Methods and Systems for Scan Analysis of a Core Sample

• US 20160187509A1
• Filed: 12/28/2015
• Published: 06/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2014
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: GE Energy Oilfield Technology, Inc. (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: GE Energy Oilfield Technology, Inc. (General Electric Company)
• Inventors: Boot, John Christopher, Can, Ali
• Granted Patent: US 10,261,204 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/24 Earth materials G01N33/42 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 1/30 Analysis G01V1/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/04 involving 3D image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/37 using transform domain methods

Abstract

System for analyzing scan data of a core sample includes an imaging system for obtaining images of a first segment and a second segment of the core sample, and one or more processors for receiving the images of the first segment and the second segment, and setting the images of the first segment adjacent to the images of the second segment coaxially in series to form a stacked image. The method includes receiving image data of segments of the core sample, determining values representative of one or more physical characteristics of the core sample, comparing the values to known reference information of a material similar to the material of the core sample, and determining the one or more physical characteristics of the core sample based at least in part on the comparison.

Claims

1. A system for analyzing a core sample of a formation, the system comprising:

an imaging system for obtaining one or more images of a first segment and a second segment of the core sample, the core sample having an axis; and

one or more processors for receiving the one or more images of the first segment and the second segment, and setting the one or more images of the first segment adjacent to the one or more images of the second segment coaxially in series to form a stacked image.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging system comprises a scan source for emitting radiation.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the radiation comprises ionizing radiation or non-ionizing radiation.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the imaging system further comprises a scan receiver for receiving at least a portion of the emitted radiation.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a mounting assembly for mounting the scan source and scan receiver, and adapted to rotate the scan source and scan receiver at an orbiting rotation around the first segment.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a manipulator system for selectively moving the first segment in one or more directions along an axis of the first segment.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the stacked image comprises one or more characteristics of the core sample, wherein the one or more characteristics comprises at least one of hardness of the formation, fractures, voids, deposits, density, porosity, permeability, formation structure, bedding information, hydro-carbon content, water saturation, presence of non-rock matter, and other information reflective of the core sample.

8. A method for analyzing a core sample of a formation, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, image data of one or more segments of the core sample;

determining, by the one or more processors, one or more values representative of one or more physical characteristics of the core sample;

comparing, by the one or more processors, the one or more values to known reference information of a material similar to the material of the core sample; and

determining, by the one or more processors, the one or more physical characteristics of the core sample based at least in part on the comparison.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more characteristics comprises at least one of hardness of the formation, fractures, voids, deposits, density, porosity, permeability, formation structure, bedding information, hydro-carbon content, water saturation, presence of non-rock matter, and other information reflective of the core sample.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the known reference information is obtained from geologic reference tables or from prior analysis of a known reference core sample.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

obtaining, by an imaging system, one or more images of a first segment and a second segment of the core sample; and

setting, by the one or more processors, the one or more images of the first segment adjacent to the one or more images of the second segment coaxially in series to form a stacked image.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

emitting radiation by a scan source for obtaining the one or more images in the imaging system.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

mounting the scan source and a scan receiver on a mounting assembly; and

rotating the scan source and scan receiver at an orbiting rotation around the first segment.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

selectively moving the first segment in one or more directions along an axis of the first segment.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions that when executed cause a computer to perform the operations of:

receiving a first image of a first segment and a second image of a second segment of a core sample of a formation; and

aligning the first image with the second image so that the adjacent images are in an azimuthal orientation with respect to one another, and the azimuthal orientation matches or correlates to an azimuthal orientation of adjacent segments that are represented by the respective images.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the computer to perform the operations of:

determining one or more values representative of one or more physical characteristics of the core sample;

comparing the one or more values to known reference information of a material similar to the material of the core sample; and

determining the one or more physical characteristics of the core sample based at least in part on the comparison.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more characteristics comprises at least one of hardness of the formation, fractures, voids, deposits, density, porosity, permeability, formation structure, bedding information, hydro-carbon content, water saturation, presence of non-rock matter, and other information reflective of the core sample.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the known reference information is obtained from geologic reference tables or from prior analysis of a known reference core sample.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the computer to perform the operations of:

setting the first image of the first segment adjacent to the second image of the second segment coaxially in series to form a stacked image.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first image or the second image comprises CT scan data.