Method for determining physical properties of a porous sample using capillary pressure measurement
US4648261A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 12, 1985 |
| Grant date | Mar 10, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 12, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N15/0886
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for determining pore-dependent properties, such as electrical conductivity and absolute permeability, of a porous sample by use of capillary pressure measurements. Capillary pressure data are obtained by performing nonwetting fluid intrusion measurements on a sample. The lowest applied pressure at which the intruding fluid forms a connected path spanning the sample (the "threshold capillary pressure") is determined. The sample's conductivity or absolute permeability, or both, may be determined in a preferred embodiment from the characteristic pore diameter corresponding to the threshold capillary pressure, an other parameters extracted from the measured capillary pressure data. The invention does not require use of any arbitrary, empirically adjustable parameter to predict conductivity or permeability. The method may be performed to characterize small samples of porous rock such as those obtained during borehold drilling operations. The invention may also be performed to characterize other types of porous samples, such as porous catalysts or electrode materials used in battery technology.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.