SPE

Society of Petroleum Engineers

SPE 22127
State-of-the-Art Review of Nondestructive Testing With
Computer-Assisted Tomography
A. Bansal, U. of Alaska Fairbanks, and M.R. Islam, EMERTEC Developments Inc.
SPE Members

Copyright 1991, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Arctic Technology Conference held in Anchorage, Alaska, May 29-31, 1991.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper,
as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessanly reflect
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society
of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment
of where and by whom the paper is presented. Write Publications Manager, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836 U.S.A. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.

ABSTRACT

possibility of using CAT scan as a unique reservoir

characterization tool.
Reservoir properties, such
as direction and frequency, of fractures, the
presence of vuggs, stratification in the bedding
plane,
etc.
may be identified only through
of
reservoir
cores.
non-destructive
testing
Various applications of CAT scanning to oil
industry are discussed in detail.

Computer assisted tomography (CAT) has been a

revolutionary
technique
in
medical
radiology.
Recently, CAT scanners started to be used as
non-destructive
testing
facilities
in
different
industrial applications.
Most of the applications
of the new technology are in the areas of petroleum
engineering.
Majority of this CAT scanner
technology has been developed in the U.S.A.
However, several Canadian companies have acquired
CAT scanners and are using for novel commercial as
well as research applications.
This paper presents
a comprehensive review of advances made in the
areas of CAT scan technology as applied to the
petroleum industry.

PRINCIPLES OF CAT

Recently, Kantzas 1 has outlined in detail the

of
computer
assisted
tomography.
principle
Consequently, we will describe the principle only
briefly.
The original theory for reconstructing a
complete image of an object from numerous views
around the object was first described by Radon in
19172 The principle of CAT is based on emitting
x-ray from a source which revolves around the
object
in
consideration
while
one-dimensional
projections of attenuated x-rays are collected by a
These
detector on the other side of the source.
projections are collected as the sample travels
through the scanner longitudinally and are used to
reconstruct
a three-dimensional image of the
object.
Intensity values of attenuated x-rays are
collected from small volumetric elements, called
pixels. These elements are typically O.76mmxO.76mm

Recent efforts in developing CAT scan technology

has been in the areas of core analysis methods.
The
ultimate
objective
is
the
quantitative
monitoring
of dynamic
twoand
three-phase
experiments in porous media. Even though advances
have been made in using CAT scan for quantitative
evaluation of fluid flow, more research has to be
done before gaining confidence m such a technique.
This paper presents a critical review of recent
research publications.
Also, discussed is the
References at end of paper
523

STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW OF NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

WITH COMPUTER-ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY

in area and 1 cm in depth (along the direction of

the x-ray beam) for a second generation CAT
scanner.
Once these elements are all assigned an
intensity values after a complete radial and
longitudinal scan, these data are processed by a
computer.
This processing constitutes the major
The inlet intensity and the
part of the CAT.
outlet intensity are related through the following
relationship,

Here dlo IdE represents the spectral distribution of

intensity, e(E) the efficiency of the detector at a
given energy E, el the lower energy and e the
h
higher energy.
Also, # is now a function of:
spatial coordinates as well as photon energy.
One:
can see immediately that the volume of data as well
of
data
processing
increases
the
complexity
As
drastically by implementing this relationship.
a consequence, this relationship is not commonly
used. In stead, an effective energy is assumed to
replace a spectrum of energy and the resulting
error is corrected by manipulating the data for
beam hardening effects.
The resulting problem,
thus,
involves
in
determining
two-dimensional
distribution of p(x,y) from the line integrals.
Several methods are available for solving this
problem.
One such method is the Fourier method
derived from the Central Projection Theorem. This
theorem states that the Fourier transforms of a
one-dimensional projection of a two-dimensional
distribution are mathematically, identical to a
section through a two-dimensional Fourier transform
of the
original
distribution.
The
Fourier
transform of the transmission profiles is given in
polar coordinates as

, / = (lIL) In(III)
o

where #* is the linear attenuation coefficient, L

is the path length, Io is the incident intensity
and I the transmitted intensity.
Of course, #* is
characteristics of the medium and reflects the
nature of the medium.
This relationship applies
only for a narrow monoenergetic beam of x-ray
photons which travels across a homogeneous medium.
If the medium in consideration is heterogeneous,
the above equation holds true while replaced by the
line
integral
of
the
linear
attenuation
coefficients. The modified form is:

