Acoustic Logging

Chapter 51
Acoustic Logging
A. (Turk) Timur. chc\,roa COT.
Introduction
Acoustic wave propagation methods have become an in- changes in its size and shape.’ In this theory, it is as-
tegral part of formation evaluation since the first sumed that displacements are small and the body returns
downhole measurement of velocities was conducted in to its original condition after the forces are removed. Ap-
1927. ’ These early measurements were conducted to ob- plied forces and the resulting deformations are described
tain time/depth curves to use in interpreting seismic by stresses and strains.
data.’ In the 1930’s, proposals were made to conduct Stress is the force, F, per unit area. A, applied; strain,
velocity measurements in a fashion similar to electric t, is deformation per unit length, t. or volume, V, as il-
logging, by using an acoustic transmitter and one or lustrated in Fig. 5 1.1.
more receivers. First successful implementation of this Within the elastic limit, as shown in Fig. 51.2.
technology was in the late 1940’s and early 1950’~.~-’ stresses are found to be proportional to strains (Hooke’s
Commercial acoustic velocity logs were first introduced law). The ratio of stress to strain is a different constant
in 1954 by Seismograph Service Corp. in the U.S. and for different loading conditions. These proportionality
by United Geophysical in Canada. constants are defined as elastic moduli. which are fun
Since then, technology involving borehole measure- damental properties of a material.
ments of acoustic wave propagation properties has
developed significantly and has become established as a Young’s Modulus, E. This is the ratio of tensile or com-
major formation evaluation method. These acoustic pressive stress (FL/A) to the resultant strain (tL, =ALlL):
wave propagation methods used in well logging can be
broadly classified into two groups: transmission and FLiA
reflection. Properties measured in each method and their E=-
applications in formation evaluation are listed in Table ALIL
51.1
Compressional wave velocities measured by acoustic Shear (or Torsion) Modulus, G. The ratio of shearing
logging were found to be related to porosity so closely stress (F,IA) to the shearing
strain E,, =(AL/L) is
that the acoustic log became a standard porosity tool.
which it still is in many areas. The second most common
F,7IA
use of borehole acoustic measurements is in evaluating G=-.
cement jobs by measurements inside casing. 6s
This chapter describes the use of acoustic wave propa-
gation properties in formation evaluation after a brief
Bulk Modulus, K. Bulk modulus describes the change
description of elasticity. acoustic wave propagation
of V under hydrostatic pressure, p:
properties in rocks, and methods of recording these in
the borehole.
Elasticity K=P
AVIV
Introduction
The theory of elasticity investigates relationships be-
tween external forces applied to a body and resulting where K is also the reciprocal of compressibility, c.
51-2 PETROLEUM ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
TABLE 51.1-ACOUSTIC WAVE PROPAGATION METHODS This disturbance is then transmitted along the material by
a series of compressions and rarefactions. The distur-
Property Applicatton bance travels at a constant velocity that is a fundamental
Transmission seismic and geological property of the material. The elastic moduli and the den-
interpretation sity determine the velocity of propagation for each
porosity material.
Compressional- and shear- lithology
Two types of mechanical wave propagation will be
wave velocttles hydrocarbon content
geopressure detection described qualitatively. Detailed discussions of acoustic
mechanical properties of wave propagation are given in Refs. 7 through 11.
rocks
Compressional- and shear- cement bond quality Compressional Waves. Compressional waves are those
wave attenuations location of fractures in which the mechanical disturbance is transmitted by a
rock consolidation
particle motion parallel to the direction of wave propaga-
permeability indication
Reflection tion (Fig. 51.3). They are also called longitudinal,
location of vugs and
fractures
pressure, primary, or P-waves. Particles of the material
Transit time and amplitude orientation of fractures and oscillate around this rest position in simple harmonic
of reflected waves bed boundaries motion. As they move from equilibrium, they push or
channeling and microannulus pull their neighbors, thereby transmitting the disturbance
casing quality
through the material. The velocity of this compressional
wave motion, lip, is a constant for a given material:
v,=+(K+4/,G)“, . ... . . .(I)

