T2 analysis using artificial neural networks

Bayesian NMR petrophysical characterization

Identification of reservoir rock types is necessary for the exploration and recovery of oil and gas. It involves determining the petrophysical properties of rocks such as porosity and permeability which play a significant role in developing reservoir models, estimating the volumes of oil and gas reserves, and planning production methods. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology is a fast and accurate tool for petrophysical rock characterization. The distributions of relaxation times (T2 distributions) offer valuable insights into the distribution of pore sizes in rocks, and these distributions are closely linked to important petrophysical parameters like porosity, permeability, and bound fluid volume (BFV). This work introduces a Bayesian estimation method for analyzing NMR data. The Bayesian approach uses prior knowledge of T2 distributions in the form of the prior mean and covariance. The Bayesian approach combines prior knowledge with observed data to obtain improved estimation. We use the Bayesian estimation method where prior information regarding the rock sample type, for example shale, is available. The estimators were evaluated on decay data simulated from synthesized distributions that replicate the features of experimental T2 distributions of three types of reservoir rocks. We compared the performance of the Bayesian method with two existing methods using porosity, bound fluid volume (BFV) geometric mean (T2LM) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the estimated T2 distribution as evaluation criteria. Additional experiments were carried out using experimental T2 distributions to validate the results. The performance of the Bayesian methods was also tested using mismatched priors. The experimental results illustrate that the Bayesian estimator outperforms other estimators in estimating the T2 distribution. The Bayesian method also outperforms the ILT method in estimating derived petrophysical properties except in cases where the noise level is below 0.1 and the T2 distributions are associated with short relaxation times.

Improving ADMET Prediction Accuracy for Candidate Drugs: Factors to Consider in QSPR Modeling Approaches

Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship (QSPR) employs mathematical and statistical methods to reveal quantitative correlations between the pharmacokinetics of compounds and their molecular structures, as well as their physical and chemical properties. QSPR models have been widely applied in the prediction of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET). However, the accuracy of QSPR models for predicting drug ADMET properties still needs improvement. Therefore, this paper comprehensively reviews the tools employed in various stages of QSPR predictions for drug ADMET. It summarizes commonly used approaches to building QSPR models, systematically analyzing the advantages and limitations of each modeling method to ensure their judicious application. We provide an overview of recent advancements in the application of QSPR models for predicting drug ADMET properties. Furthermore, this review explores the inherent challenges in QSPR modeling while also proposing a range of considerations aimed at enhancing model prediction accuracy. The objective is to enhance the predictive capabilities of QSPR models in the field of drug development and provide valuable reference and guidance for researchers in this domain.

A study on multi-exponential inversion of nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation data using deep learning

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful tool for formation evaluation in the oil industry to determine parameters, such as pore structure, fluid saturation, and permeability of porous materials, which are critical to reservoir engineering. The inversion of the measured relaxation data is an ill-posed problem and may lead to deviations of inversion results, which may degrade the accuracy of further data analysis and evaluation. This paper proposes a deep learning method for multi-exponential inversion of NMR relaxation data to improve accuracy. Simulated NMR data are first constructed using a priori knowledge based on the signal parameters and Gaussian distribution. These data are then used to train the neural network designed to consider noise characteristics, signal decay characteristics, signal energy variations, and non-negative features of the T₂ spectra. With the validation from simulated data, the models introduced by multi-scale convolutional neural network (CNN) and attention mechanism outperform other approaches in terms of denoising and T₂ inversion. Finally, NMR measurements of rock cores are used to compare the effectiveness of the attention multi-scale convolutional neural network (ATT-CNN) model in practical applications. The results demonstrate that the proposed method based on deep learning has better performance than the regularization method.

Input layer regularization for magnetic resonance relaxometry biexponential parameter estimation

Many methods have been developed for estimating the parameters of biexponential decay signals, which arise throughout magnetic resonance relaxometry (MRR) and the physical sciences. This is an intrinsically ill-posed problem so that estimates can depend strongly on noise and underlying parameter values. Regularization has proven to be a remarkably efficient procedure for providing more reliable solutions to ill-posed problems, while, more recently, neural networks have been used for parameter estimation. We re-address the problem of parameter estimation in biexponential models by introducing a novel form of neural network regularization which we call input layer regularization (ILR). Here, inputs to the neural network are composed of a biexponential decay signal augmented by signals constructed from parameters obtained from a regularized nonlinear least-squares estimate of the two decay time constants. We find that ILR results in a reduction in the error of time constant estimates on the order of 15%-50% or more, depending on the metric used and signal-to-noise level, with greater improvement seen for the time constant of the more rapidly decaying component. ILR is compatible with existing regularization techniques and should be applicable to a wide range of parameter estimation problems.

A novel inversion method of 2D TD-NMR signals based on realizing unconstrained maximization of objective function

The inversion of time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR) signals is an ill-posed problem, which presents enormous challenges for the inversion algorithm. We propose a novel inversion method that converts conventional minimum objective function with non-negative constraints into an unconstrained maximization problem in the inversion of TD-NMR signals. Hence, the objective function becomes a differentiable concave function that can be solved more easily. The validity of the proposed method was verified by the uncertainty estimation of NMR inversion spectra with different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). Through the inversion of simulated 2D D-T₂ and T₁-T₂ signals under different SNR, the proposed method was proved to be less sensitive to noise than the conventional inversion method. We use the proposed method to study the migrations of oil and water in shales, the components change in shale could be identified and quantified according to the 2D T₁-T₂ inversion spectra. The proposed method was also used to analyze the hydration process of cement. The 2D T₁-T₂ inversion spectra could distinctly present the component of tiny volume with short relaxation time, and the migration regularity of capillary water, gel water, and bound water could also be found. In conclusion, the proposed method could be a reliable method to invert TD-NMR signals, especially the identification of the 2D NMR signals with a short relaxation time in low SNR.

3D Relaxation-Assisted Separation of Wideline Solid-State NMR Patterns for Achieving Site Resolution

There are currently no methods for the acquisition of ultra-wideline (UW) solid-state NMR spectra under static conditions that enable reliable separation and resolution of overlapping powder patterns arising from magnetically...