Digital Rock physics research at UNSW explores high-resolution imaging of heterogeneous porous media and combines it with pore-scale rock-typing, physical property calculations and experiments. Our collaborative approach to research means we combine our instrument capacity with our people skills to provide unparalleled insights into microstructural behaviour.
Our Competitive Advantage
- Morphological, topological & spatial analysis of porous materials
- Massively parallel physical property calculations (electrical conductivity, elastic properties, fluid flow, NMR responses) for complex porous micro-structure
- Embedded classification structures for upscaling of physical properties
- Integration of experiment and simulation
Recent Research Projects
- Two active ARC DP projects: wettability alteration and colloid transport
- Two active ARC LP projects: low salinity water flooding/cement hydration
Successful Applications
- Commercialized through spin-off company Digital Core Pty, which merged with Numerical Rocks AS to form Lithicon, acquired in 2014 by FEI for A$76 million (now part of ThermoFisher).
- Morphy installation at several Fortune Top-500 companies
- 2012 Australian Museum Rio Tinto Eureka Prize
- 2014 UNSW “Inventor of the year award” to C. Arns & V. Pinczewski
- 2015 Premier's Prizes for Science & Engineering: “Leadership in Innovation in NSW”
- 2017 Distinguished Technical Achievement Award (SPWLA)
Our Partners
- ANU
- BP
- OMV
- Petrobras
- Total
- Wintershall
Facilities & Infrastructure
- Tyree X-ray micro-CT facility
- NMR high-pressure high-temperature low field laboratory
- “Morphy”: MPI parallel Morphology & (petro-)physical software suite
- Significant National Computing Infrastructure (NCI) grants for massively parallel computing
