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Title: Quantifying the heterogeneity of shale through statistical combination of imaging across scales

Journal Article · · Acta Geotechnica

Shale is a highly heterogeneous material across multiple scales. A typical shale consists of nanometer-scale pores and minerals mixed with macro-scale fractures and particles of varying size. High-resolution imaging is crucial for characterizing the composition and microstructure of this rock. Yet, it is generally not feasible to image a large sample of shale at a high resolution over a large field of view (FOV), thus limiting a full characterization of the microstructure of this material. We present a stochastic framework based on multiple-point statistics that uses high-resolution training images to enhance low-resolution images obtained over a large FOV. Here, we demonstrate the approach using X-ray micro-tomography images of organic-rich Woodford shale obtained at two different resolutions and FOV. Results show that the proposed technique can generate realistic high-resolution images of the microstructure of shale over a large FOV.

Research Organization:
Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-03ER15454; CMMI-1462231; ECCS-1542152
OSTI ID:
1597173
Journal Information:
Acta Geotechnica, Vol. 12, Issue 6; ISSN 1861-1125
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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