Wave velocity

in natural media
Alberto Godio – Politecnico Torino
 Geophysical and petrophysical parameters

• Petrophysical property of rocks: porosity, density, saturation,

• Seismic velocity and relationships with petrophysical
properties;
• Seismic velocities and mechanical parameters of rocks
(Gassmann theory)
 What is a rock

We define a rock as mixture made of:

1) solids cristals of one or more minerals (cristalline
rocks) or grain originated from fragmentation of existing
rocks. The grain can be rounded (sea or river transport)
or angular (very likely due to on site deposition)
cemented by a matrix;
2) fluids that can be gases, liquids or mixtures of gases
and liquids

3
 Rock Density
Bulk density is the density of the considered rock volume
including pore (d)
Matrix density (dm) is the mean density of the matrix
material without pore
Pore density (dp) is the density of pore or fracture fluid;
For a porous rock:

d  1     dm    d p
 Density of a saturated porous rock

The parameter of (fluid) saturation must be considered for a

complete description of porous rock:

For a gas (subscript g)-water (subscript w) bearing rock, the mean

density is:


d  1     dm    Sw  d w  1  Sw   d g 
and introducing a non miscible phase (oil):


d  1     dm    Sw  d w  1  Sw  So   d g  So  do 
 Density of sedimentary rocks

We can distinguish two main groups of sedimentary rocks:

pore-free sediments such as carbonate and salt, formed by
chemical processes; in their original state are pore free; later
processes (mechanical and chemical);
the density of porous sediments is influenced by
mineral composition (matrix density), porosity and
composition of pore content (saturation condition).

Dolomite 2.850 – 2.880 [kg/m3]

Limestone 2.700 - 2.720 [kg/m3]
Anhydrite 2.800 - 3.000 [kg/m3]
Gypsum 2.200 - 2.350 [kg/m3]
Sandstone 2.000 - 2.800 [kg/m3]
Shale 2.250 - 2.800 [kg/m3]
Sand 1.400 - 2.200 [kg/m3] (dry .... sat.)
Clay 1.350 - 2.200 [kg/m3]
 Porosity classification

Intergranular porosity: the void space

between grains, particles or fragments of
clastic materials, loosely packed,
compacted or even cemented (primary
porosity);
Fissure or fracture porosity: caused mainly
by mechanical or chemical action on
primarily massive rock (e.g. limestone)
(secondary porosity)
Vugular porosity either caused by organism
during genesis, or by chemical action at a
later stage (it can be primary and
secondary).
 The “equivalent” porosity

Porosity can be seen in an equivalent form by isolated a

cube of rock and compacting all the matrix in a single volume

Vmatrix
1-

Vpore 
 Porosity and diagenetic processes

Schopper (1982) identified the following corresponding stages of

intergranular porosity decrease:
Packing: the loosely sedimented particles slide into more stable
positions under the pressure of increasing overburden, forming more
grain-to-grain contacts (sand and sandstone);
Compaction: porosity decreases by deformation of grains for
increasing overburden pressure , whereby point contacts between
grains gradually change to flat contacts and finally to sutured
contacts (shale and clays);
Cementation: deposition of dissolved materials on free grain surfaces,
especially around contacts (reduce porosity) (sands and sandstone).
Porosity: classification based on interconnession

Total porosity (ftotal) is related to all void (pore channels,

fissure, vugs) between the solid components
(primary+secondary)
Interconnected porosity (f connected) is related only to those
space which are connected (pumice: high total porosity but
zero interconnected porosity because all the void are
isolated from the others and there are no connecting
channels)
Effective porosity (f eff) is the porosity that is available for
free fluids; it exclude all non-connected porosity including
the space occupied by clay-bound water
 Range of porosity

