A chronostratigraphic subdivision of the Upper Jurassic synrift sediments in the eastern Barrow Sub-basin was developed from the integration of core logging, petrography, well log sequence analyses and seismic stratigraphy. From this basis, the Callovian to base Cretaceous sediments may be subdivided into five depositional sequences. The development of the sequence boundaries, in most part, is closely related to periods of major changes in basin configuration associated with the sequential breakup of eastern Gondwanaland. Initiation of the Upper Jurassic rift complex occurred during late Callovian early Oxfordian associated with the development of a northeast-southwest trending spreading centre on the Argo Abyssal Plain. The spreading centre propagated southwards during the Late Jurassic. This resulted in active rifting in the Barrow Sub-basin and ultimately led to the separation of the Indian and Australian plates during Valanginian time.Upper Jurassic synrift sediments in the eastern Barrow Sub-basin consist of detached basin floor fan complexes, channelised and canyon fed fan systems, slump deposits, prograding outer shelfal to slope deposits and deep marine claystones. Post-depositional uplift of the eastern shelfal areas during the Late Jurassic resulted in erosion of the transgressive and highstand fluvial-deltaic to shelfal deposits. These periods of uplift and erosion provided much of the sediment redeposited in the basinal areas during the lowstand periods. Seven sandstone facies were recognised in the Upper Jurassic sedimentary section based on core control. Each sandstone has unique reservoir characteristics which can be related to the depositional setting. / The abundance of glauconite and belemnites combined with ichnology and biostratigraphic assemblages associated with marine environments, indicate that deposition of all the sandstone facies occurred within an outer shelfal - deep marine environment. Reservoir quality was best developed in the dominantly medium grained, moderate - well sorted sandstones, (facies 7), which were deposited as detached, basin floor submarine fan sands or interbedded turbidites. In contrast, reservoir quality was relatively poorly developed in the remaining facies which were deposited as slope fans, slumps, or distal turbidite deposits.The abundance of quartz and presence of banded iron, jasper, and potassic feldspar grains support the provenance for the basinal sandstone facies being the Precambrian alkyl granites and banded iron formation of.the Pilbara Shield and Hammersley Ranges. These Precambrian igneous rocks and metasediments mark the eastern boundary of the Barrow Sub-basin study area. To predict the distribution of sedimentary facies in the Upper Jurassic synrift sediments of the eastern Barrow Sub-basin, the interplay between the major controlling depositional processes, namely tectonics, sediment supply and eustasy must be understood. Subdivision of the synrift sedimentary section on the basis of lithostratigraphy can be misleading and does not adequately resolve the facies relationships observed in the well intersection. The results of this research form the basis for a regional sequence analysis and seismic stratigraphic study.

We consider the structural and physical properties of complex model morphologies and microstructures obtained by Xray-CT imaging. The Minkowski functionals, a family of statistical measures based on the Euler-Poincar&eacute characteristic of n-dimensional space, are shown to be sensitive measures of the morphology of disordered structures. Analytic results for the Boolean model are given and used to devise a reconstruction scheme, which allows one to accurately reconstruct a complex Boolean structure given at any phase fraction for all other phase fractions. The percolation thresholds of either phase are obtained with good accuracy. From the reconstructions one can subsequently predict property curves for the material across all phase fractions from a single 3D image. We illustrate this for transport and mechanical properties of complex Boolean systems and for experimental sandstone samples. By extending the Minkowski functionals to parallel surfaces using operations from mathematical morphology, a powerful discrimination of structure is obtained. Further the sensitivity of the Minkowski functionals under experimental conditions is analysed. Accurate calculations of conductive and elastic properties directly from tomographic images are achieved by estimating and minimising several sources of numerical error. Simulations of electrical conductivity and linear elastic properties on microtomographic images of Fontainebleau sandstone are in excellent agreement with experimental measurements over a wide range of porosity. The results show the feasibility of combining digitised images with transport and elasticity calculations to accurately predict physical properties of individual material morphologies. We show that measurements of properties based on microtomographic images are more accurate than those based on conventional theories for disordered materials. We study the elastic behaviour of model clean and cemented sandstones. Results are in excellent agreement with available experimental data, and are compared to conventional theoretical and empirical laws. A new predictive empirical method is given for predicting the elastic moduli of sandstone morphologies. The method gives an excellent match to numerical and experimental data.

Abstract not available

This thesis describes a new dynamic network model for imbibition which is based on a physically realistic description of the complex dynamics of corner film flow, swelling and snap-off. The model shows that film flow is a capillary driven non-linear diffusive process and that the competition between snapoff and frontal displacements is rate dependent and results in rate dependent relative permeabilities and residual saturations. In contrast to previously published models in which length scales for snap-off are either specified a priori or calculated assuming steady-state film flow and constant film conductivities, in the present model, snap-off arises as a natural consequence of the fully transient nature of film flow and swelling. The network model is used to analyse the complex interaction between displacement rate, contact angle, aspect ratio and pore and throat shape on relative permeability and residual saturation. Computed relative permeabilities and residual saturations are compared with laboratory measurements reported in the literature. It is concluded that the magnitude of the rate effect on imbibition relative permeabilities and residual saturations for a particular rock microstructure and wettability condition depends largely on the pore-throat aspect ratio. Higher aspect ratios result in stronger rate effects than do smaller aspect ratios.