P
Poisson’s Ratio, p, This is a measure of the geometric
change of shape under uniaxial stress. It is expressed as
where p is the density.
the ratio of the fractional change in diameter, d,
(transverse strain, eT) to the fractional change in length
Shear Waves. Shear waves, also called transverse, tor-
(longitudinal strain, EL):
sional, or S-waves, are those where particle motion is
perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation (Fig.
Adld 51.4).
p=aL,L.. Particles in the material again move about their rest
position with simple harmonic motion. For this motion
to be transmitted, however, each particle must have a
Relationships Among Elastic Parameters. These four
force of attraction to its neighbor. Whereas compres-
elastic parameters are not independent; any one
sional waves can be propagated simply by elastic colli-
parameter can be expressed in terms of two others:
sion of one molecule with the next, attractive forces must
exist between adjacent molecules to transmit shear
E=2(1 +p)G
waves. Since these forces are very small in gases and liq-
uids, fluids do not transmit shear waves.
The velocity of shear waves, v,, , is also a constant for
a given material:
Acoustic Waves
Acoustic waves propagate mechanical energy. For in- G %
stance, if an elastic material is subjected to an instan- v,,= - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
taneous force at one end. it is compressed (Fig. 51.3). 0 P
Yield StrengIh
Breaking Point
Elastic Limit
STRESS
t
Hooke’s Law Region
STRAIN -
Fig. 51.1-Longitudinal, transverse, and shear deformations. Fig. 51 .P-Stress/strain diagram for an elastic material
ACOUSTIC LOGGING 51-3
a A B A B A
. . . . . . . . .. . . . . ..I.. . . .-. . * . . .. . . .
. . .. . *:::: r-- .... .
. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ..a... . . me.* . .
. . ... :* ..*** *. .*...*. :..*..::::
:*....
.
.
..I.......
. . . . . . . .. .
.
.
.
.
..-.. . . ..m.
. s.... . . . ..-.
*
.
*
.
.
.
. .. . .
. .. . .
.
. . . a.
.
.. .. . . . . . . . :.::*..* .“..:. .*:::a .*...*.*:::. .,..
. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . w...... . . . .. . . .
. . .. . Dlrecllon :. .:...*......:::::f:.............‘
. .-.. . .. *.......
.*...*a-...-,- *.
.
.
. . . . . . . .. .
. . . . . . . .. .
.
.
_
.
..-.. . ..-..
. . .. . . . . . . . . .
.
.
.
.
. .. . .
. .. . .
.
. . .. .
.
. . . . . 01Parllcle -.*: . . . . . :.:::...:..,.,....:.::::. . .. .. ..
.*a.. .*... . .,.*
. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .” . . . . . .“. . . . . .. . . .
.. .. . “lbM,lO”I .**... .*... :.: :::.. ,.....*... *.-- Z.“..
. . . . . . . . *. . . .
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. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .-. . . . ... . . .
. . .. . :::::::.....: .*,,.. . . . . ::::::. ..: . . . .
. . . ..I.. *... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . * . ... . . .
.. .. . .:...:.a ***... .,.*. .:.*, *.-...a.. .-.-.::e:
. . . . . . . . .. . . . . ..“.. . . ..m.* . . ... . . .
. . ... *.a *...- a.. .-
- *
Dlreclloncd L-A- rJileCtion -a
PartIck W.Wde”gth 0‘wave Dlrecllon Of
MOllO” Propagalion Ware PmpagafK.n
Fig. 51.3-Compressional wave. Fig. 51.4-Shear wave.
Characteristics of Acoustic Waves distance, s, from the source is

Acoustic waves have many characteristics similar to
A=A 0 e-ffs 1
light waves. They undergo interference, diffraction,
reflection, and refraction. At a boundary separating
materials of two different velocities, they are mode con- where A,, is the amplitude at the source.
verted, reflected, and refracted according to Snell’s law. A schematic diagram of an experimental apparatus is
For either compressional or shear waves, velocities are given in Fig. 51.5 to illustrate the measurement of
related to frequency, f, by acoustic properties. Two piezoelectric elements are at-
tached to the specimen as shown. A pulser provides the
L’= hf, electric pulse to the transmitting piezoelectric element
and also triggers the oscilloscope trace. The transmitter
where X is the wave length. vibrates according to the change of voltage with time,
Motion of either compressional or shear waves in an generating a mechanical pulse in the specimen. As it
extended medium is characterized by an infinite number travels through the specimen, the mechanical pulse is at-
of particles, each vibrating in simple harmonic motion. tenuated. The receiving piezoelectric element converts
A simple description of this wave propagation is given this attenuated pulse into an electric pulse that is
by a plane wave solution of the wave equation: displayed on the oscilloscope screen.
The travel time of the mechanical pulse through the
specimen is read on the horizontal scale of the
u=A cos(2+2n~). oscilloscope, and the velocity is calculated from
L
where u is the particle motion at a given point, s, away v=-.
from the source and at any given time, t. At any given t
time, t=O, the displacement along the wave varies as By using a set of either P-wave or S-wave transducers,
cos(2as/X); hence, the u is equal to signal amplitude A, both velocities, vp and v,?, can be measured as de-
where s is equal to even multiples of wavelength-i.e., scribed. These velocities, assuming an infinite,
s=O, X, 2X. Motion of each particle, on the other hand, isotropic, homogeneous, and elastic medium, are related
is described by a simple harmonic motion given by to elastic moduli by
4
u=A cos(27rjl). v,~~=P=K+~G, .. .. . . _. (3)
An additional feature of acoustic waves to be con-

