SPE

SPE 21096

A Mixing Law to Model the Dielectric Properties of Porous Media

by Adolfo Rodriguez and Raul Abreu - INTEVEP

CopyrlQhl 1990, Society of Palroleum Engln....r.

This paper was preparad lor pr ntalion altha SPE latin Amedean Pet,oleum Engln"",lng Conferance held In Rio de Janel'o, OcIDber 14-19, 1990.

Thi~~P'" was selected for pr ntatlon by an SPE Prog,am Commlnee following ravlew 01 Information contained In an abstreCllUbmlned by the
;:'~ r ~~nl~~1S of fhe paper, as pre.enled, have not baen reviewed by lhe SocIety 01 Petrolaum Engineers end are IUbj8Cl1O corraetlon by
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;;"""t;"7' Papers presented al SPE meetings 8re subl8Cl to publication review by Edtlorlal CommIItee. 01 lhe SocIety 01 Pelroieum Engln";',.
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~":~:~~;t~edgemenlof where and by whom the paper Is presented. Wrne Publfoatlons Manager. SPE. P.O. Box 833838. Richardson,

ABSTRACT drainage is associated with the existence of a

different J3n for each process. We further show
that the exponent corresponding to the water
A new mlxmg law has been developed to
fraction is related to the Archie exponents in
model the dielectric properties of saturated
the low frequency limit. Reported experimen-
porous media. The total propagation time of an
tal data at two different frequencies were used
electromagnetic wave through the composite
to establish the values of the model parameters
porous medium is expressed as the sum of
at those frequencies.
the propagation times through each component
(rock, water and oil). A power dependence
is established between the propagation lengths INTRODUCTION
and the volume fractions for each component,
and is expressed in terms of a water saturation
exponent J3w, an oil saturation exponent J3n, Several mlxmg laws have been proposed to
and a J3g exponent corresponding to the rock estimate rock properties such as porosity and
matrix material. The mixing law predicts all water saturation from electrical measurements
the major features of the measured frequency in the lab and at the wellbore. 1 The best known
(w) dependent dielectric constant as a function of these, Archie's Law,2 relies on exponents
of water saturation. We conclude that the rapid that depend strongly on the geometry of the
increase of the dielectric constant at low water pore space, while other mixing laws such as
saturation values is consistent with J3w rv 0.3, CRIM 3 (Complex Refractive Index Method)
while a decrease at high water saturations is do not have geometry-dependent parameters,
indicative of J3n < 1. The hysteresis observed Archie's law has been used extensively since
in the dielectric constant during imbibition and it was introduced in 1942, and from the vast
quantity of experimental data and models, var-
IOUS hypotheses have been proposed to re-
References and illustrations at end of paper. late the cementation and saturation exponents
2 A MIXING LAW TO MODEL THE DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF POROUS MEDIA SPE 21096

with pore space geometry.4.5 The amount of the geometry. For the simple case in which
published data to back up CRIM is not so abun- incidence is at right angle on a set of three
dant, and those in the medium frequency range parallel layers of water, oil and rock, this
(10 KHz to 1 MHz) show considerable dis- relationship is trivial and can be written as the
agreement with the mode1. 6.7 In this paper we volume fractions
propose a modified form of CRIM, introducing
parameters that relate the distance traveled by
the electromagnetic wave in each component
with the corresponding volume fraction. By
(4)
choosing appropriate values for these expo-
nents, we can reproduce reported dielectric
constant measurements. 6

COMPLEX REFRACTIVE INDEX METHOD for each component. This leads to the equa-
tion that defines CRIM (Equation 1). If the
One of the most commonly used mixing laws incidence is not at right angle on the parallel
in the interpretation of dielectric well logs is layered medium, Equations 4 are not applica-
CRIM, defined by the equation ble because the lengths will now depend on
the incidence angle and the refractive index
R = Sw¢~ + (1- Sw)¢Y€;; + (1 - ¢) ~ (1) of the layers. This extreme case illustrates
the limitation of CRIM in not being able to
where E * is the complex dielectric constant of consider the pore geometry. In the pore space,
the mixture, ¢ is the porosity, Sw is the water the mixture of grains and fluids constitute a
saturation and E:'v, En and cg are the dielectric relatively homogeneous material. Therefore,
constants of water, oil and rock. To derive this even if the distances are not the same as
equation, we assume that the electromagnetic the volume fractions, the difference may be
wave travels distances lw, In and 19 through a small enough to be able to use CRIM as a
three-component parallel layered medium. The good approximation in some cases. However,
total travel time through the three components there are too few published experimental re-
is t = tw + tn + tg . Expressing t = ~ in sults to be able to say anything conclusive.
terms of travel distance l, and considering that Dielectric measurements in the 60 KHz to 4
v = -f;,
n
where v is the wave velocity in a MHz range are not consistent with CRIM,6.7
medium of complex refractive index n* and c while higher frequency measurements show
is the velocity of light in vacuum, we obtain some agreement. 8 Our theoretical modeling
lw * In 19 indicates that CRIM is a good approximation
n* = Tnw + Tnn + Tng. (2) in the static (low frequency) case,9 and also at
high frequencies,lO but not at the intermediate
Substituting n* = R in Equation 2 we obtain frequencies (60 KHz to 4 MHz.).

