Geophysical Research Letters · 19 October 2026 · From issue 54
How Microporosity Shapes Carbonate Hydraulic Behavior: A Digital Rock Physics Perspective
In a computer model, tiny invisible pores in rock act as bridges that boost fluid flow.
Qiuheng Xie, Lijun Liu et al.
Rocks like limestone have two kinds of pores: big ones you can see, and tiny ones too small to see clearly. A new computer model shows the tiny pores act like bridges that connect the big pores together. This bridging boosts how much fluid can flow through the rock overall. The natural arrangement of tiny pores matters a lot. Scrambling that arrangement in the simulation made flow worse than the real pattern.
The range in permeability, or flow ease, measured across three carbonate rock samples.
Three rock samples, computer model only, not tested in real wells.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 22 October 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Geophysical Research Letters). Read the source
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