Experimental verification of the fracture density and shear-wave splitting relationship using synthetic silica cemented sandstones with a controlled fracture geometry

P. Tillotson, J. Sothcott, A.I. Best, M. Chapman, X.-Y. Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We present laboratory ultrasonic measurements of shear-wave splitting from two synthetic silica cemented sandstones. The manufacturing process, which enabled silica cementation of quartz sand grains, was found to produce realistic sandstones of average porosity 29.7 ± 0.5% and average permeability 29.4 ± 11.3 mD. One sample was made with a regular distribution of aligned, penny-shaped voids to simulate meso-scale fractures in reservoir rocks, while the other was left blank. Ultrasonic shear waves were measured with a propagation direction of 90° to the coincident bedding plane and fracture normal. In the water saturated blank sample, shear-wave splitting, the percentage velocity difference between the fast and slow shear waves, of
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)516-525
Number of pages10
JournalGeophysical Prospecting
Volume60
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2012

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