Modelling the wave phenomena in acoustic and elastic media with sharp variations of physical properties using the grid‐characteristic method

This paper introduces a novel method of modelling acoustic and elastic wave propagation in inhomogeneous media with sharp variations of physical properties based on the recently developed grid‐characteristic method which considers different types of waves generated in inhomogeneous linear‐elastic media (e.g., longitudinal, transverse, Stoneley, Rayleigh, scattered PP‐, SS‐waves, and converted PS‐ and SP‐waves). In the framework of this method, the problem of solving acoustic or elastic wave equations is reduced to the interpolation of the solutions, determined at earlier time, thus avoiding a direct solution of the large systems of linear equations required by the FD or FE methods. We apply the grid‐characteristic method to compare wave phenomena computed using the acoustic and elastic wave equations in geological medium containing a hydrocarbon reservoir or a fracture zone. The results of this study demonstrate that the developed algorithm can be used as an effective technique for modelling wave phenomena in the models containing hydrocarbon reservoir and/or the fracture zones, which are important targets of seismic exploration.     

Application of the nearly perfectly matched layer for seismic wave propagation in 2D homogeneous isotropic media

Numerical modelling plays an important role in helping us understand the characteristics of seismic wave propagation. The presence of spurious reflections from the boundaries of the truncated computational domain is a prominent problem in finite difference computations. The nearly perfectly matched layer has been proven to be a very effective boundary condition to absorb outgoing waves in both electromagnetic and acoustic media. In this paper, the nearly perfectly matched layer technique is applied to elastic isotropic media to further test the method's absorbing ability. The staggered‐grid finite‐difference method (fourth‐order accuracy in space and second‐order accuracy in time) is used in the numerical simulation of seismic wave propagation in 2D Cartesian coordinates. In the numerical tests, numerical comparisons between the nearly perfectly matched layer and the convolutional perfectly matched layer, which is considered the best absorbing layer boundary condition, is also provided. Three numerical experiments demonstrate that the nearly perfectly matched layer has a similar performance to the convolutional perfectly matched layer and can be a valuable alternative to other absorbing layer boundary conditions.     

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.     

A viscous-spring transmitting boundary for cylindrical wave propagation in saturated poroelastic media

Based on the u–U formulation of Biot equation and the assumption of zero permeability coefficient, a viscous-spring transmitting boundary which is frequency independent is derived to simulate the cylindrical elastic wave propagation in unbounded saturated porous media. By this viscous-spring boundary the effective stress and pore fluid pressure on the truncated boundary of the numerical model are replaced by a set of spring, dashpot and mass elements, and its simplified form is also given. A u–U formulation FEA program is compiled and the proposed transmitting boundaries are incorporated therein. Numerical examples show that the proposed viscous-spring boundary and its simplified form can provide accurate results for cylindrical elastic wave propagation problems with low or intermediate values of permeability or frequency content. For general two dimensional wave propagation problems, spuriously reflected waves can be greatly suppressed and acceptable accuracy can still be achieved by placing the simplified boundary at relatively large distance from the wave source.     

地震波动方程的局部间断有限元方法数值模拟

近年来,随着地震波数值模拟对计算精度和效率的要求越来越高,间断有限元方法开始受到越来越多的关注.本文中,针对具有吸收边界条件的二维地震声波波动方程,作者提出了一种基于局部间断有限元方法的数值模拟算法.该算法在空间上使用局部间断有限元方法进行离散,在时间上采用了显式蛙跳格式.在这种时空离散的组合方式下,每个时间步上,此算法在空间剖分的每个单元上的求解计算是相互独立的,因而具有极高的并行性.通过数值算例,我们将该算法与连续有限元方法进行了比较.结果表明,本算法不仅具有对起伏构造的良好适应性,而且在计算效率和计算精度等方面,都具有优越性.     

