On cavity flow permeability testing of a sandstone

Area of Science:

• Geotechnical Engineering
• Rock Mechanics
• Material Science

Background:

• Accurate measurement of bulk permeability is crucial for understanding fluid flow in porous media.
• Traditional methods may not be suitable for large rock specimens.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a laboratory experiment for measuring the bulk permeability of a large sandstone sample.
• To detail the experimental setup, procedure, and data interpretation methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a cuboidal sandstone specimen (450 mm² plan area, 508 mm height).
• Employed a central cavity pressurization technique to maintain constant flow rate.
• Applied computational and analytical approaches for result interpretation.

Main Results:

• Successfully measured the bulk permeability of the large sandstone specimen.
• Demonstrated the efficacy of the central cavity pressurization method for large samples.

Conclusions:

• The described experimental method is effective for determining the bulk permeability of large sandstone samples.
• The study provides valuable data and methodology for rock permeability assessment.