Multipole logging in a formation with stress‐relief‐induced anisotropy

Abstract

The stress relief associated with the drilling of a borehole may induce a mechanically damaged zone with radial transverse isotropy (RTI), where the properties in the radial direction differ from those in the axial and tangential directions. The effect of such a zone on multipole acoustic full‐waveform logging is investigated using a numerical model based on the frequency‐axial‐wavenumber method. Calculations of the spectral behavior show that the fundamental mode associated with the multipole source behaves the same way in an RTI zone as it does in a damaged zone with isotropic properties. In a slow virgin formation, calculations of full waveforms show that the presence of a damaged zone with RTI is more difficult to detect than a damaged zone with isotropic elasticity because the refracted P‐wave encounters an isotropic zone but not an RTI zone. The results indicate that a damaged zone with RTI, which is a precursor to destructive events such as borehole instability and sand production, can be detected only by analyzing the spectral behavior of the fundamental mode.