Q-factor inversion using reconstructed source spectral consistency

Seismic waves propagating in an anelastic medium undergo phase and amplitude distortions. Although these effects may be compensated for during imaging processes, a background [Formula: see text]-model is generally required for their successful application. We have developed a new approach to the [Formula: see text]-estimation problem, which is fundamentally related to the basic physical principle of time reversal. It is based on back-propagating recorded traces to their known source location using the reverse tomographic equation. This equation is a ray approximation of viscoelastic wave propagation. It is applied assuming a known and correct velocity model. We subsequently measure consistency between spectral shapes of traces that were back-propagated using the tomographic equation. We formulate an inverse problem using this consistency as an objective function. In conventional inversion, on the contrary, the discrepancy between modeled and recorded data, or some data characteristics, is minimized. The inverse problem is solved by ant-colony optimization, a global optimization approach, to avoid local minima present in the objective function. This method does not require knowledge of the source function and uses the full spectrum rather than its parametric reduction. Through synthetic and field cross-hole examples, we illustrate its accuracy and sensitivity in inverting for complex attenuation models. In the synthetic case, we also compare reconstructed source consistency with the conventional centroid frequency shift objective function. The latter displays poor resolution when recovering complex [Formula: see text] structures. We determine that the reconstructed source-consistency approach should be used as a part of an iterative workflow, possibly yielding initial models for a joint velocity and [Formula: see text] inversion.

Dynamic Response of a Cracked Viscoelastic Anisotropic Plane Using Boundary Elements and Fractional Derivatives

The aim of this study is to develop an efficient numerical technique using the non-hypersingular, traction boundary integral equation method (BIEM) for solving wave propagation problems in an anisotropic, viscoelastic plane with cracks. The methodology can be extended from the macro-scale with certain modifications to the nano-scale. Furthermore, the proposed approach can be applied to any type of anisotropic material insofar as the BIEM formulation is based on the fundamental solution of the governing wave equation derived for the case of general anisotropy. The following examples are solved: (i) a straight crack in a viscoelastic orthotropic plane, and (ii) a blunt nano-crack inside a material of the same type. The mathematical modelling effort starts from linear fracture mechanics, and adds the fractional derivative concept for viscoelastic wave propagation, plus the surface elasticity model of M. E. Gurtin and A. I. Murdoch, which leads to nonclassical boundary conditions at the nano-scale. Conditions of plane strain are assumed to hold. Following verification of the numerical scheme through comparison studies, further numerical simulations serve to investigate the dependence of the stress intensity factor (SIF) and of the stress concentration factor (SCF) that develop in a cracked inhomogeneous plane on (i) the degree of anisotropy, (ii) the presence of viscoelasticity, (iii) the size effect with the associated surface elasticity phenomena, and (iv) finally the type of the dynamic disturbance propagating through the bulk material.

Analysis of models for viscoelastic wave propagation

We consider the problem of waves propagating in a viscoelastic solid. For the material properties of the solid we consider both classical and fractional differentiation in time versions of the Zener, Maxwell, and Voigt models, where the coupling of different models within the same solid are covered as well. Stability of each model is investigated in the Laplace domain, and these are then translated to time-domain estimates. With the use of semigroup theory, some time-domain results are also given which avoid using the Laplace transform and give sharper estimates. We take the time to develop and explain the theory necessary to understand the relation between the equations we solve in the Laplace domain and those in the time-domain which are written using the language of causal tempered distributions. Finally we offer some numerical experiments that highlight some of the differences between the models and how different parameters effect the results.