Microstructure analysis of reconstructed porous media

TL;DR

This study compares the microstructural properties of Berea Sandstone with stochastic reconstructions using local porosity theory, revealing significant differences in connectivity despite matching other statistical properties.

Contribution

It introduces a method to evaluate stochastic reconstructions of porous media based on local connectivity, highlighting discrepancies with experimental data.

Findings

Reconstructed models match porosity and two-point correlation but differ in connectivity.

Different coarse graining levels affect local connectivity.

Connectivity properties of stochastic models significantly differ from experimental data.

Abstract

We compare the quantitative microstructural properties of Berea Sandstone with stochastic reconstructions of the same sandstone. The comparison is based on local porosity theory. The reconstructions employ Fourier space filtering of Gaussian random fields and match the average porosity and two-point correlation function of the experimental model. Connectivity properties of the stochastic models differ significantly from the experimental model. Reconstruction models with different levels of coarse graining also show different average local connectivity.