Pore-scale fluid distributions determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of partially saturated sandstones

Abstract

The acoustic property and the P-wave velocity of partially saturated rocks depend not only on the water saturation but also on the pore-scale fluid distribution. Here, we analyzed the pore-scale fluid distribution using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) [Formula: see text] spectra, which present the variation of porosity components associated with NMR transverse relaxation time [Formula: see text]. Based on the [Formula: see text] spectra, we classified the pore-scale fluid distribution during water imbibition and drainage into three models: a low-saturation model, a patchy distribution model, and a uniform distribution model. We specifically assigned the low-saturation model to deal with the acoustic property of the rocks at the imbibition starting stage and the drainage final stage because cement softening has a nonnegligible effect. We studied the acoustic properties of sandstone rocks with various pore-scale fluid distributions, at the imbibition process and the drainage process. We confirmed that, once the variations in water saturation and pore-scale fluid distribution are taken into account, the P-wave velocity prediction matches well with the laboratory measurement of samples, representing nearly tight sandstone rocks that are partially saturated with distilled water.