title: A low-cost X-ray-transparent experimental cell for synchrotron-based X-ray microtomography studies under geological reservoir conditions.
abstract: A new modular X-ray-transparent experimental cell enables tomographic investigations of fluid rock interaction under natural reservoir conditions (confining pressure up to 20 MPa, pore fluid pressure up to 15 MPa, temperature ranging from 296 to 473 K). The portable cell can be used at synchrotron radiation sources that deliver a minimum X-ray flux density of 10(9) photons mm(-2) s(-1) in the energy range 30-100 keV to acquire tomographic datasets in less than 60 s. It has been successfully used in three experiments at the bending-magnet beamline 2BM at the Advanced Photon Source. The cell can be easily machined and assembled from off-the-shelf components at relatively low costs, and its modular design allows it to be adapted to a wide range of experiments and lower-energy X-ray sources.
authors.affiliation: School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fusseis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mechanics, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum 44801, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Steeb
authors.affiliation: Beamline 2BM, 431-B002, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Xianghui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Wen-lu
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK.
authors.forename: Ian B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.affiliation: School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elphick
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1+3, Bern 3012, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Urs
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mäder
keywords: high-energy microtomography; in situ studies; porous media