Goral, Jan | Search NASA

DOE OSTI2020

Nanofabrication of synthetic nanoporous geomaterials: from nanoscale-resolution 3D imaging to nano-3D-printed digital (shale) rock

Abstract Advances in imaging have made it possible to view nanometer and sub-nanometer structures that are either synthesized or that occur naturally. It is believed that fluid dynamic and thermodynamic behavior differ significantly at these scales from the bulk. From a materials perspective, it is important to be able to create complex structures at the nanometer scale, reproducibly, so that the fluid behavior may be studied. New advances in nanoscale-resolution 3D-printing offer opportunities to achieve this goal. In particular, additive manufacturing with two-photon polymerization allows creation of intricate structures. Using this technology, a creation of the first nano-3D-printed digital (shale) rock is reported. In this paper, focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) nano-tomography image dataset was used to reconstruct a high-resolution digital rock 3D model of a Marcellus Shale rock sample. Porosity of this 3D model has been characterized and its connected/effective pore system has been extracted and nano-3D-printed. The workflow of creating this novel nano-3D-printed digital rock 3D model is described in this paper.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

Macro- and micro-compression testing of shales

Here, macro- and micro-geomechanical properties of shales were investigated at millimeter- and micrometer-scale using an example of the Woodford Shale. Geomechanical properties, such as uniaxial (unconfined) compressive strength and Young's modulus, were quantified at the millimeter-scale and compared with results from micro-compression testing experiments of FIB-SEM-nanofabricated micro-pillars. Size-scale and compositional/structural heterogeneity effect on elasto-plastic deformation and failure behavior of shales were investigated. Also, relationship between elemental/mineral composition and unconfined compressive strength and Young's modulus, at a micrometer-scale, was discussed. It was shown that geomechanical properties of shales are scale-dependent and are strongly affected by compositional/structural anisotropy. In particular, micro-compression testing experiments showed non-uniformly distributed compressive strength and Young's modulus within the investigated Woodford Shale rock samples. It was demonstrated, that geomechanical properties of shales, investigated at the micrometer-scale, tend to be affected by different minerals and/or pores, while the same properties, investigated at the millimeter-scale, are governed by different micro-facies (and/or micro-fractures) present within the rock. This shows that geomechanical properties of shales can be dramatically different depending on the scale of investigation and compositional/structural heterogeneity of these rocks, and therefore are not easily transferable across the scales.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