The Patonga Claystone, a red bed facies in the Narrabeen Group of the Sydney Basin, is one of the most unfavorable rock units in the basin from a geotechnical point of view. This rock unit is composed of sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and claystone. One of the unfavorable characteristics is the low shear strength, which causes instability of cut slopes; another is its slaking-prone behaviour. Numerous measurements of geotechnical properties, along with extensive mineralogical and geochemical determinations, were carried out to identify cause of this slaking behaviour. Key techniques were the use of quantitative X-ray diffractometry for mineralogical analysis, and the determination of slake durability index and related properties to evaluate the slaking behaviour under both standard and more extended conditions. Standard (two cycle) slake durability test results indicate a range from low to high slake durability index values, with some mudstone samples having very low durability and some sandstones having very high slake durability indices. Jar slake test results indicate that the rock samples break rapidly and/or develop several fractures (Ij = 4) in an as-received state, but degrade to a pile of flakes or mud (Ij = 1) if the samples are oven dried before testing. The results for jar slake testing of oven-dried material are comparable, for individual samples, to those obtained from the more comprehensive slake durability tests. The mineralogy of the samples was evaluated by quantitative X-ray diffraction techniques using the Rietveld-based Siroquant processing system. Comparison to independent chemical data show a generally good level of agreement, suggesting that the mineralogical analysis results are consistent with the chemical composition of the individual rock samples. Good correlations were also obtained between clay mineralogy determined from orientedaggregate XRD analysis of the &lt2 micron fraction and the results from powder diffractometry and Siroquant analysis of the whole-rock samples. Evaluation of the slake durability characteristics and other geotechnical properties in relation to the quantitative mineralogy suggests that quartz and feldspar form a rigid framework in the rocks that resists the disruptive pressures that cause slaking. Expansion of the clay minerals by various processes, including the incorporation of water into the interlayer spaces of illite/smectite as well as changes in pore pressures associated with entry of water into micro-fractures in the clay matrix, are thought to produce the disruptions that cause slaking and degradation. An abundant clay matrix also reduces the strength of the rock materials, probably because of the less rigid nature of the clay minerals relative to the quartz and feldspar particles. As well as the mineralogy, the loss on ignition (LOI) and water absorption percentage were found to provide good indicators of longer-term slaking behaviour. Both properties are also related to the overall clay content. Rock samples with water absorption values of &lt10, 10-15 and &gt15% behave as highly durable, intermediate and less durable materials respectively. Rocks with LOI values of greater than 5% by weight behave as less durable rock materials, at least for the strata encompassed by the present study. The water absorption and LOI values were also used to develop a predictive model of slake durability characteristics for the different rock materials in the Patonga Claystone, providing a relatively simple basis for predicting longer-term stability in a range of geotechnical studies.

<p>The Orange Basin was formed during the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous periods due to Gondwana breakup and rifting and later drifting apart of the African and South American plates. The basin consists of siliciclastic sandstone which took its sediment supply from river system with a rivalling delta to the north of the basin. Geological and petrophysical studies were carried out to evaluate the reservoir potential of the wells in the study area. This study considered five wells (A-G1, A-W1, A-K1, A-K2 and A-Y1) in the Orange Basin with attention to the Albian age sandstone. Only three of the studied wells (A-G1, A-W1 and A-K1) have core samples for analysis. The methods used for the execution of this study include the description and calibration of spot cores with conventional standard logging record responses, wireline log interpretation using sequence stratigraphy approach, detailed petrographic (SEM, HR-TEM, XRD and thin section) and geochemical (pore water geochemistry, FTIR and XRF) analyses, and petrophysical analysis to unravel the complexities with regard to facies association, depositional environment and diagenesis. Linking diagenesis to depositional facies and sequence stratigraphy has given a clearer picture to the spatial and temporal distribution of diagenetic alterations and thus of evolution of reservoir quality in the studied wells. Three depositional lithofacies were identified based on a detailed core description [fine grained sandstone (F1), very fine grained sandstone (F2) and mudstone (F3)]. Fluvio-deltaic and shallow marine environments were also interpreted from the core description based on the sedimentary structures and mineral assemblage while the log interpretation shows that the different reservoir units range between LST, TST and HST but mostly of LST. Mineralogical predictions were made possible in the wells without core samples (A-K2 and A-Y1) through the use of density-neutron cross plot, these reveal that the two wells contain some considerable amount of clay minerals like kaolinite, chlorite and illite.</p>

A discrete element model (DEM) capable of reproducing the mechanistic behavior of a triaxial compressive test performed on a Vosges sandstone specimen is presented considering similar experimental testing conditions and densely packed spherical elements with low lock-in stress. The main aim of this paper is to illustrate the calibration process of the model‟s micro-parameters when obtained from the experimental meso-parameters measured in the lab. For this purpose, a probabilistic inverse method is introduced to fully define the micro-parameters of the particle models through a joint probability density function, which is conditioned on the experimental observations obtained during a series of tests performed at the L3S-R France. The DEM captures successfully some of the rock mechanical behavior features, including the global stress-strain and failure mechanisms. Results include a detailed parametric analysis consisting of varying each DEM parameter at the time and measuring the model response on the strain-stress domain. First order statistics on probabilistic results show the adequacy of the model to capture the experimental data, including a measure of the DEM performance for different parameter combinations. Also, joint probability density functions and cross-correlations among the micro-parameters are presented.

