3D Analysis of fluid flow in fissured salt rock

The processes of dissolution and destabilization during and right after the flooding of a salt mine are in principle well understood but in detail still enigmatic. In our attempt to visualize these mechanisms, a combination of structural imaging as well as computer simulations were performed at the pore scale. High resolution positron emission tomography in situ imaging of fluid flow processes in heterogeneously structured drilling cores were matched with high resolution x-ray computer tomography imaging of effective hydraulic microstructures [1]. The microstructures were used as input for lattice Boltzmann based particle tracking simulations [2]. The space and time resolved combined imaging of hydraulic effective structures and fluid flow processes (Figure 1) allows an estimation of the effective volume within the network of pores and fissures and an estimation of the reactive surface area of rock material. Flow path topology concerning, e.g., fingering phenomena, dispersion and molecular diffusion effects can be quantified, and velocity distribution can be observed in 3D [3].

With PET, we observed the propagation of brine labelled with a PET-tracer (¹²⁴I or ¹⁸F) through a mechanically damaged rock salt drill core, which was structurally characterized with CT. The experiments show, that two heterogeneous effects have to be considered with respect to dissolution and destabilization of the material. The first one is a strong localization of fluid paths dominated by fingering phenomena especially along fissures but also in parts in homogeneous porous areas. As a consequence, fluid in motion uses only a small part of the available pathway even under saturated conditions. The fraction of the internal surface of a rock sample which is exposed to the propagating fluid – the effective reactive surface area – decreases with increasing localization of actual transport paths. Therefore, this effect considerably narrows the part of the pore space, where dissolution or other interactions are likely to occur. This effective pore volume and surface area can be quantified experimentally with PET process observation and with CT-based flow field simulations. The second mechanism is a high variability in the streaming velocity patterns along distinct parts of the fractures. Locally enhanced flow velocities increase local dissolution and cause widening of fracture cross sections. This may lead to a self-enhancing effect of increasing flow velocities and flow rates in saline rock. These results may contribute to the understanding of destabilization and dissolution processes and ultimately pylon collapse upon flooding of a salt mine.