Quantifying Damage, Saturation and Anisotropy in Cracked Rocks by Inverting Elastic Wave Velocities

Crack damage results in a decrease of elastic wave velocities and in the development of anisotropy. Using non-interactive crack effective medium theory as a fundamental tool, we calculate dry and wet elastic properties of cracked rocks in terms of a crack density tensor, average crack aspect ratio and mean crack fabric orientation from the solid grains and fluid elastic properties. Using this same tool, we show that both the anisotropy and shear-wave splitting of elastic waves can be derived. Two simple crack distributions are considered for which the predicted anisotropy depends strongly on the saturation, reaching up to 60% in the dry case. Comparison with experimental data on two granites, a basalt and a marble, shows that the range of validity of the non-interactive effective medium theory model extends to a total crack density of approximately 0.5, considering symmetries up to orthorhombic. In the isotropic case, Kachanov's (1994) non-interactive effective medium model was used in order to invert elastic wave velocities and infer both crack density and aspect ratio evolutions. Inversions are stable and give coherent results in terms of crack density and aperture evolution. Crack density variations can be interpreted in terms of crack growth and/or changes of the crack surface contact areas as cracks are being closed or opened respectively. More importantly, the recovered evolution of aspect ratio shows an exponentially decreasing aspect ratio (and therefore aperture) with pressure, which has broader geophysical implications, in particular on fluid flow. The recovered evolution of aspect ratio is also consistent with current mechanical theories of crack closure. In the anisotropic cases—both transverse isotropic and orthorhombic symmetries were considered—anisotropy and saturation patterns were well reproduced by the modelling, and mean crack fabric orientations we recovered are consistent with in situ geophysical imaging. Our results point out that: (1) It is possible to predict damage, anisotropy and saturation in terms of a crack density tensor and mean crack aspect ratio and orientation; (2) using well constrained wave velocity data, it is possible to extrapolate the contemporaneous evolution of crack density, anisotropy and saturation using wave velocity inversion as a tool; 3) using such an inversion tool opens the door in linking elastic properties, variations to permeability.     

Changes in geophysical properties caused by fluid injection into porous rocks: analytical models

Analytical models are provided that describe how the elastic compliance, electrical conductivity, and fluid‐flow permeability of rocks depend on stress and fluid pressure. In order to explain published laboratory data on how seismic velocities and electrical conductivity vary in sandstones and granites, the models require a population of cracks to be present in a possibly porous host phase. The central objective is to obtain a consistent mean‐field analytical model that shows how each modeled rock property depends on the nature of the crack population. The crack populations are described by a crack density, a probability distribution for the crack apertures and radii, and the averaged orientation of the cracks. The possibly anisotropic nature of the elasticity, conductivity, and permeability tensors is allowed for; however, only the isotropic limit is used when comparing to laboratory data. For the transport properties of conductivity and permeability, the percolation effect of the crack population linking up to form a connected path across a sample is modeled. However, this effect is important only in crystalline rock where the host phase has very small conductivity and permeability. In general, the importance of the crack population to the transport properties increases as the host phase becomes less conductive and less permeable.     

Comparison of stress-dependent geophysical,hydraulic and mechanical properties of synthetic and natural sandstones for reservoir characterization and monitoring studies

Synthetic rock samples can offer advantages over natural rock samples when used for laboratory rock physical properties studies, provided their success as natural analogues is well understood. The ability of synthetic rocks to mimic the natural stress dependency of elastic wave, electrical and fluid transport properties is of primary interest. Hence, we compare a consistent set of laboratory multi-physics measurements obtained on four quartz sandstone samples (porosity range 20–25%) comprising two synthetic and two natural (Berea and Corvio) samples, the latter used extensively as standards in rock physics research. We measured simultaneously ultrasonic (P- and S-wave) velocity and attenuation, electrical resistivity, permeability and axial and radial strains over a wide range of differential pressure (confining stress 15–50 MPa; pore pressure 5–10 MPa) on the four brine saturated samples. Despite some obvious physical discrepancies caused by the synthetic manufacturing process, such as silica cementation and anisotropy, the results show only small differences in stress dependency between the synthetic and natural sandstones for all measured parameters. Stress dependency analysis of the dry samples using an isotropic effective medium model of spheroidal pores and penny-shaped cracks, together with a granular cohesion model, provide evidence of crack closure mechanisms in the natural sandstones, seen to a much lesser extent in the synthetic sandstones. The smaller grain size, greater cement content, and cementation under oedometric conditions particularly affect the fluid transport properties of the synthetic sandstones, resulting in lower permeability and higher electrical resistivity for a similar porosity. The effective stress coefficients, determined for each parameter, are in agreement with data reported in the literature. Our results for the particular synthetic materials that were tested suggest that synthetic sandstones can serve as good proxies for natural sandstones for studies of elastic and mechanical properties, but should be used with care for transport properties studies.     