In(l/I) =

J#(x,y)dL
s

+00

J p(1,O) e-2niRl d1

F(R,O)

where dL is the differential of path length along

the beam, s is the x-ray source, and d is the
detector.
As compared to the equation, a unique
value of # is replaced by a distribution #(x,y) in
plane perpendicular to the direction of the x-ray
beam.
This relationship calls for a large memory
for storing all the information even for a
relatively
small
sample.
Besides,
this
relationship is still quite idealized as it assumes
the x-ray beam to be monoenergetic.
In reality,
the beam includes a wide range of photons ranging
from 20 keY up to 120 keY in some instances. Also,
the detector system in itself is energy dependent.
Consequently, a rigorous representation of the
intensity relationship is given by

eh
I =

-00

where 1 is the distance along the scan line,

is
the angle describing the scan line, R is the
conjugate Fourier frequency variable and p(l,O) is
the transmission of a particular ray described by
(1,0).
The distribution is then found
transforming back into real space, given by:

f(r,lP) = #(r,lP) =

2n

00

by

J J F(R,O) e2niRrcos(IP-0)IRldRdO

where M(r, IP) is the linear attenuation coefficient

given as a function of r and IP. The variable r is
obtained from 1 by r = 1 cos( IP-O) and arises from
The
the Jacobian of a coordinate transformation.
angle IP represents a point in real space and the
angle
represents a point in Fourier space.
The
above
two
equations
are
sufficient
for
reconstructing a two-dimensional object from its

J(dI/dE) e(E) exp [ - J#(x,y,E) ds ]

e

SPE 22127

dE

524

SPE 22127

one-dimensional
projections.
Before
this
conversion can be used, the Fourier coefficients
need to be converted from polar to rectangular grid
coordinates
and
the
two-dimensional
Fourier
transform needs to be taken to obtain the density
distribution on a Cartesian grid which is usually
used for computer display systems.
Another method, called the Convolution Method
Back Projection, is more commonly used
commercial CAT systems.
This method
mathematically close to the Fourier method.
this method, the process is represented by

A. Bansal and M.R. Islam

function in the spatial domain.
The corrected
projection data, p. (r.,O) is obtained from the
1
measured projection data, p(r.,O),
for any given
1
projection angle 0, by the following relationship
p(r.,O) = (p(r.,O)/4a) - (1I1r2a)[Z p(r.,O)/(i-j)2]
1

while counting only odd values of (i-j).

In this
.relationship, a is the sampling interval.
The
image is formed by back projecting these corrected
projection data onto a suitable two-dimensional
matrix by transforming back into real space as
shown by an earlier equation.
The result of the
reconstruction process is, thus, a two-dimensional
array of numbers. Several methods may be used for
representing the reconstruction matrix.
These
matrix values are directly related to the linear
attenuation coefficient distribution of the object
at a given effective x-ray energy.
Before storing
this information into a computer, the linear
attenuation
coefficients
are
scaled
to
integer
values covering a given range and commonly adjusted
so that the value of water is zero.
The following
equation
relates
the
linear
attenuation
coefficients to the number stored in computer
(known as the CT numbers or CTn)

or
for
is
In

where p is the projection value and LI Ok is the

angular increment between projections.
The above
relationship is equivalent to throwing back the
projection data for each of the various views into
the reconstruction plane and summing them for
obtaining an image.
Obviously, this is a very
crude state of reconstruction and is known to be
the distorted version of the correct solution.
This distortion is removed by the two-dimensional
convolution of the degraded image with an
appropriate correlation function or by taking the
two-dimensional Fourier transform of the image
while multiplying by an appropriate filter and
performing the inverse Fourier transform.
These
methods require considerably large computer time
and are known to give less than optimal results
with real data.
This calls for an alternative
method, called the Filtered Back-Projection method.
This method uses correction and filtering of data
prior to back projecting.
The filtering is done as
a convolution operation in the spatial domain or as
a
functional
multiplication
in
the
Fourier
frequency domain.
The Fourier filtered back
projection method multiplies the Fourier transform
of the projection data by a ramp-shaped filter
which has a magnitude proportional to the Fourier
frequency
variable associated
with the linear
of the projection
data,
1.
The
position
convolution theorem dictates that this spatial
frequency filtering is equivalent to convoluting
the projection data with a corresponding filter

where p and p water are the linear attenuation

coefficients of the object scanned and of water at
the effective energy of the beam, and K is a
scaling factor equal to the number of CT values
between air and water. Most present scanners use a
value of 1000 for K. Therefore, CT numbers range
from -1000 to + 1000 with water corresponding to a
CT number of O. Also, each CT number corresponds
to 0.1 % of the linear attenuation coefficient of
water.
DETERMINATION OF PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
WITH CATSCAN
One of the most successful application of CAT
scanning lies in determining physical properties of
rocks non-destructively. The CAT Scanner produces
two-dimensional arrays of data that are called CT
numbers. In order to correlate the CT numbers to
525

STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW OF NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

WITH COMPUTER-ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY

specific physical properties, one has to seek

relationship
between
linear
attenuation
coefficients and other physical properties. Vinegar
and Wellington3 provided a detailed discussion on
this technique.
They showed that the linear
attenuation coefficient is a function of the bulk
density and the effective atomic number of the
sample, given by
Z3

JJ = p (a

SPE 22127

oillwater system, saturations are given by

So

(CT -CT ) - cP(CT -CT )

mew

cP(CT o -CT w )
Sw = 1 - S0

where subscripts a,w ,0 denote air, water, and oil,

respectively, whereas m and e represent saturated
CT refers
and dry state of the core, respectively.
to CT numbers of corresponding fluids (as given by
the subscripts).

