Study on Topological structure of sandstone 3 D pore networks

There are a large number of pores and throats in rock, the size and shape of which are different, and the connection status is complicated. Based on complex network theory and X ray CT scanning techniques, we take sandstone as an example to investigate the topological characteristics of 15 sandstone pore networks. The results show that the pore network of sandstone is similar to that of scale-free network. The average path length increases with the increase of network size (number of nodes). It is concluded that a few special pore nodes play an important role in the overall connectivity of the percolation network, and the nodes are ranked by the importance in the network. By analyzing the pore network modularity, it is concluded that the sandstone pore network has a homogeneous 20 community structure, which means there is no dominant communities in the networks. The paper try to provide a new perspective for the study of the mechanism of fluid storage and transport in rock and other porous materials.