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SAXS and WAXS Microscopy Applied to Mudrocks: A New Method for Systematic Multiscale Studies of Porosity, Pore Orientation and Mineralogy
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, Sixth EAGE Shale Workshop, Apr 2019, Volume 2019, p.1 - 4
Abstract
We apply scanning SAXS and WAXS microscopy to different mudrock samples. The method characterizes the microstructure in terms of porosity and preferential pore alignment of small pores 6 −202 nm size. These small features are experimentally challenging to resolve for statistically relevant sample volumes with state of the art characterization techniques, such as imaging methods. A key novelty in this study is the quantification of the mineralogy and mineral phase content from the WAXS measurements. Thus, a detailed quantification and comparison of important microstructural parameters is achieved. The method is used in a raster scanning mode, where thousands of consecutive measurements are performed, with a high micrometric spatial resolution, over mm sized sample areas. Therefore, simultaneously the variation of the microstructure is resolved on the pore and lamina scale. We propose to use scanning SAXS-WAXS microcopy in future studies for investigations of the systematic relationships between mineralogy and the pore network.