Porosity of rocks must be A decrease in porosity can be

related to region, geological observed according the
formation and depth and following sequence:
therefore it is difficult to assign high porous marine
mean values for different sediments;
formation unconsolidated sediments
The main factors which sandstones
influence primary porosity are:
carbonate rock (limestone-
• grain and pore geometrical dolomite)
properties
anhydrite
• diagenetic processes,
amount of cement fractured igneous and dense
rocks
• depth and pressure (which
also influences secondary
porosity)
 Fluid saturation

Vw
Sw  Water saturation
Vvoids

Vo Oil saturation
So 
Vvoids
Gas saturation
Sg  1  Sw  So

Vw Vvoids Vw Water content

 w  Sw  
Vvoids Vtot Vtot
 P wave velocities and density

Empirical studies have determined the

following relationship between velocity
and density:

where density is in g/cm3, a is 0.31 when

V is in m/s and is 0.23 when V is in ft/s.

Gardner, G.H.F., Gardner, L.W., and Gregory, A.R., 1974,

Formation velocity and density – the diagnostic basics for
stratigraphic traps: Geophysics, 39, 770-780.

13
Exercise
Given the following P-wave velocity and density values, estimate
the optimum parameters of the Gardner’s equation

V [ km/s ] Density [g/cm3]

3.573 2.40 Hints: linearize the equation by
3.697 2.41 transforming
3.832 2.44 the values in log-log scale and then find
4.014 2.45 the slope and
4.158 2.49 intercept of the best linear fitting with a
4.397 2.51 straight line.
4.544 2.54
4.650 2.57
4.800 2.58
4.961 2.56
 Solution

Linear model
f(x) = p1*x + p2
Coefficients (with 95% confidence
bounds):
p1 = 0.2475 (0.2291, 0.2658)
p2 = -0.4996 (-0.5661, -0.433)

Goodness of fit:
SSE: 1.112e-05
R-square: 0.9918
Adjusted R-square: 0.9908
RMSE: 0.001179

p1 = b
p2 = log10(a) , where a e b are the coefficients of the Gardner’s equation

Finally, b = 0.2475 and a = 10p1 = 10-0.5 = 0.316

 ..alternative solution
Linearized the problem by computing the log-log values,
then solve the associated linear problem in the unknown vector
x= [ log(a), b ]
G=[ 1 log(Vel)1 t = [log(density)1
1 …… ….
1 ….. …. Gx=t
1 …..
1 ….
1
1
1
1 …..
1 log(Vel)10 ] log(density)10 ]

G is the matrix coefficient of the linear system; the standard solution

minimizes the root mean square between experimental and predicted data;
it is given as follow:
x = (GT G)-1 G *t
P wave velocities range
P wave velocities and porosity
P wave velocities vs. porosity

19
 Relationships between
Velocity and porosity
1  1   
Willie’s Law  
V V fl V0

Vlow  1    V0  V fl
2
  0.37
Raymer’s
-1
Law  0.47   1   0.37 1 
Vmed    0.37<  0.47
 0.1 V 0.1 V
 low (  0.37) high (  0.47) 

1
Vhigh    0.47
  1 
   
 V
 fl fl  V
0 0 
 Willie’s law as time average equation
L V = velocity
1  1    V L = length
  T
V V fl V0 T = Time
Vol = Volume
S = Section
T Vol fl Voltot  Vol fl
 
L VoltotV fl VoltotV0

T Vol fl Vol0 Seismic wave

 
L SLV fl SLV0
Ttot  T fl  T0
Vol fl Vol0
T 
SV fl SV0

L flL0
T 
V fl V0
21
 Willie and Raymer and experimental
data
Comparison of the results of the
simulations (squares end dashed
line) for water-saturated sandstone
to experimental data (circles) and
the empirical equations
of Wyllie et al.
and Raymer et al.
The fit of the numerical data and the
Raymer et al. equation is
satisfactory.
The Wyllie et al. equation gives a
poor fit
 Vp/Vs ratio

The ratio is related to the following main geological

factors
1. Litology and facies
2. Pore volume and fluid content (gas or liquid)
3. Mechanical properties of components
Description Fractures Vp/Vs

