Compressional head waves in attenuative formations

Abstract

The attenuation of compressional head waves in a fluid-filled borehole is studied with the branch-cut integration method. The borehole fluid and solid formation are both assumed lossy with quality factors Q{sub f}({omega}) for the fluid, and Q{sub c}({omega}) and Q{sub s}({omega}) for the compressional and shear waves in the solid, respectively. The branch-cut integration method used in this work is an extension of that for a lossless medium. With this branch-cut integration method, the authors can isolate the groups of individual arrivals such as the compressional head waves and shear head waves, and study the attenuation of those particular wavefields in lossy media. This study, coupled with experimental work to be performed, may result in an effective way of measuring compressional head wave attenuation in the field.