The “Rock and Fluid Multiphysics Laboratory” is a state-of-the-art facility that was established by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee. Some of the most advanced equipment and methods used in applied geoscience and petroleum engineering are housed in this lab. In order to increase the chances of the exploration and development targets of energy firms in their attempts to exploit conventional and unconventional energy resources successfully, it can facilitate multiphysics and multiscale experiments and produce feasibility models.
A low-frequency system in the lab (figure 2) offers dynamic estimations of the seismic rock property response in the range of 0.1 Hz to 3000 Hz, under in-situ circumstances. Under hydrostatic assumptions, the in-situ reservoir is simulated. The elastic and related geo-mechanical properties in the formations of mineral deposits under more accurate subsurface circumstances are static (0 Hz) estimates provided by the pseudo triaxial setup. In addition to these investigations in the seismic domain, the lab may also observe phenomena in the resistivity domains utilising practical, non-destructive methods such as spectral induced polarisation (SIP) measurements and cation exchange capacity (CEC) measurements.
This multiphysics approach to understanding the physical processes of rock and fluid and their interactions in the lab helps a lot in upscaling the observations to understand the field measurements.
The hydrates and geothermal systems are among the complicated formations that this lab is capable of characterising, in addition to routine (more homogeneous and good permeability) and routine (extremely heterogeneous and poor permeability) formations. Additionally, the lab can conduct feasibility studies for carbon storage and usage for formations such as volcanic rocks, carbonate-rich resources, shales, and organic-rich resources.
The Rock and Fluid Multi-physics Laboratory at IIT Roorkee is well situated adjacent to the Himalayan Mountain ranges and very close to the headquarters of ONGC, according to Professor Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director of IIT Roorkee. This lab will have a big impact on resource characterization, groundwater exploration, and the field of petroleum engineering. This will advance efforts to explore energy sustainably.