+ P E3 2)
0

where a, p are constants, E is the mean photon

energy in keV, p is the bulk density and Z is the
For
effective atomic number of the sample.
energies above 100 keY, x-rays interact with
materials more vigorously by Compton scattering
which is dependent on bulk density of the sample.
For x-ray energies below 100 keY, photoelectric
absorption becomes a dominant phenomenon and
depends on effective atomic number of each pixel.
Therefore, a dual energy system is used for usual
CAT scanning. The high energy scan can be used for
determining bulk density while the second scan at
low energy can be used for determining effective
atomic numbers. At this point, the porosity of the

For a liquid gas system, the following equations

provide estimation of saturations:

CTm-CT 1
ij) (CT 1 - CT)

Sg

1 - S1

For a three-phase system, saturations are given by

the following equations:

pixel is given by

So = A/C
Sw = B/C
Sg =1-S-S
0
W

where, Pb is the bulk density, Pg is the mineral or

Two
grain density, and Pf is the fluid density.
scans of the same porous medium would provide one
with bulk density, grain density (mineralogy) as
well as porosity. This would, in turn, provide one
with information on heterogeneities in a porous

where A, B, and C are defined by:

A = (CTm-CT)
el (CTW-CT)
g2 - (CT m-CT)
e2(CTw-CT)
gl
B = (CTm-CT)
-CTe
)I(CT
e2(CT0 -CT)
gl - (CTm
w-CT)2
~

medium.

) (CT w-CT)
C = cPCTo-CTgl
g2 - (CT0 -CTg)2(CTw-CTg)1)

Fluid saturation in a dynamic or static system can

be measured with CAT scanning as well. However,
typically scanning period has to be faster than
movement of fluid flow in a porous medium. This
could be a severe limitation if one wishes to study
the effect of high flow rates in immiscible or
miscible flood experiments.
For a two-phase

Subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the scan at energy

levels of 1 and 2, respectively.
These equations
are somewhat different from those of Wellington and
Vinegar4 in the sense that CT numbers are used of
those of fluids rather than cores saturated with
Kantzas~ as shown these two
respective fluids.
formulations to be equivalent to each other.

526

SPE 22127

A. Bansal and M.R. Islam

profiles determined by the JBN method at the outlet
of the core are incorrect during early. stages of
fluid displacement (up to 1 PV throughput).

APPLICATION OF CAT IN OIL INDUSTRY

Multiphase Flow Visualization and
Relative Permeability Measurements

Chatzis et al. 14 modified a medical CAT scanner to

study the saturation profiles during two- and
three-phase flow in gravity-assisted gas injection
processes.
They reported relative success in
defining two-phase flow.
The description of
three-phase flow was rather qualitative.

Wang et aI. are reportedly the first researchers

to publish on CAT application of multiphase fluid
flow in porous media. They reproduced the image of
saturation
distribution
during
an
immiscible
liquid-liquid displacement in a Berea sandstone
7
core The technique developed by them proved to
be very useful when they were successful in
reproducing images of viscous fingering during a
They also reported
dynamic displacement test 8
time derivatives of local composition and residual
oil distribution during waterflooding experiments.
Reservoir engineering research with CAT scanners
was further advanced by Cromwell et aI. 9 who
reproduced images of fluid distributions in Danian
chalk and Berea sandstone.

In order to investigate the effect of a third phase

'd
on capillary pressure, Dehgham. et a.I 1s determlDe
the height-saturation plot by CAT scanning using a
fourth generation GE 9800 scanner. They found
excellent agreement of the CAT scanning technique
with the conventional Hassler and Brunner method.
MacAllister
et aI. 16
reported
gas-oil
relative
permeability data obtained through CAT scanning.
They found that two-phase relative permeability
in situ
could be
very
accurate
since
the
saturation is being determined by solving two
equations only (one phase is measured directly, the
other by difference).
However, the calculation of
three-phase relative permeability was found to be
questionable
since
one
phase
was
estimated
independently.
Consequently, determination of the
phase which was determined by difference was deemed
to be less accurate.
However, in this study the
authors did not use the dual scanning approach.
Among others, they were able to observe non-uniform
saturation profiles during early stages of fluid
displacement. This was in agreement with Mohanty
and Miller 13

. h'~ack
More
recently,
WIt
and
co-workers 10-11
described techniques for rock property evaluation
and fluid flow visualization.
They determined oilwater relative permeability by using CAT scanners
and the results were comparable to those determined
by conventional relative permeability measurement
techniques.
Saturation results were within 2 %
whereas porosities were within 1 % of those
determined by conventional techniques.
Further
validation of saturation measurement techniques
with CAT scans was done by Manjanth 12 who used the
CAT scan technology for verifying the BuckleyLeverett theory of immiscible fluid displacement.

