According to UW News, the new microscope was installed this week into the Encana Research Lab in the College of Engineering building.
Morteza Akbarabadi, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum, said UW is the only one in the world using the new microscope for petroleum research. He said Harvard has one but is using it for anthropological research.
Akabaradi said he and his colleagues are still exploring the new device after the manufacturer installed it.
He said the new microscope is advantageous to researchers because it helps simulation work. He said the experimental data from the x-ray microscope better helps the researchers running modeling and physics data on petroleum behavior.
The microscope is so new, he said, the researchers have to learn many new things on their own. He said UW has one of the best core flooding systems already, which helps determine rock properties and how well oil will flow through it.
He said combining core flooding tests with the X-ray microscope is something “unique in the world as well.”