Abstract
It is necessary to visualize and characterize pore geometries in rocks for accurate estimation of underground flow system. Recent technological development prodides three dimensional observation of internal structure of rock with high resolution. X-ray computerized tomography (CT) medical scanner, optical microscope observation of void space dyed with colored resin, Confocal Scanning Laser Microscope (CSLM), mercury intrusion porosimetry and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) were used as tools to visualize pore networks. By comparison of each advantage and disadvantage, it is concluded that micro-focus X-ray CT system is the most effective for three-dimensional pore visualization, and the usage of AFM combinated with the data of pore size distribution obtained by mercury intrusion porosimetry is the most suitable for the permeability estimation.
