Insights into pore-scale controls on mudstone permeability through resedimentation experiments

Research Article| November 01, 2011 Insights into pore-scale controls on mudstone permeability through resedimentation experiments Julia Schneider; Julia Schneider 1Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78713, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Peter B. Flemings; Peter B. Flemings 1Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78713, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ruarri J. Day-Stirrat; Ruarri J. Day-Stirrat 2Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78713, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar John T. Germaine John T. Germaine 3Department of Civil Insights into pore-scale controls on mudstone permeability through resedimentation experiments. Geology 2011;; 39 (11): 1011–1014. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G32475.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract At a given porosity, mudstone permeability increases by an order of magnitude for clay contents ranging from 57% to 36% (<2 μm). This increase in vertical permeability results from a dual-porosity system that develops through three mechanisms: (1) silt bridging preserves large pore throats, (2) stress bridges inhibit clay particle alignment, and (3) local clay particle compression within stress bridges alters pore throat size distribution. Uniaxial consolidation experiments on resedimented clay-silt mixtures illuminate how permeability varies as a function of clay fraction during burial. Backscattered electron microscope images show that silty mixtures have larger pore throats and fewer aligned clay particles than do more clay-rich mixtures. We describe the permeability of clay-silt mixtures with a geometric mean model. Our method provides a promising framework for modeling of mudstone permeability as a function of clay fraction and porosity. How permeability and consolidation evolve during burial affects the ability of mudstones to seal CO2 and hydrocarbons in the subsurface, how mudstones behave as gas reservoirs, and under what conditions mudstones will be overpressured. Dual-porosity systems have fundamentally different transient flow and solute transport behaviors. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.