--> Rapid Core Characterization and Database Management

2019 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting:
Energy from the Heartland

Datapages, Inc.Print this page

Rapid Core Characterization and Database Management

Abstract

The Computed Tomography (CT) and Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) facilities at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia are utilized for rapidly characterizing large volumes of rock core. The data is disseminated in the public domain and sample information made available via the online System for Earth Sample Registration (SESAR). The primary impetus of this work is a collaboration between universities, state geologic surveys, and the NETL to characterize core for key structural and stratigraphic variations and provide a portal for easily accessible data for further characterization, analysis, and collaboration. Data generation utilizes medical and industrial grade CT to capture the internal structure and variation with the rock core at a range of scales. These measurements are complimented by P-wave velocity, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy which are a suite of instruments available on the MSCL. The large datasets that result are made available in their raw format and as condensed technical reports on NETL's Energy Data eXchange online system. All analyses are non-destructive and provide a detailed digital record of the core, while enabling utilization of samples for future studies. Qualitative analysis of the medical CT images, coupled with measurements from the MSCL are useful in saving time identifying zones of interest for more detailed analysis, experimentation, and quantification. This methodology allows for a multi-scale description of the core at both a macro- and microscopic scale. The SESAR system provides a simple, central location for data to be queried; providing the existing suites of geomaterials (subsurface cores, outcrop fragments, and specimens remaining after in-house experiments) and their metadata (including, where available, sampling location, rock type, etc.) located at NETL in Morgantown, WV to the public.