sidered is attenuation. As one moves away from the v,‘p=G, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...(4)
source, the intensity of sound decreases. This decrease
of acoustic waves results from (1) geometric spread of
energy, reflection, refraction. and scattering, and (2) ab-
sorption, whereby mechanical energy is converted into
heat.
The decrease in intensity because of absorption is
given by
,=I e-2cu.\
0
where I,, is the acoustic intensity at the source, I is inten-

sity at a distance, s, from the source, and 01 is the coeffi-
cient of absorption.
The acoustic intensity is proportional to the square of Fig. 51.5-Experimental apparatus for measurement of veloci-
the amplitude; therefore, the amplitude, A. of a wave at a ty and attenuation.
Acoustic Properties I Or, in more common units, attenuation is given in

decibels per unit length, defined as
20
a=- log A’.
L2-L1 A2
Other parameters defining attenuation are the quality

\ Models / factor, F,, and the logarithmic decrement, 6. Coeffi-
cients of compressional and shear wave attenuation (op,
as) are related to the respective quality factors (Fqp,
F,,y) and the logarithmic decrements (6,,, 8,) by
1 ffv 6
-=-=-
F, of a, ... .... . . .... . . (6)
where v is velocity and f is frequency.

Fig. 51 .&Factors affecting acoustic properties of rocks. Acoustic Wave Propagation in Rocks
Introduction
Acoustic wave propagation properties of rocks are
known to depend on porosity, rock matrix composition,
stress (overburden and pore fluid pressures), tempera-
and
ture, fluid composition, and texture (structural
framework of grains and pore spaces), as illustrated in
o.s(v,/v,)* - 1 Fig. 51.6. I2 A unified approach involving measure-
/A= (v,,v,)2 -1 , . . .. . (5)
ments of compressional and shear-wave velocities,
analyses of rock composition, and use of theoretical
models to interpret these data was described in Refs. 13
where P, K, and G are P-wave, bulk, and shear moduli, through 16.
respectively, p is Poisson’s ratio, and p is density.
As mentioned earlier, these same elastic constants can Acoustic Properties
be obtained directly by measuring lateral and Acoustic wave propagation properties were described in
longitudinal strains as functions of stress. Elastic con- the preceding section for homogeneous, elastic media.
stants measured in this manner are referred to as static Applications of these relationships to rocks, however,
elastic constants in contrast to dynamic elastic constants are complicated by the presence of pores and cracks, and
measured through the use of acoustic wave propagation fluids contained in them. A simplified, theoretical
techniques. development is described in the Appendix to illustrate
One method for measurement of attenuation requires some of these complications by incorporating rock-
specimens of two different lengths from the same frame, pore-fluid, and rock-grain compressibilities into
material. Assuming that the voltage amplitude of the the velocity equations.
received signal from the specimen of length L t is A I and As indicated earlier, acoustic wave properties in rocks
from the specimen of length L2 is AZ, and that voltage are functions of numerous independent variables.
amplitudes are proportional to the amplitudes of Therefore, evaluation of various theories of acoustic
mechanical pulses, the two amplitudes can be expressed wave propagation requires laboratory experiments con-
as ducted on rock samples under controlled pressure,
temperature, and saturation conditions.
Various experimental methods have been developed
A, =A,CaLI for measuring acoustic wave propagation properties of
rock samples. Detailed description of one of the
laboratory systems is given by Timur. ” It is designed to
and conduct sequential measurements of properties of both
the compressional and the shear waves on rock samples
subjected to simulated subsurface conditions. A typical
A
2
=A
0
e-uL2 experimental setup is shown in Fig. 51.7, where a rock
sample is assembled between two transducers in a sam-
ple holder. This assembly is placed in a pressure vessel
Hence, the coefficient of absorption, nepers/cm, is ob- and subjected to varying overburden and pore fluid
tained from pressures and temperatures. A minicomputer digitally
records the compressional and shear-wave pulses
1 transmitted through the rock samples, as well as sample
cy=- InA’. temperature, overburden and pore fluid pressures, and
L2-L, A2 sample length changes.
ACOUSTIC LOGGING
Es
v,
Navalo Sandstone
” Porosity 11.5. Density 2.46
I
vi PO/P1 2.30
I OVERBURDEN PRESSURE, PSI x 101

