Three-dimensional printing for geoscience: Fundamental research, education, and applications for the petroleum industry

Ishutov, Sergey; Jobe, Dawn; Zhang, Shuo; González, Miguel; Agar, Susan M.; Hasiuk, Franciszek; Watson, Francesca; Geiger, Sebastian; Mackay, Eric James; Chalaturnyk, Rick

doi:10.1306/0329171621117056

Cited by 45 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…In recent years, 3D printing technology, also known as additive manufacturing or rapid prototyping, is helping us in parts replacement and production in various industries, engineering disciplines and sciences [24][25][26][27][28]. 3D printing consists of aggregating simple materials with a binder through an efficient manufacturing process, which is also gaining popularity in geosciences to produce samples that resemble natural rocks from various perspectives [29]. Some of the efforts of employing 3D printing in geosciences, particularly creating rock-like samples are as follows: Jiang et al [30] used gypsum-like material to print a rock specimen containing preset cracks with width of 0.2 mm and measured basic mechanical properties and failure patterns that are very similar to a typical natural rock.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomechanical Upscaling Methods: Comparison and Verification via 3D Printing

et al. 2019

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Understanding geomechanical properties of rocks at multiple scales is critical and relevant in various disciplines including civil, mining, petroleum and geological engineering. Several upscaling frameworks were proposed to model elastic properties of common rock types from micro to macroscale, considering the heterogeneity and anisotropy in the samples. However, direct comparison of the results from different upscaling methods remains limited, which can question their accuracy in laboratory experiments. Extreme heterogeneity of natural rocks that arises from various existing components in them adds complexity to verifying the accuracy of these upscaling methods. Therefore, experimental validation of various upscaling methods is performed by creating simple component materials, which is, in this study, examining the predicted macroscale geomechanical properties of 3D printed rocks. Nanoindentation data were first captured from 3D printed gypsum powder and binder rock fragments followed by, triaxial compression tests on similar cylindrical core plugs to acquire modulus values in micro and macroscale respectively. Mori-Tanaka (MT) scheme, Self-Consistent Scheme (SCS) method and Differential Effective Medium (DEM) theory were used to estimate Young’s modulus in macroscale based on the results of nanoindentation experiments. The comparison demonstrated that M-T and SCS methods would provide us with more comparable results than DEM method. In addition, the potential applications of 3D printed rocks were also discussed regarding rock physics and the geomechanics area in petroleum engineering and geosciences.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomechanical Upscaling Methods: Comparison and Verification via 3D Printing

et al. 2019

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“…Full-color printing was also used for the preparation of a realistic 3D model, designed to be used as a promotional material [15]. A wide range of 3D printing applications in geosciences is presented by Ishutov et al [16] Furthermore, 3D printing is also often used for the production of aids for blind and visually impaired people. One of the most common examples are tactile maps for orientation and navigation [17,18], but also maps that involve audio feedback [19,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Heritage Reconstruction Using Full-Color 3D Printing: A Case Study of the Valley of Five Polish Ponds

Wabínski

Mościcka

2019

Sustainability

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The research presented in this paper proposes a method for the development of photorealistic, physical terrain models using full-color 3D printing, along with an efficiency assessment (i.e., cartographic correctness). The rapid development of 3D printing technology in recent years has caused a growth in the number of solutions allowing the automatic or semi-automatic generation of digital terrain representations that can be then 3D printed. Unfortunately, most of these solutions do not consider cartographic principles and their products cannot be referred to as 3D maps. The methodology proposed in this paper takes into account issues related to proper cartographic design, so that highly reliable models can be created. The main challenges identified during the research include choosing the optimal pixel size for Digital Elevation Model (DEM) generation, which is used for landform representation, and integrating raster and vector data. Printing accuracy assessment is of high importance and, thus, a method for its implementation has been proposed. In order to verify the usability of the proposed methodology, the natural heritage site of the Valley of Five Polish Ponds, in the Tatra Mountains, Poland, has been chosen as the case study area. The results suggest that the proposed methodology can be successfully used for the preparation of highly accurate 3D maps that can be used for natural heritage documentation, promotion and visualization, as well as for the purposes of spatial planning and education.

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“…3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a growing method for creating custom-built physical models quickly and cost effectively. The potential uses of 3D printing within the geosciences are vast, with applications ranging from on-site manufacturing of replacement parts for drilling rigs, to printing granular samples from real sand grains for geomechanical testing (Ishutov et al 2018b). This paper is concerned with the use of 3D printing to investigate flow and transport properties of rocks at the pore-scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Flow and Transport Experiments on 3D Printed Micromodels with Direct Numerical Simulations

et al. 2018

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Understanding pore-scale flow and transport processes is important for understanding flow and transport within rocks on a larger scale. Flow experiments on small-scale micromodels can be used to experimentally investigate pore-scale flow. Current manufacturing methods of micromodels are costly and time consuming. 3D printing is an alternative method for the production of micromodels. We have been able to visualise small-scale, single-phase flow and transport processes within a 3D printed micromodel using a custom-built visualisation cell. Results have been compared with the same experiments run on a micromodel with the same geometry made from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, also known as Perspex). Numerical simulations of the experiments indicate that differences in experimental results between the 3D printed micromodel and the Perspex micromodel may be due to variability in print geometry and surface properties between the samples. 3D printing technology looks promising as a micromodel manufacturing method; however, further work is needed to improve the accuracy and quality of 3D printed models in terms of geometry and surface roughness.

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Three-dimensional printing for geoscience: Fundamental research, education, and applications for the petroleum industry

Cited by 45 publications

References 111 publications

Geomechanical Upscaling Methods: Comparison and Verification via 3D Printing

Geomechanical Upscaling Methods: Comparison and Verification via 3D Printing

Natural Heritage Reconstruction Using Full-Color 3D Printing: A Case Study of the Valley of Five Polish Ponds

Comparison of Flow and Transport Experiments on 3D Printed Micromodels with Direct Numerical Simulations

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