Measurements of Seismic Anisotropy in Synthetic Rocks with Controlled Crack Geometry and Different Crack Densities

Seismic anisotropy can help to extract azimuthal information for predicting crack alignment, but the accurate evaluation of cracked reservoir requires knowledge of degree of crack development, which is achieved through determining the crack density from seismic or VSP data. In this research we study the dependence of seismic anisotropy on crack density, using synthetic rocks with controlled crack geometries. A set of four synthetic rocks containing different crack densities is used in laboratory measurements. The crack thickness is 0.06 mm and the crack diameter is 3 mm in all the cracked rocks, while the crack densities are 0.00, 0.0243, 0.0486, and 0.0729. P and S wave velocities are measured by an ultrasonic investigation system at 0.5 MHz while the rocks are saturated with water. The measurements show the impact of crack density on the P and S wave velocities. Our results are compared to the theoretical prediction of Chapman (J App Geophys 54:191-202, 2003) and Hudson (Geophys J R Astron Soc 64:133-150, 1981). The comparison shows that measured velocities and theoretical results are in good quantitative agreement in all three cracked rocks, although Chapman's model fits the experimental results better. The measured anisotropy of the P and S wave in the four synthetic rocks shows that seismic anisotropy is directly proportional to increasing crack density, as predicted by several theoretical models. The laboratory measurements indicate that it would be effective to use seismic anisotropy to determine the crack density and estimate the intensity of crack density in seismology and seismic exploration.