Experimental and theoretical analysis of finely bedded porous rock models with internal cracks

Abstract

The behavior of ultrasonic waves in synthetic rocks consisting of alternating layers of sand-based (porous and permeable) and acrylic (unporous) materials is investigated. Two synthetic layered media are created, one without cracks and the other with parallel cracks in one of the layers, to increase anisotropy and simulate a heterogeneous transversely isotropic medium with a vertical axis of symmetry. Microcomputed tomography is used to obtain images of the samples, which indicate that there are no bubbles present and that the layers are well connected without any gaps or breaks. The experiment uses ultrasonic measurements to determine the propagation of P and S waves, with transducers at frequencies of 100 kHz, 500 kHz, and 1 MHz for traveltime and waveform measurements. These three sources are chosen to verify the effective behavior of the samples, which depends on the relationship between the dominant wavelength of investigation and the layer thickness ([Formula: see text]). The measured velocities are compared with theoretical models based on Backus, Kennett (traditional models), and Backus (modified for cracked media by Schoenberg and Muir’s theory). The main finding is that the cracked medium exhibits at least twice as large a difference in behavior for P- and S-wave vertical velocities as a function of the number of layers compared with the uncracked medium.