复杂固-液介质的速度应力方程三角形单元间断伽辽金地震波模拟算法

间断伽辽金法可用于存在复杂边界条件的模型,同时具有高阶精度和易于并行计算的优点,因此近年来在地震波传播模拟研究中得到了快速发展.数值通量是间断伽辽金法的关键组成部分之一.相比于其他通量,基于Rankine-Hugoniot跳跃条件的通量（RH-condition通量）在固体和液体介质边界具有更宽的稳定性,可以使用更大的时间步长,尤其是液体和固体之间的波阻抗差异较大时.它已被用于基于四边形网格和速度-应变方程的间断伽辽金地震波固液介质模拟.本文为了模拟陆地自然水体等存在复杂固-液界面形状的地震波传播,并在未来与其他数值方法耦合,发展了基于三角形网格的RH-condition通量间断伽辽金方法,使用一阶速度-压力声波和一阶速度-应力弹性波方程模拟复杂固-液介质中地震波的传播.通过水平层状和sin型起伏固-液模型,验证了该方法模拟结果的准确性.通过数值模拟展示了所提出的间断伽辽金法在不同网格大小和阶数下的准确性和效率.最后通过一个复杂模型的例子表明存在复杂固-液界面时该方法可以准确施加固-液边界条件.

     

An efficient wave extrapolation method for anisotropic media with tilt

Wavefield extrapolation operators for elliptically anisotropic media offer significant cost reduction compared with that for the transversely isotropic case, particularly when the axis of symmetry exhibits tilt (from the vertical). However, elliptical anisotropy does not provide accurate wavefield representation or imaging for transversely isotropic media. Therefore, we propose effective elliptically anisotropic models that correctly capture the kinematic behaviour of wavefields for transversely isotropic media. Specifically, we compute source‐dependent effective velocities for the elliptic medium using kinematic high‐frequency representation of the transversely isotropic wavefield. The effective model allows us to use cheaper elliptic wave extrapolation operators. Despite the fact that the effective models are obtained by matching kinematics using high‐frequency asymptotic, the resulting wavefield contains most of the critical wavefield components, including frequency dependency and caustics, if present, with reasonable accuracy. The methodology developed here offers a much better cost versus accuracy trade‐off for wavefield computations in transversely isotropic media, particularly for media of low to moderate complexity. In addition, the wavefield solution is free from shear‐wave artefacts as opposed to the conventional finite‐difference‐based transversely isotropic wave extrapolation scheme. We demonstrate these assertions through numerical tests on synthetic tilted transversely isotropic models.     

Propagation of seismic waves in patchy-saturated porous media: double-porosity representation

Propagation of harmonic plane waves is studied in a patchy-saturated porous medium. Patchy distribution of the two immiscible fluids is considered in a porous frame with uniform skeletal properties. A composition of two types of patches, connected through continuous paths, constitutes a double-porosity medium. Different compressibilities of pore-fluids in two porous phases facilitate the wave-induced fluid-flow in this composite material. Constitutive relations are considered with frequency-dependent complex elastic coefficients, which define the dissipative behaviour of porous aggregate due to the flow of viscous fluid in connected patches. Relevant equations of motion are solved to explain the propagation of three compressional waves and one shear wave in patchy-saturated porous solids. A numerical example is solved to illustrate dispersion in phase velocity and quality factor of attenuated waves in patchy-saturated porous materials. Role of fluid–solid inertial coupling in Darcy's law is emphasized to keep a check on the dispersion of wave velocities in the porous composite. Effects of patchy saturation on phase velocities and quality factors of attenuation are analysed using the double-porosity formulation as well as the reduced single-porosity equivalents.     

Integration of rock physics and seismic inversion for rock typing and flow unit analysis: A case study

Rock typing and flow unit detection are more challenging in clastic reservoirs with a uniform pore system. An integrated workflow based on well logs, inverted seismic data and rock physics models is proposed and developed to address such challenges. The proposed workflow supplies a plausible reservoir model for further investigation and adds extra information. Then, this workflow has been implemented in order to define different rock types and flow units in an oilfield in the Persian Gulf, where some of these difficulties have been observed. Here, rock physics models have the leading role in our proposed workflow by providing a diagnostic framework in which we successfully differentiate three rock types with variant characteristics on the given wells. Furthermore, permeability and porosity are calculated using the available rock physics models to define several flow units. Then, we extend our investigation to the entire reservoir by means of simultaneous inversion and rock physics models. The outcomes of the study suggest that in sediments with homogeneous pore size distribution, other reservoir properties such as shale content and cementation (which have distinct effects on the elastic domain) can be used to identify rock types and flow units. These reservoir properties have more physical insights for modelling purposes and can be distinguished on seismic cube using proper rock physics models. The results illustrate that the studied reservoir mainly consists of rock type B, which is unconsolidated sands and has the characteristics of a reservoir for subsequent fluid flow unit analysis. In this regard, rock type B has been divided into six fluid units in which the first detected flow unit is considered as the cleanest unit and has the highest reservoir process speed about 4800 to 5000 mD. Here, reservoir quality decreases from flow unit 1 to flow unit 6.     

