Angular and Frequency-Dependent Wave Velocity and Attenuation in Fractured Porous Media

Wave-induced fluid flow generates a dominant attenuation mechanism in porous media. It consists of energy loss due to P-wave conversion to Biot (diffusive) modes at mesoscopic-scale inhomogeneities. Fractured poroelastic media show significant attenuation and velocity dispersion due to this mechanism. The theory has first been developed for the symmetry axis of the equivalent transversely isotropic (TI) medium corresponding to a poroelastic medium containing planar fractures. In this work, we consider the theory for all propagation angles by obtaining the five complex and frequency-dependent stiffnesses of the equivalent TI medium as a function of frequency. We assume that the flow direction is perpendicular to the layering plane and is independent of the loading direction. As a consequence, the behaviour of the medium can be described by a single relaxation function. We first consider the limiting case of an open (highly permeable) fracture of negligible thickness. We then compute the associated wave velocities and quality factors as a function of the propagation direction (phase and ray angles) and frequency. The location of the relaxation peak depends on the distance between fractures (the mesoscopic distance), viscosity, permeability and fractures compliances. The flow induced by wave propagation affects the quasi-shear (qS) wave with levels of attenuation similar to those of the quasi-compressional (qP) wave.On the other hand, a general fracture can be modeled as a sequence of poroelastic layers, where one of the layers is very thin. Modeling fractures of different thickness filled with CO2 embedded in a background medium saturated with a stiffer fluid also shows considerable attenuation and velocity dispersion. If the fracture and background frames are the same, the equivalent medium is isotropic, but strong wave anisotropy occurs in the case of a frameless and highly permeable fracture material, for instance a suspension of solid particles in the fluid

Numerical experiments of fracture-induced velocity and attenuation anisotropy

Fractures are common in the Earth's crust due to different factors, for instance, tectonic stresses and natural or artificial hydraulic fracturing caused by a pressurized fluid. A dense set of fractures behaves as an effective long-wavelength anisotropic medium, leading to azimuthally varying velocity and attenuation of seismic waves. Effective in this case means that the predominant wavelength is much longer than the fracture spacing. Here, fractures are represented by surface discontinuities in the displacement u and particle velocity v as [κ · u + η · v], where the brackets denote the discontinuity across the surface, κ is a fracture stiffness and η is a fracture viscosity. We consider an isotropic background medium, where a set of fractures are embedded. There exists an analytical solution-with five stiffness components-for equispaced plane fractures and an homogeneous background medium. The theory predicts that the equivalent medium is transversely isotropic and viscoelastic. We then perform harmonic numerical experiments to compute the stiffness components as a function of frequency, by using a Galerkin finite-element procedure, and obtain the complex velocities of the medium as a function of frequency and propagation direction, which provide the phase velocities, energy velocities (wavefronts) and quality factors. The algorithm is tested with the analytical solution and then used to obtain the stiffness components for general heterogeneous cases, where fractal variations of the fracture compliances and background stiffnesses are considered.Este documento tiene una corrección (ver documento relacionado).Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Anisotropic poroelasticity and wave-induced fluid flow: Harmonic finite-element simulations