Mohanty and Miller 13 studied the factors affecting

of
a
unsteady-state
relative
permeabilities
mixed-wet reservoir rock using a CAT scanner. They
showed remarkable success in determining two-phase
relative permeability using this technology.
Their
work revealed a number of regimes for the cross
sectional
average
saturation
profile
during
These regimes were
waterfloods at low rates.
identified as frontal movement (up to 0.15 PV
injected), a non uniform saturation increase (up to
0.6 PV injected) and a uniform saturation increase.
Cross sectional averages of saturations determined
by CAT scanning revealed that the saturation

Hicks 17 reported porosity and the distribution of

residual oil in heterogeneous carbonate cores from
the Fenn-Big Valley reservoir of Alberta and the
They also calculated
Taylor-Link Field of Texas.
semivariographs and porosity distributions in order
to quantify rock heterogeneities.
Lenormand et aI. 18 verified a two-phase network
simulator by comparing numerical results with those
obtained with CAT scanning.
Immiscible gas
injection behavior visualized by the CAT scanner
was in good agreement with numerical results.
527

STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW OF NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

WITH COMPUTER-ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY

SPE 2212;

Madison Limestone Group.

They successfully
identified mineral densities and their distribution
within a fracture system. This application of CAT
for mineral identification was indeed novel.
This
technique requires both density calibration and
contrast.
They felt that in order to gain more
confidence, this technique should be compared with
other techniques.
Unlike previous idea of rather
idealized fracture infilling, they observed that
fractures
exhibited
variable
densities
and
therefore multiple types of mineralization.
They
detected the presence of dolomite, calcite, quartz,
gypsum, anhydrite, illite, and chlorite minerals in
naturally occurring fractures.
Bergosh and Lord26
conducted further studies on analysis of naturally
fractured reservoirs.
They demonstrated that the
fracture porosity could be easily determined by CAT
scanning.

Kantzas et al. 19 presented saturation profiles of

both
imbibition
and
drainage
immiscible
displacements using a CAT scanner.
They reported
difficulty in determining saturation profiles in a
three-phase flow system.
Also, during two-phase
flow, they had to use dopants for better contrast
between fluids.
This prohibited them from using
native fluids in the system.
In one instance, the
residual oil saturation following a waterflood was
reported to be 20% as determined by CAT scan. This
compared to 38 % as determined by material balance.
Overall, their study showed the poorest agreement
so far reported on two-phase flow.
Authors
provided no explanation for this poor measurement
with the CAT scanner.

Applications in Heavy Oil

Fransham and Jelen20 were the first researchers to
report
flow
visualization
of
a
heavy
oil
displacement using CAT scan technology.
Their
technique allowed them to determine dynamic changes
in saturations during a waterflood of a heavy oil
saturated core.
They also visualized fingering
phenomena both in macroscopic and microscopic
levels.
Similar experiments were also reported by
Sedgwick and Miles-Dixon21 More recently, Cuthiell
and Sedgwick? applied the CAT scanner to heavy oil
corefloods.
They studied both steady-state and
dynamic waterlbitumen displacement tests using a
CAT scanner.

Kantzas et al. 19 recently presented a bulk of

information on seven Canadian reservoirs regarding
the use of reservoir characterization with a CAT
scanner. This was a follow-up study of a previous
investigation21
Their study could not be proven
to be useful for any quantitative characterization.
However, they provided useful information about the
extent
of
core
heterogeneities,
presence
of
fractures and fissures,
etc. within the core
length.
A new method for imaging the three dimensional
microstructure of porous media was presented by
s.
Jasti et
This method was based on high
resolution x-ray CT where a cone shaped diverging
x-ray beam is used to generate two dimensional
transmission
images.
A
three-dimensional
reconstruction array is created in this method
directly as opposed to series of two dimensional
slices as in conventional CAT. The authors
demonstrated
the
new
technique
using
an
unconsolidated pack of glass beads.
Even though
the technique appears to have great potential in
future, very little useful information was provided
at this stage of research.

ae

Reservoir Characterization
Honarpour et al. 23 were one the first researchers
to use CAT scanners for reservoir characterization.
They determined rock heterogeneities, permeability
barriers, fractures and their orientations in North
Sea Danian chalk and Wyoming Phosphoria formations.
In the same line, Bergosh et al. 24 used the CAT
scan technique for core analysis of naturally
fractured reservoirs.
They found the technique
helpful for characterizing fracture width, spacing,
tortuosity,
interconnectivity
and
drilling
mud
25
invasion.
Honarpour et al.
further applied the
CAT scan technology for reservoir characterization
studies. They used dolomite samples from the Upper
528

SPE 22127

A. Bansal and M.R. Islam

investigating
damage
to
unconsolidated
cores.
34
Auzerais
et
al.
calculated
densities
and
effective atomic numbers for several anisotropic
rocks using CAT scanning as a part of a complete
core characterization project.
Among others, they
concluded that permeability variations are due to
variations in grain size and packing.

