Numerical simulation of seismic wave in elastic and viscoelastic TTI media*

Based on the two-dimensional (2D) three-component first-order velocity-stress equation, the high order staggered mesh finite difference numerical simulation method was used to simulate the elastic and viscoelastic tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media. The perfect matched layer (PML) absorption boundary condition was selected to eliminate the boundary effect. The results show that: ① Under the condition of fixed elastic parameters of elastic TTI medium, when the polarization angle and azimuth are 60° and 45° respectively, the degree of shear wave splitting is significantly greater than the angle of 0°; ② The influence of viscoelasticity on TTI medium is mainly reflected in the amplitude. If the quality factor decreases, the attenuation of the seismic wave amplitude increases, causing the waveform to become wider and distorted. If the quality factor increases, the viscoelastic medium becomes closer to elastic medium; ③ For TTI medium with different polarization angle and azimuth angle in the upper and lower layers, the shear wave can multiple splits at the interface of medium. The symmetry of seismograms is affected by the polarization angle and azimuth angle of TTI medium; ④ Viscoelasticity has a great influence on reflected wave, transmitted wave and converted wave in the low-velocity model. When the viscoelasticity is strong, the weaker waves may not be shown.     

Data acquisition and pre-processing required for simultaneous P-SV inversion

The goal of seismic reflection surveys is the derivation of petrophysical subsurface parameters from surface measurements. Today's well established technique in data acquisition, as well as processing terms, is based on the acoustic approximation to the real world's wave propagation. In recent years a lot of work has been done to extend the technique to the elastic approximation. There was especially an important trend towards elastic inversion techniques operating on plane-wave seismograms, called simultaneous P-SV inversion (or short P-SV inversion) within this paper. Being still under investigation, some important aspects of P-SV inversion concerning data acquisition as well as pre-processing, should be pointed out. To fit the assumptions of P-SV inversion schemes, at least a two-dimensional picture of the reflected wavefield with vertical and in-line horizontal receivers has to be recorded. Moreover, the theoretical work done suggests that in addition to a survey with a compressional wave source, a second survey should be done using sources radiating vertically polarized shear waves, is needed. Finally, proper slant stacking must be performed to get plane-wave seismograms. The P/S separated plane-wave seismograms are then well prepared for feeding into the inversion algorithms. P/S separated planewave seismograms are then well prepared for feeding into the inversion algorithm.s In this paper, a tutorial overview of the data acquisition and pre-processing in accordance with the P-SV inversion philosophy is given and illustrated using synthetic seismograms. A judgement on the feasibility of the P-SV inversion philosophy must be left to ongoing research.     

弹性半空间位错内源的数值解

本文首先将一般剪切位错点源表示成四种基本点位错的组合,断层面倾角和滑动系数仅与组合系数有关.利用将三维动力学问题化为两维的处理方法,将每一基本点源问题化成求解位移函数的轴对称问题,最后将人工透射边界的处理方法同有限差分结合起来,提出一种简便、节省的计算理论地震图的方法.利用这种方法获得了四种基本点位错源的典型近场理论地震图,并初步讨论了近场地面运动的若干特征,表明浅源地震近场地面位移中震相不能分离,且点位错源在近场产生大小相当的水平与垂直位移.本文的方法可用于研究复杂的近场地震波传播问题.      

Two-dimensional scattering of SH waves due to a discontinuity in bedrock

The direct boundary integral equation technique is applied to determine the impact on surface amplification caused by an inhomogeneity in a bedrock half-space. The particular soil-rock configuration studied is one in which a soil layer rests on a rock half-space which includes a rock inclusion. The particular rock inclusion considered for this study is a semi-infinite rock layer with its upper boundary bordering the soil layer. Materials are considered viscoelastic except for the section of the rock half-space below the level of the rock inclusion which is considered elastic. A parametric study is performed to determine controlling factors for surface displacement due to a vertically incident shear wave. The study includes varying the stiffness and the thickness of the inclusion for a range of frequencies. Solutions from a one-dimensional analysis are compared with the results of a two-dimensional analysis in order to establish limits inside of which a two-dimensional analysis is required. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

