Low‐frequency wave propagation in periodically layered media

In this paper, we consider wave propagation in a layered medium. Using the Baker‐Campbell‐Hausdorff series, we expand the logarithm of a propagator matrix in series of frequency. The series coefficients allow us to extend the effective Backus medium for low frequencies. The proposed technique is applied to vertical propagation in a periodically layered and binary medium as well as for a gradient medium. The velocity dispersion equations are derived for these media. We also consider the layered medium with monoclinic anisotropy. We illustrate the accuracy of the proposed method on synthetic and well‐log data.     

Elastic wave propagation in an irregularly layered medium

The indirect boundary element method (IBEM) is used to simulate wave propagation in two-dimensional irregularly layered elastic media for internal line sources. The method is based on the integral representation for scattered elastic waves using single layer boundary sources. Fulfillment of the boundary conditions leads to a system of integral equations. Results are obtained in the frequency domain and seismograins are computed through Fourier synthesis. In order to test and validate the method we present various comparisons between our results and the time series obtained analytically for a buried line source in a half-space and by using the recently developed spectral element method (SEM).     

Caustics in a periodically layered transversely isotropic medium with vertical symmetry axis

Wave propagation in a finely layered medium is a very important topic in seismic modelling and inversion. Here we analyse non‐vertical wave propagation in a periodically layered transversely isotropic (VTI) medium and show that the evanescent (attenuation) zones in the frequency‐horizontal slowness domain result in caustics in the group velocity domain. These caustics, which may appear for both the quasi‐compressional (qP) and quasi‐shear (qSV) wave surfaces are frequency dependent but display weak dependence at low frequencies. The caustics computed for a specific frequency differ from those observed at the low‐ and high‐frequency limits. We illustrate these caustics with a few numerical examples and snapshots computed for both qP‐ and qSV‐wave types.     

The propagation of elastic waves from moving normal point loads in layered media

The steady-state response is determined of elastic layered media to buried moving normal point loads. The exact solution appears as a superposition of infinitely many rays, each of them given in closed form, in terms of algebraic functions. The solution obtained yields a local behaviour corresponding to the unbounded-space solution. The unbounded-space problem was previously solved byEason, Fulton andSneddon [8] and their solution is utilized for the present solution by superposing it on secondary fields so as to satisfy the boundary conditions. The secondary fields are obtained by the method of the differential transferm described below.     

Free-surface implementation in a mesh-free finite-difference method for elastic wave propagation in the frequency domain

We present an original implementation of the free-surface boundary condition in a mesh-free finite-difference method for simulating elastic wave propagation in the frequency domain. For elastic wave modelling in the frequency domain, the treatment of free surfaces is a key issue which requires special consideration. In the present study, the free-surface boundary condition is directly implemented at node positions located on the free-surface. Flexible nature of the mesh-free method for nodal distribution enables us to introduce topography into numerical models in an efficient manner. We investigate the accuracy of the proposed implementation by comparing numerical results with an analytical solution. The results show that the proposed method can calculate surface wave propagation even for an inclined free surface with substantial accuracy. Next, we calculate surface wave propagation in a model with a topographic surface using our method, and compare the numerical result with that using the finite-element method. The comparison shows the excellent agreement with each other. Finally, we apply our method to the SEG foothill model to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Since the mesh-free method has high flexibility of nodal distribution, the proposed implementation would deal with models of topographic surface with sufficient accuracy and efficiency.     

Refracted wave in a horizontally layered medium with continuous velocity gradients

Zusammenfassung Den Gegenstand der Arbeit bildet die Berechnung der Laufzeit- und Amplitudenkurve einer Refraktionswelle für bestimmtes gegebenes Medium anhand der Ersetzung dieses Milieus durch horizontal geschichtetes Medium mit stetigen Geschwindigkeitsgradienten an den Grenzen einzelner Schichten, wobei man an die Arbeit anknüpft, die sich mit geschichtetem Medium mit konstanten Geschwindigkeitsgradienten in den Schichten befasste. Ausser der Anführung der Berechnungsformeln wird auch die Frage der Beseitigung der falschen und Einhaltung der realen Inflexionen auf dem ersetzenden Geschwindigkeitsschnitt diskutiert. Die Ergebnisse der Berechnung nach dem zusammengestellten Programm werden mit einem Beispiel illustriert.

