The effects of porosity‐permeability‐clay content on the velocity of compressional waves

Geophysics ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 1930-1939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodoros Klimentos

Compressional velocities [Formula: see text] were measured in laboratory samples at ultrasonic frequencies (0.5–1.5 MHz) and under varying confining and pore fluid pressures (up to 40 MPa). Forty‐two water saturated sandstones having a range of porosities Φ (2 to 36 percent), permeabilities K (0.001 to 306 mD) and clay contents C (negligible to 30 percent) were studied. I found that at 40 MPa the compressional velocity is inversely proportional to clay content. P‐wave velocity decreases with increasing porosity, but the scatter is large even at very high pressures. The velocity‐porosity scatter is reduced when the clay content is included. The dependence of [Formula: see text] on permeability for a wide range of porosities (6 to 36 percent) is indeterminable due to a large scatter. When the rocks are grouped into identical porosities the scatter is reduced and [Formula: see text] increases with decreasing clay content and increasing permeability. However, the effect of permeability alone on [Formula: see text] was found to be negligible in rocks with identical porosity, lithology, and negligible or similar clay content. Hence, the velocity‐permeability relationship is controlled by the velocity‐clay content and permeability‐clay content interrelations. For all samples, the compressional‐wave velocity [Formula: see text] in km/s at ultrasonic frequencies and 40 MPa is related to porosity Φ (fractional), clay content C (fractional) and permeability K (millidarcy) by [Formula: see text] r = 0.96 where r is the correlation coefficient. The relationship shows empirically that the permeability effect is very small compared to that of porosity and clay content. By calculating the elastic moduli, I extrapolated from ultrasonic to seismic frequencies and obtained [Formula: see text], r = 0.93 for porosities 6–36 percent.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2083 (4) ◽  
pp. 042065
Author(s):  
Guojie Yang ◽  
Shuhua Wang

Abstract Aiming at the s-wave velocity prediction problem, based on the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the empirical formula method and the rock physics modeling method, combined with the s-wave velocity prediction principle, the deep learning method is introduced, and a deep learning-based logging s-wave velocity prediction method is proposed. This method uses a deep neural network algorithm to establish a nonlinear mapping relationship between reservoir parameters (acoustic time difference, density, neutron porosity, shale content, porosity) and s-wave velocity, and then applies it to the s-wave velocity prediction at the well point. Starting from the relationship between p-wave and s-wave velocity, the study explained the feasibility of applying deep learning technology to s-wave prediction and the principle of sample selection, and finally established a reliable s-wave prediction model. The model was applied to s-wave velocity prediction in different research areas, and the results show that the s-wave velocity prediction technology based on deep learning can effectively improve the accuracy and efficiency of s-wave velocity prediction, and has the characteristics of a wide range of applications. It can provide reliable s-wave data for pre-stack AVO analysis and pre-stack inversion, so it has high practical application value and certain promotion significance.


Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. U129-U137
Author(s):  
Sherif M. Hanafy ◽  
Ammar El-Husseiny ◽  
Mohammed Benaafi ◽  
Abdullatif Al-Shuhail ◽  
Jack Dvorkin

We have addressed the problem of measuring the compressional wave velocity at a very shallow depth in unconsolidated dune sand. Because the overburden stress is very small at shallow depths, the respective velocity is small and the seismic signal is weak. This is why such data are scarce, in the lab and in the field. Our approach is to stage a high-resolution seismic experiment with a dense geophone line with spacing varying between 10 and 25 cm, allowing us to produce a velocity-depth relation in the upper 1 m interval. These results are combined with another survey in which the geophone spacing is 2 m and the dominant frequency is an order of magnitude lower than in the first survey. The latter results give us the velocity profile in the deeper interval between 1 and 7 m, down to the base of the dune. The velocity rapidly increases from about 48 m/s in the first few centimeters to 231 m/s at 1 m depth and then gradually increases to 425 m/s at 7 m depth. This is the first time when such a low velocity has been recorded at extremely shallow depths in sand in situ. The velocity profile thus generated is statistically fitted with a simple analytical equation. Our velocity values are higher than those published previously for beach sand. We find that using replacement or tomogram velocities instead of an accurately measured velocity profile may result in 23%–44% error in the static correction.