APPLICATION OF ELASTIC MODELLING IN PROCESSING AND INTERPRETATION OF VSP DATA: A CASE HISTORY1

Data from offshore Norway is used to study applications of elastic VSP modelling in detecting shear waves and observing the effects of successive mode conversion in field-recorded VSP data. The shear-wave velocities and densities from log data are used in conjunction with compressional wave velocities determined from surface seismic and log data in the VSP modelling. The time domain non-normal incidence elastic VSP modelling technique of Aminzadeh and Mendel is used as the modelling algorithm. Two surface seismograms are computed first. One is the vertical component and the other is the horizontal component for plane waves that have specified incident angles. A downward continuation method is then applied to generate seismograms at different depth points. The collection of these seismograms constitutes non-normal incidence VSPs. Both vertical and horizontal components of VSP data can be obtained by this procedure. In this paper non-normal incidence VSPs are generated for a 12.5° incident plane wave. The modelling results of layered earth systems of thin layers and thick layers are both compared with field data, and the effect of mode conversions in thin layers is observed. Several events in the field data can be explained by this elastic VSP modelling. Comparison of the model data and field data enabled a probable tube wave or out-of-plane event to be identified, the removal of which significantly improved the final VSP section. This study also shows how the VSP data helped the interpretation of the surface 3D data.     

EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE OF S*-WAVE*

During development of theoretical methods to compute synthetic seismograms, a new type of wave called S*-wave was discovered by Hron and Mikhailenko. This wave propagates with the shear-wave velocity and can be interpreted as a non-geometrical wave arrival with large amplitudes strongly depending on the depth of a pure P-point source. In this first experimental verification of the existence of S*-waves by means of two-dimensional model-seismics it is demonstrated that: 1. the S*-wave exists and depends on the source distance from the free surface; 2. the S*-wave is generated as an ordinary shear wave on the free surface at the point located directly above the P-source, as illustrated in the synthetic seismograms. The measured seismograms agree remarkably well with the computed ones.     

Analytical expressions for the borehole seismic signatures excited by an explosive source buried in an elastic half‐space

Borehole guided waves that are excited by explosive sources outside of the borehole are important for interpreting borehole seismic surveys and for rock property inversion workflows. Borehole seismograms are typically modelled using numerical methods of wave propagation. In order to benchmark such numerical algorithms and partially to interpret the results of modelling, an analytical methodology is presented here to compute synthetic seismograms. The specific setup is a wavefield emanating from a monopole point source embedded within a homogeneous elastic medium that interacts with a fluid‐filled borehole and a free surface. The methodology assumes that the wavelength of the seismic signal is much larger than the borehole radius. In this paper, it is supposed that there is no poroelastic coupling between the formation and the borehole. The total wavefield solution consists of P, PP, and PS body waves; the surface Rayleigh wave; and the low‐frequency guided Stoneley wave (often referred as the tube wave) within the borehole. In its turn, the tube wave consists of the partial responses generated by the incident P‐wave and the reflected PP and PS body waves at the borehole mouth and by the Rayleigh wave, as well as the Stoneley wave eigenmode. The Mach tube wave, which is a conic tube wave, additionally appears in the Mach cone in a slow formation with the tube‐wave velocity greater than the shear one. The conditions of appearance of the Mach wave in a slow formation are formulated. It is shown that the amplitude of the Mach tube wave strongly depends on Poisson's ratio of the slow surrounding formation. The amplitude of the Mach tube wave exponentially decreases when the source depth grows for weakly compressible elastic media with Poisson's ratio close to 0.5 (i.e., saturated clays and saturated clay soils). Asymptotic expressions are also provided to compute the wavefield amplitudes for different combinations of source depth and source‐well offset. These expressions allow an approximate solution of the wavefield to be computed much faster (within several seconds) than directly computing the implicit integrals arising from the analytical formulation.     

