Print Email Facebook Twitter Variability in spatial distribution of mineral phases in the Lower Bowland Shale, UK, from the mm- to μm-scale Title Variability in spatial distribution of mineral phases in the Lower Bowland Shale, UK, from the mm- to μm-scale: Quantitative characterization and modelling Author Fauchille, A. L. (The University of Manchester; Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; UMR 6183 CNRS) van den Eijnden, A.P. (TU Delft Geo-engineering) Ma, L. (The University of Manchester) Chandler, M. (The University of Manchester) Taylor, K. G. (The University of Manchester) Madi, K. (3Dimagination) Lee, P. D. (The University of Manchester; Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) Rutter, E. (The University of Manchester) Date 2018-04-01 Abstract The microstructure of a highly laminated Lower Bowland Shale sample is characterized at the micron-to millimeter scale, to investigate how such characterization can be utilized for microstructure-based modelling of the shale's geomechanical behavior. A mosaic of scanning electron microscope (SEM) back-scattered electron (BSE) images was studied. Mineral and organic content and their anisotropy vary between laminae, with a high variability in fracturing and multi-micrometer aggregates of feldspars, carbonates, quartz and organics. The different microstructural interface types and heterogeneities were located and quantified, demonstrating the microstructural complexity of the Bowland Shale, and defining possible pathways for fracture propagation. A combination of counting-box, dispersion, covariance and 2D mapping approaches were used to determine that the total surface of each lamina is 3 to 11 times larger than the scale of heterogeneities relative to mineral proportion and size. The dispersion approach seems to be the preferential technique for determining the representative elementary area (REA) of phase area fraction for these highly heterogeneous large samples, supported by 2D quantitative mapping of the same parameter. Representative microstructural models were developed using Voronoï tessellation using these characteristic scales. These models encapsulate the microstructural features required to simulate fluid flow through these porous Bowland Shales at the mesoscale. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:87855793-7194-4bca-919e-d4a1adaba01e DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2018.02.029 Embargo date 2020-03-07 ISSN 0264-8172 Source Marine and Petroleum Geology, 92, 109-127 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2018 A. L. Fauchille, A.P. van den Eijnden, L. Ma, M. Chandler, K. G. Taylor, K. Madi, P. D. Lee, E. Rutter Files PDF Fauchille_et_al_2018_in_press.pdf 10.68 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:87855793-7194-4bca-919e-d4a1adaba01e/datastream/OBJ/view