Consolidated rock, Reduced 1.81

low porosity, with gas High 1.91

Consolidated rock Reduced 1.98

with liquid High 2.40
 Ratio of Vp/Vs for some rocks

For different lithology, the following range can be

assumed:
Rock Vp/Vs
Limestone 1.65-1.75
Dolomite 1.78-1.84
Sandstone 1.84-1.99
Argillyte 1.7-3.0
Sand 2–4
Clay (sature) 4-8
Compressional and shear velocity relations
Minerals bulk modulus K0 and density 
 Non homogeneous rock

In a not homogeneous rock or in a porous medium the

mechanical properties of the rock (bulk) are affected by the
behavior of the single components (solid skeleton or solid matrix,
fluids).

The behavior of the components must be considered in order:

• to understand how their physical properties are related to
different conditions;
• to evaluate how pressure and temperature gradients with
depth affect the bulk properties of dry and saturated rocks.

28
 Wave velocity in fluid

The elastic modulus of gases and liquid is lower than elastic properties of
solids.

Shear waves do not propagate in liquid and gases (G=0)

The volume bulk modulus (K) is linked to the compressional wave velocity
according to:
0.5
 Kf 
 p   
  
Water: 1480 – 1600 m/s depending on temperature and salinity
Oil: 1200 – 1300 m/s depending on the composition and density
 Mixture of fluid - bulk density

The density of a mixture is obtained by mass balance and is

therefore an arithmetic average of separated fluid phases.

m  A  A  B  B
Where A and B, and A and B are the densities and the volume
fractions of the components.
 Mixture of fluid - bulk modulus Kfl

Multiple pore fluid phases with different bulk moduli have

different induced pore pressure.
However, if the phases are intimately mixed, a single average
value can be considered and the effective modulus of the fluid
mixture can be described as (Wood’s Law):

1 Si Kfl - effective bulk modulus of fluid mixture

 Ki - bulk modulus of individual gas and fluids phases
K fl Ki Si – Saturation of each gas and fluid phases

1 SW , B SOil (1  SW , B  SOil )
  
K fl KW , B KOil KGas
Example of mixing gas-liquid (Wood’s law)

The bulk modulus of the mixture of gas/liquid is approximated by

an average of the modulus of each component ; the compressibility
of the mixture is weighted on the saturation of each single phase.

where Kf – compressional modulus of the mixture

Kw – modulus of liquid (water) = 2.25 GPa
Khc – modulus of gas (air) = 132 MPa
Sw - saturation in water
Shc - saturation in gas
Modulus of compressibility Methane-Water mixture
 Gas: P-wave velocity as a function of temperature
and pressure

P-wave propagation in gasses can be considered an adiabatic process. The P-wave

velocity depends on the gas bulk modulus in adiabatic conditions (Kad):

K ad p R T k T
VP , gas       
 gas  gas M m

Cp = specific heat capacity at constant pressure [ J/kg.K ]

Cv = specific heat capacity at constant volume [ J/kg.K ]
k = 1.380 6504(24)×10−23 Boltzmann constant [ m2 kg s-2 K-1 ]
ρ = Density [ kg/m3 ]
M = Molar mass [ kg/mol ]
m = Mass of a single molecule [ kg ]
T = Temperature [K]
R = 8.315 Gas constant [ J K−1mol−1]
 Gas - P-wave velocity as a function of T/P :
demonstration

nCvDT   pDV Adiabatic transform

DV
DT   p Gas law before and after the adiabatic transform
nCv
pV  nRT …the term (product) Dp x DV can be neglected
 p  Dp V  DV   nR T  DT the difference between the specific heat at constant pressure and at
pDV  VDp  nRDT constant volume

R  Cp  Cv
Cp Definition of bulk compression modulus
  ............1.4.at.300.kelvin
Cv
Dp
K    p
DV
V
0 .5 0.5
 K ad   p   R T 
0.5

 p , gas   

 
 d 
    
 d gas   gas   M 
 Gas: P-wave velocity vs. temperature
The two most dominant components in dry air
are Oxygen and Nitrogen. Oxygen has an atomic
Methane and Air
600 unit mass of 16 and Nitrogen has an atomic units
mass of 14.

