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The petrophysical properties of Luxembourg Sandstone

Thesis · January 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.36036.17280

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 3-THE PETROPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF LUXEMBOURG
SANDSTONE
3.1-Samples preparation
In order to prepare samples, five different blocks had been chosen from the different parts of the
quarry, then each block cut into smaller blocks and the most homogenous block was used to
prepare different samples. In these papers, the prepared samples can be divided into :

a- Cylindrical samples (50mm heights,25mm diameter): used to study the petrophysical

properties (density, porosity and permeability) , samples must be cylindrical to fit into
Hassler cell (Figure.21), which used to measure the permeability. The first step is using the
coring machine (Figure.15b) to cut the cylindrical samples, then the cylindrical samples
must be rectified in order to make the sample’s surfaces perfectly planar. The second step
is the samples saturation by using saturation cell (Figure.19), the samples must be
vacuumed for one hour to clean the pores and then saturated with CO2 for one hour because
CO2 molecules are smaller comparing to water molecules, which will help to clean pores
efficiently, finally the samples saturated with water for one day to make sure, that pores
are fully saturated. The third step, weight the saturated samples and measure the
permeability using flow test (Hassler cell), the last step, drying the sample in an oven at
100 C° for one day, then calculate the porosity and density.
b- Cylindrical samples (80mm heights,40mm diameter): used to perform the uniaxial
compressive test and the sonic test. The coring machine is used to cut the samples and then
they are rectified.
c- Cylindrical samples (40mm heights,40mm diameter): used to conduct the shear test, the
Brazilian tensile test and the sonic test. The samples are cut using the coring machine and
then rectified.
d- Cubical samples (31*30*30 mm): used to perform the triaxial test. A cutting machine used
to cut blocks to cubic samples then they rectified.

e- Cuboidal samples ( 34*25*15mm): used to make thin sections.

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 For thin sections

For cubic samples

Figure.15: (a) the chosen block for samples preparation (b) the coring machine (c) the differently
prepared samples (Mining engineering lab, UMONS)

3.2-Petrography
Luxembourg Sandstone appears in different colours, yellow poorly cemented sandstone (10 -20%)
carbonate and grey to whitish colour well cemented (30-60%) carbonate with different degree of
alteration (Colbach,2005) and it has a bluish-grey colour due to the presence of pyrite (FeS2) under
the younger sediments where there is no alteration. Luxembourg Sandstone is characterized by
well-sorted, fine to medium grains the carbonate contents can reach up to 80%, the sand mainly
consists of quartz and felspars and micas in traces (Berners, 1983). Studying thin sections reveal,
that the grains size between 100-300 µm and have angular shapes, which suggests that they were
transported for a short distance. Some microfractures present in different thin sections with
different degrees of alteration (Figure.16b). The percentage of the cement( carbonate) estimates at
40-60 %. It was not possible to calculate the total porosity because the pores did not show even
under the microscope.

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 100µm 200µm

Figure.16: (a) Thin section (4x) using polarized light, shows the angular sand grains. (b)Thin
section (10x) using normal light shows a microfracture.

3.3-Density
The density expresses the amount of matter contained in a given volume. It intervenes directly or
indirectly in the physical and mechanical behaviour of rocks. The unit (SI) of density is kilogram
per cubic meter. The relative density of a body is the ratio of the density of that body to the density
of water for solids and liquids, and air for gases. The dry density in the laboratory is determined
as the ratio of the dry weight (M) of the sample to its volume (V). The total volume is determined
by using Vernier calliper (Figure.17)

Density : ρ = M/V in Kg/m3 or g /cm³ and the relative density 𝛿 = ρ/(ρ water) with no unit

Figure.17: Vernier calliper used to measure the heights and diameters of cylinders.

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 Sample Volume(cm3) Sat weight(g) Dry weight(g) Density(sat) Density(dry)
V-15-35-1 25.56 57.70 52.70 2.26 2.06
V-15-35-2 25.88 57.90 53.20 2.24 2.06
V-125-1 25.60 57.30 52.70 2.24 2.06
V-125-2 25.22 57.10 52.20 2.26 2.07
V-125-3 25.22 56.80 52.90 2.25 2.10
V-125-4 25.39 57.40 52.60 2.26 2.07
HM1 25.17 57.10 52.50 2.27 2.09
HM2 24.66 57.20 52.90 2.32 2.15
HM3 25.06 56.60 51.50 2.26 2.06
HM4 25.16 57.40 52.40 2.28 2.08
HM5 25.06 57.90 53.80 2.31 2.15
HM6 25.08 56.40 51.70 2.25 2.06
Mean 2.27 2.08
STD 0.02 0.03
CV(%) 1 1.4

Table.3: Saturated and dry density for Luxembourg Sandstone (Ernzen). (CV) is the coefficient
of variation. The density of Luxembourg Sandstone is low compared to standard sandstone.

Figure.18: The saturation and dry density of Luxembourg Sandstone. (V= vertical samples,
H=horizontal samples).A good variation between the dry and saturated density. The density is
almost the same in different directions.

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3.4-Porosity
Porous media by definition made up of two distinct domains: one occupied by a fluid (air, water,
oil, etc.) and we called void; the other is made of solid matter (which we call matrix). The geometry
and the topology of the voids: size, shapes, interconnections, are very important to estimate the
porosity When the voids have convex, globular forms, they are commonly called pores when the
voids are very flat and of relatively large extent, they are called cracks (Tshibangu, 2014). Total
porosity: is the ratio of the volume of the void to the total volume of the sample. It is expressed in
per cent.

