Fluid-saturated Porous Formation Research Articles

Simulation of Monopole and Multipole Seismoelectric Logging

In a fluid‐saturated porous formation, acoustics and electromagnetic waves are coupled based on Pride seismoelectric theory. An exact treatment of the nonaxisymmetric seismoelectric field excited by acoustic multipole sources is presented. The frequency wavenumber domain representations of the acoustic field and associated seismoelectric field due to acoustic multipole sources are formulated. The full waveforms of acoustic waves and electric and magnetic fields in the time domain propagation in borehole are simulated by using discrete wave number integration, and frequency versus axial‐wave number responses are presented and analyzed.

Borehole guided waves in a non-Newtonian (Maxwell) fluid-saturated porous medium

The property of acoustic guided waves generated in a fluid-filled borehole surrounded by a non-Newtonian (Maxwell) fluid-saturated porous formation with a permeable wall is investigated. The influence of non-Newtonian effects on acoustic guided waves such as Stoneley waves, pseudo-Rayleigh waves, flexural waves, and screw waves propagations in a fluid-filled borehole is demonstrated based on the generalized Biot–Tsiklauri model by calculating their velocity dispersion and attenuation coefficients. The corresponding acoustic waveforms illustrate their properties in time domain. The results are also compared with those based on generalized Biot's theory. The results show that the influence of non-Newtonian effect on acoustic guided wave, especially on the attenuation coefficient of guided wave propagation in borehole is noticeable.

Finite-difference modeling of the monopole acoustic logs in a horizontally stratified porous formation

Monopole acoustic logs in a homogeneous fluid-saturated porous formation can be simulated by the real-axis integration (RAI) method to analytically solve Biot's equations [(1956a) J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 28, 168-178; (1956b) J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 28, 179-191; (1962) J. Appl. Phys. 33, 1482-1498], which govern the wave propagation in poro-elastic media. Such analytical solution generally is impossible for horizontally stratified formations which are common in reality. In this paper, a velocity-stress finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm is proposed to solve the problem. This algorithm considers both the low-frequency viscous force and the high-frequency inertial force in poro-elastic media, extending its application to a wider frequency range compared to existing algorithms which are only valid in the low-frequency limit. The perfectly matched layer (PML) is applied as an absorbing boundary condition to truncate the computational region. A PML technique without splitting the fields is extended to the poro-elastic wave problem. The FDTD algorithm is validated by comparisons against the RAI method in a variety of formations with different velocities and permeabilities. The acoustic logs in a horizontally stratified porous formation are simulated with the proposed FDTD algorithm.

Finite-difference modeling of the electroseismic logging in a fluid-saturated porous formation

In a fluid-saturated porous medium, an electromagnetic (EM) wavefield induces an acoustic wavefield due to the electrokinetic effect. A potential geophysical application of this effect is electroseismic (ES) logging, in which the converted acoustic wavefield is received in a fluid-filled borehole to evaluate the parameters of the porous formation around the borehole. In this paper, a finite-difference scheme is proposed to model the ES logging responses to a vertical low frequency electric dipole along the borehole axis. The EM field excited by the electric dipole is calculated separately by finite-difference first, and is considered as a distributed exciting source term in a set of extended Biot’s equations for the converted acoustic wavefield in the formation. This set of equations is solved by a modified finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm that allows for the calculation of dynamic permeability so that it is not restricted to low-frequency poroelastic wave problems. The perfectly matched layer (PML) technique without splitting the fields is applied to truncate the computational region. The simulated ES logging waveforms approximately agree with those obtained by the analytical method. The FDTD algorithm applies also to acoustic logging simulation in porous formations.

Numerical Simulation of Shear-Horizontal-Wave-Induced Electromagnetic Field in Borehole Surrounded by Porous Formation

Seismoelectric field excited by purely torsional loading applied directly to the borehole wall is considered. A brief formulation and some computed waveforms show the advantage of using shear-horizontal (SH) transverse-electric (TE) seismoelectric waves logging to measure shear velocity in a fluid-saturated porous formation. By assuming that the acoustic field is not influenced by its induced electromagnetic field due to seismoelectric effect, the coupling governing equations for electromagnetic field are reduced to Maxwell equations with a propagation current source. It is shown that this simplification is valid and the borehole seismoelectric conversion efficient is mainly dependent on the electrokinetic coupling coefficient. The receivers to detect the conversion electromagnetic field and to obtain shear velocity can be set in the borehole fluid in the SH-TE seismoelectric wave log.

Theoretical simulation of electroacoustic borehole logging in a fluid-saturated porous formation

Electroacoustic (E-A) logging describes the acoustic response to an electromagnetic (EM) source in a fluid-filled borehole surrounded by a porous medium. The E-A response is simulated by two different methods in this paper. In the coupled method, the EM field and the acoustic field are modeled using Pride's model, which couples Maxwell's equations and Biot's equations. In the uncoupled method, the EM field is uninfluenced by the converted acoustic field, resulting in separate acoustic formulation with an electrokinetic source term derived from the primary EM field. The difference of the transient full waveforms between the above two methods is remarkably small for all examples, thus confirming the validity of using the computationally simpler uncoupled method. It is shown from the simulated waveforms that an EM-accompanying acoustic field is coupled to the EM field and appears with an apparent phase velocity of the EM wave in the formation. Acoustic waves with the conventional acoustic velocities are also seen in the converted full waveforms. For the sandstone models used in this paper, when permeability is less than 1 Darcy, the E-A Stoneley wave amplitude increases with porosity, which is different from that in conventional acoustic-to-acoustic logging.