Micro-anisotropy of Permeability with the Help of Renormalization Group Approach

Development of permeability estimation techniques based on digital image data by means of renormalization group approach (RGA) open the possibility to calculate degree of permeability anisotropy of rocks. In this paper, this technique is applied for three dimensional images obtained from X-Ray μCT (micro computed tomography) scanning devices. New renormalization schemes (NRS) developed by Karim and Krabbenhoft (2010), are also discussed. Experiment and simulation on resistor networks give very good agreement with RGA and NRS for two dimensional cases. Three dimensional models of resistor networks are however different. Calculation of effective permeability for all methods is influenced significantly by the size of smallest block.