---

---

Address: Ke Karlovu 3, Praha 2-Nové Město.     

Generalized non‐hyperbolic approximation for qP‐wave relative geometrical spreading in a layered transversely isotropic medium with a vertical symmetry axis

Compensation for geometrical spreading along the ray‐path is important in amplitude variation with offset analysis especially for not strongly attenuative media since it contributes to the seismic amplitude preservation. The P‐wave geometrical spreading factor is described by a non‐hyperbolic moveout approximation using the traveltime parameters that can be estimated from the velocity analysis. We extend the P‐wave relative geometrical spreading approximation from the rational form to the generalized non‐hyperbolic form in a transversely isotropic medium with a vertical symmetry axis. The acoustic approximation is used to reduce the number of parameters. The proposed generalized non‐hyperbolic approximation is developed with parameters defined by two rays: vertical and a reference rays. For numerical examples, we consider two choices for parameter selection by using two specific orientations for reference ray. We observe from the numerical tests that the proposed generalized non‐hyperbolic approximation gives more accurate results in both homogeneous and multi‐layered models than the rational counterpart.     

倾斜地层中的井孔声场研究

研究声波在倾斜充液井孔中的传播对于声波测井数据处理和解释具有重要意义.应用三维交错网格有限差分方法模拟了处于倾斜各向同性分层地层中的井孔声场.首先,针对均匀地层中单极子声源在裸眼井中激发的声场,将有限差分的结果和实轴积分法的结果进行对比验证.然后,采用单极子和偶极子两种声源,针对地层分界面和井轴间的不同倾角,计算了相应的声场分布和井轴上的接收波形.数值计算的结果表明,当声源处于倾斜分界面以下,即处于快速（下方）地层,接收器处于倾斜分界面以上（慢速）地层时,随着地层倾斜角度的加大,测得的慢度值从接近上方慢速地层值逐渐减小直至接近下方快速地层的值.任何源距情况下测得的首波慢度均小于上方地层实际的纵波慢度.并且,慢度与源距的关系曲线随源距的加大逐渐平缓.用偶极子声源激发得到的横波慢度与纵波结果相同,并表现得比纵波对倾角的改变更敏感.上述结论在本文中用声场快照和利用合成接收波列的慢度计算得以清楚显示,并且用射线声学理论验证.     

One dimensional elastic wave propagation in a non-homogeneous conical rod

Summary A one dimensional problem concerning the wave propagation in a non-homogeneous conical rod having its cross-section directly proportional to the square of the distance from a chosen point is considered in this paper. One end of the rod is subjected to a pressure step while the other end is stress free and the pulse shape is examined when the propagation speed of the wave has a particular continuous distribution over the entire rod.     

Extended reflectivity method for modelling the propagation of diffusive–viscous wave in dip‐layered media

The reflectivity method plays an important role in seismic modelling. It has been used to model different types of waves propagating in elastic and anelastic media. The diffusive–viscous wave equation was proposed to investigate the relationship between frequency dependence of reflections and fluid saturation. It is also used to describe the attenuation property of seismic wave in a fluid‐saturated medium. The attenuation of diffusive–viscous wave is mainly characterised by the effective attenuation parameters in the equation. Thus, it is essential to obtain those parameters and further characterise the features of the diffusive–viscous wave. In this work, we use inversion method to obtain the effective attenuation parameters through quality factor to investigate the characteristics of diffusive–viscous wave by comparing with those of the viscoacoustic wave. Then, the reflection/transmission coefficients in a dip plane‐layered medium are studied through coordinate transform and plane‐wave theory. Consequently, the reflectivity method is extended to compute seismograms of diffusive–viscous wave in a dip plane multi‐layered medium. Finally, we present two models to simulate the propagation of diffusive–viscous wave in a dip plane multi‐layered medium by comparing the results with those in a viscoacoustic medium. The numerical results demonstrate the validity of our extension of reflectivity method to the diffusive–viscous medium. The numerical examples in both time domain and time–frequency domain show that the reflections from a dip plane interface have significant phase shift and amplitude change compared with the results of horizontal plane interface due to the differences in reflection/transmission coefficients. Moreover, the modelling results show strong attenuation and phase shift in the diffusive–viscous wave compared to those of the viscoacoustic wave.     

