3D printers have been used to make everything from human stem cells to food to full-size cars, and now researchers are using the technology to build models of rocks to study how fluid seeps underground.
Geologists are reproducing the microscopic, intricate porenetworks
of rocks in scaled up3D-printed models. Franek Hasiuk, a professor of geological and atmospheric sciences at Iowa State University in Ames, is printing replicas of the tiny holes at huge magnifications to get a better look at how fluids like oil flow through underground rock. Hasiuk thinks the research could have important implications for energy companies drilling miles underground to reach oil and gas reserves.
For those unfamiliar with rock formations, each rock has its own individual microscopic pore networks. When fracking takes place, depending on how these networks are set up, the rocks crack and crumble in different ways. No two rocks will crack in the exact same way, thus predicting the exact result of any given instance of hydraulic fracturing is impossible. This is where 3D printing is helping geologists study individual rocks, to determine how they will fracture when this hydraulic pressure is applied.
“Humans are visual and tactile,” Hasiuk explained to LiveScience. “When I have something I can hold in my hands, it makes it a lot easier to understand. What oil and gas companies want to know is ‘If I put a well in this location, how is it going to drain? If I frack these rocks how is it going to drain?’”
By using vastly scaled up 3D printed models of these rocks and their networks of pores, geologists are able get a better look at exactly how liquid will flow through these rocks, and how they may end up fracturing.
Many individuals are against fracking because of some potential problems that it may cause. For example, many say that it has the ability to destroy underground reserves of water, while others have pointed out that if fracking occurs too close to a fault line, it could actually cause an earthquake. This is another reason why it is so important to find more efficient ways to take part in this 65-year old practice.
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