Core Analysis and Well Logging

Hunt
et
a1.29
presented
the
ftrst
detailed
technique for using CAT scan in core analyses.
They noted that qualitative core analyses could be
done with relative ease using the CAT scan
technology.
They showed application of CAT
scanning to

During
an
investigation
into describing dual
porosity systems, Moss et al. 35 presented an
algorithm for measurements of the constituent
porosities in a dual porosity matrix.
They
saturated the core with a dopant and used an image
subtraction technique during scanning at different
times.
Their technique is very similar to that of
Withjack et al. 36
Moss et al. 35 suggested that
one can identify the easily accessible fracture
porosity from the matrix porosity by following the
time sequence of the penetration process.
As
examples, they applied the technique on coal and
shales.
They observed that the width of the
porosity distribution is a good indicator of
heterogeneity in porosity.
They also found that
porosity images can lead to statistically accurate
porosity distributions.

- determine the extent of drilling mud invasion

- detection of fractures
- characterization of preserved cores
screening of core prior to laboratory investigation
quantitative determination of porosity, permeability and mineralogy.

ae

o reported modiftcation of the

Kantzas et
hardware on a medical CAT scanner for adopting the
machine to the need of core analysis.
They
modifted
the
CAT
scanner
for
conducting
displacement tests on long cores and at any angle
of inclination.
Using this machine, they studied
physical properties of porous rocks.
Narayanan and Deans3l used a fourth generation
Deltascan 2020HR to validate a model for
heterogeneous porous media.

Withjack et al. 36 studied miscible displacement as

well as heterogeneities using a CAT scanner.
The
focus of this study was to study heterogeneity
caused by permeability variation on a sub bedding
plane scale.
For the first time, they reported a
method for predicting core permeability using the
CAT scanner. The method is based on a bundle tube
model.
In order to determine permeability, they
had to use results of miscible displacement tests.
This method assumes linear pressure drop along the
core. Such an assumption, even though a reasonable
one
for
stratified
heterogeneities,
is
not
satisfactory for vuggy and fractured cores.
The
authors reported an excellent correlation between
porosity and permeability.

One of the rare applications of CT scanning in

unconsolidated reservoir cores has been addressed
by Kantzas et al. 27 32
They used a medical x-ray
CAT scanner for characterizing a Canadian heavy oil
reservoir.
Reservoir cores were collected and
rubber sleeves and were frozen in order to preserve
the form of the cores. Using a new post processing
software l , they determined a detailed image of
heterogeneities within each core section.
These
heterogeneities
included
cracks,
shale barriers,
and clay clasts. They also determined bulk density
as well as porosity of the reservoir cores.
They
suggested one of the more interesting uses of CAT
scanner, Le. to identify locations in a core for
good plug selection.
In addition, they reported
threedimensional
mapping
of heterogeneities.
This line of work was further advanced by Gililand
and Coles33 who used the CAT scanner as a tool for

Miscible Flooding and Mobility Control

CAT scanner was put into use for visualizing both
immiscible and miscible corefloods by Hove et
.
.
a1.37-38 The CAT scannmg
techmque
allowed these
529

STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW OF NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

WITH COMPUTER-ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY

presented suggestions for designing high-pressure

core materials for using CAT under realistic
reservoir conditions.
Among others, they derived
fundamental
equations
for
CAT scanning for
reservoir applications
and listed
examples
of
applications of CAT in different areas, such as,
measurement of compressibility and compaction,
characterization of core materials, correlation of
core with well logs, multiphase core flood studies,
etc.

researchers to observe viscous fingering as well as

dispersion
phenomena.
They
conducted
the
corefloods using North Sea sandstones.
Some of the first applications of CAT in oil
research were done by the Shell Research Center of
Bellaire.
Wellington and Vinegar4 used CAT scan
for studying mobility control with CO2 foam. They
used aluminum vessels for scanning high- pressure,
It is well known
high-temperature core floods.
that aluminum exhibit very low x-ray attenuation.
Linear attenuation coefficients were used for
calculating in situ saturations.
They used dual
energy scanning in order to image the three-phase
saturations.
To obtain both density and effective
atomic number, CAT images are usually taken at two
x-ray energies.
One energy is high enough for the
x-rays to be predominantly Compton-scattered and
one is low enough for them to be mostly
photoelectrically
absorbed.
Typically,
a
combination of the two images for each pixel can be
used to generate separate images of bulk density
and effective atomic numbers.
Wellington and
4
Vinegar used dual energy scanning to image the
three-phase fluid saturations in a core.
Following
equations were used to measure saturations:
P u - P 01 S0

P wI Sw

/l gl Sg

/lu - P 02S0

/l w2w
S

/l g2Sg

S0
where p
coefficient

Sw

Withjack and Akervoll ll used the CAT scan

technology for studying miscible displacement in a
3-dimensional 5-spot scaled laboratory model.
They
were
very
successful
in
describing
miscible
displacement in a qualitative format.
Narayanan and Deans31 reported visualization of
miscible displacement experiments in highly vugular
high-pressure
carbonate
rock
samples
under
conditions.
Cuthiel
and
Sedgwick22
studied
two-phase
bitumen/water flow, steam flooding, and foam
propagation with the aid of a CAT scanner.
Wellington and Vinegar39 studied mobility control
of CO injection using surfactant to generate foam.
2
They reproduced images which identified several
mechanisms which explained the nature of mobility
control foam and how it renders CO stable against
2
gravitational and viscous forces during miscible
flood experiments.

