Alternative Approaches to Conventional Pressure-Pulse-Decay Permeametry

Abstract:

Although pressure-pulse-decay permeametry has been in wide use for the past 50 years, its standard configuration and design have remained largely intact, with performance optimizations based largely on sample geometry and reservoir volumes. This study concentrates on new unidirectional flow scenarios which can be reduced to analytical models. It begins by describing slight modifications to the classical pulse-decay techniques involving flow along the axial direction of cylindrical core samples, followed by models for flow in the radial direction in cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems. Such strategies enable noticeably, in some cases dramatically, faster experimental measurements within lower permeability regimes than conventional pressure-pulse-decay techniques. These approaches could form baseline alternatives to the industry-standard pulse-decay variants in wide use for ultra-low permeability materials like shales and caprocks.