Determination of the Vuggy Porosity of Some Oolitic Building Limestones and the Practical Implications

This study shows that a better correlation between different variables such as on sonic velocity, total porosity and water saturation, and other secondary porosity values, can be obtained when dealing with a database, consisting of one petrographic class or Lithological group. This study is based mainly on oolitic limestones of Jurassic age commonly used as building stones in France, Britain and other countries. Few samples have also been taken from Jordan s Holocene. The total porosity is divided into matrix and secondary porosity. Using the cementation exponent (m), only secondary porosity of the moldic or vuggy type was emphasized in the present study. The relationships between the different porosity types and the other measured or derived properties were delineated, by extrapolation, using correlation. Mathematical formulae were presented to derive additional, complex properties from those more easily measured. Although the findings of this study are based on a limited available database about Jordanian building limestone, they have been verified. Practical implications of the present study and its limitations are also discussed.