Rock-physics modeling of ultrasonic P- and S-wave attenuation in partially frozen brine and unconsolidated sand systems and comparison with laboratory measurements

Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. MR153-MR171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linsen Zhan ◽  
Jun Matsushima
Keyword(s):  
Ultrasonic Wave ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Freezing Point ◽  
Rock Physics ◽  
Ultrasonic Waves ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
S Wave ◽  
High Attenuation ◽  
Unconsolidated Sand

The nonintuitive observation of the simultaneous high velocity and high attenuation of ultrasonic waves near the freezing point of brine was previously measured in partially frozen systems. However, previous studies could not fully elucidate the attenuation variation of ultrasonic wave propagation in a partially frozen system. We have investigated the potential attenuation mechanisms responsible for previously obtained laboratory results by modeling ultrasonic wave transmission in two different partially frozen systems: partially frozen brine (two phases composed of ice and unfrozen brine) and unconsolidated sand (three phases composed of ice, unfrozen brine, and sand). We adopted two different rock-physics models: an effective medium model for partially frozen brine and a three-phase extension of the Biot model for partially frozen unconsolidated sand. For partially frozen brine, our rock-physics study indicated that squirt flow caused by unfrozen brine inclusions in porous ice could be responsible for high P-wave attenuation around the freezing point. Decreasing P-wave attenuation below the freezing point can be explained by the gradual decrease of squirt flow due to the gradual depletion of unfrozen brine. For partially frozen unconsolidated sand, our rock-physics study implied that squirt flow between ice grains is a dominant factor for P-wave attenuation around the freezing point. With decreasing temperature lower than the freezing point, the friction between ice and sand grains becomes more dominant for P-wave attenuation because the decreasing amount of unfrozen brine reduces squirt flow between ice grains, whereas the generation of ice increases the friction. The increasing friction between ice and sand grains caused by ice formation is possibly responsible for increasing the S-wave attenuation at decreasing temperatures. Then, further generation of ice with further cooling reduces the elastic contrast between ice and sand grains, hindering their relative motion; thus, reducing the P- and S-wave attenuation.

The effects of pore‐fluid salinity on ultrasonic wave propagation in sandstones

Geophysics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 928-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon M. Jones ◽  
Clive McCann ◽  
Timothy R. Astin ◽  
Jeremy Sothcott
Keyword(s):  
Wave Propagation ◽  
Ultrasonic Wave ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Seismic Wave Propagation ◽  
Ultrasonic Pulse ◽  
Pore Fluid ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Shear Moduli

Petrophysical interpretation of increasingly refined seismic data from subsurface formations requires a more fundamental understanding of seismic wave propagation in sedimentary rocks. We consider the variation of ultrasonic wave velocity and attenuation in sandstones with pore‐fluid salinity and show that wave propagation is modified in proportion to the clay content of the rock and the salinity of the pore fluid. Using an ultrasonic pulse reflection technique (590–890 kHz), we have measured the P-wave and S-wave velocities and attenuations of 15 saturated sandstones with variable effective pressure (5–60 MPa) and pore‐fluid salinity (0.0–3.4 M). In clean sandstones, there was close agreement between experimental and Biot model values of [Formula: see text], but they diverged progressively in rocks containing more than 5% clay. However, this effect is small: [Formula: see text] changed by only 0.6% per molar change in salinity for a rock with a clay content of 29%. The variation of [Formula: see text] with brine molarity exhibited Biot behavior in some samples but not in others; there was no obvious relationship with clay content. P-wave attenuation was independent of pore‐fluid salinity, while S-wave attenuation was weakly dependent. The velocity data suggest the frame bulk and shear moduli of sandstones are altered by changes in the pore‐fluid salinity. One possible mechanism is the formation damage caused by clay swelling and migration of fines in low‐molarity electrolytes. The absence of variation between the attenuation in water‐saturated and brine‐saturated samples indicates the attenuation mechanism is relatively unaffected by changes in the frame moduli.

