Seismoelectric Measurements Research Articles

A new electronic model of seismoelectric measurements: Theory, simulations and experimental validation

Seismoelectric (SE) measurements present low voltages signals that are difficult to detect and acquire in a quantitative way. One of the main reasons is the lack of information about the impedance seen by the electronic acquisition system while the SE effect is taking place. Knowing its nature (real or complex) and values are required to better design the electronic acquisition system, to show its limitations and also to better estimate the SE voltage in modulus and phase, i.e. being insensitive to the influence of the electronic acquisition system and contact losses linked to electrode coupling within the medium. There are electronic models that represent the electrodes used to measure these signals but no models representing the whole system output impedance during SE experiments. This is crucial because the model values change depending on many factors such as soil composition. Thus, to give an answer to the remaining questions we propose a novel electronic model of SE measurements which components values are obtained while a SE signal is propagating. We present a new theoretical-experimental method to retrieve the impedance of SE signal sources and better SE signal estimation. To validate the model we performed experiments and simulations. The results obtained present a goodness of fit of 90% between the model and the experimental measurements. They also show that the SE measurements impedance is complex and that even 1 m coaxial cable between the electrodes and the acquisition system affects considerably the SE signal. Hence, to avoid these issues we propose the use of active electrodes that include the preamplifier in the electrode itself.

Seismo-electric conversion in shale: experiment and analytical modelling

SUMMARY The development of seismo-electric exploration techniques relies critically upon the strength of the seismo-electric conversion. However, there have been very few seismo-electric measurements or modelling on shales, despite shales accounting for the majority of unconventional reservoirs. We have carried out seismo-electric measurements on Sichuan Basin shales (permeability 0.00147–0.107 mD), together with some comparative measurements on sandstones (permeability 0.2–60 mD). Experimental results show that the amplitudes of the seismo-electric coupling coefficient in shales are comparable to that exhibited by sandstones, and are approximately independent of frequency in the seismic frequency range (<1 kHz). Numerical modelling has also been used to examine the effects of varying (i) dimensionless number, (ii) porosity, (iii) permeability, (iv) tortuosity and (v) zeta potential on seismo-electric conversion in porous media. It was found that while changes in dimensionless number and permeability seem to have little effect, seismo-electric coupling coefficient is highly sensitive to changes in porosity, tortuosity and zeta potential. Numerical modelling suggests that the origin of the seismo-electric conversion in shales is enhanced zeta potentials caused by clay minerals, which are highly frequency dependent. This is supported by a comparison of our numerical modelling with our experimental data, together with an analysis of seismo-electric conversion as a function of clay mineral composition from XRD measurements. The sensitivity of seismo-electric coupling to the clay minerals suggests that seismo-electric exploration may have potential for the characterization of clay minerals in shale gas and shale oil reservoirs.

A novel approach for seismoelectric measurements using multielectrode arrangements – I: theory and numerical experiments

A novel approach for seismoelectric measurements using multielectrode arrangements – I: theory and numerical experiments

A novel approach for seismoelectric measurements using multielectrode arrangements: II—Laboratory measurements

A novel approach for seismoelectric measurements using multielectrode arrangements: II—Laboratory measurements

An experimental study of Rayleigh waves based on seismoelectric measurements

In laboratory acoustic experiments of Rayleigh waves, spatial resolution often suffers from the size effect of the acoustic receivers, which often cannot be scaled-down by the experimental wavelength used for model scaling due to the limitations of the acoustic technique. Based on scaled-down models with homogeneous and lateral inhomogeneous media, the laboratory experiments of Rayleigh waves are performed using acoustic and seismoelectric measurements, respectively. The measurements and resulting dispersion analysis indicate that the accompanying seismoelectric fields, which are measured by point-like electrodes, can represent the acoustic fields measured in the experiments by wide band acoustic receivers. Moreover, for the lateral inhomogeneous model, seismoelectric signals received by electrodes with a point-like size show more detail in the dispersion features of Rayleigh waves than do acoustic signals measured by acoustic receivers with a size close to that of the wavelength. This verifies that the receiver sizes have a great effect on the spatial resolution of the waves. The experimental results suggest a potential application of the seismoelectric conversion effect to the development of point-like and wide band receivers to improve spatial resolution as well as to meet the requirement of dispersion measurement in acoustic experiments of Rayleigh waves, for the size of electrodes with a broad bandwidth can easily be scaled down by using the same wavelength as that for the scaled-down model with little technical limitation.