孔隙、裂隙介质弹性波理论的实验研究

近年来发展起来的“孔隙、裂隙介质弹性波理论”提高了人们对实际岩石声学性质的模拟和预测的能力.作为对这一理论的实验验证和重要应用,我们将它用来模拟和解释岩石超声实验中测得的干燥和饱和岩石弹性波速度随压力的变化曲线.理论模拟的重要参数,如岩石的裂隙密度等是从实验数据反演得到的.结果表明：无论是孔隙度较高的砂岩,还是孔隙度很小的致密岩石,如花岗岩,该理论都能很好地描述岩石在干燥和饱和状态下纵、横波速度随压力的变化.造成波速变化的原因是岩石中裂隙在压力作用下的闭合和裂隙密度的减少.本文的结果还指出了将岩石裂隙密度作为描述岩石的重要物性参数,并给出了从实验室超声测量中确定这一参数的方法.     

孔、裂隙并存地层中的声波测井理论及多极子声场特征

在油、气储层的勘探和开发中观察到的一个现象是储层岩石中普遍存在孔隙和裂隙.随着近年来孔、裂隙介质弹性波动理论的进展,我们可以将此理论应用于测井技术,以此来指导从声波测井中测量孔、裂隙地层的声学参数.本文计算了孔、裂隙地层里充流体井眼中的多极子声场,分析了声场随裂隙介质的两个主要参数(即裂隙密度和裂隙纵横比)的变化特征.井孔声场的数值计算表明裂隙密度可以大幅度地降低井中声波纵、横波的波速和振幅.随着裂隙密度的增加,在测井频段内也可以看到纵、横波速的频散现象(这种频散在孔隙地层中一般是观察不到的).本文还研究了多极子模式波 (即单极的Stoneley波、伪瑞利波以及偶极的弯曲波)随裂隙参数的变化特征.结果表明,这些模式波的振幅激发和速度频散都受裂隙密度的影响.裂隙密度越高影响越大.此外,裂隙还对模式波的传播造成较大的衰减.相对裂隙密度而言,裂隙纵横比是一个频率控制参数,它控制裂隙对声场影响的频率区间.本文的分析结果对裂缝、孔隙型地层的声波测井具有指导意义.     

含孔隙、裂隙地层随钻多极子声波测井理论

储层岩石中普遍存在孔隙与裂隙,对钻井中的测井声波产生重要影响.基于孔、裂隙介质弹性波理论,导出了随钻声波测井的井孔声场表达式.据此考察了地层裂隙密度与含气饱和度的变化时井孔内随钻多极子模式波（斯通利波、弯曲波和螺旋波）的速度、衰减与灵敏度以及地层纵、横波的响应特征.裂隙密度与含气饱和度对模式波的速度频散与衰减都有影响,且两参数的值越大,影响越大.具体来说,速度对裂隙密度更敏感,而衰减对含气饱和度更敏感.具有"艾里相"特征的随钻偶极和四极子波在地层含气时产生强烈衰减,可以作为判断地层含气的一个明显指示.理论模拟与实际测井数据分析结果符合较好.     

