In compliance with the provisions of art. 6 of DECISION 001/76, the DOCTORAL THESIS entitled ALTERNATIVE DIGITAL ROCK PHYSICS METHODS FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF CARBONATE ROCKS by student ISMAEL RIBEIRO VASCONCELOS NETO, candidate for the degree of Doctor in Civil Engineering, will be defended on September 18, 2025, at 14:00 p.m., in a meeting held via remote communication.
Date: 18 September 2025
Working Hours14h00
Virtual Room:
https://puc-rio.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 987 3526 3917
Password: 699179
Summary: Carbonate rocks constitute some of the most complex and significant reservoirs on a global scale, representing almost half of the world's hydrocarbon reserves. Studying their physical properties is crucial due to their importance in oil and gas exploration, especially in the Brazilian pre-salt region. However, these rocks exhibit highly complex textures and physical properties, resulting from the diagenetic alterations that have affected them over time. These processes can substantially modify the rock's pore structure and alter its properties, posing numerous challenges for accurate reservoir characterization and modeling.
To address these challenges, a workflow for characterizing carbonate rocks using alternative digital rock physics techniques is developed. The proposed methodology integrates laboratory measurement data with advanced imaging techniques to construct digital rock models for calculating elastic and flow properties. Relevant information on the pore structure of the analyzed samples is extracted from micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) images. A procedure based on the finite element method, in conjunction with a rock physics model, is used to assess elastic properties, including the study of pore anisotropy.
Flow properties are obtained through a pore network modeling approach, overcoming the high computational demands imposed by direct pore-scale simulations. By integrating different methods, the proposed workflow offers a useful alternative for investigating complex porous systems, expanding the understanding of the influence of rock pore structure on physical properties and supporting the development of advanced characterization models.
