Dielectric properties of fractured carbonate rocks from finite-difference modeling

Abstract

Fractures are common features in virtually all types of geologic rocks and tend to dominate their mechanical and hydraulic properties. Detection and characterization of fractures in rocks are of interest to a variety of geophysical applications. We have investigated the frequency-dependent dielectric properties of fractured porous carbonate rocks in the frequency range [Formula: see text] and their relationships with different types of fluids filling the fractures, fracture connectivity, and directions of electrical field applied to the rocks using numerical simulation methods based on a 3D finite-difference model. We tested the validity of the modeling method on a spherical-shell model with the theoretical analytical solutions. The two fractures in the two digital carbonate rocks have the same length, but in one rock, they intersect and in the other sample they do not. The fractures in the brine-saturated digital rocks are filled either with oil or with the same brine as in the background rock. We found that although conductivity and relative permittivity are sensitive to the fracture-filling fluids, the dielectric loss factor is the best parameter discriminating the fluids. When filled with brine, the fracture connectivity does not affect the dielectric properties of the rocks. When filled with oil, the fracture connectivity can only be detected if the electrical field is parallel to the longer fracture orientation. The results provide new insights into the frequency-dependent dielectric responses of fractured sedimentary rocks and will help with the interpretation of the dielectric data acquired from rocks with fractures.