00.00 4.00 8.00 12.00 16.00 20.00 24.00 26.00 r
1 7
- 0.00 0.16 0.31 0.47 0.62 0.78 0.94 109 z
Pore Fluid
Insulated
P and S Wave
Transmitter
_ Sample
Thermocouple Fig. 51.8-Pressure dependence of compressional- and shear-
(Jacketed)
wave velocities in a Navajo sandstone.
_ P and S Wave
Linear Variable
2iirifT@ Porosity dependence of v,, has also been investigated
Differential Transformer
to some extent.25m28 A change in shear-wave travel
times (lit),$) per unit change in porosity ($J) is found to be
almost twice the corresponding change in I /II,,
Fig. 51.7-A typical sample (d= 8.9 cm, L = 5.1 cm) assembled
Rock Composition
for acoustic measurements.
Rock composition affects the velocities in significant
ways, as illustrated in Fig. 51.12.‘” Laboratory data
plotted in this figure are for cores saturated with brine
and subjected to an overburden pressure of 3,000 psi.
A typical set of compressional and shear-wave veloci- The two principal minerals in the rock were quartz. in
ty data obtained with this apparatus is shown in Fig. the form of tripolite, and calcite. They were mixed in
5 1.8. The rate of change of porosity in this sample with relative proportions ranging from approximately 50%
varying overburden and pore fluid pressures is shown in calcite/50% quartz to 80% calcite/20% quartz. The
Fig. 5 1.9. These data were obtained from concurrcnt samples with lower porosity had a continuous calcite
measurements of changes in the sample pore and bulk matrix, whereas the samples with a higher porosity had a
volumes during acoustic measurements. continuous quartz matrix.
Fig, 5 1.10 illustrates typical compressional and shear Effects of rock composition usually are taken into ac-
wave attenuation data. obtained from the amplitude count by establishing velocity/porosity relationships for
spectra of transmitted pulses. each group of rocks of similar composition through cor-
relations of both the laboratory and the field data. This is
Porosity illustrated in Fig. 51.12 by two separate groupings, one
Porosity dependence of v,, in rocks has been intensively for calcite matrix and the other for quartz.
investigated. “W This forms the basis for estimating Rock composition plays a significant role in acoustic
porosities from in-situ measurements with an acoustic wave propagation properties. A procedure for com-
velocity log. prehensive analyses needed for this purpose was de-
Results of early laboratory measurement of scribed by Jones et al. I3 First, they conducted a com-
compressional-wave velocities determined on water- bination of measurements of X-ray diffraction, elemental
saturated sandstones are plotted vs. porosities in Fig. analysis, clay analysis, and grain density measurements.
5 1.1 I. ” The porosity/velocity relationship is within the Each of these then was assigned an experimental error,
indicated statistics as long as the lithology remains and linear programming was used to establish the rock
relatively constant. mineral composition, as shown in Table 51.2.
PETROLEUM ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
100
Berea Sandstone
h r 16
60
Fq
40
20
4
1
I , I I
,L 0 2000 4000 6000 8000
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
OVERBURDEN PRESSURE. PSI x 101 DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE, psi
Fig. 51.9-Pressure dependence of porosily of Navajo sand- Fig. 51 .I+Pressure dependence of compresslonal and shear
stone. attenuation in a Berea sandstone saturated with
brine.
Stress samples including dolomite, limestone, and sandstone

Pressure dependence of velocities of compressional and and for a sandpack. 29 In general, velocities increase
shear waves also has been the subject of numerous with increasing p0 and decrease with increasing pt.
studies. Velocities of elastic waves traveling in a porous From a theoretical analysis of elastic wave propaga-
medium are known to be functions of both the external tion in sphere packs, Brandt3’ predicted velocities to be
(overburden) pressure, pO, and the internal (pore fluid) functions of (p, -npf), where n is a number between 0
pressure, pf. Some of the experimental results indicating and 1. Experimental data of Hicks and Berry”’ and
dependence of compressional-wave velocity on confin- Wyliie et al. I9 indicated n to be close to unity, whereas
ing pressure are given in Fig. 5 1.13 for various rock data obtained by Banthia et al. 32 indicated values of n to
VELOCITY, km/s VELOCITY, km/s

