Analysis of laboratory data on ultrasonic monitoring of permeability reduction due to biopolymer formation in unconsolidated granular media

Abstract

We show how to estimate the fluid permeability changes due to accumulated biopolymer within the pore space of a granular material using laboratory measurements of overall permeability, together with various well-known quantitative measures (e.g., porosity, specific surface area, and formation factor) of the granular medium microstructure. The main focus of the paper is on mutual validation of existing theory and a synthesis of new experimental results. We find that the theory and data are in good agreement within normal experimental uncertainties. We also establish quantitative empirical relationships between seismic and/or acoustic attenuation and overall permeability for these same systems.