., Lafayette, IN (United States). Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• OSTI ID: 5687164
• Report Number(s): PB-92-137678/XAB; CNN: GRI-5090-260-2003
• Resource Relation: Other Information: See also DE87006147. Sponsored by Gas Research Inst., Chicago, IL
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
COAL
POROSITY
COAL DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
POROSIMETERS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
ALLOYS
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
DRILL CORES
FLUID FLOW
FLUID INJECTION
GEOMETRY
LIQUID METALS
MICROSCOPY
PERMEABILITY
POROUS MATERIALS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
VOID FRACTION
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
LIQUIDS
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
METALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
RESOURCES
TESTING
TOMOGRAPHY
010600* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Properties & Composition
011000 - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration