Mechanical interpretation and generalization of the Cole-Cole model in viscoelasticity

Abstract

The mechanical basis of the popular Cole-Cole rheological model in viscoelasticity is investigated by using Lagrangian mechanics with nonlinear energy dissipation. The Cole-Cole model is usually viewed as a convenient way to fit the observed frequency-dependent attenuation and velocity-dispersion spectra, but its time-domain and numerical formulations are complex and contradict standard physical principles. For example, time-domain modeling of Cole-Cole media requires special mathematical tools such as fractional derivatives, convolutional integrals, and/or memory variables. Nevertheless, we find that Cole-Cole spectra naturally arise from conventional mechanics with nonlinear internal friction (non-Newtonian viscosity). The Lagrangian mechanical formulation is applied to a finite body (a rock sample in a laboratory experiment) and a wave-propagating medium, in both cases providing rigorous differential equations of motion and revealing the time- and frequency-independent material properties. The model also leads to a generalized Cole-Cole (GCC) model with multiple internal variables (relaxation mechanisms), similar to the generalized standard linear solid (GSLS). As a practical application, the GSLS and GCC models are compared on interpretations of recent P-wave attenuation and dispersion measurements on bitumen-sand samples in the laboratory. The GSLS and GCC models can be used to predict the observed strain/stress ratios with adequate accuracy. However, each of these models offers certain advantages, which are the linearity (for GSLS) and potentially smaller number of dynamic variables and broader peaks in attenuation spectra (for GCC). Therefore, additional experiments focusing on linearity of internal friction are required to establish which of these models may be preferable for rock. The Lagrangian approach provides a simple and physically meaningful way for comparing all types of observations, formulating numerical modeling schemes, and predicting the propagation of waves and behavior of other deformations of earth media.