裂缝型HTI介质的纵波弹性阻抗

裂缝发育导致的地震波场各向异性,是裂缝型油气藏的一个重要特征.然而针对该类油气藏的叠前弹性阻抗技术,一直没有通过各向异性弹性阻抗公式建立与裂缝参数的直接关系.本文在回顾封闭平行硬币状裂缝模型和线性滑动模型的基础上,将裂缝填充物性质、分布密度与围岩的横纵波速度比,引入裂缝型HTI介质弹性阻抗公式,并对相应的归一化弹性阻抗响应特征进行模拟分析.分析表明,弹性阻抗受以上三参数的影响规律存在明显差异,其中含气裂隙介质随裂缝密度的变化要明显高于对应的流体裂隙介质,流体填充裂隙介质随横、纵波速度比的变化幅度要高于对应的含气裂隙介.该结论初步为裂缝型油气藏流体识别工作提供了依据.     

具有空间分布裂缝岩石的随机介质模型

利用随机过程的谱展开理论以及Hudson等人的裂纹介质模型构造一种裂纹数密度是空间平稳随机过程的随机介质模型。这个模型可以将裂纹的微观参数(裂纹数密度)与裂纹介质的宏观性质(弹性常数)联系起来,能灵活、有效地描述实际非均匀裂纹介质。模型算例表明,弹性常数的空问分布特征与裂纹数密度的有差别,而且对不同的弹性常数影响不同。通过改编自相关长度的大小,可以模拟裂缝在两个坐标轴方向上具有不同分布尺度的情况。最后,利用高阶的交错网格有限差分方法,我们模拟了地震波在具有随机分布裂缝岩石中的传播特征。     

The dependence of transport properties ofin situ rocks on pore fluid composition and temperature

Fluids saturating cracked rocks within the crust can vary widely in composition and physical properties, which depend greatly on pressure and temperature. External non-hydrostatic stress applied to a cracked medium may result in a significant change of crack volume (and hence, for the undrained regime, pore-fluid pressure) due to the processes of crack closure (opening), and thus lead to a drastic change of the overall physical parameters of a rock. The purpose of the study is to estimate theoretically, using the effective-medium theory, the macroscopic seismic and transport parameters (such as permeability) of cracked rocks (granites) saturated with hydrocarbon gases, oils, brines and water. Variations of crack geometry and fluid parameters in the closed system (at constant fluid mass) under uniaxial compression are considered as well. The results show that composition of a saturating fluid as well as fluid temperature greatly influence the effective permeability and shear velocities of a rock mass, while thermal conductivity is not so sensitive to variations of fluid parameters.     

Properties of some rocks from the section of the Kola ultradeep borehole as a function of the P-T parameters

Using core samples of the Kola ultradeep borehole (SG-3) and their surface analogues, variations in the density and elastic properties of some crystalline rocks of the Earth’s crust are estimated by modeling of in situ conditions. It is shown that the bulk density and the elastic wave velocities in the rocks have a weak depth gradient. In the SG-3 section under consideration, this gradient is negative. The resulting dependences for estimating the variations in the properties of the crystalline rocks are suitable for the depth range from the surface to 20–30 km. The initial data for the linear approximation of the characteristics can be obtained from the results of tests of surface analogue samples. It is shown that the velocity anisotropy of the metamorphic rocks can vary within wide limits.     

碳酸盐岩孔隙结构参数构建与储层参数反演(英文)

碳酸盐岩储层孔隙结构相对碎屑岩更复杂,常用的岩石物理模型不能较好的描述其孔隙结构的变化规律,且岩石孔隙结构的差异较大程度上会影响岩石的弹性性质。本文首先利用岩石薄片分析了碳酸盐岩的微观孔隙结构。然后基于Gassmann方程和Eshelby-Walsh椭球包体裂缝理论,在合理的假设前提下给出了一种新的岩石物理建模方法,并且从中提取了一个参数来表征孔隙结构的变化规律。最后,基于全波列测井数据,我们利用该方法计算了单井的孔隙度,并与用常规方法预测的结果进行了比较,同时进行了地震储层参数反演。研究结果表明,孔隙结构对岩石的弹性性质的影响较大,且新的建模方法预测的孔隙度误差仅为0.74%。因此,该方法可有效的减小孔隙结构对计算各岩石弹性参数的影响并提高孔隙度的预测精度。     