2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 6 3 3.5 4 5 6 7
1 I I T r --- -1 I I I I--II
ft/sec x 103 ft/sec x lo3
B ;ci II!-- _12 13 15 17 1 10 12 15 20
I 1 I r-1 7
35
Time Average ft/sec (m/s)
Malrix 19500 (5944)
‘9 ’,I Fluid 5000 (1524)
30 \p Calcite ft/sec (m/s)
0
\ 0 Matrix 22500 (6858)
Brine 5235 (1596) 4
10 Quartz
(Tripolite)
Matrix 19200 (5852)
5 5 Brine 5235 (1596)
I
, 1 I /
0 I , I I I \I \
120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 100 90 80 70 60 50 40
RECIPROCAL VELOCITY. sec/ft x 10m6 P-WAVE TRAVEL TIME, sec/ft x 10m6
Fig. 51 .l I-Velocttylporosity data determined in laboratory for Fig. 51.12-Comparison of compressional-wave velocities as
water-saturated sandstones compared with time- function of porosity for brine-saturated tripolite
average relation for quartz/water system. samples under confining pressure of 3,000 psi.
ACOUSTIC LOGGING
TABLE 51.2-ROCK COMPOSITION
Sample Navajo sandstone

Petrography medium-porosity, well-sorted quartzite
Grain density 2.60
Grain porosity 19.4
X-ray, wt%
Quartz 93.0
Calcite 1
Dolomite -
Clay 1.7
Feldspar 0.7
Pyrite
Anhydrite 0.4
NAA and AAS, wt%
Si 42.60 z
Al 1.20 G 13
Ti 0.79 0 -Y
Fe 0.20 Sandstone
MQ 0.02 11 d = 18
Ca 0.20
Na 0.00
0.16 i
:: 54.00
Phyllo-silicate 6.00
Computed volume, %
Quartz 68.37
Calcite -
Dolomite -
4.73
Clay
Feldspar
Pyrite
0.57
-
0 2000 4000 6000
PRESSURE, psi
8000 10.000
Anhydrite
Silica 6.93
Siderite - Fig. 51.13-Compressional-wave velocity vs. confining pres-
sure for brine-saturated carbonates, sandstone
and sand pack.
be significantly less than 1. To investigate this rocks. The shapes of the velocity vs. temperature curves
discrepancy, Gardner et al. 33 conducted experiments were functions of rock composition, pore structure, and
taking into account the past pressure history of samples. the pore fluids. Some of the velocity vs. porosity data at
They found that p n and pi are equally effective in chang- subfreezing temperature is illustrated in Fig. 5 1.16. 39-43
ing velocities-i.e., n = 1, provided that the differential
pressure (pd =po -pf) follows a pressure cycle Fluid Composition
previously imposed on the sample (Fig. 51.14). An understanding of the effects of fluid composition on
elastic wave properties has become much more signifi-
Temperature cant with the increasing interest in detection of hydrocar-
The effect of temperature on elastic wave velocities is bons with seismic measurements. As a result, these ef-
considered to be of second order and usually is neglected fects have been the subject of many studies, both
in seismic exploration and acoustic log interpretations. theoretical and experimental, in the recent literature. The
To study this effect, early laboratory experiments’4-38
were conducted by measuring velocity as a function of
overburden pressure at constant values of temperature in-
stead of as a function of temperature at constant
pressure. Also, the effects of pore fluid pressure were
not considered. Later, the effects of temperature on the
velocities were investigated through laboratory measure-
ments on rock samples subjected to simulated subsurface
pressure conditions ” (Fig. 51.15). On the average, the
compressional wave velocities were found to decrease by
1.7% and the shear-wave velocities by 0.9% for 100°C
increase in temperature.
Below freezing temperatures, however, the effect of
temperature on elastic wave velocities become much
more significant. An increase of 50% or more in com-
pressional wave velocities is observed upon freezing the
pore fluid in some rock samples.39 Below freezing,
compressional wave velocity in water-saturated rocks
was found to increase with decreasing temperature, Fig. 51.14-Compressional-wave velocity as a function of dif-
whereas it was nearly independent of temperature in dry ferential pressure.
Berea Sandstone first important theoretical contribution was made by

