Transmission of seismic waves across single natural fractures

Journal Article · Sun Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/JB095iB06p08617· OSTI ID:5009570

Pyrak-Nolte, L J; Myer, L R; Cook, N G.W. ^[1]

---

1. Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)

The effects of fractures and other nonwelded contacts on seismic wave propagation can be modeled as a boundary condition in the seismic wave equation. Seismic stress is continuous across such a boundary, but seismic particle displacement and seismic particle velocity are not. The complete solutions for seismic wave reflection, conversion, and transmission across a displacement and velocity discontinuity between two half-spaces with different densities and elastic properties are derived for all angles of the incident wave. The ratio between the seismic stress across this boundary and the seismic particle displacement and velocity are described by a specific stiffness and a specific viscosity, respectively. Results of laboratory experiments on compressional and shear wave transmission across three different natural fractures in a quartz monzonite are described. Measurements were made at different effective stresses under dry and saturated conditions at room temperature. It is shown that the effect of these fractures on the spectral amplitudes for compressional and shear pulses transmitted across these fractures are described well by a displacement discontinuity for compressional pulses under dry and saturated conditions and by a combined displacement and velocity discontinuity for shear wave pulses under dry and saturated conditions. Values of specific stiffness and specific viscosity vary between fractures and increase with increasing effective stress, as foes the static specific stiffness of these fractures. Changes in the spectral amplitudes of transmitted pulses are also analyzed in terms of attenuation using the seismic quality factor Q, which is found to be a function of frequency.

• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 5009570
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 95:B6; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
SEISMIC WAVES
WAVE PROPAGATION
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
AMPLITUDES
ATTENUATION
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
EQUATIONS
FRACTURED RESERVOIRS
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE
GEOLOGIC MODELS
QUARTZ
REFLECTIVITY
SATURATION
SEISMIC P WAVES
SEISMIC S WAVES
STRESSES
VISCOSITY
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
MINERALS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
OXIDE MINERALS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SURFACE PROPERTIES
580000* - Geosciences