Dependence of borehole shear‐horizontal‐wave seismoelectric response on soil textures

The phenomenon of acoustic waves inducing electric fields in porous media is called the seismoelectric effect. Earlier investigators proposed the usage of seismoelectric effect for well logging. Soil texture has a strong influence on the coupled wave fields during shallow surface explorations. In this article, we study the borehole pure shear‐horizontal wave and the coupling transverse‐electric field (acoustic–electrical coupling wave fields) in the partially saturated soil. Combined with related theories, we expand the formation parameters to partially saturated forms and discuss the influence of soil texture conditions on the seismoelectric wave fields. The results show that the elastic and electrical properties of porous media are sensitive to water saturation. The compositions of the acoustic and electric fields for different soil textures do not change, but the waveforms differ. We also use the secant integral method to simulate the interface‐converted electromagnetic waves. The results show that interface response strength is greatly influenced by soil texture. In addition, considering the sensitivity of the inducing electric field to fluid salinity, we also simulate the time‐domain waveforms of electric field for different pore fluid salinity levels. The results show that as the salinity increases, the electric field amplitude decreases monotonically. The above conclusions have certain significance for the application of borehole shear wave and its coupled electric fields for resource exploration, saturation assessment and groundwater pollution monitoring.     

Accelerating the discontinuous Galerkin method for seismic wave propagation simulations using multiple GPUs with CUDA and MPI

We have successfully ported an arbitrary high-order discontinuous Galerkin method for solving the three-dimensional isotropic elastic wave equation on unstructured tetrahedral meshes to multiple Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) using the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) of NVIDIA and Message Passing Interface (MPI) and obtained a speedup factor of about 28.3 for the single-precision version of our codes and a speedup factor of about 14.9 for the double-precision version. The GPU used in the comparisons is NVIDIA Tesla C2070 Fermi, and the CPU used is Intel Xeon W5660. To effectively overlap inter-process communication with computation, we separate the elements on each subdomain into inner and outer elements and complete the computation on outer elements and fill the MPI buffer first. While the MPI messages travel across the network, the GPU performs computation on inner elements, and all other calculations that do not use information of outer elements from neighboring subdomains. A significant portion of the speedup also comes from a customized matrix–matrix multiplication kernel, which is used extensively throughout our program. Preliminary performance analysis on our parallel GPU codes shows favorable strong and weak scalabilities.     

一种模拟非均匀介质中弹性波传播新的k-space方法

传统的伪谱（PS）方法,采用傅里叶变换（FT）计算空间导数具有很高的精度,每个波长仅需要两个采样点,而时间导数采用有限差分（FD）近似因而精度较低.当采用大时间步长时,由于时空精度不平衡,PS法存在不稳定性问题.原始的k-space方法可以有效地克服这些问题但是却无法适用于非均匀介质.为了提高原始k-space方法模拟非均匀介质波动方程的精度,我们提出了一种新的k-space算子族.它是用非均匀介质的变速度代替原k-space算子中的常数补偿速度构造得到,引入低秩近似可以高效求解.我们将构造的新的k-space算子应用于耦合的二阶位移波动方程,而不是交错网格一阶速度应力波动方程,使模拟弹性波的计算存储量减少.我们从数学上证明了基于二阶波动方程的k-space方法与基于一阶波动方程的k-space方法是等价的.数值模拟实验表明,与传统的PS、交错网格PS和原始的k-space方法相比,我们的新方法可以在时间和空间步长较大的均匀和非均匀介质中,为弹性波的传播提供更精确的数值解.在保持稳定性和精度的同时,采用较大的时空采样间隔,可以大大降低数值模拟的计算成本.