Streaming potential during drainage and imbibition

AbstractThe rock pore space in many subsurface settings is saturated with water and one or more immiscible fluid phases. Examples include nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in contaminated aquifers, supercritical CO2 during sequestration in deep saline aquifers, the vadose zone, and hydrocarbon reservoirs. Self‐potential (SP) and seismoelectric (SE) methods have been proposed to monitor multiphase flow in such settings. However, to properly interpret and model these data requires an understanding of the saturation dependence of the streaming potential. This paper presents a methodology to determine the saturation dependence of the streaming potential coupling coefficient (C) and streaming current charge density (Qs) in unsteady state drainage and imbibition experiments and applies the method to published experimental data. Unsteady state experiments do not yield representative values of C and Qs (or other transport properties such as relative permeability and electrical conductivity) at partial saturation (Sw) because Sw within the sample is not uniform. An interpretation method is required to determine the saturation dependence of C and Qs within a representative elementary volume with uniform saturation. The proposed method makes no assumptions about the pore space geometry. Application of the method to published experimental data from two natural sandstone samples shows that C exhibits hysteresis between drainage and imbibition, can exhibit significant nonmonotonic variations with saturation, is nonzero at the irreducible water saturation, and can exceed the value observed at Sw = 1. Moreover, Qs increases with decreasing Sw but is not given by 1/Sw as is often assumed. The variation in Qs with Sw is very similar for a given sample and a given drainage or imbibition process, and the difference between samples is less than the difference between drainage and imbibition. The results presented here can be used to help interpret SP and SE measurements obtained in partially saturated subsurface settings.

Experimental research on seismoelectric effects in sandstone

The seismoelectric effects induced from the coupling of the seismic wave field and the electromagnetic field depend on the physical properties of the reservoir rocks. We built an experimental apparatus to measure the seismoelectric effects in saturated sandstone samples. We recorded the seismoelectric signals induced by P-waves and studied the attenuation of the seismoelectric signals induced at the sandstone interface. The analysis of the seismoelectric effects suggests that the minimization of the potential difference between the reference potential and the baseline potential of the seismoelectric disturbance area is critical to the accuracy of the seismoelectric measurements and greatly improves the detectability of the seismoelectric signals. The experimental results confirmed that the seismoelectric coupling of the seismic wave field and the electromagnetic field is induced when seismic wave propagating in a fluid-saturated porous medium. The amplitudes of the seismoelectric signals decrease linearly with increasing distance between the source and the interface, and decay exponentially with increasing distance between the receiver and the interface. The seismoelectric response of sandstone samples with different permeabilities suggests that the seismoelectric response is directly related to permeability, which should help obtaining the permeability of reservoirs in the future.

Seismoelectric measurements in a porous quartz‐sand sample with anisotropic permeability

ABSTRACTSeismoelectric coupling coefficients are difficult to predict theoretically because they depend on a large numbers of rock properties, including porosity, permeability, tortuosity, etc. The dependence of the coupling coefficient on rock properties such as permeability requires experimental data. In this study, we carry out a set of laboratory measurements to determine the dependence of seismoelectric coupling coefficient on permeability. We use both an artificial porous “sandstone” sample, with cracks, built using quartz‐sand and Berea sandstone samples. The artificial sample is a cube with 39% porosity. Its permeability levels are anisotropic: 14.7 D, 13.8 D, and 8.3 D in the x‐, y‐, and z‐directions, respectively. Seismoelectric measurements are performed in a water tank in the frequency range of 20 kHz–90 kHz. A piezoelectric P‐wave source is used to generate an acoustic wave that propagates through the sample from the three different (x, y, and z) directions. The amplitudes of the seismoelectric signal induced by the acoustic waves vary with the direction. The highest signal is in the direction of the highest permeability, and the lowest signal is in the direction of the lowest permeability. Since the porosity of the sample is constant, the results directly show the dependence of seismoelectric coefficients on permeability. Seismoelectric measurements with natural rocks are performed using Berea sandstone 500 and 100 samples. Because the Berea samples are nearly isotropic in permeability, the amplitudes of the seismoelectric signals induced in the different directions are the same within the measurement error. Because the permeability of Berea 500 is higher than that of Berea 100, the amplitude of the seismoelectric signals induced in Berea 500 is higher than those in Berea 100. To determine the relative contributions of porosity and permeability on seismoelectric conversion, we carried out an analysis, using Pride (1994) formulation and Kozeny–Carman relationship; the normalized amplitudes of seismoelectric coupling coefficients in three directions are calculated and compared with the experimental results. The results show that the seismoelectric conversion is related to permeability in the frequency range of measurements. This is an encouraging result since it opens the possibility of determining the permeability of a formation from seismoelectric measurements.

