Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

A novel testing system for hydromechanical investigation of rock materials in neutron and X-ray imaging instruments

Vieira Lima, Fernando LU ; Hall, Stephen LU ; Engqvist, Jonas LU ; Tudisco, Erika LU orcid and Woracek, Robin (2024) In International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 174.
Abstract

This article introduces a novel testing system for investigating rock hydromechanical behavior with neutron and X-ray imaging techniques. The system comprises four subsystems: an axial compression system, a confining pressure system, a fluid flow system, and a triaxial cell. In order to enable imaging with both modalities to track fluid flow and deformation in situ and 3D, the cell was designed to have sufficient transparency to X-rays and neutrons. The system's capabilities are demonstrated by showing neutron and X-ray tomography data of Idaho Gray sandstone samples during in situ coupled flow-triaxial tests. Quasi-single-phase flow analysis was enabled by directly visualizing the fluid front advance via neutron tomography by... (More)

This article introduces a novel testing system for investigating rock hydromechanical behavior with neutron and X-ray imaging techniques. The system comprises four subsystems: an axial compression system, a confining pressure system, a fluid flow system, and a triaxial cell. In order to enable imaging with both modalities to track fluid flow and deformation in situ and 3D, the cell was designed to have sufficient transparency to X-rays and neutrons. The system's capabilities are demonstrated by showing neutron and X-ray tomography data of Idaho Gray sandstone samples during in situ coupled flow-triaxial tests. Quasi-single-phase flow analysis was enabled by directly visualizing the fluid front advance via neutron tomography by exchanging light water (H2O) and heavy water (D2O). Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) could be performed on both the X-ray and neutron tomography images to quantify the mechanical strain field evolution in the samples, which can be compared to the evolution of the fluid flow fields. In addition, the cell and a sample of Idaho Gray sandstone were imaged in a laboratory X-ray tomography machine, generating 3D reconstructed volumes with grain-scale resolution. Improvements are proposed for future experiments to obtain grain-scale resolution images during coupled flow-triaxial tests using neutron and X-ray beams simultaneously and conducting in situ experiments on laboratory tomographs.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Digital volume correlation, Neutron tomography, Permeability, Rock hydromechanics, Triaxial testing, X-ray tomography
in
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
volume
174
article number
105647
pages
13 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85185169127
ISSN
1365-1609
DOI
10.1016/j.ijrmms.2024.105647
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: Measurements were carried out at the D50 beamline (NeXT) at Institut Laue-Langevin [proposal number 84319, 2020] and 4D Imaging Lab at the Solid Mechanics Division at Lund University. Alessandro Tengattini‬ and Cyrille Couture are thanked for their help in the experiment performed at Institut Laue-Langevin. This work was supported by Vetenskapsrådet (the Swedish Research Council ) [grant number 2018-04469 , 2018]. Funding Information: Measurements were carried out at the D50 beamline (NeXT) at Institut Laue-Langevin [proposal number 84319, 2020] and 4D Imaging Lab at the Solid Mechanics Division at Lund University. Alessandro Tengattini‬ and Cyrille Couture are thanked for their help in the experiment performed at Institut Laue-Langevin. This work was supported by Vetenskapsrådet (the Swedish Research Council) [grant number 2018-04469, 2018]. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
id
e4d9bb42-2433-47fa-b9b3-675221aa9c0e
date added to LUP
2024-03-03 12:01:00
date last changed
2025-02-04 09:45:36
@article{e4d9bb42-2433-47fa-b9b3-675221aa9c0e,
  abstract     = {{<p>This article introduces a novel testing system for investigating rock hydromechanical behavior with neutron and X-ray imaging techniques. The system comprises four subsystems: an axial compression system, a confining pressure system, a fluid flow system, and a triaxial cell. In order to enable imaging with both modalities to track fluid flow and deformation in situ and 3D, the cell was designed to have sufficient transparency to X-rays and neutrons. The system's capabilities are demonstrated by showing neutron and X-ray tomography data of Idaho Gray sandstone samples during in situ coupled flow-triaxial tests. Quasi-single-phase flow analysis was enabled by directly visualizing the fluid front advance via neutron tomography by exchanging light water (H<sub>2</sub>O) and heavy water (D<sub>2</sub>O). Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) could be performed on both the X-ray and neutron tomography images to quantify the mechanical strain field evolution in the samples, which can be compared to the evolution of the fluid flow fields. In addition, the cell and a sample of Idaho Gray sandstone were imaged in a laboratory X-ray tomography machine, generating 3D reconstructed volumes with grain-scale resolution. Improvements are proposed for future experiments to obtain grain-scale resolution images during coupled flow-triaxial tests using neutron and X-ray beams simultaneously and conducting in situ experiments on laboratory tomographs.</p>}},
  author       = {{Vieira Lima, Fernando and Hall, Stephen and Engqvist, Jonas and Tudisco, Erika and Woracek, Robin}},
  issn         = {{1365-1609}},
  keywords     = {{Digital volume correlation; Neutron tomography; Permeability; Rock hydromechanics; Triaxial testing; X-ray tomography}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences}},
  title        = {{A novel testing system for hydromechanical investigation of rock materials in neutron and X-ray imaging instruments}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2024.105647}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ijrmms.2024.105647}},
  volume       = {{174}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}