     

Test of rock physics models for prediction of seismic velocities in shallow unconsolidated sands: a well log data case‡

This paper tests the ability of various rock physics models to predict seismic velocities in shallow unconsolidated sands by comparing the estimates to P and S sonic logs collected in a shallow sand layer and ultrasonic laboratory data of an unconsolidated sand sample. The model fits are also evaluated with respect to the conventional model for unconsolidated sand. Our main approach is to use Hertz‐Mindlin and Walton contact theories, assuming different weight fractions of smooth and rough contact behaviours, to predict the elastic properties of the high porosity point. Using either the Hertz‐Mindlin or Walton theories with rough contact behaviour to define the high porosity endpoint gives an over‐prediction of the velocities. The P‐velocity is overpredicted by a factor of ～1.5 and the S‐velocity by a factor of ～1.8 for highly porous gas‐sand. The degree of misprediction decreases with increasing water saturation and porosity.Using the Hertz‐Mindlin theory with smooth contact behaviour or weighted Walton models gives a better fit to the data, although the data are best described using the Walton smooth model. To predict the properties at the lower porosities, the choice of bounding model attached to the Walton Smooth model controls the degree of fit to the data, where the Reuss bound best captures the porosity variations of dry and wet sands in this case since they are caused by depositional differences. The empirical models based on lab experiments on unconsolidated sand also fit the velocity data measured by sonic logs in situ, which gives improved confidence in using lab‐derived results.     

Wavenumber of the guided wave supported by a thin resistive layer in marine controlled‐source electromagnetics

This paper discusses the asymptotic behaviour of the electromagnetic fields received on the sea‐bed (target response), as well as the fields distributed inside a thin resistive target, generated by a horizontal electric dipole above the sea‐bed in marine controlled‐source electromagnetics for hydrocarbon exploration. It is found that the guided wave supported by a thin resistive target can be expressed as a single‐mode exponential function. A simple closed‐form expression is derived to relate the single‐mode wavenumber of the guided wave to the model parameters: the resistivity and thickness of the target layer, the sea‐bed resistivity and the frequency. When the air‐wave is removed, the guided wave is dominant among the fields received on the sea‐bed at far offset. Hence the wavenumber of the guided wave can be calculated from the fields measured on the sea‐bed. The closed‐form expression can then be used to invert the target property from the calculated wavenumber and hence, can be considered as a hydrocarbon indicator.     

求解双相和黏弹性介质波传播方程的间断有限元方法及其波场模拟

间断有限元（Discontinuous Galerkin：DG）方法具有低数值频散、网格剖分灵活、能模拟地震波在复杂介质中传播等优点.因此,本文将一种新的DG方法推广到双相和黏弹性等复杂介质的地震波场模拟,发展了求解Biot弹性波方程和D'Alembert介质波动方程的DG方法.首先通过引入辅助变量将Biot双相介质弹性波方程和D'Alembert介质波动方程转化为关于时间-空间的一阶偏微分方程组,然后对该方程组进行DG空间离散,得到半离散化的常微分方程组.最后,对此常微分方程组,应用加权的Runge-Kutta格式进行时间推进计算.数值结果表明,DG方法可以有效地求解Biot双相介质弹性波方程和D'Alembert介质波动方程,并能很好地压制因离散求解波动方程而产生的数值频散,获得清晰的各种地震波震相.

     

Perfectly matched layer boundary conditions for frequency-domain acoustic wave simulation in the mesh-free discretization

Mesh-free discretization, flexibly distributing nodes without computationally expensive meshing process, is able to deal with staircase problem, oversampling and undersampling problems and saves plenty of nodes through distributing nodes suitably with respect to irregular boundaries and model parameters. However, the time-domain mesh-free discretization usually exhibits poorer stability than that in regular grid discretization. In order to reach unconditional stability and easy implementation in parallel computing, we develop the frequency-domain finite-difference method in a mesh-free discretization, incorporated with two perfectly matched layer boundary conditions. Furthermore, to maintain the flexibility of mesh-free discretization, the nodes are still irregularly distributed in the absorbing zone, which complicates the situation of artificial boundary reflections. In this paper, we implement frequency-domain acoustic wave modelling in a mesh-free system. First, we present the perfectly matched layer boundary condition to suppress spurious reflections. Moreover, we develop the complex frequency shifted–perfectly matched layer boundary condition to improve the attenuation of grazing waves. In addition, we employ the radial-basis-function-generated finite difference method in the mesh-free discretization to calculate spatial derivatives. The numerical experiment on a rectangle homogeneous model shows the effectiveness of the perfectly matched layer boundary condition and the complex frequency shifted–perfectly matched layer boundary condition, and the latter one is better than the former one when absorbing large angle incident waves. The experiment on the Marmousi model suggests that the complex frequency shifted–perfectly matched layer boundary condition works well for complicated models.     