For the experiments described in this paper a new method of seismic refraction shooting was developed. With this method hydrophones suspended at a depth of about 100 ft. below the surface of the sea acted as receivers for the compressional waves developed by depth charges exploding at a depth of approximately 900 ft. The hydrophones were connected with sono-radio buoys which radio-transmitted the electrical signals to a recording system in the ship from which the charges were dropped. Four buoys were in use simultaneously, distributed at differing ranges from the ship. The experiments were carried out at three positions in an area of the eastern Atlantic around the point 53° 50' N, 18° 40' W, where the water depth is approximately 1300 fm. (2400 m). The results showed that the uncrystalline sedimentary layer in this area varied in thickness from 6200 ft. to 9700 ft. (1900 to 3000 m), and that the velocity of compressional waves in it increased from the value for sea water, 4900 ft./s (1.5 km/s), at the surface with an approximately constant gradient of 2.5/s to a limiting value of 8200 ft./s (2.5 km/s). Below the sedimentary layer there was a crystalline rock with compressional wave velocity of approximately 16500 ft./s (5.0 km/s) and of thickness varying between 8800 ft. (2700 m) and 11100 ft. (3400 m). The base of this layer was in both determinations at approximately 25500 ft. (7800 m) below sea-level. The lowest layer concerning which information was obtained gave a value for the compressional wave velocity of about 20500 ft./s (6.3 km/s), but was of undetermined thickness. The characteristics of the sedimentary layer were such as might be expected for a continuous succession of deep-sea sediments, the thickness on this basis being such as to indicate the long existence of the ocean in this area. On the other hand, it is possible that it represents a downwarped continental shelf. The layer below the sedimentary layer has a compressional wave velocity which is low for an igneous rock at this depth, and it is probable that it represents a crystalline sedimentary rock. From the evidence it is not possible to determine whether this rock is of continental or deep-sea origin. The lowest layer of these experiments is unlikely to have a constitution similar to that of the European granitic layer, since the compressional wave velocity in it would, on this hypothesis, be exceptionally high. The value is, however, close to that calculated by Jeffreys for the intermediate layer.


Geophysics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 1311-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. McCann ◽  
D. M. McCann

Published reviews indicate that attenuation coefficients of compressional waves in noncohesive, water‐saturated sediments vary linearly with frequency. Biot’s theory, which accounts for attenuation in terms of the viscous interaction between the solid particles and pore fluid, predicts in its presently published form variation proportional to [Formula: see text] at low frequencies and [Formula: see text] at high frequencies. A modification of Biot’s theory which incorporates a distribution of pore sizes is presented and shown to give excellent agreement with new and published attenuation data in the frequency range 10 kHz to 2.25 MHz. In particular, a linear variation of attenuation with frequency is predicted in that range.


Geophysics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1627-1633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart W. Tichelaar ◽  
Klaas W. van Luik

Borehole sonic waveforms are commonly acquired to produce logs of subsurface compressional and shear wave velocities. To this purpose, modern borehole sonic tools are usually equipped with various types of acoustic sources, i.e., monopole and dipole sources. While the dipole source has been specifically developed for measuring shear wave velocities, we found that the dipole source has an advantage over the monopole source when determining compressional wave velocities in a very slow formation consisting of unconsolidated sands with a porosity of about 35% and a shear wave velocity of about 465 m/s. In this formation, the recorded compressional refracted waves suffer from interference with another wavefield component identified as a leaky P‐wave, which hampers the determination of compressional wave velocities in the sands. For the dipole source, separation of the compressional refracted wave from the recorded waveforms is accomplished through bandpass filtering since the wavefield components appear as two distinctly separate contributions to the frequency spectrum: a compressional refracted wave centered at a frequency of 6.5 kHz and a leaky P‐wave centered at 1.3 kHz. For the monopole source, the frequency spectra of the various waveform components have considerable overlap. It is therefore not obvious what passband to choose to separate the compressional refracted wave from the monopole waveforms. The compressional wave velocity obtained for the sands from the dipole compressional refracted wave is about 2150 m/s. Phase velocities obtained for the dispersive leaky P‐wave excited by the dipole source range from 1800 m/s at 1.0 kHz to 1630 m/s at 1.6 kHz. It appears that the dipole source has an advantage over the monopole source for the data recorded in this very slow formation when separating the compressional refracted wave from the recorded waveforms to determine formation compressional wave velocities.


