Isosurfaces to 3D Grid

The Isosurfaces to 3D Grid tool can project information from tri-mesh isosurfaces onto a property on a 3D grid. For example, you can create a continuous 3D grid temperature distribution property from (imported) isotherms, to use as input to reservoir and/or geomechanics simulation. The form will interpolate (and extrapolate, if chosen) property values along the vertical direction between the isosurfaces. The higher quality the input isosurfaces are, the better the end result.

To map isosurfaces to a 3D grid property

  1. At the top of the form, first select the Property type. This should be the property type the isosurfaces reflect (e.g., temperature) which will also be assigned to the 3D Grid property.
  2. In the table header, at Value, the unit of the selected property type is now displayed. Make sure this unit corresponds to the units to be used in the table, and the unit used in the isosurface name (if applicable). For example, if you have isotherms named Surface_100C, Surface_200C and Surface_300C, set your unit to °C. You can change the unit from the context menu on Value in the table header.
  3. Select Isosurface Input Trimeshes in the table. You can manually assign (with the green plus to add a new row), or drag and drop tri-meshes from the JewelExplorer to populate the table (multiselect is supported). You can change the order of the surfaces in the table using the arrow buttons. This order is only used if there is a conflict when interpolating or extrapolating (for example, when two surfaces coincide, the order in the table will determine which surface and value will be used).
When using drag and drop to populate the table (advised), the form will automatically do a scan of the surface names and try to extract property values automatically. For each surface, it will first look for a match with the set unit and use that value (e.g. if the unit is set to °C and the surface name contains "100C", it will populate with value 100). If no unit is found, it will try to use the last number in the name, if available. Setting the correct unit is essential for this functionality to work properly. Of course, you can always overwrite or set values manually if the automatic processing did not produce (correct) values.
  1. Select the 3D grid target that you want to create the output property on.
  2. Optionally, select a Regions property on the 3D grid. This will populate the Region Selection table, in which you can select which regions to map to. Output property values will only be created in selected regions, and set to undefined in 3D grid regions that are not selected. When selecting None, the 3D grid output property will be created everywhere where a valid value is produced. Any region property only affects the target property; it has no filtering effect on the selected input data.
  3. Enter the Output property name for the property you want to create on the 3D grid.
  4. Optionally, you can choose to Extrapolate the property. When unchecked, output property values on the 3D grid will only be available where a value can be interpolated between input isosurfaces. When checked, values will also be extrapolated vertically on the basis of the last two valid input isosurfaces. Extrapolation will initially be linear, but will taper off further away from the isosurface input to prevent extremely high or low values (using a hyperbolic tangent function).
Important  When extrapolating, and especially when extrapolating a lot, make sure to carefully QC the extrapolated results. Creating two properties, with and without extrapolation, can help to identify regions where extrapolation is applied.
  1. Click Apply or OK to create the output property on the 3D grid.
Interpolation and extrapolation by this form are all done vertically only. In some cases (strongly depending on input data quality), this process will not be able to produce valid values everywhere in the 3D grid. In such cases, you can consider interpolating the created property in 3D to produce property values everywhere (for example, by using the Property Calculator).