Effective velocities in fractured media: a numerical study using the rotated staggered finite‐difference grid

The modelling of elastic waves in fractured media with an explicit finite‐difference scheme causes instability problems on a staggered grid when the medium possesses high‐contrast discontinuities (strong heterogeneities). For the present study we apply the rotated staggered grid. Using this modified grid it is possible to simulate the propagation of elastic waves in a 2D or 3D medium containing cracks, pores or free surfaces without hard‐coded boundary conditions. Therefore it allows an efficient and precise numerical study of effective velocities in fractured structures. We model the propagation of plane waves through a set of different, randomly cracked media. In these numerical experiments we vary the wavelength of the plane waves, the crack porosity and the crack density. The synthetic results are compared with several static theories that predict the effective P‐ and S‐wave velocities in fractured materials in the long wavelength limit. For randomly distributed and randomly orientated, rectilinear, non‐intersecting, thin, dry cracks, the numerical simulations of velocities of P‐, SV‐ and SH‐waves are in excellent agreement with the results of the modified (or differential) self‐consistent theory. On the other hand for intersecting cracks, the critical crack‐density (porosity) concept must be taken into account. To describe the wave velocities in media with intersecting cracks, we propose introducing the critical crack‐density concept into the modified self‐consistent theory. Numerical simulations show that this new formulation predicts effective elastic properties accurately for such a case.     

Modeling of mineralogical composition,density and elastic wave velocities in anhydrous magmatic rocks

We use the technique of direct minimization of the Gibbs free energy of the 8-component (K₂O-Na₂O-Fe₂O₃-FeO-CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂) multiphase system in order to determine the equilibrium mineral assemblages of rocks of different bulk chemical compositions equilibrated at various P-T conditions. The calculated modal compositions of rocks and experimental data on elastic moduli of single crystals are then used to calculate densities and isotropic elastic wave velocities of rocks together with their pressure and temperature derivatives. Sufficient accuracy of the calculations is confirmed by comparison with experimental data on the gabbro-eclogite transformation and precise ultrasonic measurements of elastic wave velocities in a number of magmatic and metamorphic rocks.We present calculated phase diagrams with isolines of density, elastic wave velocities, and their pressure and temperature derivatives for several anhydrous magmatic rocks, from granite to lherzolite. Density and elastic properties of rocks are controlled by their chemical compositions, especially the SiO₂ content, and by P-T of equilibration, and they increase with pressure due to mineral reactions changing mineral assemblages from plagioclase-bearing and garnet-free to garnetbearing and plagioclase-free. TheV _p -density correlation is high, and shows two clear trends: one for iron-poor ultramafic rocks and another for all the other rocks considered. Mineral reactions, which occur at high pressures, changeV _p and density of anhydrous magmatic rocks following the well-known Birch (or a similar) law.Felsic, intermediate and mafic rocks can be well distinguished in theV _p -V _p /V _s - diagram, although their values ofV _p can be close to one another. TheV _p -V _p /V _s -density diagrams together with calculated phase diagrams can serve as efficient instruments for petrologic interpretation of seismic velocities.     

Influence of Outcrop Scale Fractures on the Effective Stiffness of Fault Damage Zone Rocks

We combine detailed mapping and microstructural analyses of small fault zones in granodiorite with numerical mechanical models to estimate the effect of mesoscopic (outcrop-scale) damage zone fractures on the effective stiffness of the fault zone rocks. The Bear Creek fault zones were active at depths between 4 and 15 km and localize mesoscopic off-fault damage into tabular zones between two subparallel boundary faults, producing a fracture-induced material contrast across the boundary faults with softer rocks between the boundary faults and intact granodiorite outside the boundary faults. Using digitized fault zone fracture maps as the modeled fault geometries, we conduct nonlinear uniaxial compression tests using a novel finite-element method code as the experimental “laboratory” apparatus. Map measurements show that the fault zones have high nondimensional facture densities (>1), and damage zone fractures anastamose and intersect, making existing analytical effective medium models inadequate for estimation of the effective elastic properties. Numerical experiments show that the damage zone is strongly anisotropic and the bulk response of the fault zone is strain-weakening. Normal strains as small as 2% can induce a reduction of the overall stiffness of up to 75%. Fracture-induced effective stiffness changes are large enough to locally be greater than intact modulus changes across the fault due to juxtaposition of rocks of different lithologies; therefore mesoscopic fracturing is as important as rock type when considering material or bimaterial effects on earthquake mechanics. These results have important implications for earthquake rupture mechanics models, because mesoscopic damage zone fractures can cause a material contrast across the faults as large as any lithology-based material contrast at seismogenic depths, and the effective moduli can be highly variable during a single rupture event.     