V (void)
Ø = ∗ 100 (%) (3.1)
V (total)

free water volume

Øe = ˂Ø (3.2)
total volume

To calculate the effective porosity, the samples are saturated and weighed W(sat), then dried and
reweighed W(dry), then the value of the effective porosity is then given by:

(W(sat) − W(dry))
Øe = (3.3)
(𝜌𝑤 ×V(sample))

with , 𝜌𝑤 = 1 g/cm3 (water density).

Samples Volume(cm3) Saturated weight(g) Dry weight(g) Porosity( %)

V-15-35-1 25..56 57.70 52.70 19.6
V-15-35-2 25.88 57.90 53.20 18.2
V-125-1 25.60 57.30 52.70 18.0
V-125-2 25.22 57.10 52.20 19.4
V-125-3 25.22 56.80 52.90 15.5
V-125-4 25.39 57.40 52.60 18.9
HM1 25.17 57.10 52.50 18.3
HM2 24.66 57.20 52.90 17.4
HM3 25.06 56.60 51.50 20.3
HM4 25.16 57.40 52.40 19.9
HM5 25.06 57.90 53.80 16.4
HM6 25.08 56.40 51.70 18.7
Mean 18.4
STD 1.4
CV (%) 7.4
Table.4: The effective porosity of Luxembourg Sandstone (Ernzen). (V=vertical samples close to
joints, HM= Horizontal samples away from joints. An average effective porosity compared to
standard sandstone.

28
Figure.19: The saturation cell used to saturate samples (Mining engineering lab, UMONS).

Effective porosity
20
18.5 18.4
18.2

15
Porosity (% )

10

0
V H Mean

Samples

Figure.20: The effective porosity of Luxembourg Sandstone (Ernzen).The effective porosity

does not change with different directions (vertical and horizontal ).

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3.5-Permeability
Permeability is a measure of how easily water can travel through saturated materials, it is
influenced by the size and connection of voids and fluid properties (temperature, viscosity and
density). It is usually measured in the lab by using a cylindrical sample with water. A known
difference pressure is applied to both flat faces of the sample and the flow rate is measured.

µ 𝐐L
k= , (3.4)
S ∆𝑝

with, k, water permeability in Darcys, Q: is the volumic flow rate in cm3/s, L: sample length in
cm, S: section of the sample in cm2, µ: the viscosity of water = 1cp, Δp: pressure difference in
atm.

Figure.21: Hassler cell used to measure the permeability (Mining Engineering lab, UMONS).

30
 Samples L (cm) S (cm2) Δ P(atm) Q (cm3/s) k (mD) K (m/s)
V-15-35-1 5.02 5.08 0.93 0.015 16 1.5 * 10-7
V-15-35-2 5.05 5.12 1.08 0.016 14 1.3 * 10-7
V-125-1 5.04 5.07 1.05 0.016 15 1.4 * 10-7
V-125-2 5.01 5.03 0.81 0.016 19 1.8 * 10-7
V-125-3 5.04 5.00 0.90 0.016 18 1.7 * 10-7
V-125-4 5.01 5.06 0.93 0.016 17 1.6 * 10-7
HM1 5.00 5.03 0.78 0.015 19 1.8 * 10-7
HM2 5.00 4.93 0.82 0.016 19 1.8 * 10-7
HM3 5.01 4.99 0.87 0.016 18 1.7 * 10-7
HM4 5.01 5.01 0.96 0.016 17 1.6 * 10-7
HM5 5.00 5.00 0.96 0.016 16 1.5 * 10-7
HM6 5.05 4.96 0.82 0.016 19 1.8 * 10-7
Mean 17.3 1.7 * 10-7
STD 1.7 1.7 * 10-8
CV (%) 10 10

Table.5: The permeability of Luxembourg sandstone (Ernzen).(k = permeability Q = the volumic

flow rate , L=sample length , S=section of the sample Δp=pressure difference).

Permeability
20
18.1
18 17.3
16.5
16

14
Permeability (mD)

12

10

0
V H Mean

Samples

Figure .22: The permeability of Luxembourg Sandstone (Ernzen). An average permeability

compared to standard sandstone with slight variation in the different directions, the samples close
to joints have slightly lower permeability comparing to the samples away from joints.
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 The hydraulic conductivity (K): is the measurement of the ability of rock or soil to transmit water,
we can calculate K from the following equation :

k 𝜌𝑤 𝑔
K= (3.5)
𝜇

Since, water density ( 𝜌𝑤 ), fluid viscosity (𝜇 ) equal to 1 cp for water at 20C° and gravitational
force (𝑔) are constants, the hydraulic conductivity is related to permeability only.

Petrophysical properties: studying thin sections reveal grains size between 100-300 µm and that,
grains shape are angular which indicate that they were transported for a short distance, they show
also microfractures in some thin section with different degrees of alteration. The percentage of the
cement (carbonate ) varies between the different samples and it is estimated between 40%-60%.
Pores were not shown even under the microscope so it was not possible to calculate the total
porosity from thin sections.

Luxembourg Sandstone has a saturated density of 2.27 and dry density 2.08, the dry density is low
comparing to standard sandstone (2-2.6), it could be due to the high percentage of the cement
(carbonate). The effective porosity calculated at 18 %, Luxembourg Sandstone has an average
porosity comparing with standard sandstone porosity (5%-30% ).

The permeability of Luxembourg sandstone is measured at 17.3 x10-3 D, it has an average

permeability compared to standard sandstone permeability (10-5 -101 D) and the hydraulic
conductivity 1.7 × 10-7 m/s, the typical values for sandstone is (10-4 – 10-10 m/s). However,
permeability for the samples close to joints is slightly lower comparing to the samples away form
joints, this could be explained by water contains dissolved carbonate and moved easily in fractures,
eventually the dissolved carbonate precipitate forming an extra cement which will lower the
permeability. In general Luxembourg Sandstone has an average porosity and an average
permeability which markes it as a fair aquifer.

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