Complex rays applied to wave propagation in a viscoelastic medium

In order to trace a ray between known source and receiver locations in a perfectly elastic medium, the take-off angle must be determined, or equialently, the ray parameter. In a viscoelastic medium, the initial value of a second angle, the attenuation angle (the angle between the normal to the plane wavefront and the direction of maximum attenuation), must also be determined. There seems to be no agreement in the literature as to how this should be done. In computing anelastic synthetic seismograms, some authors have simply chosen arbitrary numerical values for the initial attenuation angle, resulting in different raypaths for different choices. There exists, however, a procedure in which the arbitrariness is not present, i.e., in which the raypath is uniquely determined. It consists of computing the value of the anelastic ray parameter for which the phase function is stationary (Fermat's principle). This unique value of the ray parameter gives unique values for the take-off and attenuation angles. The coordinates of points on these stationary raypaths are complex numbers. Such rays are known as complex rays. They have been used to study electromagnetic wave propagation in lossy media. However, ray-synthetic seismograms can be computed by this procedure without concern for the details of complex raypath coordinates. To clarify the nature of complex rays, we study two examples involving a ray passing through a vertically inhomogeneous medium. In the first example, the medium consists of a sequence of discrete homogeneous layers. We find that the coordinates of points on the ray are generally complex (other than the source and receiver points which are usually assumed to lie in real space), except for a ray which is symmetric about an axis down its center, in which case the center point of the ray lies in real space. In the second example, the velocity varies continuously and linearly with depth. We show that, in geneneral, the turning point of the ray lies in complex space (unlike the symmetric ray in the discrete layer case), except if the ratio of the velocity gradient to the complex frequency-dependent velocity at the surface is a real number. We also present a numerical example which demonstrates that the differences between parameters, such as arrival time and raypath angles, for the stationary ray and for rays computed by the above-mentioned arbitrary approaches can be substantial.     

弹性波在含双裂纹岩体中的传播分析

岩石和岩体是具有复杂细微观结构的非均匀介质.弹性波在岩体中传播时,与岩体细微观缺陷相互作用表现出弹性波的频散效应.为研究岩体内部细观结构对弹性波频散效应的作用,本文采用双裂纹模型:在模型内部,考虑裂纹间的相互作用对弹性波的影响,以分析弹性波在双裂纹体系间的多次散射作用;在双裂纹体系间,采用线性叠加分析法,以考虑岩体缺陷影响的局部化.对波动方程应用Green函数基本解,利用边界积分方法,将双裂纹体系作为内边界处理,得到相应的频散方程,由此对比分析了双裂纹体系在上述两种分析方法下的区别,进一步探讨了双裂纹体系参数、孔隙流体压力和卸荷对岩体频散特性的影响.     

A prediction model for frequency spectrum of blast‐induced seismic wave in viscoelastic medium

A prediction model for frequency spectrum of blast‐induced seismic waves is established. The effect of explosive sources is considered in this model. Our model implies that the frequency spectrum of blast‐induced seismic wave is mainly influenced by the initial pressure and the adiabatic exponent of explosives. The dominant frequency increases with the decreasing of initial pressure or the increasing of adiabatic exponent. In addition, this prediction model is verified by the experiment. The error of the dominant frequency is 4%–6%. It is indicated that the proposed model in this paper can reasonably predict the frequency spectrum of blast‐induced seismic waves, and then, we can provide a better frequency spectrum by optimizing the explosion source.     

Laboratory measurements of guided‐wave propagation within a fluid‐saturated fracture

A fluid‐saturated flat channel between solids, such as a fracture, is known to support guided waves—sometimes called Krauklis waves. At low frequencies, Krauklis waves can have very low velocity and large attenuation and are very dispersive. Because they propagate primarily within the fluid channel formed by a fracture, Krauklis waves can potentially be used for geological fracture characterization in the field. Using an analogue fracture consisting of a pair of flat slender plates with a mediating fluid layer—a trilayer model—we conducted laboratory measurements of the velocity and attenuation of Krauklis waves. Unlike previous experiments using ultrasonic waves, these experiments used frequencies well below 1 kHz, resulting in extremely low velocity and large attenuation of the waves. The mechanical compliance of the fracture was varied by modifying the stiffness of the fluid seal of the physical fracture model, and proppant (fracture‐filling high‐permeability sand) was also introduced into the fracture to examine its impact on wave propagation. A theoretical frequency equation for the trilayer model was derived using the poroelastic linear‐slip interface model, and its solutions were compared to the experimental results.     

