scholarly journals Fracture connectivity can reduce the velocity anisotropy of seismic waves

2017 ◽  
Vol 210 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Germán Rubino ◽  
Eva Caspari ◽  
Tobias M. Müller ◽  
Klaus Holliger
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Fractured Rock ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Fracture Networks ◽  
Velocity Anisotropy ◽  
Rock Formations ◽  
Pressure Diffusion ◽  
Static Elasticity ◽  
Fracture Fluid

Abstract The degree of connectivity of fracture networks is a key parameter that controls the hydraulic properties of fractured rock formations. The current understanding is that this parameter does not alter the effective elastic properties of the probed medium and, hence, cannot be inferred from seismic data. However, this reasoning is based on static elasticity, which neglects dynamic effects related to wave-induced fluid pressure diffusion (FPD). Using a numerical upscaling procedure based on the theory of quasi-static poroelasticity, we provide the first evidence to suggest that fracture connectivity can reduce significantly velocity anisotropy in the seismic frequency band. Analyses of fluid pressure fields in response to the propagation of seismic waves demonstrate that this reduction of velocity anisotropy is not due to changes of the geometrical characteristics of the probed fracture networks, but rather related to variations of the stiffening effect of the fracture fluid in response to FPD. These results suggest that accounting for FPD effects may not only allow for improving estimations of geometrical and mechanical properties of fracture networks, but may also provide information with regard to the effective hydraulic properties.

scholarly journals Thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in fractured rock formations during a glacial advance

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2167-2185 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. S. Selvadurai ◽  
A. P. Suvorov ◽  
P. A. Selvadurai
Keyword(s):  
Rock Mass ◽  
Fractured Rock ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Fracture Zones ◽  
Saturated Rock ◽  
Rock Formations ◽  
Geological Formation ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

Abstract. The paper examines the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) processes that develop in a fractured rock region within a fluid-saturated rock mass due to loads imposed by an advancing glacier. This scenario needs to be examined in order to assess the suitability of potential sites for the location of deep geologic repositories for the storage of high-level nuclear waste. The THM processes are examined using a computational multiphysics approach that takes into account thermo-poroelasticity of the intact geological formation and the presence of a system of sessile but hydraulically interacting fractures (fracture zones). The modelling considers coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical effects in both the intact rock and the fracture zones due to contact normal stresses and fluid pressure at the base of the advancing glacier. Computational modelling provides an assessment of the role of fractures in modifying the pore pressure generation within the entire rock mass.

Seismic wave attenuation due to fluid pressure diffusion at the mesoscopic scale: an experimental and numerical study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Chapman ◽  
Jan V. M. Borgomano ◽  
Beatriz Quintal ◽  
Sally M. Benson ◽  
Jerome Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Wave ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Fluid Distribution ◽  
Mesoscopic Scale ◽  
Seismic Wave Attenuation ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Pressure Diffusion ◽  
Attenuation And Dispersion

<p>Monitoring of the subsurface with seismic methods can be improved by better understanding the attenuation of seismic waves due to fluid pressure diffusion (FPD). In porous rocks saturated with multiple fluid phases the attenuation of seismic waves by FPD is sensitive to the mesoscopic scale distribution of the respective fluids. The relationship between fluid distribution and seismic wave attenuation could be used, for example, to assess the effectiveness of residual trapping of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the subsurface. Determining such relationships requires validating models of FPD with accurate laboratory measurements of seismic wave attenuation and modulus dispersion over a broad frequency range, and, in addition, characterising the fluid distribution during experiments. To address this challenge, experiments were performed on a Berea sandstone sample in which the exsolution of CO2 from water in the pore space of the sample was induced by a reduction in pore pressure. The fluid distribution was determined with X-ray computed tomography (CT) in a first set of experiments. The CO2 exosolved predominantly near the outlet, resulting in a heterogeneous fluid distribution along the sample length. In a second set of experiments, at similar pressure and temperature conditions, the forced oscillation method was used to measure the attenuation and modulus dispersion in the partially saturated sample over a broad frequency range (0.1 - 1000 Hz). Significant P-wave attenuation and dispersion was observed, while S-wave attenuation and dispersion were negligible. These observations suggest that the dominant mechanism of attenuation and dispersion was FPD. The attenuation and dispersion by FPD was subsequently modelled by solving Biot’s quasi-static equations of poroelasticity with the finite element method. The fluid saturation distribution determined from the X-ray CT was used in combination with a Reuss average to define a single phase effective fluid bulk modulus. The numerical solutions agree well with the attenuation and modulus dispersion measured in the laboratory, supporting the interpretation that attenuation and dispersion was due to FPD occurring in the heterogenous distribution of the coexisting fluids. The numerical simulations have the advantage that the models can easily be improved by including sub-core scale porosity and permeability distributions, which can also be determined using X-ray CT. In the future this could allow for conducting experiments on heterogenous samples.</p>

scholarly journals Fluid pressure diffusion effects on the excess compliance matrix of porous rocks containing aligned fractures

