Paper contribution

Comparison of porosity, permeability and hydraulic conductivity of sandstones from mercury intrusion porosimetry and laboratory tests

Leona Vavro; Martin Vavro; Daniela Řimnáčová

Proceedings
EUROCK 2026
Pages
541-546
Submitted
28 January 2026
Accepted
15 June 2026
Published
12 August 2026

Summary

Abstract

The ​​microstructure of pores, defined primarily by their size distribution, shape and mutual connectivity, has a fundamental influence on physical, mechanical and deformation properties of rocks. It also significantly influences fluid transport and storage capacity and co-determines rock resistance to weathering. Precise characterization of pore microstructure and permeability is therefore essential for evaluation of oil and gas reservoirs, assessment of the suitability of the rock environment for CO2 storage and as a geological barrier in deep geological repositories of high-level radioactive waste, or in the protection of stone monuments. Many methods can be used for this purpose, such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, high-pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry, gas adsorption, X-ray computed micro-tomography, small-angle neutron scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance or direct laboratory measurements of permeability and hydraulic conductivity. In this study, porosity and hydraulic properties of four sandstones (Godula, Mšené, Hořice and Kocbeře) of different microstructure, composition and physico-mechanical properties were investigated using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and laboratory permeability tests. MIP porosity values indicate that the most porous sandstones are Mšené (29.45 %) and Hořice (25.32 %), followed by the moderately porous Kocbeře sandstone (15.79 %), while the least porous is the Godula sandstone (6.59 %). Hydraulic conductivities derived from MIP are in the order of 10⁻⁸ m×s-1, whereas laboratory tests yield different values: 10⁻⁶ m×s-1 for highly porous sandstones, 10⁻⁷ m×s-1 for moderately porous, and as low as 10⁻¹² m×s-1 for the least porous sandstone. Similar discrepancies were also found when comparing permeability coefficients derived from MIP and obtained by direct laboratory measurement. These results highlight significant differences between porosimetry-based and laboratory-derived hydraulic parameters, reflecting the influence of pore microstructure, pore-throat geometry, tortuosity and connectivity on fluid transport in sandstones, but the different size of the test specimens used for both measurements also has an undeniable influence.

Contributors

Authors

  1. Leona Vavro Institute of Geonics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic ORCID 0000-0002-4830-8691
  2. Martin Vavro Institute of Geonics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic ORCID 0000-0003-1446-460X
  3. Daniela Řimnáčová Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic

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