r7 lw r:;: In c- 19 A NEW MIXING LAW

VE* = TV E:V + TvEn + TA· (3)

Notice that Equation 3 relates the dielectric In the previous section we saw the need for a
constant of the medium with the dielectric more general form of the travel distance ratios
constants of each component through param- in Equation 2 in terms of the volume fractions
eters that depend on the spatial arrangement (Equation 4) and considering the pore space
of the components. The task now is to find geometry. To do this, we now propose the
a relationship between these coefficients and following general relations
SPE 21096 ADOLFO RODRIGUEZ AND RAUL A. ABREU 3

tenn in each series of Equation 6, for which

l~ = L bwi (Sw¢ )I3WI the mixing law takes the fonn

l
1
VE* = bw (Sw¢)/1w ~
~ = '"' bni [(1 - Sw) ¢]/1ni
l~
(5) + bn [(1 - Sw) ¢t ~ n
(9)
+ bg (1- ¢t v'£i.
1

l; L bgi (1 _ ¢ )/19;
9

=
The dielectric constants of oil and rock are
I
taken as real quantities because of the low
values of their conductivities. Applications
where we introduce the b coefficients and the f3 of this simplified fonn of the mixing law are
exponents which contain infonnation about the discussed in the following section.
geometry for each component of the medium.
Substituting Equations 5 into Equations 3 we ANALYSIS OF SATURATION DATA
obtain
Figure 1 shows typical dielectric constant data
v0 = L bwi (Sw¢ )I3WI ~ from measurements at 105 KHz,6 and Figure
I
2 shows the corresponding curve calculated
+ L b d(l - Sw) ¢]l3no ~
n (6) with the CRIM method. It is obvious from
the comparison of these two curves that the
+ L bgi (1 - ¢ )/19' yZ";. magnitudes of the experimental data are much
greater than the predicted CRIM values, except
at very low water saturations, and that the
We also propose that for a given pore space curves have opposite curvatures. CRIM does
geometry there exists one dominating term not seem to be a good model at this frequency
in each summation. For example, CRIM is (although there seems to be some agreement
obtained from Equation 6 by choosing all at 1.1 GHz). 8
coefficients b and all exponents f3 equal to one.
In the dc limit (w---+O), Equation 6 leads to the The most significant term in Equation 9 cor-
expression for the real conductivity a responds to the water contribution (except for
very low water saturations), and therefore the
most important parameters are ;3w and bw.
Figure 3 shows the dependence of the dielec-
tric constant with water saturation calculated
with Equation 9 for several values of I3w and
where a w is the dc conductivity of water. If keeping all other values of band f3 equal to 1.
we compare Equation 7 with Archie's equation The curvature and the value of the dielectric
constant change with f3w, approximating the
(8) general fonn of the experimental line shape
for f3 '" 0.3. The lowest curve in Figure 3
is equivalent to CRIM «(3w = 1). In Figure 4
we notice that they are equivalent if the series we show the result of varying bw for I3w = 0.3.
in Equation 7 has only one tenn, and if a = b~ The major effect is a change in amplitude and a
and m = n = 2f3w. variation of the slope at high water saturations.
From the previous observations we conclude
The two previous examples, CRIM and that it must be possible to fit the experimental
Archie's law, derive directly from our model data with a suitable choice of the (3 and b
if we assume that there is only one dominant parameters. Figure 5 shows a fit to the data in
4 A MIXING LAW TO MODEL THE DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF POROUS MEDIA SPE 21096

Figure 1 with {Jw = 0.23 and bw = 0.382. The ()" = Conductivity.

fit is excellent for high water saturations, and E = Dielectric constant.
follows the steep increase at low Sw values.
Sw = Water saturation.

Another important feature of the experimental r/J = Porosity.