A NUMERICAL STUDY OF LAMB'S PROBLEM*

This paper considers propagation of elastodynamic waves in an imperfectly elastic half-space. Two different excitation modes are investigated: a buried source of compressional waves and a vertically directed areal load applied to the surface. Numerical integration of the analytical solution of the wave equation allows study of the vertical and horizontal components of displacement and/or particle velocity anywhere in the half-space. One case of particular interest concerns the examination of particle displacement and velocity at the surface in a circular area above the source. In another application seismograms generated by an explosive buried source are contrasted with seismograms generated by the transient application of a vertically directed load to the free surface. Still another application of considerable practical interest concerns the study of the nongeometrical pS—wave, in particular its characteristics as functions of range and depth. Finally, in the last application the behavior of a rarely observed wave (denoted here by the letter U) is studied in both elastic and visco-elastic half-spaces.     

The optimum source－time function for generating finite－difference synthetic seismograms

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SH waves in a layer with temperature dependent properties

The paper deals with the problem of SH harmonic wave propagation in an elastic layer with temperature dependent properties. The shear modulus and mass density are linearly dependent on temperature. The layer is rested on a rigid foundation and the upper boundary is free of loadings. The boundary planes are kept at different constant temperatures. The wave velocity and amplitude of stresses are analysed.     

MODAL ANALYSIS OF SOFT-SOIL SITES INCLUDING RADIATION DAMPING

For the one-dimensional analysis of soft-soil layers on an elastic half-space, a general form of analytical solution is developed for converting radiation damping due to energy leaking back to the half-space into equivalent modal damping, allowing the modal analysis technique to be extended to a site where radiation damping has to be accounted for. Closed-form solutions for equivalent modal damping ratios and effective modal participation factors are developed for a single layer with a shear wave velocity distribution varying from constant to linearly increasing with depth. Compact and recursive forms of solutions for equivalent modal damping ratios are developed for a system with an arbitrary number of homogeneous layers on an elastic half-space. Comparisons with numerical solutions show that the modal solutions are accurate. The nominal frequency of a site, i.e. the inverse of four times the total shear wave travel time through the layers, is an important parameter for estimating the high mode frequencies. A parameter study shows that for the same impedance ratio of the bottom layer to the elastic half-space, a system of soil layers with an increasing soil rigidity with depth has, in general, larger peak modal amplifications at the ground surface than does a single homogeneous layer on an elastic half-space, while a system with a decreasing soil rigidity with depth has smaller modal peak amplifications. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of the hydrocarbon structures using the P-SV wave solution

Numerical solution of the scalar and elastic wave equations has greatly aided geophysicists in modeling seismic wave fields in the complicated geologic structures containing hydrocarbons and hence increases the geologic interpretation. Finite-difference method offers a versatile approach to compute synthetic seismograms numerically for given subsurface complex geological structures. To avoid the spatial derivative of the elastic parameters and density, elastodynamic equation (first-order hyperbolic equation) has been solved using the Lax-Wendroff scheme. A numerical finite-difference modeling program has been developed for the P-SV wave using the above solution. A line source with a time delay of 0.015s and dominant frequency of 120 Hz has been utilized in the simulation. In order to avoid the large values of the displacement vector in the source region,Alterman andKaral's method (1968) has been utilized. Horizontal and vertical component synthetic seismograms have been computed for two different geological models with and without oil and gas bearing zones. It has been concluded from the response that a finite-difference technique not only yields the relative arrival times but also accounts for the variation in amplitude and phase according to the elastic impedance contrast across the interfaces. It should come as no surprise to learn that in spite of the limitation of this numerical method, the scheme has provided a valid response for the thin layer, high acoustic impedance contrast and the pinch out.     

Numerical study of seismic scattering and waveguide excitation in faulted coal seams

Finite‐difference P‐SV simulations of seismic scattering characteristics of faulted coal‐seam models have been undertaken for near‐surface P‐ and S‐wave sources in an attempt to understand the efficiency of body‐wave to channel‐wave mode conversion and how it depends on the elastic parameters of the structure. The synthetic seismograms clearly show the groups of channel waves generated at the fault: one by the downgoing P‐wave and the other by the downgoing S‐wave. These modes travel horizontally in the seam at velocities less than the S‐wavespeed of the rock. A strong Airy phase is generated for the fundamental mode. The velocity contrast between the coal and the host rock is a more important parameter than the density contrast in controlling the amplitude of the channel waves. The optimal coupling from body‐wave energy to channel‐wave energy occurs at a velocity contrast of 1.5. Strong guided waves are produced by the incident S‐sources for source angles of 75° to 90° (close to the near‐side face of the fault). As the fault throw increases, the amplitude of the channel wave also increases. The presence of a lower‐velocity clay layer within the coal‐seam sequence affects the waveguiding characteristics. The displacement amplitude distribution is shifted more towards the lower‐wavespeed layer. The presence of a ‘washout’ zone or a brecciated zone surrounding the fault also results in greater forward scattering and channel‐wave capture by the coal seam.     

