Digital rock physics benchmarks—part II: Computing effective properties

This is the second and final part of our digital rock physics (DRP) benchmarking study. We use segmented 3-D images (one for Fontainebleau, three for Berea, three for a carbonate, and one for a sphere pack) to directly compute the absolute permeability, the electrical resistivity, and elastic moduli. The numerical methods tested include a finite-element solver (elastic moduli and electrical conductivity), two finite-difference solvers (elastic moduli and electrical conductivity), a Fourier-based Lippmann-Schwinger solver (elastic moduli), a lattice-Boltzmann solver (hydraulic permeability), and the explicit-jump method (hydraulic permeability and electrical conductivity). The set-ups for these numerical experiments, including the boundary conditions and the total model size, varied as well. The results thus produced vary from each other. For example, the highest computed permeability value may differ from the lowest one by a factor of 1.5. Nevertheless, all these results fall within the ranges consistent with the relevant laboratory data. Our analysis provides the DRP community with a range of possible outcomes which can be expected depending on the solver and its setup.

► We conduct micro-scale simulations on digital rock samples.
► We simulate elastic, hydraulic and electrical properties for four samples.
► Simulated effective properties are affected by the details of image segmentation.
► Simulation results are consistent with laboratory measurements.