data 11 is the decrease of the dielectric constant l, lw, In, 19 = Travel distances.
at high values of Sw and the hysteresis in t, tw , tn, tg = Travel times.
the imbibition and drainage processes (Figure
6). These effects can be explained introducing
v = Wave velocity.
different values of {In for each of these two pro- c = Speed of light.
cesses. Figure 7 shows the calculated dielectric n = Refractive index.
constant for f3w = 0.3 and two different values
of f3n (0.3 and 1.0), following the qualitative
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
form of the experimental results in Figure 6. It
is difficult to speculate about the geometrical
distributions of water and oil (or air) giving rise The authors thank Intevep, S.A., research cen-
to a decrease in c at high water saturation, and ter of the Venezuelan Oil Company PDVSA,
the hysteresis in the drainage process. More for granting permission to publish this work.
experimental work is clearly needed.
REFERENCES
The fit to two dielectric constant curves mea-
sured on the same sample a two different 1. Banhegyi, G.: "Comparison of electrical
frequencies 6 is shown in Figure 8. The values mixture rules formulae", Colloid & Polymer
of the parameters are b=O.44, {J=O.1 for the Science (1988) volume 266, 11.
data at 105 KHz, and b=0.336, {J=0.23 for the
data at 1.2 MHz.
2. Archie, G.E.: "The electrical resistivity log
as an aid in determining some reservoir char-
CONCLUSIONS acteristics", Transactions of the AIME (1942)
volume 146, 54.
We have shown that, with the proposed model,
it is possible to fit the major features of exper- 3. Wharton, R.P., Hazen, G.A., Rau, R.N.,
imental dielectric constant vs. water saturation Best, D.L.: "Electromagnetic propagation Log-
results by adjusting the model band f3 pa- ging: advances in technique and interpreta-
rameters. The mixing law allows for the tion", Soc. Pet. Eng. of AIME (1980) paper
particular pore geometry of a formation to 9267.
be taken into consideration when interpreting
electromagnetic log data. This can done by
4. Sen, P.N., Scala, c., Cohen, M.H.: "A
analyzing a small length of core to evaluate the
self-similar model for sedimentary rocks with
model parameters for a particular formation.
application to the dielectric constant of fused
Further research is needed to relate the model
glass beads", Geophysics (1981) volume 46,
parameters with pore space geometry.
781.

NOMENCLATURE
5. Roberts, IN., Schwartz, L.M.: "Grain con-
solidation and electrical conductivity in porous
bw , bn, bg = Model linear coefficients. media", Phys. Rev. B (1985) volume 31,
f3w, (Jw, f3w = Model exponents. 5990.
SPE 21096 ADOLFO RODRIGUEZ AND RAUL A. ABREU 5

6. Knight, R., Endres, A.: "The effect of 9. Vega, S., Rodriguez, A., Abreu, R.A.: "Nu-
rock/water interaction in modeling the dielec- merical simulation of the dielectric behavior of
tric response of sandstones", SPWLA Thirti- slightly heterogeneous media", Intevep (1990)
eth Annual Logging Symposium (1989) Paper technical report.
n.
10. Rodriguez, A.: "Numerical simulations
7. Knight, R.J., Nur, A.: "The dielectric of the complex dielectric constant of heteroge-
constant of sandstones, 60 KHz to 4 MHz", neous media", Intevep (1990) technical report.
Geophysics (1987) volume 52, 644.

11. Knight, R., Nur,A.: "Geometrical effects

8. Rau, R.N., Wharton, R.P.: "Measurement in the dielectric response of partially saturated
of core electrical parameters at UHF and mi- sandstones", The Log Analyst (1987) volume
crowave frequencies", Soc. Pet. Eng. of 28, 513.
AIME (1980) paper 9380.

. . . . . . .... .....
c
co
...-
. ..
.... .
.,
~C
......,. ..
., .
8u
~ 0
...-
. #
Qi
a co
co
.
.- .
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Water Saturation
Figure I. DieJeclric constant measured at lOS KHz, liken from Reference 6.

..,....-
c
sIn C\I
...-
<3
u
'C
....0
&l co
Qi
a
co

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Water Saturation
Figure 2, Dielectric constant as a function of S w calculated with the CRlM
method.
 SPE 21096 6

o
co

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Water Saturation
Figure 3. Dielectric constant as a function of Sw calculated for diferent valucs of
(J w kccpinl! all other b and (J parameteR equal 10 one.

~
c g
!
C ...,.
0
8u 0
'C M
U
Q) 0
Q) N
i5
...
0

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Water Saturation
Figure 4. Variation of the dielectric constanl as a function of Sw for different
values of bw for (Jw = 0.3.

CD

...co
--
c
SII)
c
....,.

0
0
U

~
...
N

.
Q)
Q)
i:5
...
0
.•
CD

co

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Water Saturation
Figure S. Fit to the data in FillUR I willi (Jw • 0.23 and bw • 0.382.
 8PE 21096 1

o
....

o
M

0
N

J
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Water saturation

n ..... 6. Hys-.il i..... didcclri<: . . - . . . .... ""'" IWcn:n<o 6.

:! P• • 1.0

c:
~c; N

0
0
....
.51
u 0

~
co

co

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.8 0.8 1.0

Water Saturation

Fi..... 7. CaIculaIOd dieIcCIri< _ . for /I. • 03 ODd two . . - 01

P. (0.3 ODd 1.0).

.. '.. . ., '
lOS KHz
~

i
C;
iii
<3
....
'i -
:!
II>
1.2 MHz
0
,,"
5!
.:
,
"
'.
II>

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Waler Saturation

Pi....... Fi, to """ dleJocuic .......... e - . ~ 6) OlOuurcd II diRe.....

fRlqllonc....