Micromeritics Corepyc custom instrument for drill core analysis

Energy exploration, hydrogeological surveys and geosequestration operations all involve extracting and analysing drilling cores to provide information about the underlying strata. An important objective of the sampling is to determine the per cent porosity of the formation. Geological scientists have used a variety of methods to determine drill core porosity, but a fast, non-destructive, non-hazardous method is most preferable.

A gas displacement pycnometer is a suitable technique for measuring skeletal volume, but until now, this technique was very tedious because the maximum volume sample chamber capacity of existing models required the geological scientist to break a core into many smaller pieces that were each analysed. An average of the many analyses was used to arrive at a reliable value for the skeletal volume.

Micromeritics has designed a gas displacement pycnometer for users who want to measure the pore volume of drilling cores without having to break off small pieces that fit into a standard sample chamber. The AccuPyc II 1340 was custom-engineered with a large sample chamber (a volume of approximately 2000 cm³) to accommodate a 95 mm diameter core of up to 278 mm in length, thus improving sampling statistics by eliminating the need to run multiple analyses. A sample chamber can be custom-made to accept essentially any one of the various core sizes used throughout the world for reservoir evaluation.

Applications include: testing drill cores intact (mineral research, deep drilling exploration, identifying underground reserves, precious minerals in ore, oil or gas storage potential); testing rock parts (mineral exploration, selling products by density instead of weight); and testing unusually shaped large items (prosthetics, castings).