2020 ◽  
Vol 222 (1) ◽  
pp. 715-733
Author(s):  
Gabriel A Castromán ◽  
Nicolás D Barbosa ◽  
J Germán Rubino ◽  
Fabio I Zyserman ◽  
Klaus Holliger
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Fractured Rock ◽  
Finite Thickness ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Porous Rocks ◽  
Compliance Matrix ◽  
Pressure Diffusion ◽  
Reservoir Permeability ◽  
Wide Range

SUMMARY The presence of sets of open fractures is common in most reservoirs, and they exert important controls on the reservoir permeability as fractures act as preferential pathways for fluid flow. Therefore, the correct characterization of fracture sets in fluid-saturated rocks is of great practical importance. In this context, the inversion of fracture characteristics from seismic data is promising since their signatures are sensitive to a wide range of pertinent fracture parameters, such as density, orientation and fluid infill. The most commonly used inversion schemes are based on the classical linear slip theory (LST), in which the effects of the fractures are represented by a real-valued diagonal excess compliance matrix. To account for the effects of wave-induced fluid pressure diffusion (FPD) between fractures and their embedding background, several authors have shown that this matrix should be complex-valued and frequency-dependent. However, these approaches neglect the effects of FPD on the coupling between orthogonal deformations of the rock. With this motivation, we considered a fracture model based on a sequence of alternating poroelastic layers of finite thickness representing the background and the fractures, and derived analytical expressions for the corresponding excess compliance matrix. We evaluated this matrix for a wide range of background parameters to quantify the magnitude of its coefficients not accounted for by the classical LST and to determine how they are affected by FPD. We estimated the relative errors in the computation of anisotropic seismic velocity and attenuation associated with the LST approach. Our analysis showed that, in some cases, considering the simplified excess compliance matrix may lead to an incorrect representation of the anisotropic response of the probed fractured rock.

scholarly journals Thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in fractured rock formations during glacial advance

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 7351-7394 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. S. Selvadurai ◽  
A. P. Suvorov ◽  
P. A. Selvadurai
Keyword(s):  
Rock Mass ◽  
Fractured Rock ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Fracture Zones ◽  
Saturated Rock ◽  
Rock Formations ◽  
Geological Formation ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

Abstract. The paper examines the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) processes that develop in a fractured rock region within a fluid-saturated rock mass due to loads imposed by an advancing glacier. This scenario needs to be examined in order to assess the suitability of potential sites for the location of deep geologic repositories for the storage of high-level nuclear waste. The THM processes are examined using a computational multiphysics approach that takes into account thermo-poroelasticity of the intact geological formation and the presence of a system of sessile but hydraulically interacting fractures (fracture zones). The modeling considers coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical effects in both the intact rock and the fracture zones due to contact normal stresses and fluid pressure at the base of the advancing glacier. Computational modelling provides an assessment of the role of fractures that can modify the pore pressure generation within the entire rock mass.

scholarly journals Impact of fracture clustering on the seismic signatures of porous rocks containing aligned fractures

Geophysics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. MR295-MR308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás D. Barbosa ◽  
J. Germán Rubino ◽  
Eva Caspari ◽  
Klaus Holliger
Keyword(s):  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Porous Rocks ◽  
Seismic Properties ◽  
Velocity Anisotropy ◽  
Pressure Diffusion ◽  
Dispersion Regime ◽  
Attenuation Anisotropy

The presence of fractures in a reservoir can have a significant impact on its effective mechanical and hydraulic properties. Many researchers have explored the seismic response of fluid-saturated porous rocks containing aligned planar fractures through the use of analytical models. However, these approaches are limited to the extreme cases of regular and uniform random distributions of fractures. The purpose of this work is to consider more realistic distributions of fractures and to analyze whether and how the frequency-dependent anisotropic seismic properties of the medium can provide information on the characteristics of the fracture network. Particular focus is given to fracture clustering effects resulting from commonly observed fracture distributions. To do so, we have developed a novel hybrid methodology combining the advantages of 1D numerical oscillatory tests, which allows us to consider arbitrary distributions of fractures, and an analytical solution that permits extending these results to account for the effective anisotropy of the medium. A corresponding numerical analysis indicates that the presence of clusters of fractures produces an additional attenuation and velocity dispersion regime compared with that predicted by analytical models. The reason for this is that a fracture cluster behaves as an effective layer and the contrast with respect to the unfractured background produces an additional fluid pressure diffusion length scale. The characteristic frequency of these effects depends on the size and spacing between clusters, the latter being much larger than the typical spacing between individual fractures. Moreover, we find that the effects of fracture clustering are more pronounced in attenuation anisotropy than velocity anisotropy data. Our results indicate that fracture clustering effects on fluid pressure diffusion can be described by two-layer models. This, in turn, provides the basis for extending current analytical models to account for these effects in inversion schemes designed to characterize fractured reservoirs from seismic data.