Gassmann,44 who described the relationships between
0 0 ,A h (,po = 1360, pf = 600 bars)
pore fluid, rock skeleton (or frame), and the rock grains
a 3.05
I by starting with first principles of the theory of elasticity.
Later, Biot45,46 developed a more comprehensive theory
Do v
o (PO = 345, pf = 150 bars)
of elastic wave propagation in a fluid-saturated, isotropic
0 a
and microhomogeneous porous solid over a wide fre-
0 , 7 9 c Lp? = 138, pf = 60 tars) quency range. Biot’s theory, which reduces to that of
Gassmann at low frequencies, incorporates the effects of
0 Compressional Wave Velocity
fluid composition through the density and compressibili-
A Shear Wave Velocity ty of the saturant fluid (see Appendix).
(p. = 1380, pf = 600 bars Geertsma4’ investigated the applications of Biot’s
c ,i ? fi-~ x -A% theory to the interpretation of acoustic logs and estimated
expected range of velocity dispersion by comparing
velocities at zero and infinitely high frequencies. Since
the estimated velocity dispersion was found to be
generally less than 3%, the low frequency approximation
of Biot’s theory and, hence, Gassmann’s theory is useful
2.30 for most applications. Brown and Korringa” further
L--~ .~ I generalized Gassmann’s theory and succeeded in remov-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 lE0 200 ing the requirement of macrohomogeneity.
TEMPERATURE. “C The experimental data of King, 4’ shown in Fig. 5 1.17
for brine-, kerosene-, and air-saturated (dry) Boise sand-
Fig. 51.15-Temperature dependence of compressional- and stone ($=25 %), illustrated the predicted behavior;
shear-wave velocities in brine-saturated Berea compressional-wave velocity is greater in brine-saturated
sandstone. rocks than in comparable gas-saturated rocks, with the
reverse true for shear-wave velocity.
On the other hand, experimental data of Gregory 5o in
Fig. 51.18 indicate that for some rocks, shear-wave
velocity behavior upon the change of saturation from gas
0.40 to brine is opposite to the predictions of the Biot theory.
Simpson
This may be due to the presence of isolated microcracks
(Ref. 41)
9 in these rocks, whereas the BiotiGassmann theories
0.35 assume the pore structure to be open and interconnected.
10
E Texture
% Umiat
p- 0.30 Texture in this context is the structural framework of the
k rock consisting of solid matrix and pore structure. Its im-
:: portance in elastic wave propagation has been
ii dramatically illustrated in Fig. 51.19. The data in this
’ 0.25
14 c figure are the compressional and shear-wave velocities in
i G
dry and water-saturated Troy granite with a porosity of
8 0
d 0.3 %. 5’ Velocities were measured as functions of con-
E '6 >
5 0.20 fining pressure by maintaining pore fluid pressure (pf) at
ii 16 1 bar. Compressional-wave velocities are higher when
6 20 the rock is water-saturated, whereas the shear-wave
0.15 22 velocities are unchanged between the two states. What is
7
most interesting, however, is that a porosity of only
lLaboratory Measuremenls 0 is:
0.3% is affecting the velocities b 20% or more.
/ AField Measurements from Alaska g
SE! Classical bounding theories5z-5r obviously cannot ac-
0.10 -10 32
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 60 90 100 count for these large changes in the respective moduli
POROSITY, PERCENT because of large differences between the properties of
rock matrix and fluid in the pores. This is because they
used the total porosity without considering how it is
Fig. 51.16-Compressional-wave velocity of frozen rocks as a
function of porosity. distributed.
Scanning electron micrographs (SEM’s) shown in Fig.
5 1.20 show pore space in Troy granite to consist mainly
of thin cracks, typical of most granites. 56
The effects of these cracks on elastic wave propagation
properties have been investigated extensively, and many
theoretical models have been developed. 14q5’ The
theoretical curves shown in Fig. 51.19 were obtained by
fitting the velocity data with the noninteractive scattering
theory. I4 For these theoretical formulations, the rock is
ACOUSTIC LOGGING
---O Brine
2.9
-r? - -A Kerosene
E
x -0 Dry
5 2.7 0.90
ti
d 2.1
>
0.85
1.9
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
POROSITY, O/o
1.7
Fig. 51.18~S-wave velocity ratio vs. porosity for dry, (v,),, and
fully water-saturated, (v,),. rocks.
1.5
Boise Sandstone
6 = 25%
1.3 DEPTH, km
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE, k bar
Fig. 51.17-Observed and theoretical compressional- and

shear-wave velocities in Boise sandstone as a
function of pressure for three saturation flulds. The
circles, triangles, and squares are laboratory data --- 0 Sat’d
from King for brine-, kerosene- and air-saturated
(dry) samples. - 0 Dry
assumed to consist of a solid matrix and pores of