Sg = 1

is the total equivalent

of the core with several

SPE 22127

attenuation
components

4O

used the CAT scan technology to

Liu et al.
monitor transient foam flow in laboratory linear
foam flood experiments.
CAT scan results allowed
them to observe that the foam-displacement is not
piston-like.
Gas channeling was observed near the
front whereas the foam eventually blocked these
channels.

whereas Pw' Po' and P g are the attenuation

coefficients for the core saturation 100% with
water, oil, and gas, respectively.
The subscripts
1 and 2 refer to energy level of 120 and 90 keV,
respectively.
This was one of the first
works
reported on detection of three phase flow with CAT
scanning under high temperature and pressure
In this study, 40% l-Iodododecane was
conditions.
In a later
used as a dopant for the oil phase.
3
study, Vinegar and Wellington outlined the theory
of CAT applications
in
reservoir engineering
In this work, they discussed the optimum
studies.
energy settings and choice of dopants.
They also

et
al. 41
studied
vertical
Hicks
miscible
displacements in heterogeneous carbonate cores.
They were able to observe the propagation of the
displacement front using a vertical scanner.
They
compared
numerical
simulation
results
with
experimental local and effluent concentrations.
A
530

SPE 22127
good agreement
obtained.

A. Bansal and M.R. Islam

between

these

two

results

was

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was made with partial financial support
of the Department of Petroleum Engineering,
University of Alaska, USA and the EMERTEC
Developments Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Peters and Hardham42 conducted a series of

immiscible and miscible displacement tests in sand
If a miscible
packs for flow visualization.
displacement is stable, they claimed that the
displacement data may be used to determine
longitudinal dispersion coefficient in a porous
medium. They also suggested that numerical models
could be calibrated by the saturation profiles
generated by a CAT scanner.

REFERENCES
1. Kantzas,
A.,
"Investigation
of
Physical
Properties of Porous Rocks and Fluid Flow
Phenomena in Porous Media Using Computer
Assisted Tomography", In Situ, vol. 14 (1)
(1990) 77-132.

36

et
al.
provided
visualization
of
Withjack
miscible flooding in a well characterized Berea
core for a range of mobility ratios.
Flow
visualization of the miscible displacement allowed
them
to
observe
finger
propagation
in
a
heterogeneous porous medium.
They observed that
with
increasing
mobility
ratios,
displacements
become less
dominated by local permeability
variations.
A characteristic central finger was
observed for all high mobility ratios.
They
concluded that displacement characteristics are lot
in
situ
saturation
better
understood
by
determination through CAT scanning than that
provided by 2-D theory or by assumptions of
homogeneous systems.

2. Waggener, R.G., Kereiakes, J.G., and Shalek,

R.J., (eds.) "CRC Handbook of Medical Physics
Volume IT", CRS Press (1984).
3. Vinear, H.J. and Wellington, S.L., "Tomographic
Imagmg of Three-Phase Flow Experiments", Rev.
Sci. Instrum., vol. 58 (1), (1987) 96.
4. Wellington, S.L. and Vinegar, H.J., "CT Studies
of Surfactant-Induced CO
Mobility Control",
2
paper SPE 14393 presented at the Annual
Technical Conference an Exhibition of the SPE,
Las Vegas, NV, 1985.
5. Kantzas, A., "A Theoretical and Experimental
Study of Gravity Assisted Inert Gas Injection as
a Method of Oil Recovery", Ph.D. Thesis,
University of Waterloo, Canada, 1988.
6. Wang, S.Y., Ayral, S., and Cryte, C.C.,
"Computer-Assisted
Tomography
for
the
Observation of Oil Displacement in Porous
Media", Soc. Pet. Eng. J., vol. 24 (1984) 53.
7. Wang, S.Y., Ayral, S., Castellana, F.S., and
Cryte, C.C., "Reconstruction of Oil Saturation
Distribution Histories During Immiscible Liquidby
Computer-Assisted
Liquid
Displacement
Tomography", AIChE J, vol. 30(4) (1984) 642.

COMCLUSIONS
A historical review of the computer assisted
tomogrphy (CAT) as applied in the petroleum
industry is provided.
Also, discussed is the
principle of CAT and basic density and saturation
measurement technques as applied to rocklfluid
systems.
The review shows the usefulness of the
technique in a wide range of areas of petroleum
engineering and petroleum geology.
CAT scan
technology continues to be improved and, as this
review reveals, a lot more progress has to be made
before a quantitatively useful information can be
of
both
reservoir
derived
in
the
areas
characterization and saturation profile monitoring.
However, even now the technique is unique in
testing samples in a much desired non-destructive
fashion.