Poroelastic effects of the damaged zone on seismic fracture reflectivity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Sotelo Gamboa ◽  
Santiago G. Solazzi ◽  
German J. Rubino ◽  
Nicolas D. Barbosa ◽  
Klaus Holliger
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Viscoelastic Model ◽  
Normal Incidence ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Viscoelastic Layer ◽  
Pressure Diffusion ◽  
Damaged Zone ◽  
Seismic Reflectivity

<p>The presence of fractures has a predominant influence on the hydraulic and mechanical behavior of rocks. These effects are particularly pronounced and relevant for otherwise largely impermeable and stiff formations. There is widespread evidence pointing to the ubiquitous presence of damaged zones surrounding fractures and faults. The enhanced permeability associated with these zones can promote fluid pressure diffusion in the vicinity of fractures when seismic waves travel through the corresponding subsurface volume. This process, together with the inherent mechanical weakness of damaged zones, is expected to affect the seismic reflectivity of fractures and faults. We investigate these effects based on Biot’s theory of poroelasticity. To this end, we consider a 1D layered representation of the fracture and the associated damaged zone in conjunction with embedding elastic and impermeable half-spaces. We compare a fully elastic fracture-background reference model with a model consisting of a poroelastic fracture and damaged zone enclosed within an elastic background. For these two models, we compute the normal incidence seismic P-wave reflectivities at the background-fracture and at background-damaged zone interfaces, respectively. We also include a model that represents the fracture-damaged zone poroelastic system as an equivalent viscoelastic layer. We aim to test the validity of this representation since it would imply that a similar correspondence is possible to establish when more realistic descriptions of the damaged zone are considered. For this additional model, the viscoelastic layer is characterized by its frequency-dependent P-wave modulus, estimated by applying White’s classical upscaling procedure for 1D poroelastic media composed of alternating layers. We test the validity of the elastic-viscolastic model by comparing its reflectivity against the corresponding results from the elastic-poroelastic model. In doing so, we find that the simplified elastic-viscoelastic model faithfully reproduces the reflectivity of its elastic-poroelastic counterpart up to a threshold frequency, at which resonances produced within the viscoelastic layer become dominant. Overall, our results show that, in the seismic frequency range, there is a substantial increase in seismic fracture reflectivity resulting from the combined effects of fluid pressure diffusion and mechanical weakening associated with the surrounding damaged zone. This, in turn, indicates that the seismic reflectivity of a fracture may indeed be dominated by the thickness and physical properties of its surrounding damaged zone rather than by the properties of the fracture sensu stricto.</p>

scholarly journals Seismically induced changes in groundwater levels and temperatures following the ML5.8 (ML5.1) Gyeongju earthquake in South Korea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo-Hyoung Lee ◽  
Jae Min Lee ◽  
Sang-Ho Moon ◽  
Kyoochul Ha ◽  
Yongcheol Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Monitoring Wells ◽  
Gyeongju Earthquake

AbstractHydrogeological responses to earthquakes such as changes in groundwater level, temperature, and chemistry, have been observed for several decades. This study examines behavior associated with ML 5.8 and ML 5.1 earthquakes that occurred on 12 September 2016 near Gyeongju, a city located on the southeast coast of the Korean peninsula. The ML 5.8 event stands as the largest recorded earthquake in South Korea since the advent of modern recording systems. There was considerable damage associated with the earthquakes and many aftershocks. Records from monitoring wells located about 135 km west of the epicenter displayed various patterns of change in both water level and temperature. There were transient-type, step-like-type (up and down), and persistent-type (rise and fall) changes in water levels. The water temperature changes were of transient, shift-change, and tendency-change types. Transient changes in the groundwater level and temperature were particularly well developed in monitoring wells installed along a major boundary fault that bisected the study area. These changes were interpreted as representing an aquifer system deformed by seismic waves. The various patterns in groundwater level and temperature, therefore, suggested that seismic waves impacted the fractured units through the reactivation of fractures, joints, and microcracks, which resulted from a pulse in fluid pressure. This study points to the value of long-term monitoring efforts, which in this case were able to provide detailed information needed to manage the groundwater resources in areas potentially affected by further earthquakes.

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