Transient analysis of wave propagation in non‐homogeneous elastic unbounded domains by using the scaled boundary finite‐element method

The scaled boundary finite‐element method has been developed for the dynamic analysis of unbounded domains. In this method only the boundary is discretized resulting in a reduction of the spatial dimension by one. Like the finite‐element method no fundamental solution is required. This paper extends the scaled boundary finite‐element method to simulate the transient response of non‐homogeneous unbounded domains with the elasticity modulus and mass density varying as power functions of spatial coordinates. To reduce the number of degrees of freedom and the computational cost, the technique of reduced set of base functions is applied. The scaled boundary finite‐element equation for an unbounded domain is reformulated in generalized coordinates. The resulting acceleration unit‐impulse response matrix is obtained and assembled with the equation of motion of standard finite elements. Numerical examples of non‐homogeneous isotropic and transversely isotropic unbounded domains demonstrate the accuracy of the scaled boundary finite‐element method. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pseudo‐spectral method using rotated staggered grid for elastic wave propagation in 3D arbitrary anisotropic media

Staggering grid is a very effective way to reduce the Nyquist errors and to suppress the non‐causal ringing artefacts in the pseudo‐spectral solution of first‐order elastic wave equations. However, the straightforward use of a staggered‐grid pseudo‐spectral method is problematic for simulating wave propagation when the anisotropy level is greater than orthorhombic or when the anisotropic symmetries are not aligned with the computational grids. Inspired by the idea of rotated staggered‐grid finite‐difference method, we propose a modified pseudo‐spectral method for wave propagation in arbitrary anisotropic media. Compared with an existing remedy of staggered‐grid pseudo‐spectral method based on stiffness matrix decomposition and a possible alternative using the Lebedev grids, the rotated staggered‐grid‐based pseudo‐spectral method possesses the best balance between the mitigation of artefacts and efficiency. A 2D example on a transversely isotropic model with tilted symmetry axis verifies its effectiveness to suppress the ringing artefacts. Two 3D examples of increasing anisotropy levels demonstrate that the rotated staggered‐grid‐based pseudo‐spectral method can successfully simulate complex wavefields in such anisotropic formations.     

On shear‐wave triplications in a multilayered transeversely isotropic medium with vertical symmetry axis

The presence of triplications (caustics) can be a serious problem in seismic data processing and analysis. The traveltime curve becomes multi‐valued and the geometrical spreading correction factor tends to zero due to energy focusing. We analyse the conditions for the qSV‐wave triplications in a homogeneous transversely isotropic medium with vertical symmetry axis. The proposed technique can easily be extended to the case of horizontally layered vertical symmetry axis medium. We show that the triplications of the qSV‐wave in a multilayered medium imply certain algebra. We illustrate this algebra on a two‐layer vertical symmetry axis model.     

Analytical wavefront curvature correction to plane‐wave reflection coefficients for a weak‐contrast interface

Most amplitude versus offset (AVO) analysis and inversion techniques are based on the Zoeppritz equations for plane‐wave reflection coefficients or their approximations. Real seismic surveys use localized sources that produce spherical waves, rather than plane waves. In the far‐field, the AVO response for a spherical wave reflected from a plane interface can be well approximated by a plane‐wave response. However this approximation breaks down in the vicinity of the critical angle. Conventional AVO analysis ignores this problem and always utilizes the plane‐wave response. This approach is sufficiently accurate as long as the angles of incidence are much smaller than the critical angle. Such moderate angles are more than sufficient for the standard estimation of the AVO intercept and gradient. However, when independent estimation of the formation density is required, it may be important to use large incidence angles close to the critical angle, where spherical wave effects become important. For the amplitude of a spherical wave reflected from a plane fluid‐fluid interface, an analytical approximation is known, which provides a correction to the plane‐wave reflection coefficients for all angles. For the amplitude of a spherical wave reflected from a solid/solid interface, we propose a formula that combines this analytical approximation with the linearized plane‐wave AVO equation. The proposed approximation shows reasonable agreement with numerical simulations for a range of frequencies. Using this solution, we constructed a two‐layer three‐parameter least‐squares inversion algorithm. Application of this algorithm to synthetic data for a single plane interface shows an improvement compared to the use of plane‐wave reflection coefficients.