Novel finite-element approach applied to borehole quadrupole dispersion analysis in stress-sensitive formations

Abstract

Near a borehole, stress concentration effects may cause a complex spatial variation of elastic anisotropy. Stress-induced sonic anisotropy results when moduli and velocities are stress dependent and the state of stress is nonhydrostatic. For such cases, the appropriate material model is that of an elastic orthorhombic medium with material axes aligned with the principal axes of stress. We simulate the dispersion characteristics of quadrupole waves propagating along a borehole in a stress-sensitive formation. To include sensitivity to stress in the analysis, we derive a finite-element modeling approach which includes the stress-velocity relationship, the perturbed stress and velocity field near the borehole, and solutions to the full coupled anisotropic and 3D wave equation. We characterized the anisotropy around the borehole for different in situ stress conditions, and we derived the effects on quadrupole dispersion characteristics. Of particular interest was the phase velocity of the quadrupole wave, which at low frequencies provides an estimate of formation shear-wave velocity. Results indicated that the quadrupole mode dispersion was relatively insensitive to the hoop stress effects around a borehole giving greater confidence to shear-wave estimates made from these modes. The proposed ring-element formulation, which includes Fourier expansions of the field variables in the direction of the circumference, is well suited to this analysis and can be adapted to include other effects, such as a finite-length borehole.

Investigation of borehole cross-dipole flexural dispersion crossover through numerical modeling

“…Although finiteelement methods (e.g., Jørgensen and Burns, 2013) or semianalytical perturbation methods (Simsek and Sinha, 2008a) may be more suitable for modeling elliptical boreholes, the finitedifference method used in our simulations can give the first-order effect of borehole ellipticity on flexural dispersion because the grid size (2.5 mm) is much smaller than the borehole diameter and the wavelength. Because we are not considering the effect of stress on near-borehole anisotropy in this section, the formation rock type is not considered.…”

Computational analysis of dispersive acoustic waves in fluid-filled boreholes

“…Gaede et al [34] studied the dynamic properties in 3D vertical and inclined boreholes in a variety of situations including in isotropic, transversely isotropic, and orthorhombic symmetries. Jorgensen and Burns [16] studied the response of a stressed acoustic borehole excited by a quadrupole source and computed its dispersion curves. In the next chapter, we use FEM calculations in order to obtain the dispersion curves for each propagating mode of the borehole.…”