Shear waves in elastic medium with void pores welded between vertically inhomogeneous and anisotropic magnetoelastic semi-infinite media

The paper intends to study the propagation of horizontally polarized shear waves in an elastic medium with void pores constrained between a vertically inhomogeneous and an anisotropic magnetoelastic semi-infinite media. Elasto-dynamical equations of elastic medium with void pores and magnetoelastic solid have been employed to investigate the shear wave propagation in the proposed three-layered earth model. Method of separation of variables has been incorporated to deduce the dispersion relation. All possible special cases have been envisaged and they fairly comply with the corresponding results for classical cases. The role of inhomogeneity parameter, thickness of layer, angle with which the wave crosses the magnetic field and anisotropic magnetoelastic coupling parameter for three different materials has been elucidated and represented by graphs using MATHEMATICA.     

有薄疏松复盖层的弹性半空间中地震波的传播问题

本文将地表疏松风化层看作是附在弹性介貭上的一种有慣性而无弹性的薄层,当扰动在弹性介貭中传播吋,风化薄层跟随振动;討論了弹性半空間內点震源产生的地震波和疏松薄层对地震波反射的影响。     

A staggered-grid high-order finite-difference modeling for elastic wave field in arbitrary tilt anisotropic media

Introduction The real Earth usually presents anisotropy. Therefore, it is of theoretical and practical sig- nificance for many fields as oil and gas, seismic exploration and production, earthquake prediction, detection of deep structure and so on to study on seismic wave theory, numerical simulation method and its applications in the anisotropic media (Crampin, 1981, 1984; Crampin et al, 1986; Hudson et al, 1996; Liu et al, 1997; Thomsen, 1986, 1995; TENG et al, 1992; HE and ZHANG, 1996)…     

Physical modeling observations of wave velocity and apparent attenuation in isotropic and anisotropic two-phase media

We study wave propagation through isotropic and anisotropic scatterer distributions in order to observe azimuthal variations in velocity and apparent attenuation. Using thin aluminum plates as physical models, we obtained seismograms for compressional and shear wave propagation through heterogeneous media. Three random distributions of scatterers are studied: circular scatterers in isotropic distributions (modeling circular scatterers), elongated scatterers in isotropic distributions (modeling randomly oriented elliptical scatterers), and elongated scatterers in anisotropic distributions (modeling aligned elliptical scatterers). All scatterers had approximately the same cross-sectional area and were filled with epoxy in order to reduce the impedance contrast. In addition to seismograms recorded for no scatterers, seismograms were recorded for several scatterer volume fractions. Azimuths were measured relative to the long axis of the aligned elongated scatterers. Velocities were calculated using travel times and phase shifts at low frequencies. The velocities measured from the data were compared to simple low-frequency average-velocity theories based on thin lamellae or on distributions of penny-shaped cracks. The apparent attenuation for different scatterer distributions was computed using spectral ratios.Comparisons of the results for circular and randomly oriented elongated scatterers were made to determine the effects of scatterer shape. As expected, the circular and randomly oriented elongated scatterers showed no systematic azimuthal variation in velocity. The velocity anomalies were systematically larger for the randomly oriented elongated scatterers than for the circular scatterers. Both methods of theoretical estimation for the isotropic velocities produced velocities significantly larger than those measured. The spectral ratios showed more apparent attenuation for the randomly oriented elongated scatterers than for the circular scatterers.Comparisons of the results for the randomly oriented and aligned elongated scatterers were made to determine the effects of anisotropy in the scatterer distribution. Compressional waves for the aligned elongated scatterers with wave propagation parallel to the scatterers had larger velocities than for the aligned elongated scatterers with wave propagation perpendicular to the scatterers for all velocity calculations. Shear wave velocities were complicated by an anomalous phase change in the shear wave seismograms for azimuths less than 40° and were not as conclusive. The general trend of the theoretical velocities is similar to the velocities calculated from the data. There are, however, what appear to be significant differences. The spectral ratios showed more apparent attenuation for the randomly oriented elongated scatterers than for the aligned elongated scatterers with wave propagation parallel to the scatterers, and less attenuation than for the aligned elongated scatterers with wave propagation perpendicular to the scatterers.     

