The relationship between nuclear magnetic resonance and permeability in near-surface unconsolidated materials
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Essential to the effective assessment of groundwater aquifers is a comprehensive understanding of permeability (k), which defines the ease with which a fluid flows through a material. Although methods exist for obtaining estimates of k in the field, depending on the applications, they can be limited in their effectiveness. A promising alternate method for obtaining estimates of k is through proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging. The NMR measurement provides information about water-filled porosity and pore space geometry, both of which can be used to obtain estimates of k. For decades, k has been reliably predicted from NMR logging data in petroleum applications where the materials are consolidated and the pores are typically small. However, in unconsolidated materials where pores are large, studies have shown that k is not reliably estimated. The goal of this research was to improve the reliability of NMR-derived permeability estimates in near-surface unconsolidated materials. The differences between the NMR-derived permeability estimates in small and large pores were analyzed through field and laboratory data, numerical modeling, and theoretical assessments. This thesis showed that including bulk fluid relaxation and assuming slow diffusion affects the reliability of the NMR-derived permeability estimates in unconsolidated sands and gravels. Additionally, this work showed that horizontal permeability is most reliably predicted when the measured NMR T2 distribution is represented as a single value by taking its arithmetic mean. This research establishes NMR logging as a promising tool for characterizing relevant hydrological parameters in near-surface groundwater applications.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2013 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Dlubac, Katherine Isis |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Geophysics. |
| Primary advisor | Knight, Rosemary (Rosemary Jane), 1953- |
| Thesis advisor | Knight, Rosemary (Rosemary Jane), 1953- |
| Thesis advisor | Mavko, Gary, 1949- |
| Thesis advisor | Mukerji, Tapan, 1965- |
| Advisor | Mavko, Gary, 1949- |
| Advisor | Mukerji, Tapan, 1965- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Katherine Isis Dlubac. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Geophysics. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2013. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2013 by Katherine Isis Dlubac
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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