In this study, it was aimed to develop conservation methodologies for the historic sandstones using the case of Nemrut Mount Monument to help their survival in open air conditions. The main conservation approach of this study was holistic as well as aiming at minimum intervention targeted to the problem areas. The most important weathering forms of Nemrut Sandstones were material loss due to loss of scales and granular disintegration as well as detachments by scales, back weathering due to loss of scales, cracking, granular disintegration, rounding/notching and discoloration/biological deposition. Deterioration mechanisms of sandstones were studied on deteriorated and relatively sound sandstones by nondestructive methods of UPV and QIRT, and by microstructural analyses using thin section, XRD and SEM-EDX analyses. In addition, the changes in physical and physcomechanical properties such as, color, bulk density, effective porosity, hydric, hygric and thermal dilatation and CEC of clays were determined. Sandstone deterioration was caused by swelling of clay minerals distributed in their matrix and clay accumulations between the detaching scales. Considerable thermal dilatation characteristics was also an important decay factor. Iron oxides caused discoloration at the surfaces, their phase changes was thought to be important in decay. The use of surfactant DAA, to control clay swelling was found to decrease the hydric dilatation by 40%. The consolidation treatments with nanosilica and silicate dispersions namely Funcosil KSE500STE, SytonX3, KSE300 and KSE100 have improved physicomechanical properties as followed by UPV measurements and decreased hydric dilatation. Their long term behaviour needed to be further investigated.

The fundamental forces of adhesion are responsible for the spreading of fluids such as crude oil/brine on the reservoir rock surface. These physico-chemical interactions determine the surface energetics of a reservoir and thus their wetting phenomena. Inverse Gas Chromatography is introduced to characterize the surface energy of carbonates (calcite and dolomite) and sandstones (Ottawa sand and Berea sandstone). The behavior of the polar and non-polar interaction forces was investigated at varying water coverage and at different temperatures. The results indicated that in general as the water coverage increased, the Lifshitz-van der Waals component of surface energy decreased to nearly that of the bulk water, while the acid-base component also showed a decreasing trend. The Lifshitz-van der Waals component of surface energy always decreased with increase in temperature, while the acid-base properties mostly increased with temperature with the exception of calcite. / text

The effectiveness of CO₂ injection in the subsurface for storage and EOR are controlled by reservoir quality variation. This study determines the depositional processes and diagenetic alterations affecting reservoir quality of the Lower Tuscaloosa Formation at Cranfield Field. It also determines the origin, time and processes of the grain-coating chlorite and its impacts on reservoir quality. Moreover, by integrating depositional and diagenetic characteristics and by linking them to sequence stratigraphy, the distribution of reservoir quality, could be predicted within a sequence stratigraphic framework. The studied sandstones are composed of medium to coarse-grained, moderately sorted litharenite to sublitharenite with composition of Q76.1F0.4L23.5. Depositional environment of this formation in the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin is interpreted as incised-valley fluvial fill systems. The cross sections and maps at the field show trend of the sandy intervals within channels with a NW-SE paleocurrent direction. During burial of the sandstones, different digenetic alterations including compaction, dissolution, replacement and cementation by chlorite, quartz, carbonate, kaolinite, titanium oxides, pyrite and iron-oxide modified the porosity and permeability. Among these, formation of chlorite coats plays the most important role in reservoir quality. The well-formed, thick and continuous chlorite coatings in the coarser grain sandstones inhibited formation of quartz overgrowth, resulted in high porosity and permeability after deep burial; whereas the finer grain sandstones with the poorly-formed, thin and discontinuous chlorite coatings have been cemented by quartz. The optimum amount of chlorite to prevent formation of quartz overgrowths is 6% of rock volume. The chlorite coats are composed of two layers including the inner chlorite layer formed by transformation of the Fe-rich clay precursors (odinite) through mixed-layer clays (serpentine-chlorite) during early eodiagenesis and the outer layer formed by direct precipitation from pore waters through dissolution of ferromagnesian rock fragments during late eodiagenesis to early mesodiagenesis. In the context of the reservoir quality prediction within sequence stratigraphic framework, the late LST and early TST are suitable for deposition of chlorite precursor clays, which by progressive burial during diagenesis could be transformed to chlorite, and thus results in preserving original porosity and permeability in deep burial. / text