550 Since both of these elements are diatomic in air -

O2 and N2, the molecular mass of Oxygen is 32
and the molecular mass of Nitrogen is 28.
500
Sound velocity

Oxigen = 0.21 * 32 = 6.7 g/mol

Nitrigen = 0.79 * 28 = 21.9 g/mol
450

Therefore, the molecular mass of air is about

400 28.9 g/mol

For methane molecular mass of carbon = 12.0107

350 g/mol
Molecular mass of hydrogen = 1.0079 g/mol

300 Therefore the molecular mass of methane (CH4)

250 300 350 400 450 500
would be:
Tem perature [°K]
= 12.0107 + (1.0079 x 4) = 16.042 g/mol
Methane
Air
 Some properties of methane (CH4)

Gaseous phase
• Gas density (1.013 bar at boiling point) : • Heat capacity at constant pressure (Cp)
1.816 kg/m3 (1.013 bar and 25 °C ) : 0.0358
kJ/(mol.K)
• Gas density (1.013 bar and 15 °C ) :
0.6797 kg/m3 • Heat capacity at constant volume (Cv)
(1.013 bar and 25 °C ) : 0.0274
• Compressibility Factor (Z) (1.013 bar and kJ/(mol.K)
15 °C ) :
0.99802 • Ratio of specific heats (Gamma:Cp/Cv)
(1.013 bar and 25 °C ) : 1.3062
• Specific gravity : 0.555
• Viscosity (1.013 bar and 0 °C ) :
• Specific volume (1.013 bar and 25 °C) : 1.0245E-04 Poise
1.5227 m3/kg
• Thermal conductivity (1.013 bar and 0 °C
) : 30.57 mW/(m.K)
 Frame bulk modulus (K
Kdry)

The primary measure of the sensitivity of rock to fluids is its normalized modulus
Kn: the ratio of dry bulk modulus (Kdry) to that of the mineral (K0).

Kn = Kdry/K0

This function depends on:

• Rock texture (porosity, clay content, pore geometry, grain size, grain contact,
cementation, mineral composition, and so on)
• Reservoir conditions (pressure and temperature).
The Kn value can be determined empirically or theoretically.

For relatively clean sandstone and limestone at high differential pressure (>20 MPa),
the complex dependence of Kn can be simplified as a function of porosity.
Frame bulk modulus (K
Kd)
Frame modulus vs. porosity
(mineral modulus, K0 = 40 GPa and D=1.5)
 Wave velocity vs saturation

P-wave velocity is strongly affected by

water content for high value of
saturation only (higher than 90 %)

This is related to the high contrast

between compressibility of fluid and
gas (Cgas/Cwater=2*10^4).
Vp

The shear modulus is not affected by

water content, but S-wave velocity is
slightly affected by water content; Vs
the slight decrease as the saturation
increase is due to the effect of
density, varying with saturation.
 Bulk modulus – Gassmann’s relation

The bulk modulus of the formation is a function of the moduli of

the solid and fluid components, the porosity and the saturation
of different fluids.
sat  dry

K fl   flV fl2
Ksat - effective bulk modulus of the rock with pore fluid
Kdry – effective bulk modulus of dry rock
K0 – bulk modulus of mineral material constituting the rock
Kfl – effective bulk modulus of pore fluid
 - porosity
sat = Gsat – effective shear modulus of rock with pore fluid
dry = Gdry - effective shear modulus of dry rock
42
 Fluid substitutions
To extract fluid types or saturations from seismic, crosswell, or borehole sonic
data, we need a procedure to model fluid effects on rock velocity and density.
Gassmann’s equations are by far the most widely used relations to calculate
seismic velocity changes because of different fluid saturations in reservoirs.