Geophysics ◽  
1968 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 584-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Timur

Measurements of velocity of compressional waves in consolidated porous media, conducted within a temperature range of 26 °C to −36 °C, indicate that: (1) compressional wave velocity in water‐saturated rocks increases with decreasing temperature whereas it is nearly independent of temperature in dry rocks; (2) the shapes of the velocity versus temperature curves are functions of lithology, pore structure, and the nature of the interstitial fluids. As a saturated rock sample is cooled below 0 °C, the liquid in pore spaces with smaller surface‐to‐volume ratios (larger pores) begins to freeze and the liquid salinity controls the freezing process. As the temperature is decreased further, a point is reached where the surface‐to‐volume ratio in the remaining pore spaces is large enough to affect the freezing process, which is completed at the cryohydric temperature of the salts‐water system. In the ice‐liquid‐rock matrix system, present during freezing, a three‐phase, time‐average equation may be used to estimate the compressional wave velocities. Below the cryohydric temperature, elastic wave propagation takes place in a solid‐solid system consisting of ice and rock matrix. In this frozen state, the compressional wave velocity remains constant, has its maximum value, and may be estimated through use of the two‐phase time average equation. Limited field data for compressional wave velocities in permafrost indicate that pore spaces in permafrost contain not only liquid and ice, but also gas. Therefore, before attempting to make velocity estimates through the time‐average equations, the natures and percentages of pore saturants should be investigated.


1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. King

Seismic-wave velocities have been measured on 37 unconsolidated permafrost samples as a function of temperature in the range -16 to +5 °C. The samples, taken from a number of locations in the Canadian Arctic islands, the Beaufort Sea, and the Mackenzie River valley, were tighty sealed immediately upon recovery in several layers of polyethylene film and maintained in their frozen state during storage, specimen preparation, and until they were tested under controlled environmental conditions. During testing, the specimens were subjected to a constant hydrostatic confining stress of 0.35 MPa (50 psi) under drained conditions. At no stage was a deviatoric stress applied to the permafrost specimens. The fraction of clay-sized particles in the test specimens varied from almost zero to approximately 65%. At temperatures below -2 °C the compressional-wave velocity was observed to be a strong function of the fraction of clay-sized particles, but only a weak function of porosity. At temperatures above 0 °C the compressional-wave velocity was observed to be a function only of porosity, with virtually no dependence upon the fraction of clay-sized particles. Calculation of the fractional ice content of the permafrost pore space from the Kuster and Toksöz theory showed that for a given fraction of clay-sized particles the ice content increases with an increase in porosity. It is concluded that the compressional-wave velocity for unconsolidated permafrost from the Canadian Arctic is a function of the water-filled porosity, irrespective of the original porosity, clay content, or temperature.


Geophysics ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. E135-E147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor T. Baechle ◽  
Gregor P. Eberli ◽  
Ralf J. Weger ◽  
Jose Luis Massaferro

To assess saturation effects on acoustic properties in carbonates, we measure ultrasonic velocity on 38 limestone samples whose porosity ranges from 5% to 30% under dry and water-saturated conditions. Complete saturation of the pore space with water causes an increase and decrease in compressional- and shear-wave velocity as well as significant changes in the shear moduli. Compressional velocities of most water-saturated samples are up to [Formula: see text] higher than the velocities of the dry samples. Some show no change, and a few even show a decrease in velocity. Shear-wave velocity [Formula: see text] generally decreases, but nine samples show an increase of up to [Formula: see text]. Water saturation decreases the shear modulus by up to [Formula: see text] in some samples and increases it by up to [Formula: see text] in others. The average increase in the shear modulus with water saturation is [Formula: see text]; the average decrease is [Formula: see text]. The [Formula: see text] ratio shows an overall increase with water saturation. In particular, rocks displaying shear weakening have distinctly higher [Formula: see text] ratios. Grainstone samples with high amounts of microporosity and interparticle macro-pores preferentially show shear weakening, whereas recrystallized limestones are prone to increase shear strengths with water saturation. The observed shear weakening indicates that a rock-fluid interaction occurs with water saturation, which violates one of the assumptions in Gassmann’s theory. We find a positive correlation between changes in shear modulus and the inability of Gassmann’s theory to predict velocities of water-saturated samples at high frequencies. Velocities of water-saturated samples predicted by Gassmann’s equation often exceed measured values by as much as [Formula: see text] for samples exhibiting shear weakening. In samples showing shear strengthening, Gassmann-predicted velocity values are as much as [Formula: see text] lower than measured values. In 66% of samples, Gassmann-predicted velocities show a misfit to measured water-saturated P-wave velocities. This discrepancy between measured and Gassmann-predicted velocity is not caused solely by velocity dispersion but also by rock-fluid interaction related to the pore structure of carbonates. Thus, a pore analysis should be conducted to assess shear-moduli changes and the resultant uncertainty for amplitude variation with offset analyses and velocity prediction using Gassmann’s theory.


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