A dominant P-wave attenuation mechanism in reservoir rocks at seismic frequencies is due to wave-induced fluid flow (mesoscopic loss). The P-wave induces a fluid-pressure difference at mesoscopic-scale inhomogeneities (larger than the pore size but smaller than the wavelength), generating fluid flow and slow (diffusion) Biot waves. The theory has been developed in the 1970s for the symmetry axis of the equivalent transversely isotropic (TI) medium corresponding to a finely layered medium, and has recently been generalized to all propagation angles. The new theory states that the fluid-flow direction is perpendicular to the layering plane and it is independent of the loading direction. As a consequence, the relaxation behaviour can be described by a single relaxation function, since the medium consists of plane homogeneous layers. Besides P-wave losses, the coupling between the qP and qSV waves generates shear-wave anisotropic velocity dispersion and attenuation. In this work, we introduce a set of quasi-static numerical experiments to determine the equivalent viscoelastic TI medium to a finely layered poroelastic medium, which is validated using a recently developed analytical solution. The modelling technique is the finite-element (FE) method, where the equations of motion are solved in the space-frequency domain. Numerical rock physics may, in many circumstances, offer an alternative to laboratory measurements. Numerical experiments are inexpensive and informative since the physical process of wave propagation can be inspected during the experiment. Moreover, they are repeatable, essentially free from experimental errors, and may easily be run using alternative models of the rock and fluid properties. We apply the methodology to the Utsira aquifer of the North Sea, where carbon dioxide (CO2) has been injected during the last 15 years. The tests consider alternating layers of the same rock saturated with gas and brine and a sequence of gas-saturated sandstone and mudstone layers, which represent possible models of the reservoir and cap rock of the aquifer system. The numerical examples confirm the new theory and illustrate the implementation of the harmonic tests to determine the complex and frequency-dependent effective stiffnesses and the associated wave velocities and quality factors.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Numerical experiments of fracture-induced velocity and attenuation anisotropy

Fractures are common in the Earth's crust due to different factors, for instance, tectonic stresses and natural or artificial hydraulic fracturing caused by a pressurized fluid. A dense set of fractures behaves as an effective long-wavelength anisotropic medium, leading to azimuthally varying velocity and attenuation of seismic waves. Effective in this case means that the predominant wavelength is much longer than the fracture spacing. Here, fractures are represented by surface discontinuities in the displacement u and particle velocity v as [κ · u + η · v], where the brackets denote the discontinuity across the surface, κ is a fracture stiffness and η is a fracture viscosity. We consider an isotropic background medium, where a set of fractures are embedded. There exists an analytical solution-with five stiffness components-for equispaced plane fractures and an homogeneous background medium. The theory predicts that the equivalent medium is transversely isotropic and viscoelastic. We then perform harmonic numerical experiments to compute the stiffness components as a function of frequency, by using a Galerkin finite-element procedure, and obtain the complex velocities of the medium as a function of frequency and propagation direction, which provide the phase velocities, energy velocities (wavefronts) and quality factors. The algorithm is tested with the analytical solution and then used to obtain the stiffness components for general heterogeneous cases, where fractal variations of the fracture compliances and background stiffnesses are considered.Este documento tiene una corrección (ver documento relacionado).Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Numerical simulation of two-phase fluid flow

We simulate two-phase fluid flow using a stress–strain relation based on Biot’s theory of poroelasticity for partial saturation combined with the mass conservation equations. To uncouple flow and elastic strain, we use a correction to the stiffness of the medium under conditions of uniaxial strain. The pressure and saturation differential equations are then solved with an explicit time stepping scheme and the Fourier pseudospectral method to compute the spatial derivatives. We assume an initial pressure state and at each time step compute the wetting- and non wetting-fluid pressures at a given saturation. Then, we solve Richards’s equation for the non wetting-fluid saturation and proceed to the next time step with the updated saturations values. The pressure and saturation equations are first solved separately and the results compared to known analytical solutions showing the accuracy of the algorithm. Then, the coupled system is solved. In all the cases, the non-wetting fluid is injected at a given point in space as a boundary condition and capillarity effects are taken into account. The examples consider oil injection in a water-saturated porous medium.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Numerical simulation of two-phase fluid flow

We simulate two-phase fluid flow using a stress–strain relation based on Biot’s theory of poroelasticity for partial saturation combined with the mass conservation equations. To uncouple flow and elastic strain, we use a correction to the stiffness of the medium under conditions of uniaxial strain. The pressure and saturation differential equations are then solved with an explicit time stepping scheme and the Fourier pseudospectral method to compute the spatial derivatives. We assume an initial pressure state and at each time step compute the wetting- and non wetting-fluid pressures at a given saturation. Then, we solve Richards’s equation for the non wetting-fluid saturation and proceed to the next time step with the updated saturations values. The pressure and saturation equations are first solved separately and the results compared to known analytical solutions showing the accuracy of the algorithm. Then, the coupled system is solved. In all the cases, the non-wetting fluid is injected at a given point in space as a boundary condition and capillarity effects are taken into account. The examples consider oil injection in a water-saturated porous medium.Fil: Carcione, Jose M.. Instituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale; ItaliaFil: Picotti, Stefano. Instituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale; ItaliaFil: Santos, Juan Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto del Gas y del Petróleo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina. Purdue University; Estados UnidosFil: Qadrouh, Ayman. King Abdulaziz City For Science And Technology; Arabia SauditaFil: Almalki, Hashim S.. King Abdulaziz City For Science And Technology; Arabia Saudit

