Upscaling Mercury Intrusion Capillary Pressure
GeoApp: Upscaling MICP
The Upscaling Mercury Intrusion Capillary Pressure (MICP) GeoApp will be introduced in the GeoDict 2025 release.
This GeoApp is a cutting-edge Python scripted tool designed to advance the analysis of porous materials. Traditionally, MICP is limited to small-scale laboratory samples, which restricts its application to real-world, larger structures. The Upscaling Mercury Intrusion Capillary Pressure GeoApp overcomes this limitation thru the upscaling of Capillary Pressure Curves from detailed laboratory data to extensive porous media models, such as digital rock data, fuel cell data, and many more.
Digital rock data
In Digital Rock Physics, detailed µCT-scans or scans from other imaging techniques generate high-resolution 3D models of porous rocks. MICP analysis on these digital rocks often involves complex, high-resolution data that can be computationally intensive. The Upscaling MICP GeoApp offers a solution to integrate capillary pressure data across both resolved and unresolved pores, providing the capability to accurately compute capillary pressure curves on larger, more representative digital rock models. This upscaling is crucial to understand fluid flow and saturation in realistic, large-scale rock formations, which can significantly impact reservoir management and enhanced oil recovery strategies.
Fuel Cells
In fuel cell technology, the Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) and Microporous Layer (MPL) are critical components that influence the efficiency and performance of the fuel cell. The ability to fully map the capillary pressure data of these layers provides a comprehensive overview of the fluid distribution and transport properties throughout the fuel cell structure. The Upscaling Mercury Intrusion Capillary Pressure GeoApp enhances the precision of fuel cell simulations involving gas and water management by integrating capillary pressure curves from GDL+MPL analyses. This is crucial to optimize fuel cell performance, improve energy efficiency, and ensure the longevity and reliability of the cell.
The Upscaling MICP GeoApp is a comprehensive solution for analyzing complex porous media, effectively bridging the gap between small-scale, detailed experiments and large-scale, practical applications. This capability is essential for improving the precision of simulations, enhancing material performance predictions, and making informed decisions in various industrial and research contexts.
Whole core MICP
- Medical CT-scan, Petrobras1
156x205x1404 voxels, 488µm resolution - Image segmentation2
Pore space (bright)
Solid matrix (transparent)
3x Porous matrix (grey) - Sub-sampling3
Preparation of µCT samples for scanning rock
of any porous matrix at pore scale - MICP capillary pressure curves of
porous material - Upscaled MICP capillary pressure curve of the whole core4
1 Victor, R.A. et al. (2017)
2 U-Net 3D AI segmentation (M2M, 2023)
Fuel Cell – GDL+MPL - MICP
- Relevant features in fuel cell materials vary over
many scales - from few nm to hundreds of µm - Need to use effective media to include unresolved
porosity (light gray material)- Saturate structures with hidden porosity
- Get Mercury Intrusion Capillary Pressure
curve for the entire sample
Simulation setup
The Upscaling MICP GeoApp provides a comprehensive workflow that encompasses all the essential stages for precise capillary pressure curve calculation in porous media.
Key features include:
- Import Capillary Pressure Data: Readily import capillary pressure data for unresolved materials, either from supplementary GeoDict simulations or from user-provided experimental data.
- Accurately assign pressure, saturation, porosity, and displacement pressure data to each unresolved material, ensuring a comprehensive analysis.
This GeoApp streamlines the entire upscaling process, providing a technically advanced yet user-friendly solution for porous media analysis.
Feature summary
- Flexible data import: Import capillary pressure curves for unresolved data from GeoDict or user input.
- Detailed parameter signment: Assign critical capillary pressure data to unresolved materials for accurate analysis.
- Comprehensive MICP analysis: Perform MICP on resolved materials using GeoDict.
- Complete capillary pressure curve computation: Compute and integrate capillary pressure curves for both resolved and unresolved materials to provide a complete capillary pressure curve for the entire sample.