Propagating pure wave modes in general anisotropic media, Part I: P-wave propagator

Author(s):  
Jiubing Cheng ◽  
Wei Kang
Keyword(s):  
P Wave ◽  

A variant of the Stoneley-wave problem, namely slip waves between two homogeneous elastic half-spaces whose interface is incapable of supporting shear stresses, is studied. For two isotropic half-spaces there is either no or one slip-wave mode. In the case of anisotropic half-spaces, the possibility of a new slip-wave mode, called the second slip-wave mode, arises. The case of two identical anisotropic half-spaces of the same orientation is discussed in detail; criteria for the existence of a second slip-wave mode in terms of the nature of the transonic state are developed. It is concluded that for many anisotropic media a second slip-wave mode will exist within certain ranges of orientation of the slip-wave geometry. Numerical computations for iron (cubic symmetry) demonstrate that second slip-wave modes indeed exist in this material.


Geophysics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-52
Author(s):  
Alexey Stovas ◽  
Yuriy Roganov ◽  
Vyacheslav Roganov

An elliptical anisotropic medium is defined as a simplified representation of anisotropy in which the anelliptic parameters are set to zero in all symmetry planes. Despite of the fact that this model is rather seldom observed for real rocks, it is often used as a reference model. The P-wave equations for an elliptical anisotropic medium is well known. However, the S-wave equations have not been derived. Thus, we define all wave modes in elliptical orthorhombic models focusing mostly on the S-wave properties. We show that all wave modes in elliptical orthorhombic model are generally coupled and analyze the effect of additive coupling term. As the result, there is an S wave fundamental singularity point located in one of the symmetry planes depending on the relative magnitude of S wave stiffness coefficients.


Geophysics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengxin Dong ◽  
George A. McMechan

A three‐dimensional (3-D) prestack reverse‐time migration algorithm for common‐source P‐wave data from anisotropic media is developed and illustrated by application to synthetic data. Both extrapolation of the data and computation of the excitation‐time imaging condition are implemented using a second‐order finite‐ difference solution of the 3-D anisotropic scalar‐wave equation. Poorly focused, distorted images are obtained if data from anisotropic media are migrated using isotropic extrapolation; well focused, clear images are obtained using anisotropic extrapolation. A priori estimation of the 3-D anisotropic velocity distribution is required. Zones of anomalous, directionally dependent reflectivity associated with anisotropic fracture zones are detectable in both the 3-D common‐ source data and the corresponding migrated images.


Geophysics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1294-1304 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. N. J. Rasolofosaon

When processing and inverting seismic reflection data, the NMO velocity must be correctly described, taking into account realistic situations such as the presence of anisotropy and dipping reflectors. Some dip‐moveout (DMO) algorithms have been developed, such as Tsvankin’s analytic formula. It describes the anisotropy‐induced distortions in the classical isotropic cosine of dip dependence of the NMO velocity. However, it is restricted to the vertical symmetry planes of anisotropic media, so the technique is unsuitable for the azimuthal inspection of sedimentary rocks, either with horizontal bedding and vertical fractures or with dipping bedding but no fractures. However, under the weak anisotropy approximation the deviations of the rays from a vertical plane can be neglected for the traveltimes computation, and the equation can still be applicable. Based on this approach, an explicit analytic expression for the P-wave NMO velocity in the presence of horizontal or dipping reflectors in media exhibiting the most general symmetry type (triclinic) is obtained in this work. If the medium exhibits a horizontal symmetry plane, the concise DMO equations are formally identical to Tsvankin’s except that the parameters δ and ε are not constant but depend on the azimuth ψ Physically, δ(ψ) is the deviation from the vertical P-wave velocity of the P-wave NMO velocity for a horizontal reflector normalized by the vertical P-wave velocity for the azimuth ψ. The function ε(ψ) has the same definition as δ(ψ) except that the P-wave NMO velocity is replaced by the horizontal P-wave velocity. Both depend linearly on (1) new dimensionless anisotropy parameters and (2) generalizing to arbitrary symmetry the transversely isotropic parameters δ and ε. In the most general symmetry case (triclinic), an additional term to the DMO formula is necessary. The numerical examples, based on experimental data in rocks, show two things. First, the magnitude of the DMO errors induced by anisotropy depends primarily on the absolute value of ε(ψ) − δ(ψ) and not on the individual values of ε(ψ) and δ(ψ), which is a direct consequence of the similarity between Tsvankin’s equation and the equation presented here. Second, the anisotropy‐induced DMO correction can be significant even in the presence of moderate anisotropy and can exhibit complex azimuthal dependence.


Geophysics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhas Phadke ◽  
S. Kapotas ◽  
N. Dai ◽  
Ernest R. Kanasewich

Wave propagation in transversely isotropic media is governed by the horizontal and vertical wave velocities. The quasi‐P(qP) wavefront is not an ellipse; therefore, the propagation cannot be described by the wave equation appropriate for elliptically anisotropic media. However, for a limited range of angles from the vertical, the dispersion relation for qP‐waves can be approximated by an ellipse. The horizontal velocity necessary for this approximation is different from the true horizontal velocity and depends upon the physical properties of the media. In the method described here, seismic data is migrated using a 45-degree wave equation for elliptically anisotropic media with the horizontal velocity determined by comparing the 45-degree elliptical dispersion relation and the quasi‐P‐dispersion relation. The method is demonstrated for some synthetic data sets.


1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Graziella Kirtland Grech ◽  
J. Helen Isaac ◽  
Don C. Lawton
Keyword(s):  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  

Geophysics ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. WB193-WB202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoti Behura ◽  
Ilya Tsvankin

Such reservoir rocks as tar sands are characterized by significant attenuation and, in some cases, attenuation anisotropy. Most existing attenuation studies are focused on plane-wave attenuation coefficients, which determine the amplitude decay along the raypath of seismic waves. Here we study the influence of attenuation on PP- and PS-wave reflection coefficients for anisotropic media with the main emphasis on transversely isotropic models with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI). Concise analytic solutions obtained by linearizing the exact plane-wave reflection coefficients are verified by numerical modeling. To make a substantial contribution to reflection coefficients, attenuation must be strong, with the quality factor [Formula: see text] not exceeding 10. For such highly attenuative media, it is also necessary to take attenuation anisotropy into account if the magnitude of the Thomsen-styleattenuation-anisotropy parameters is relatively large. In general, the linearized reflection coefficients in attenuative media include velocity-anisotropy parameters but have almost “isotropic” dependence on attenuation. Our formalism also helps evaluate the influence of the inhomogeneity angle (the angle between the real and imaginary parts of the slowness vector) on the reflection coefficients. A nonzero inhomogeneity angle of the incident wave introduces additional terms into the PP- and PS-wave reflection coefficients, which makes conventional amplitude-variation-with-offset (AVO) analysis inadequate for strongly attenuative media. For instance, an incident P-wave with a nonzero inhomogeneity angle generates a mode-converted PS-wave at normal incidence, even if both half-spaces have a horizontal symmetry plane. The developed linearized solutions can be used in AVO inversion for highly attenuative (e.g., gas-sand and heavy-oil) reservoirs.


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