Seismoelectric couplings in a poroelastic material containing two immiscible fluid phases

A new approach of seismoelectric imaging has been recently proposed to detect saturation fronts in which seismic waves are focused in the subsurface to scan its heterogeneous nature and determine saturation fronts. Such type of imaging requires however a complete modelling of the seismoelectric properties of porous media saturated by two immiscible fluid phases, one being usually electrically insulating (for instance water and oil). We combine an extension of Biot dynamic theory, valid for porous media containing two immiscible Newtonian fluids, with an extension of the electrokinetic theory based on the notion of effective volumetric charge densities dragged by the flow of each fluid phase. These effective charge densities can be related directly to the permeability and saturation of each fluid phase. The coupled partial differential equations are solved with the finite element method. We also derive analytically the transfer function connecting the macroscopic electrical field to the acceleration of the fast P wave (coseismic electrical field) and we study the influence of the water content on this coupling. We observe that the amplitude of the co-seismic electrical disturbance is very sensitive to the water content with an increase in amplitude with water saturation. We also investigate the seismoelectric conversions (interface effect) occurring at the water table. We show that the conversion response at the water table can be identifiable only when the saturation contrasts between the vadose and saturated zones are sharp enough. A relatively dry vadose zone represents the best condition to identify the water table through seismoelectric measurements. Indeed, in this case, the coseismic electrical disturbances are vanishingly small compared to the seismoelectric interface response.

An analytical study of seismoelectric signals produced by 1-D mesoscopic heterogeneities

The presence of mesoscopic heterogeneities in fluid-saturated porous rocks can produce measurable seismoelectric signals due to wave-induced fluid flow between regions of differing compressibility. The dependence of these signals on the petrophysical and structural characteristics of the probed rock mass remains largely unexplored. In this work, we derive an analytical solution to describe the seismoelectric response of a rock sample, containing a horizontal layer at its center, that is subjected to an oscillatory compressibility test. We then adapt this general solution to compute the seismoelectric signature of a particular case related to a sample that is permeated by a horizontal fracture located at its center. Analyses of the general and particular solutions are performed to study the impact of different petrophysical and structural parameters on the seismoelectric response. We find that the amplitude of the seismoelectric signal is directly proportional to the applied stress, to the Skempton coefficient contrast between the host rock and the layer, and to a weighted average of the effective excess charge of the two materials. Our results also demonstrate that the frequency at which the maximum electrical potential amplitude prevails does not depend on the applied stress or the Skempton coefficient contrast. In presence of strong permeability variations, this frequency is rather controlled by the permeability and thickness of the less permeable material. The results of this study thus indicate that seismoelectric measurements can potentially be used to estimate key mechanical and hydraulic rock properties of mesoscopic heterogeneities, such as compressibility, permeability, and fracture compliance.

Seismoelectric wave propagation numerical modelling in partially saturated materials

To better understand and interpret seismoelectric measurements acquired over vadose environments, both the existing theory and the wave propagation modelling programmes, available for saturated materials, should be extended to partial saturation conditions. We propose here an extension of Pride's equations aiming to take into account partially saturated materials, in the case of a water-air mixture. This new set of equations was incorporated into an existing seismoelectric wave propagation modelling code, originally designed for stratified saturated media. This extension concerns both the mechanical part, using a generalization of the Biot-Gassmann theory, and the electromagnetic part, for which dielectric permittivity and electrical conductivity were expressed against water saturation. The dynamic seismoelectric coupling was written as a function of the streaming potential coefficient, which depends on saturation, using four different relations derived from recent laboratory or theoretical studies. In a second part, this extended programme was used to synthesize the seismoelectric response for a layered medium consisting of a partially saturated sand overburden on top of a saturated sandstone half-space. Subsequent analysis of the modelled amplitudes suggests that the typically very weak interface response (IR) may be best recovered when the shallow layer exhibits low saturation. We also use our programme to compute the seismoelectric response of a capillary fringe between a vadose sand overburden and a saturated sand half-space. Our first modelling results suggest that the study of the seismoelectric IR may help to detect a sharp saturation contrast better than a smooth saturation transition. In our example, a saturation contrast of 50 per cent between a fully saturated sand half-space and a partially saturated shallow sand layer yields a stronger IR than a stepwise decrease in saturation.

Artificial neural network forward modelling and inversion of electrokinetic logging data

ABSTRACTAn artificial neural network method is proposed as a computationally economic alternative to numerical simulation by the Biot theory for predicting borehole seismoelectric measurements given a set of formation properties. Borehole seismoelectric measurements are simulated using a finite element forward model, which solves the Biot equations together with an equation for the streaming potential. The results show that the neural network method successfully predicts the streaming potentials at each detector, even when the input pressures are contaminated with 10% Gaussian noise. A fast inversion methodology is subsequently developed in order to predict subsurface material properties such as porosity and permeability from streaming potential measurements. The predicted permeability and porosity results indicate that the method predictions are more accurate for the permeability predictions, with the inverted permeabilities being in excellent agreement with the actual permeabilities. This approach was finally verified by using data from a field experiment. The predicted permeability results seem to predict the basic trends in permeabilities from a packer test. As expected from synthetic results, the predicted porosity is less accurate. Investigations are also carried out to predict the zeta potential. The predicted zeta potentials are in agreement with values obtained through experimental self potential measurements.