8. Wang, S.Y., Huang, Y.B., Pereira, V., and Cryte,

C.C., "Application of Computer Tomography to Oil
Recovery from Porous Media" , Applied Optics,
vol. 24 (23), (1985) 4021.
9. Cromwell, V., Kortum, D.J., and Bradley, D.J.,
"The Use of a Medical Computer Tomography (CT)
System to Observe Multiphase Flow in Porous
Media" , SPE 13098 presented at the Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition of the SPE,
Houston, TJe, 1984.
10. Withjack, E.M., "Computed Tomography for RockProperty
Determination
and
Fluid
Flow
Visualization", SPE 16951 presented at the
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of
the SPE, Dallas, TJe, 1987.

531

10

STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW OF NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

WITH COMPUTER-ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY

SPE 22127

20. Fransham, P.B. and Jelen, J., "Displacement of

Heavy Oil Visualization by CAT Scan" , CIM
86-37-80 presented at the 37th Annual Technical
Meeting of the Petroleum Society of CIM,
Calgary, 1986; paper also published in the J.
Can. Pet. Tech., vol. 26 (1987) 42-47.

11. Withjack, E.M. and Akervoll, I., "Computed

of
a
3-D
Miscible
Tomography
Studies
Displacement Behavior in a Laboratory Five-Spot
Model" , SPE 18096 presented at the Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition of the SPE,
Houston, TX, 1988.

G.E.
and
Miles-Dixon,
E.,
21. Sedgwick,
"Application of X-Ray Imaging Techniques to Oil
Sands Experiments", J. Can. Pet. Tech., vol. 27
(1988) 104-110.

12. Manjnath, A., "Examination of the BuckleyLeverett Theory Using Computerized Tomography",
SPE 17491 (abstract) presented at the SPE
California Reg. Meet., Long Beach, CA, 1988.

22. Cuthiell, D. and Sedgwick, G., "X-ray CT

Applied to Heavy Oil Corefloods", paper no. 9,
presented at the Fourth UNITAR/UNDP Conference
on Heavy Crude and Tar Sands, Edmonton, 1988.

13. Mohanty, K.K. and Miller, A.E., "Factors

Influencing Unsteady Relative Permeability of a
Mixed-Wet Reservoir Rock", SPE 18292 presented
at the Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition of the SPE, Houston, TX, 1988.

23. Honarpour, M.M., Cromwell, V., Hatton, D., and

Satchwell, R., "Reservoir Rock Descriptions
Using Computer Tomography", SPE 14272 presented
at the Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition of the SPE, 1985.

14. Chatzis, I., Kantzas, A., and Dullien, F.A.L.,

"On the Investigation of Gravity-Assisted Inert
Gas Injection Using
Micromodels, Long Berea
Cores and Computer-Assisted Tomography", SPE
18284 presented at the Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition of the SPE, Houston,
TX, 1988.

"New
J.L.,
and
Lord,
G.D.,
24. Bergosh,
Developments in the Analysis of Cores from
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs", SPE 17479
(abstract) presented at the SPE Calif. Reg.
Meeting, Long Beach, CA, 1988.

15. Dehghani, K., Bansal, A., Ogbe, D.O., and

Ostermann, R.D., "The Effect of the Presence of
a Third Phase on Capillary Pressure by
Centrifuge Method and CT Scanning", SPE 18793
presented at the SPE California Reg. Meet.,
Bakersfield, CA, 1989.

25. Honarpour, M.M., McGee, K.R.,

Maerefat, N.L., and Sharma, B.,
Description of a Dolomite Sample
Madison Limestone Group", SPE
at the Rocky Mountain Regional
SPE, Billings, MT, 1986.

16. MacAllister, D.J., Miller, K.C., Graham, S.K.,

and Yang, C.T., "Application of X-Ray CT
Scanning to the Determination of Gas-Water
Relative Permeabilities" , SPE 20494 presented
at the Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition of the SPE, New Orleans, LA, 1990.

Crocker, M.E.,
"Detailed Core
from the Upper
15174 presented
Meeting of the

J.L.,
and
Lord,
G.D.,
"New
26. Bergosh,
Developments in the Analysis of Cores from
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs", SPE 16805
presented at the Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition of the SPE, Dallas, TX, 1987.

17. Hicks, P.J., Jr., Deans, H.A., and Narayanan,

K.,
"Experimental
Measurement
of
the
Distribution of Residual Oil Saturations in
Heterogeneous Carbonate Cores Using X-Ray
Computerized Tomography" , CIM/SPE 90-68
presented
at
the
International
Technical
Meeting of the CIM and SPE, Calgary, Alberta,
Canada, 1990.

