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Abstract

A method of determining the invasion of drilling fluid into a core sample taken from a borehole. A first material is added to the drilling fluid to obtain a first fluid that has an effective atomic number that is different than the effective atomic number of the connate fluids in the rock formation surrounding the borehole. A preserved core sample is collected from the borehole for scanning by a computerized axial tomographic scanner (CAT) to determine the attenuation coefficients at a plurality of points in a cross section of the core sample. The preserved core sample is scanned with a CAT at first and second energies, and the determined attenuation coefficients for the plurality of points in the cross section at each energy are used to determine an atomic number image for the cross section of the core sample. The depth of invasion of the first fluid is then determined from the atomic number image, as an indication of the depth of invasion of the drilling fluid into the core sample.

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First Claim