P- and S-wave attenuation logs from monopole sonic data

Geophysics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 755-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhua Sun ◽  
Xiaoming Tang ◽  
C. H. (Arthur) Cheng ◽  
L. Neil Frazer
Keyword(s):  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Fluid Velocity ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Reservoir Rock ◽  
Rock Properties ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Intrinsic Attenuation ◽  
Modified Method ◽  
Receiver Array ◽  
Attenuation Profiles

In this paper, a modification of an existing method for estimating relative P-wave attenuation is proposed. By generating synthetic waveforms without attenuation, the variation of geometrical spreading related to changes in formation properties with depth can be accounted for. With the modified method, reliable P- and S-wave attenuation logs can be extracted from monopole array acoustic waveform log data. Synthetic tests show that the P- and S-wave attenuation values estimated from synthetic waveforms agree well with their respective model values. In‐situ P- and S-wave attenuation profiles provide valuable information about reservoir rock properties. Field data processing results show that this method gives robust estimates of intrinsic attenuation. The attenuation profiles calculated independently from each waveform of an eight‐receiver array are consistent with one another. In fast formations where S-wave velocity exceeds the borehole fluid velocity, both P-wave attenuation ([Formula: see text]) and S-wave attenuation ([Formula: see text]) profiles can be obtained. P- and S-wave attenuation profiles and their comparisons are presented for three reservoirs. Their correlations with formation lithology, permeability, and fractures are also presented.

scholarly journals A method of geo-acoustic parameter inversion in shallow sea by the Bayesian theory and the acoustic pressure field

2019 ◽  
Vol 283 ◽  
pp. 06003
Author(s):  
Guangxue Zheng ◽  
Hanhao Zhu ◽  
Jun Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Pressure Field ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Acoustic Parameter ◽  
Bayesian Theory ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Shallow Sea ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Wave Velocities ◽  
Parameter Inversion

A method of geo-acoustic parameter inversion based on the Bayesian theory is proposed for the acquisition of acoustic parameters in shallow sea with the elastic seabed. Firstly, the theoretical prediction value of the sound pressure field is calculated by the fast field method (FFM). According to the Bayesian theory, we establish the misfit function between the measured sound pressure field and the theoretical pressure field. It is under the assumption of Gaussian data errors which are in line with the likelihood function. Finally, the posterior probability density (PPD) of parameters is given as the result of inversion. Our research is conducted in the light of Metropolis sample rules. Apart from numerical simulations, a scaled model experiment has been taken in the laboratory tank. The results of numerical simulations and tank experiments show that sound pressure field calculated by the result of inversion is consistent with the measured sound pressure field. Besides, s-wave velocities, p-wave velocities and seafloor density have fewer uncertainties and are more sensitive to complex sound pressure than s-wave attenuation and p-wave attenuation. The received signals calculated by inversion results are keeping with received signals in the experiment which verify the effectiveness of this method.

Elastic reflectivity vectors and the geometry of intercept-gradient crossplots

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 762-769
Author(s):  
Patrick Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Property ◽  
Elastic Properties ◽  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Rock Physics ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
P Wave Velocity ◽  
Well Log Analysis

Reflectivities of elastic properties can be expressed as a sum of the reflectivities of P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity, and density, as can the amplitude-variation-with-offset (AVO) parameters, intercept, gradient, and curvature. This common format allows elastic property reflectivities to be expressed as a sum of AVO parameters. Most AVO studies are conducted using a two-term approximation, so it is helpful to reduce the three-term expressions for elastic reflectivities to two by assuming a relationship between P-wave velocity and density. Reduced to two AVO components, elastic property reflectivities can be represented as vectors on intercept-gradient crossplots. Normalizing the lengths of the vectors allows them to serve as basis vectors such that the position of any point in intercept-gradient space can be inferred directly from changes in elastic properties. This provides a direct link between properties commonly used in rock physics and attributes that can be measured from seismic data. The theory is best exploited by constructing new seismic data sets from combinations of intercept and gradient data at various projection angles. Elastic property reflectivity theory can be transferred to the impedance domain to aid in the analysis of well data to help inform the choice of projection angles. Because of the effects of gradient measurement errors, seismic projection angles are unlikely to be the same as theoretical angles or angles derived from well-log analysis, so seismic data will need to be scanned through a range of angles to find the optimum.

