Poroelasticity Theory and Wave Attenuation in Porous Rocks

Author(s):  
T.M. Mueller
Geophysics ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. WA135-WA145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Krzikalla ◽  
Tobias M. Müller

Elastic upscaling of thinly layered rocks typically is performed using the established Backus averaging technique. Its poroelastic extension applies to thinly layered fluid-saturated porous rocks and enables the use of anisotropic effective medium models that are valid in the low- and high-frequency limits for relaxed and unrelaxed pore-fluid pressures, respectively. At intermediate frequencies, wave-induced interlayer flow causes attenuation and dispersion beyond that described by Biot’s global flow and microscopic squirt flow. Several models quantify frequency-dependent, normal-incidence P-wave propagation in layered poroelastic media but yield no prediction for arbitrary angles of incidence, or for S-wave-induced interlayer flow. It is shown that generalized models for P-SV-wave attenuation and dispersion as a result of interlayer flow can be constructed by unifying the anisotropic Backus limits with existing P-wave frequency-dependent interlayer flow models. The construction principle is exact and is based on the symmetry properties of the effective elastic relaxation tensor governing the pore-fluid pressure diffusion. These new theories quantify anisotropic P- and SV-wave attenuation and velocity dispersion. The maximum SV-wave attenuation is of the same order of magnitude as the maximum P-wave attenuation and occurs prominently around an angle of incidence of [Formula: see text]. For the particular case of a periodically layered medium, the theoretical predictions are confirmed through numerical simulations.


Geophysics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 524-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Mörig ◽  
H. Burkhardt

Seismic wave attenuation has been a subject of interest during the last 40 years because it may be of use in interpreting seismic data. From this attenuation parameter, more detailed information about the lithology of the subsurface may be deduced if we understand the absorption mechanisms by which dissipation of seismic energy is governed. We are, therefore, studying in the laboratory the effects of different parameters such as porosity, permeability, pore fluid, and saturation state on the absorption of seismic waves in porous rocks over a wide spectrum ranging from seismic to ultrasonic frequencies (Burkhardt et al., 1986).


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 606-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Caspari ◽  
Qiaomu Qi ◽  
Sofia Lopes ◽  
Maxim Lebedev ◽  
Boris Gurevich ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 197 (2) ◽  
pp. 943-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelvin Amalokwu ◽  
Angus I. Best ◽  
Jeremy Sothcott ◽  
Mark Chapman ◽  
Tim Minshull ◽  
...  

Abstract Elastic wave attenuation anisotropy in porous rocks with aligned fractures is of interest to seismic remote sensing of the Earth's structure and to hydrocarbon reservoir characterization in particular. We investigated the effect of partial water saturation on attenuation in fractured rocks in the laboratory by conducting ultrasonic pulse-echo measurements on synthetic, silica-cemented, sandstones with aligned penny-shaped voids (fracture density of 0.0298 ± 0.0077), chosen to simulate the effect of natural fractures in the Earth according to theoretical models. Our results show, for the first time, contrasting variations in the attenuation (Q−1) of P and S waves with water saturation in samples with and without fractures. The observed Qs/Qp ratios are indicative of saturation state and the presence or absence of fractures, offering an important new possibility for remote fluid detection and characterization.


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