岩石物理弹性参数规律研究

根据辽东湾凹陷某区在地层条件和不同流体相态(气饱和、水饱和等)下岩石纵波速度、横波速度及密度等岩心测试数据,以及岩石矿物成分、孔隙度等常规岩心分析数据,统计分析了岩石弹性参数变化规律.采用有效流体模型、斑块饱和模型进行了纵、横波速度理论计算,并和实验测量结果比较,认为高孔、高渗岩石可以看作有效流体模型,低孔、低渗岩石更接近斑块饱和模型.这些规律和认识对于指导储层预测和油气检测及地震振幅综合解释有重要的意义.     

The Effect of Varying Damage History in Crystalline Rocks on the P- and S-Wave Velocity under Hydrostatic Confining Pressure

Cracks play a very important role in many geotechnical issues and in a number of processes in the Earth’s crust. Elastic waves can be used as a remote sensing tool for determining crack density. The effect of varying crack density in crystalline rock on the P- and S-wave velocity and dynamic elastic properties under confining pressure has been quantified. The evolution of P- and S-wave velocity were monitored as a suite of dry Westerly granite samples were taken to 60, 70, 80 and 90 % of the unconfined uniaxial strength of the sample. The damaged samples were then subjected to hydrostatic confining pressure from 2 MPa to 200 MPa to quantify the effect of varying crack density on the P- and S-wave velocity and elastic properties under confining pressure. The opening and propagation of microcracks predominantly parallel to the loading direction during uniaxial loading caused a 0.5 and 6.3 % decrease in the P- and S-wave velocity, respectively. During hydrostatic loading, microcracks are closed at 130 MPa confining pressure. At lower pressures the amount of crack damage in the samples has a small but measureable effect. We observed a systematic 6 and 4 % reduction in P- and S-wave velocity, respectively, due to an increase in the fracture density at 2 MPa confining pressure. The overall reduction in the P- and S-wave velocity decreased to 2 and 1 %, respectively, at 50 MPa. The elastic wave velocities of samples that have a greater amount of microcrack damage are more sensitive to pressure. Effective medium modelling was used to invert elastic wave velocities and infer crack density evolution. Comparing the crack density results with experimental data on Westerly granite samples shows that the effective medium modelling used gave interpretable and reasonable results. Changes in crack density can be interpreted as closure or opening of cracks and crack growth.     

Calculation of elastic properties in lower part of the Kola borehole from bulk chemical compositions of core samples

In-situ elastic properties in deep boreholes are controlled by several factors, mainly by lithology, petrofabric, fluid-filled cracks and pores. In order to separate the effects of different factors it is useful to extract lithology-controlled part from observedin-situ velocities. For that purpose we calculated mineralogical composition and isotropic crack-free elastic properties in the lower part of the Kola borehole from bulk chemical compositions of core samples. We use a new technique of petrophysical modeling based on thermodynamic approach. The reasonable accuracy of the modeling is confirmed by comparison with the observations of mineralogical composition and laboratory measurements of density and elastic wave velocities in upper crustal crystalline rocks at high confining pressure. Calculations were carried out for 896 core samples from the depth segment of 6840–10535m. Using these results we estimate density and crack-free isotropic elastic properties of 554 lithology-defined layers composing this depth segment. Average synthetic P- wave velocity appears to be 2.7% higher than the velocity from Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP), and 5% higher than sonic log velocity. Average synthetic S-wave velocity is 1.4 % higher than that from VSP. These differences can be explained by superposition of effects of fabric-related anisotropy, cracks aligned parallel to the foliation plain, and randomly oriented cracks, with the effect of cracks being the predominant control. Low sonic log velocities are likely caused by drilling-induced cracking (hydrofractures) in the borehole walls. The calculated synthetic density and velocity cross-sections can be used for much more detailed interpretations, for which, however, new, more detailed and reliable seismic data are required.     