27. Kantzas, A., Marentette, D.F., Erno, B., and

Harding, S., "Characterization of a Heavy Oil
Reservoir Using Computer Assisted Tomography of
Core Material" , paper presented at the Third
Petroleum Conference of the South Saskatchewan
Section of the Petroleum Society of CIM,
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, 1989.

18. Lenormand, R., Kalaydijan, F., Bieber, M.T.,

and Lombard, J.M., "Use of Multifractal
Approach for Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous
Porous Media: Comparison with CT-Scanning
Experiment", SPE 20475 presented at the Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition of the SPE,
New Orleans, LA, 1990.

28. Jasti, J., Jesion, G., and Feldkamp, L.,

"Microscopic Imaging of Porous Media Using
X-Ray Computer Tomography", SPE 20495 presented
at the Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition of the SPE, New Orleans, LA, 1990.
29. Hunt, P.K., Engler, P.,
"Computed Tomography as
Applications and Artifact
SPE 16952 presented at
Conference and Exhibition
TX, 1987.

19. Kantzas, A., Marentette, D.F., and Jha, K.N.,

"Computer
Assisted
Tomography:
From
Quantitative Visualization to Quantitative Core
Analysis", paper CIMIAOSTRA 91-72 presented at
the Technical Conference of the CIMIAOSTRA,
Banff, Alberta, Canada, 1991.

and Bajsarowicz, C.,

a Core Analysis Tool:
Reduction Technique",
the Annual Technical
of the SPE, Dallas,

30. Kantzas, A., Chatzis, I., Macdonald, I.F., and

Dullien, F.A.L., "Using a Vertical Scanner for
Horizontal Scanning in Non-Medical Applications
of Computer Assisted Tomography" , CSNDT
Journal, March-April (1988) 20.

532

SPE 22127

A. Bansal and M.R. Islam

31. Narayanan, K. and Deans, H.A., "A Flow Model

Based on the Structure of Heterogeneous Porous
Media", SPE 18328 presented at the Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition of the SPE,
Houston, TX, 1988.

38. Hove, A.O., Nilsen, V., and Jenkes, A.,

"Visualization of Xanthan Flood Behavior in
Core Samples by Means of X-ray Tomography", SPE
17342 presented at the SPE/DOE Enhanced Oil
Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, OK, 1988.

32. Kantzas, A., Marentette, D.F., and Skalinski,

M., "Computer Assisted Tomo~raphy as a
Complementary Tool to Well Loggmg", paper P,
presented at the 12th Formation Evaluation
Symposium of the Canadian Well Logging Society,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1989.

39. Wellington,
S.L.
and
Vinegar,
H.J.,
"Surfactant-Induced Mobility Control for Carbon
Dioxide Studied with Computerized Tomography",
Surfactant-Based Mobility Control, Chapter 17,
ACS, 1988.

11

40. Liu, D., Castanier, L.M., and Brigham, W.E.,

"Analysis of Transient Foam Flow in I-D Porous
Media with CT" , SPE 20071 presented at the
SPE California Regional Meeting, Ventura, CA,
1990.

33. Gililand, R.E. and Coles, M.E., "Use of CT

Scanning in the Investigation of Damage to
Unconsolidated Cores", SPE 19408, presented at
the SPE Formation Damage Control Symposium,
Lafayette, LA, 1990.

41. Hicks, P.J., Jr., Narayanan, R., and Deans,

H.A., "An Experimental Study of Miscible
Displacements in Heterogeneous Carbonate Cores
Using X-Ray CT", SPE 20492 presented at the
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of
the SPE, New Orleans, LA, 1990.

34. Auzerais, F.M., Ellis, D.V., Luthi, S.M.,

Dussan, E.B.V., and Pinoteau, B.J., "Laboratory
Characterization of Anisotropic Rocks" , SPE
20602 presented at the Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition of the SPE, New
Orleans, LA, 1990.

42. Peters, E.J. and Hardham, W.D., "Visualization

of Fluid Displacements in Porous Media Using
Computed Tomography Imaging", J. Pet. Eng.
Sci., vol. 4 (1990) 155.

35. Moss, R.M., Pepin, G.P., and Davis, L.A.,

"Direct
Measurement
of
the
Constituent
Porosities in a Dual Porosity Matrix" , paper
9003, presented at the Fourth Annual Technical
Conference of the Society of Core Analysis,
Dallas, TX, 1990.
36. Withjack, E.M., Graham, S.K., and Yang, C.T.,
"Determination of Heterogeneities and Miscible
Displacement Characteristics in Corefloods by
CT Scanning", SPE 20490 presented at the Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition of the SPE,
New Orleans, LA, 1990.
37. Hove, A.O., Ringen, J.K., and Read, P.A.,
"Visualization of Laboratory Corefloods with
the Aid of Computerized Tomography of X-rays",
SPEFE, vol. 2 (1987) 148; paper originally
presented as SPE 13654 at the SPE California
Reg. Meet., Bakersfield, CA, 1985.

533