The longitudinal modulus of bitumen: Pressure and temperature dependencies

Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. MR139-MR151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arif Rabbani ◽  
Douglas R. Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Shear Modulus ◽  
Bulk Modulus ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Rock Physics ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Complex Shear Modulus ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Wave Speeds ◽  
Complex Shear ◽  
Longitudinal Modulus

Bitumen retains significant solid-like behavior even in temperatures in excess of 50°C. Traditional ultrasonic wave-propagation studies have, however, largely ignored the existence of the shear modulus in such materials, and they have mostly assumed that the observed longitudinal (P) wave speeds solely depend on the fluid’s bulk modulus. To further study this, we have measured ultrasonic longitudinal (P) wave transmission speeds through viscous bitumen at different pressures (0.1–15 MPa) and temperatures (7–132°C) using an adapted version of the technique that consists of two piezoelectric receivers placed at unequal lengths from the transmitter. As such, we are able to calculate the P-wave attenuation and velocity that is used to derive the material’s complex longitudinal modulus. Using parallel measurements of the bitumen’s complex shear modulus, we find that the bulk modulus differs from the longitudinal modulus particularly at lower (reservoirs) temperatures. The results, together with the realization that bitumen experiences a sequence of various compositional and thermophysical phase that is primarily temperature-dependent, can be implemented to improve the fluid-substitution analyses of rock-physics studies of bitumen-saturated reservoirs.

Laboratory experiments on compressional ultrasonic wave attenuation in partially frozen brines

Geophysics ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. N9-N18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Matsushima ◽  
Makoto Suzuki ◽  
Yoshibumi Kato ◽  
Takao Nibe ◽  
Shuichi Rokugawa
Keyword(s):  
Ultrasonic Wave ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Ultrasonic Attenuation ◽  
Liquid System ◽  
Seismic Attenuation ◽  
Ultrasonic Waves ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Pore Microstructure ◽  
Solid Liquid

Often, the loss mechanisms responsible for seismic attenuation are unclear and controversial. We used partially frozen brine as a solid-liquid coexistence system to investigate attenuation phenomena. Ultrasonic wave-transmission measurements on an ice-brine coexisting system were conducted to examine the influence of unfrozen brine in the pore microstructure on ultrasonic waves. We observed the variations of a 150–1000 kHz wave transmitted through a liquid system to a solid-liquid coexistence system, changing its temperature from [Formula: see text] to –[Formula: see text]. We quantitatively estimated attenuation in a frequency range of [Formula: see text] by considering different distances between the source and receiver transducers. We also estimated the total amount of frozen brine at each temperature by using the pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique and related those results to attenuation results. The waveform analyses indicate that ultrasonic attenuation in an ice-brine coexisting system reaches its peak at [Formula: see text], at which the ratio of the liquid phase to the total volume in an ice-brine coexisting system is maximal. Finally, we obtained a highly positive correlation between the attenuation of ultrasonic waves and the total amount of unfrozen brine. Thus, laboratory experiments demonstrate that ultrasonic waves within this frequency range are affected significantly by the existence of unfrozen brine in the pore microstructure.

Seismic wave attenuation and modulus dispersion in sandstones

Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. D211-D231 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Spencer ◽  
Jacob Shine
Keyword(s):  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Shear Moduli ◽  
Low Viscosity ◽  
Confining Pressures ◽  
Wave Induced ◽  
Dispersion And Attenuation

We have conducted laboratory experiments over the 1–200 Hz band to examine the effects of viscosity and permeability on modulus dispersion and attenuation in sandstones and also to examine the effects of partial gas or oil saturation on velocities and attenuations. Our results have indicated that bulk modulus values with low-viscosity fluids are close to the values predicted using Gassmann’s first equation, but, with increasing frequency and viscosity, the bulk and shear moduli progressively deviate from the values predicted by Gassmann’s equations. The shear moduli increase up to 1 GPa (or approximately 10%) with high-viscosity fluids. The P- and S-wave attenuations ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) and modulus dispersion with different fluids are indicative of stress relaxations that to the first order are scaling with frequency times viscosity. By fitting Cole-Cole distributions to the scaled modulus and attenuation data, we have found that there are similar P-wave, shear and bulk relaxations, and attenuation peaks in each of the five sandstones studied. The modulus defects range from 11% to 15% in Berea sandstone to 16% to 26% in the other sandstones, but these would be reduced at higher confining pressures. The relaxations shift to lower frequencies as the viscosity increased, but they do not show the dependence on permeability predicted by mesoscopic wave-induced fluid flow (WIFF) theories. Results from other experiments having patchy saturation with liquid [Formula: see text] and high-modulus fluids are consistent with mesoscopic WIFF theories. We have concluded that the modulus dispersion and attenuations ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) in saturated sandstones are caused by a pore-scale, local-flow mechanism operating near grain contacts.