spherical and oblate spheroidal shapes. Using the SEM’s
as a guide and the porosity as a constraint, the pore space
was modeled by a spectrum of pore shapes ranging from
spheres to very fine cracks. Theoretical velocities were
calculated as a function of pressure by first determining
the ranges in pore shapes at each pressure condition.
Depending on the fit, the pore aspect ratio (ratio of minor
to major axis of an ellipsoid) spectra were adjusted and
1:: 1~ , , Troyyranite
calculations were repeated until good fits were obtained
to all velocities. Theoretical curves plotted on Fig. 5 1.19
are based on the final model.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Effects of various pore shapes on acoustic velocities as
predicted by the noninteractive scattering theory are il- DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE, k bar
lustrated in Fig. 51.21. The effects shown in this figure
are for a rock with matrix properties of K,,, =0.44 Fig. 51.19-Observed and theoretical compresslonal (v,) and
shear (w,) velocities in dry and water-saturated
megabar, G=0.37 megabar, and pm=2.7 g/cm’; for
Troy granite as a function of differential pressure.
water with K,,, =23.2 kilobar and pw, = 1 g/cm”; and for The data (points) are from Ref. 51.
gaswithK,=1,5XlO-‘kilobarandp,=lO-’g/cm’.
As indicated, for a given porosity, the thinner (smaller
aspect ratio) pores affect the velocities much more than
the spherical pores.
Fig. 51.20~-Scanning electron micrographs of pore system cn Troy granite

12345012345
This theory also was used to analyze the “well-
behaved” (according to Biot/Gassmann) experimental --
-\
-.
data of Fig. 51.17, where the results are plotted as solid 1 y --Az,.oi \ 1.c
and long- and short-dashed curves. Additionally, I\ 1, \
I\ \
however, it also can explain the “unexpected’ ’behavior
I \ ', I \ '1
of the experimental data of Fig. 5 I. 18, as illustrated in
Fig. 5 1.2 1 by its predictions for the S-wave velocities in I \\ ',o,, . \ '\ 'h
rocks with pores of various shapes.

1 \
Modeling of the real rock can be achieved by approx- I '1
imating the regular pores by spheres and rounded I \
\
spheroids and by approximating the grain boundary \ . '
I \ O.O!
I
spaces and flat pores by low-aspect-ratio cracks. I -
\
“il-:“‘
\,,,,r ::,“:r;a:r
However, there is no practical way to measure a pore \o.os
\ 0.01
aspect-ratio spectrum independently. An extensive study P-Wave 1 S-Wave
by Hadley 58 involved counting hundreds of cracks on 1 I I I I I I / 1 I 1 1
POROSITY, % POROSITY, %
three SEM’s, each covering about 1 mm2 of rock sur-
face. These results are being used for testing “crack” Fig. 51.21-Normalized P- and S-wave velocities vs. columr 1
theories. So far, these theories have added much to our concentration of inclusions (porosity) of different
aspect ratios for water- and -gas-saiurated pores,
understanding of acoustic wave propagation; their prac-
respectively.
tical applications, however, have not yet materialized.
Summary Acoustic Wave Propagation Methods

Factors affecting acoustic wave propagation properties Introduction
of rocks were illustrated in a qualitative fashion with em- Acoustic wave propagation methods used in well logging
phasis on compressional and shear-wave velocities, can be classified into two groups: transmission and
mostly because attenuation properties are much less reflection (Table 51.1). In the transmission method, one
understood. Among the factors influencing velocities, or more transmitters emit acoustic energy, which is
porosity, lithology (mineral composition and structural transmitted by formation and/or casing and is detected
framework), saturation and differential pressure are con- by one or more receivers. In the reflection method, one
sidered primary, and the others, with certain qualifica- or more transducers emit acoustic energy, part of which
tions, secondary. As the previous discussion indicates, is reflected by the borehole wall and/or casing and is
significant advances have been made in understanding detected by the same transducer.
the properties of acoustic wave propagation in rocks. In this section, both the transmission and reflection
Further advances will be made because of the methods will be described, starting with a description of
significance of this work, not only in formation evalua- acoustic wave propagation in a borehole and followed by
tion, but also in seismic exploration. various methods of recording acoustic data.
(A) Wavefronts
Fig. 51.22-Compressional, P, and shear, S, wave propagation

in or around a fluid-filled borehole.
traveling with a velocity, vf. in the mud. When these

Pseudo-Rayleigh waves reach the borehole face, they are both reflected
and refracted. For angles of incidence less than the Pm
wave critical angle tI1,,
part of the energy is transmitted into the formation in the