Pure acoustic wave propagation in transversely isotropic media by the pseudospectral method

Seismic wave propagation in transversely isotropic (TI) media is commonly described by a set of coupled partial differential equations, derived from the acoustic approximation. These equations produce pure P‐wave responses in elliptically anisotropic media but generate undesired shear‐wave components for more general TI anisotropy. Furthermore, these equations suffer from instabilities when the anisotropy parameter ε is less than δ. One solution to both problems is to use pure acoustic anisotropic wave equations, which can produce pure P‐waves without any shear‐wave contaminations in both elliptical and anelliptical TI media. In this paper, we propose a new pure acoustic transversely isotropic wave equation, which can be conveniently solved using the pseudospectral method. Like most other pure acoustic anisotropic wave equations, our equation involves complicated pseudo‐differential operators in space which are difficult to handle using the finite difference method. The advantage of our equation is that all of its model parameters are separable from the spatial differential and pseudo‐differential operators; therefore, the pseudospectral method can be directly applied. We use phase velocity analysis to show that our equation, expressed in a summation form, can be properly truncated to achieve the desired accuracy according to anisotropy strength. This flexibility allows us to save computational time by choosing the right number of summation terms for a given model. We use numerical examples to demonstrate that this new pure acoustic wave equation can produce highly accurate results, completely free from shear‐wave artefacts. This equation can be straightforwardly generalized to tilted TI media.     

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.     

完全匹配层吸收边界在孔隙介质弹性波模拟中的应用

模拟弹性波在孔隙介质中传播,需要稳定有效的吸收边界来消除或尽可能的减小由人工边界引起的虚假反射. 本文在前人工作基础上,首次建立了弹性孔隙介质情况下完全匹配层吸收边界的高阶速度-应力交错网格有限差分算法,并详细讨论了完全匹配层的构建及其有限差分算法实现. 首先,本文通过均匀孔隙模型的数值解与解析解的对比,验证所提出的数值方法的正确性;然后,本文考察了完全匹配层对不同入射角度入射波和自由表面上的瑞利波的吸收性能,将完全匹配层与廖氏和阻尼吸收边界进行了对比,研究了这三种吸收边界在不同吸收厚度情况下对弹性波吸收能力. 数值结果表明,在孔隙介质中,完全匹配层作为吸收边界能十分有效地吸收衰减外行波,无论对体波还是面波,是一种高效边界吸收算法.     

Combined paraxial-consistent boundary conditions finite element model for simulating wave propagation in elastic half-space media

In this paper, a finite element model of a soil island is coupled to both a consistent transmitting boundary and a paraxial boundary, which are then used to model the propagation of waves in semi-infinite elastic layered media. The formulation is carried out in the frequency domain while assuming plane strain conditions. It is known that a discrete model of this type, while providing excellent results for a wide range of physical parameters in the context of a half-space problem, may deteriorate rapidly at low frequencies of excitation. This is so because at low frequencies the various waves in the model eventually attain characteristic wavelengths which exceed the distance of the bottom boundary, which then causes that boundary to fail. Also, the paraxial boundaries themselves break down at very low frequencies. In this paper, this difficulty is overcome and the model׳s performance is improved upon dramatically by incorporating an artificial buffer layer sandwiched between the bottom of the soil medium and the underlying elastic half-space. Applications dealing with rigid foundations resting on homogenous or layered half-space media are shown to exhibit significant improvement. Following extensive simulations, clear guidelines are provided on the performance of the coupled model and an interpretation is given on the engineering significance of the findings. Finally, clear recommendations are provided for the practical use of the proposed modelling strategy.