Spectral element analysis on the characteristics of seismic wave propagation triggered by Wenchuan <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>s</Subscript>8.0 earthquake

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake occurred in an active earthquake zone, i.e., Longmenshan tectonic zone. Seismic waves triggered by this earthquake can be used to explore the characteristics of the fault rupture process and the hierarchical structure of the Earth’s interior. We employ spectral element method incorporated with large-scale parallel computing technology, to investigate the characteristics of seismic wave propagation excited by Wenchuan earthquake. We calculate synthetic seismograms with one-point source model and three-point source model respectively. The AK135 model is employed as a prototype of our numerical global Earth model. The Earth’s ellipticity, Earth’s medium attenuation, and topography data are taken into consideration. These wave propagation processes are simulated by solving three-dimensional elastic wave governing equations. Three-dimensional visualization of our numerical results displays the profile of the seismic wave propagation. The three-point source, which is proposed from the latest investigations through field observation and reverse estimation, can better demonstrate the spatial and temporal characteristics of the source rupture process than the one-point source. We take comparison of synthetic seismograms with observational data recorded at 16 observatory stations. Primary results show that the synthetic seismograms calculated from three-point source agree well with the observations. This can further reveal that the source rupture process of Wenchuan earthquake is a multi-rupture process, which is composed by at least three or more stages of rupture processes. Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB418406), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40774049 and 40474038), and Computer Network Information Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. INF105-SCE-02-12)     

Site effects in Mexico City: Constraints from surface wave inversion of shallow refraction data

In order to understand and simulate site effects on strong ground motion records of recent earthquakes in Mexico City, it is fundamental to determine the in situ elastic and anelastic properties of the shallow stratigraphy of the basin. The main properties of interest are the shear wave velocities and Q-quality factors and their correlation with similar parameters in zones of the city. Despite population density and paved surfaces, it is feasible to gather shallow refraction data to obtain laterally homogeneous subsoil structures at some locations. We focused our analysis in the Texcoco Lake region of the northeastern Mexico City basin. This area consists of unconsolidated clay sediments, similar to those of the lake bed zone in Mexico City, where ground motion amplification and long duration disturbances are commonly observed. We recorded Rayleigh and Love waves using explosive and sledgehammer sources and 4.5 Hz vertical and horizontal geophones, respectively. Additionally, for the explosive source, we recorded three-component seismograms using 1 Hz seismometers. We obtained phase velocity dispersion curves from ray parameter-frequency domain analyses and inverted them for vertical distribution of S wave velocity. The initial model was obtained from a standard first-break refraction analysis. We also obtained an estimation of the Q_S shear wave quality factor for the uppermost stratigraphy. Results compare well with tilt and cone penetrometer resistance measurements at the same test site, emphasizing the importance of these studies for engineering purposes.     

任意倾斜各向异性介质中弹性波波场交错网格高阶有限差分法模拟

给出了任意倾斜各向异性介质中二维三分量一阶应力速度弹性波方程交错网格任意偶数阶精度有限差分格式及其稳定性条件,并推导出了二维任意倾斜各向异性介质完全匹配吸收层法边界条件公式和相应的交错网格任意偶数阶精度差分格式. 数值模拟结果表明,该方法模拟精度高,计算效率高,边界吸收效果好. 各向异性介质中弹性波波前面形态复杂, 且qP波波速不总是比qS波波速快. qS波波前面和同相轴的三分叉现象普遍, 且其同相轴一般不是双曲线型. 当TI介质倾斜时,3个分量上均能够观测到横波分裂现象, 而且各波形的同相轴变得不对称.