Effect of supercritical CO2 on carbonates: Savonnières sample case study

CO₂ geosequestration is an efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Carbonate rock formations are one of the possible targets for CO₂ sequestration due to their relative abundance and ability to serve as a natural trapping reservoir. The injected supercritical CO₂ can change properties of the reservoir rocks such as porosity, permeability, tortuosity, and specific surface area due to dissolution and precipitation processes. This, in turn, affects the reservoir characteristics, i.e., their elastic properties, storage capacity, stability, etc. The tremendous progresses made recently in both microcomputed X‐ray tomography and high‐performance computing make numerical simulation of physical processes on actual rock microstructures feasible. However, carbonate rocks with their extremely complex microstructure and the presence of microporosity that is below the resolution of microcomputed X‐ray tomography scanners require novel, quite specific image processing and numerical simulation approaches. In the current work, we studied the effects of supercritical CO₂ injection on microstructure and elastic properties of a Savonnières limestone. We used microtomographic images of two Savonnières samples, i.e., one in its natural state and one after injection and residence of supercritical CO₂. A statistical analysis of the microtomographic images showed that the injection of supercritical CO₂ led to an increase in porosity and changes of the microstructure, i.e., increase of the average volume of individual pores and decrease in the total number of pores. The CO₂ injection/residence also led to an increase in the mean radii of pore throats, an increase in the length of pore network segments, and made the orientation distribution of mesopores more isotropic. Numerical simulations showed that elastic moduli for the sample subjected to supercritical CO₂ injection/residence are lower than those for the intact sample.     

Acoustic reverberation in a logging tool-borehole-saturated porous medium system

The influence of the elastic and hydrodynamic properties of a rock on the time attenuation coefficient of an acoustic wave, which is reflected from the borehole wall, is considered using the methods of the mechanics of saturated porous media. The calculations were performed for a system consisting of an acoustic logging tool of a finite with a finite diameter, a fluid-filled borehole, and a porous permeable rock. The performed simulation showed that in rocks with a low hydrodynamic permeability, the acoustic-reverberation time is determined by the acoustic impedance of the borehole wall (product of the rock density and the longitudinal-wave velocity in it). In the case of rocks with a permeability of about several hundred millidarcy, the time signal’s attenuation coefficient substantially depends on the rock’s permeability.     

Numerical estimation of carbonate rock properties using multiscale images

Characterizing the pore space of rock samples using three‐dimensional (3D) X‐ray computed tomography images is a crucial step in digital rock physics. Indeed, the quality of the pore network extracted has a high impact on the prediction of rock properties such as porosity, permeability and elastic moduli. In carbonate rocks, it is usually very difficult to find a single image resolution which fully captures the sample pore network because of the heterogeneities existing at different scales. Hence, to overcome this limitation a multiscale analysis of the pore space may be needed. In this paper, we present a method to estimate porosity and elastic properties of clean carbonate (without clay content) samples from 3D X‐ray microtomography images at multiple resolutions. We perform a three‐phase segmentation to separate grains, pores and unresolved porous phase using 19 μm resolution images of each core plug. Then, we use images with higher resolution (between 0.3 and 2 μm) of microplugs extracted from the core plug samples. These subsets of images are assumed to be representative of the unresolved phase. We estimate the porosity and elastic properties of each sample by extrapolating the microplug properties to the whole unresolved phase. In addition, we compute the absolute permeability using the lattice Boltzmann method on the microplug images due to the low resolution of the core plug images. In order to validate the results of the numerical simulations, we compare our results with available laboratory measurements at the core plug scale. Porosity average simulations for the eight samples agree within 13%. Permeability numerical predictions provide realistic values in the range of experimental data but with a higher relative error. Finally, elastic moduli show the highest disagreements, with simulation error values exceeding 150% for three samples.