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Anisotropic poroelasticity and wave-induced fluid flow: Harmonic finite-element simulations

A dominant P-wave attenuation mechanism in reservoir rocks at seismic frequencies is due to wave-induced fluid flow (mesoscopic loss). The P-wave induces a fluid-pressure difference at mesoscopic-scale inhomogeneities (larger than the pore size but smaller than the wavelength), generating fluid flow and slow (diffusion) Biot waves. The theory has been developed in the 1970s for the symmetry axis of the equivalent transversely isotropic (TI) medium corresponding to a finely layered medium, and has recently been generalized to all propagation angles. The new theory states that the fluid-flow direction is perpendicular to the layering plane and it is independent of the loading direction. As a consequence, the relaxation behaviour can be described by a single relaxation function, since the medium consists of plane homogeneous layers. Besides P-wave losses, the coupling between the qP and qSV waves generates shear-wave anisotropic velocity dispersion and attenuation. In this work, we introduce a set of quasi-static numerical experiments to determine the equivalent viscoelastic TI medium to a finely layered poroelastic medium, which is validated using a recently developed analytical solution. The modelling technique is the finite-element (FE) method, where the equations of motion are solved in the space-frequency domain. Numerical rock physics may, in many circumstances, offer an alternative to laboratory measurements. Numerical experiments are inexpensive and informative since the physical process of wave propagation can be inspected during the experiment. Moreover, they are repeatable, essentially free from experimental errors, and may easily be run using alternative models of the rock and fluid properties. We apply the methodology to the Utsira aquifer of the North Sea, where carbon dioxide (CO2) has been injected during the last 15 years. The tests consider alternating layers of the same rock saturated with gas and brine and a sequence of gas-saturated sandstone and mudstone layers, which represent possible models of the reservoir and cap rock of the aquifer system. The numerical examples confirm the new theory and illustrate the implementation of the harmonic tests to determine the complex and frequency-dependent effective stiffnesses and the associated wave velocities and quality factors.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Erratum: "Numerical experiments of fracture-induced velocity and attenuation anisotropy"

Este documento es una errata de "Numerical experiments of fracture-induced velocity and attenuation anisotropy" (ver documento relacionado).Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Numerical experiments of fracture-induced velocity and attenuation anisotropy

Fractures are common in the Earth's crust due to different factors, for instance, tectonic stresses and natural or artificial hydraulic fracturing caused by a pressurized fluid. A dense set of fractures behaves as an effective long-wavelength anisotropic medium, leading to azimuthally varying velocity and attenuation of seismic waves. Effective in this case means that the predominant wavelength is much longer than the fracture spacing. Here, fractures are represented by surface discontinuities in the displacement u and particle velocity v as [κ · u + η · v], where the brackets denote the discontinuity across the surface, κ is a fracture stiffness and η is a fracture viscosity. We consider an isotropic background medium, where a set of fractures are embedded. There exists an analytical solution-with five stiffness components-for equispaced plane fractures and an homogeneous background medium. The theory predicts that the equivalent medium is transversely isotropic and viscoelastic. We then perform harmonic numerical experiments to compute the stiffness components as a function of frequency, by using a Galerkin finite-element procedure, and obtain the complex velocities of the medium as a function of frequency and propagation direction, which provide the phase velocities, energy velocities (wavefronts) and quality factors. The algorithm is tested with the analytical solution and then used to obtain the stiffness components for general heterogeneous cases, where fractal variations of the fracture compliances and background stiffnesses are considered.Este documento tiene una corrección (ver documento relacionado).Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica