PETROPHYSICAL APPLICATIONS OF NEUTRON RADIOGRAPHY

Abstract Petrophysics, when applied to the fields of petroleum and groundwater resources, has the special connotation of fluid-rock interaction. Neutron radiography imaging techniques have been applied in the present study to evaluate fluid-rock behaviour for three specific experiments. The basic experimental set-up entails a beam of thermal neutrons intersecting a thin slice (5 mm thick) of fluid-filled porous rock, which is encased in aluminium to retain the fluid within the rock. Neutrons are attenuated by the fluid in the rock, and comparison of the neutron intensity in a dry and saturated state permits one to estimate the rock's porosity (ratio of pore volume to total volume) and relative fluid saturation, The three experiments are (I) Water inflitration into a porous rock, Displacement of heavy water by oil and 3 Water flooding of a clay-rich rock. Each experiment is analogous to a practical geological resource problem.