Seismoelectric measurements in rock samples and borehole models

A seismic wave propagating in a fluid-saturated porous rock generates relative movement between the rock matrix and the fluid. Because of the electric double layer between fluid and rock, the moving charge produces an electric field. The magnitude of the induced electric field (i. e. seismoelectric conversion) depends on rock and fluid properties, pore geometry, and seismic wave frequency. To study the seismoelectric coupling coefficients, we conducted a series of laboratory experiments in several kinds of rock samples using transient seismic waves and measuring the electric field. Experimental results show that borehole acoustic waves generate seismoelectric fields in fluid-saturated formations. The seismoelectric fields can be detected by an electrode in the borehole. The amplitude of the seismoelectric field is related not only to the seismic wave, but also to the properties of formation such as permeability, conductivity, etc. For example, the seismoelectric conversion increases as the porosity and permeability of the rock samples increase. Seismoelectric and seismomagnetic fields generated by seismic waves in fluid-saturated fractured borehole models are experimentally investigated with an electrode and a Hall-effect sensor. In a borehole with a horizontal fracture, the Stoneley waves induce seismoelectric and seismomagnetic fields in the borehole and an electromagnetic wave propagates at light speed along the borehole.

Electroseismic and seismoelectric measurements of rock samples in a water tank

An electromagnetic (EM) or seismic wave can induce seismic or EM waves because of the electrokinetic conversion based on the electric double layer in a fluid-saturated porous medium. We tested a new method for observing electroseismic and seismoelectric conversions in rock samples. Our method is designed to overcome the shortcoming of previous attempts to separate signals generated by a continuous electric or seismic source in a small container. We first observed acoustic fields around electrodes excited by an electric pulse in a water tank or in a water-saturated porous sample. In our approach, we immersed rock samples in a water tank and measure the seismic or electric responses using electric or acoustic pulses conveyed through the immersed electrodes or hydrophone. We measured electroseismic- and seismoelectric-frequency responses in Berea Sandstone and Westerly Granite samples at a frequency range of [Formula: see text]. The measurements clearly separate the effects of the electric source, background noises, and signals. We calculate the normalized electroseismic and seismoelectric coupling coefficients for rock samples and confirm our results by comparing them with those theoretically simulated in a closed-capillary model. The variation of normalized coupling coefficients in the frequency domain is similar to that in theoretical predictions. Our measurement method can be used to investigate electroseismic and seismoelectric properties for petroleum exploration applications.

Crosshole seismoelectric measurements in borehole models with fractures

Laboratory experiments are performed in cross‐borehole models with fractures to investigate seismoelectric conversions in the fractures. Using an electrode in a borehole, we measure the electric field induced by an acoustic wave, and we investigate the relationship between the electric signal and the fracture aperture using ultrasonic fracture borehole models. The experimental results confirm that a radiating electromagnetic (EM) wave is induced by a guide wave at a fracture between an acoustic source and electric receiver boreholes. The position of a vertical or inclined fracture between two boreholes can be determined using the arrival times of the EM wave and the formation velocity by placing the acoustic source at a different depth and recording electric signals with real or synthetic arrays of acoustic and electric receivers in the second borehole. Crosshole seismoelectric measurements might be a technique for investigating fractures between boreholes more directly than traditional acoustic measurements.

Experimental studies of seismoelectric conversions in fluid‐saturated porous media

When seismic waves generate a relative fluid‐solid motion in a fluid‐saturated porous medium, the moving charges (streaming current) in the electric double layer induce an electromagnetic (EM) field. This paper first experimentally confirms that the coupling between the seismic wave and the electromagnetic field in the kilohertz range is electrokinetic in nature. Seismoelectric signals are measured in homogeneous cylindrical porous rock samples and multilayered models. The seismoelectric signals in homogeneous rock are electric fields that move along with the acoustic wave. The mechanism of the seismoelectric conversion is completely different from the piezoelectric effect of quartz grains. The seismoelectric sensitivity with respect to salinity of the saturant has been experimentally determined. The amplitude of seismoelectric signals increases as the saturant conductivity decreases. The seismoelectric effects are generated by two different mechanisms. Both the EM radiation and the electric potential generated at an interface and within a porous medium, respectively, were measured as the P wave, at ultrasonic frequencies, passes through the layered models. Our experimental results demonstrate that seismoelectric effects exist and are measurable in the kilohertz range. The paper concludes with a comparison of experimental data and modeled data in a three‐layer porous model. Seismoelectric measurements could be an effective means of obtaining transport coefficients such as hydraulic permeability and other porous rock properties.