Geologic core holder with a CFR PEEK body for the X-ray CT-based numerical analysis of fracture flow under confining pressure

Accurate prediction of fluid migration within the Earth's crust is required for various engineering applications, such as the geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste and oil/gas exploration. Fractures in subsurface rocks behave as major fluid pathways, and identifying fracture flow characteristics is essential to modeling fluid migration pathways. The fracture flow analysis of core samples containing natural fractures under in situ stress conditions may be the only direct means of obtaining insights into heterogeneous fracture flows, originating from natural heterogeneities in a specific field. However, fracture flows in naturally fractured rock core samples, which often contain multiple randomly distributed fractures of different intensities, are usually difficult to evaluate. It has been suggested that a core holder with a body made of a plastic or a carbon fiber reinforced plastic should be used to prevent the image noise problem.