scholarly journals Acoustic Vibrational Properties and Fractal Bond Connectivity of Praseodymium Doped Glasses

2000 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 805
Author(s):  
H. B. Senin ◽  
H. A. A. Sidek ◽  
G. A. Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Hydrostatic Pressure ◽  
Bulk Modulus ◽  
Ultrasonic Wave ◽  
Mole Fraction ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Elastic Stiffness ◽  
Ultrasonic Waves ◽  
Elastic Behaviour ◽  
Doped Glasses ◽  
Two Level Systems

The velocities of longitudinal and shear ultrasonic waves propagated in the (Pr2O3)x(P2O5)1-x glass system, where x is the mole fraction of Pr2O3 and (1 - x) is the mole fraction of P2O5, have been measured as functions of temperature and hydrostatic pressure. The temperature dependencies of the second order elastic stiffness tensor components (SOEC) CS IJ , which have been determined from the velocitydata between 10 and 300 K, show no evidence of phonon mode softening throughout the whole temperature range. The elastic stiffnesses increased monotonically, the usual behaviour associated with the effect of the phonon anharmonicityof atomic vibration. At low temperatures, strong phonon interactions with two-level systems have been observed. The ultrasonic wave attenuation of longitudinal and shear waves is dominated bya broad acoustic loss peak whose height and peak position are frequencydependent. This behaviour is consistent with the presence of thermally activated structural relaxation of the two-level systems in these glasses. The fractal bond connectivity of these glasses, obtained from the elastic stiffnesses determined from ultrasonic wave velocities, has a value between 2.32 to 2.55, indicating that their connectivitytends towards having a threedimensional character. The hydrostatic pressure dependencies of longitudinal ultrasonic waves show a slight increase with pressure. As a consequence, the hydrostatic pressure derivatives ( CS11/ P)P=0 of the elastic stiffness CS11/ and (BS/P)P=0 of the bulk modulus BS of (Pr2O3)x(P2O5)1-x glasses are positive. The bulk modulus increases with pressure, and thus these glasses stiffen under pressure, which is associated with the normal elastic behaviour. The GrÜneisen parameter approach has been used to quantifythe vibrational anharmonicityof the long-wavelength acoustic phonons in these glasses.

A rock-physics model to determine the pore microstructure of cracked porous rocks

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (1) ◽  
pp. 622-631
Author(s):  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Jing Ba ◽  
José M Carcione
Keyword(s):  
Crack Density ◽  
Rock Physics ◽  
Differential Pressure ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Porous Rocks ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Wave Velocities ◽  
Pore Microstructure ◽  
Physics Model ◽  
Rock Physics Model

SUMMARY Determining rock microstructure remains challenging, since a proper rock-physics model is needed to establish the relation between pore microstructure and elastic and transport properties. We present a model to estimate pore microstructure based on porosity, ultrasonic velocities and permeability, assuming that the microstructure consists on randomly oriented stiff equant pores and penny-shaped cracks. The stiff pore and crack porosity varying with differential pressure is estimated from the measured total porosity on the basis of a dual porosity model. The aspect ratio of pores and cracks and the crack density as a function of differential pressure are obtained from dry-rock P- and S-wave velocities, by using a differential effective medium model. These results are used to invert the pore radius from the matrix permeability by using a circular pore model. Above a crack density of 0.13, the crack radius can be estimated from permeability, and below that threshold, the radius is estimated from P-wave velocities, taking into account the wave dispersion induced by local fluid flow between pores and cracks. The approach is applied to experimental data for dry and saturated Fontainebleau sandstone and Chelmsford Granite.

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