Computational challenges in the analyses of petrophysics using microtomography and upscaling: A review
Microtomography provides detailed 3D internal structures of materials in micro to tens of nano meter resolution and is quickly turning into a new technology for studying petrophysical properties of rocks. An important step is the upscaling of these properties as micron or sub micron resolution can only be achieved on the sample scale of millimeters or even less than a millimeter. We have developed a computational workflow for the analysis of microstructures including the upscaling of material properties. Computations of properties are first performed using conventional material science simulations at micro to nano scale. The subsequent upscaling of these properties is done by a novel renormalization procedure based on percolation theory. In this paper we discuss the computational challenges arising from the workflow, which include: 1) characterization of microtomography for extremely large data sets; 2) computational fluid dynamics simulations at pore scale for permeability estimation; 3) solid mechanical computations at pore scale for estimating elasto plastic properties; 4) Extracting critical exponents from derivative models for scaling laws. We conclude that significant progress in each of these challenges is necessary to transform microtomography from the current research problem into a robust computational big data tool for multi scale scientific and engineering problems. A workflow for the analyses of microstructures and upscaling.Computational challenges related to the workflow are analysed.Solutions for some problems and tips to avoid trouble are provided.The sources code of characterising microstructures is released.
Comput. Geosci.