Compressional form of compressional wave and another part as a shear
wave, and the remainder is reflected back into the mud
as a compressional wave, all according to Snell’s law.
At or near the P-wave critical angle, a shear wave is
i I
still transmitted into the formation and P-wave reflected
Airy Phase back into the mud, but a P-wave is critically refracted
and travels with the v,’ in the formation, close and
IIMt+ parallel to the borehole wall, while continuously
radiating P-wave energy back into the mud at the same
Fig. 51.23-Acoustic waveform. P-wave critical angle (Fig. 5 I .22).
At the S-wave critical angle (o,,).
O,y=sin-’ “f ,
Acoustic Wave Propagation in a ( v5 >
Fluid-Filled Borehole
the S-wave is critically refracted and travels with the \J,,
The propagation of elastic waves in a borehole filled
in the formation along a path similar to that of the
with liquid has been studied extensively.60-70 Only a
refracted P-wave. It also continuously radiates P-wave
qualitative description of the phenomenon will be given
energy back into the mud at the S-wave critical angle
here for identifying the components of an acoustic pulse
(Fig. 51.22). Beyond the S-wave critical angle, all the
reoorded in a borehole.
incident energy is reflected back into the mud to form the
The general geometry for the transmission method is
guided pseudo-Rayleigh waves (Fig. 5 1.24).
illustrated in Fig. 51.22, which shows a single receiver
To summarize, the compressional wave travels as a P-
logging sonde. Two pressure transducers are spaced on
wave between the transmitter and the formation, in the
an acoustically insulated body, the upper one to generate
formation, and also between the formation and the
compressional waves in the borehole fluid and the lower
receiver (PPP); the shear wave travels as a P-wave be-
one to detect compressional waves reaching it. The
tween the transmitter and the formation, an S-wave in
receiver converts these waves to electrical signals. These
the formation, and again as a P-wave between the forma-
are transmitted to the surface and displayed on an
tion and the receiver (PSP). If the formation shear-wave
oscilloscope as a record of received-signal amplitude vs.
velocity is slower than borehole fluid velocity, shear
time and recorded either in analog form on film or
waves cannot be refracted along the borehole wall;
digitally on magnetic tape.
therefore, no shear head wave is generated.
This received signal, which is referred to as the
As described earlier, compressional and shear waves
acoustic waveform, represents several acoustic waves
travel at velocities determined by the elastic moduli and
and is illustrated by the synthetic waveform trace shown
the density of the formation:
in Fig. 51.23. For the usual case of a liquid-filled
borehole in a formation with both the compressional- and
shear-wave velocities higher than borehole fluid veloci-
ty, two body (or head) waves and two guided waves are
.(7)
propagated. These waves are shown in Fig. 5 1.23 in the
order of their arrival time at the receiver: (I) compres- and
sional wave, (2) shear wave. (3) pseudo-Rayleigh
waves, and (4) Stoneley waves.
Compressional and shear waves, which are also called (.. . .
P. primary, and S, secondary waves, respectively, are
head or body waves because they travel in the body of
the formation. Pseudo-Raylcigh and Stoneley waves, p,, is the bulk density of formation, and I,, and I, are
which also are called reflected conical (or normal mode) compressional- and shear-wave transit times.
and tube wave (or water arrival). respectively, arc guid- The body waves travel at all frequencies at speeds
ed waves because they require the presence of the given by Eqs. 8 and 9. They are nondispersive (variation
borehole for their existence. of velocity with frequency is negligible), and undergo at-
A description of the various ray paths of these waves tenuation and geometric spreading. Attenuation, 01, of
may help further in understanding elastic wave propaga- the body waves is proportional to the logarithmic ratio of
tion in and around the borehole. The acoustic transmitter the amplitudes, A 1 and A?, at distances s t and s? from
shown in Fig. 51.22 generates compressional waves the source 15,t6:
where (Y is in decibelift and F,, is a geometrical

spreading factor.
The tingy packet shown between the compressional
and shear waves is called the leaky or PL mode. 66 It is a
guided wave generated by the interaction of the forma-
tion with totally reflected compressional waves between
the compressional and shear critical angles. Paillet and
White@ have shown that the leaky mode propagates at a
velocity close to that of compressional waves in the for-
mation and its phase velocity decreases with increasing
frequency. They also have shown that the leaky mode
amplitude, and hence the shape of the compressional
<
wave train, varies with a change of Poisson’s ratio.
Pseudo-Rayleigh and Stoneley waves are the two main
guided waves. They both arrive after the shear wave,
have larger amplitudes and longer durations than cithcr
the compressional or the shear wave, and are disper-
aivc.67 The pseudo-Rayleigh wave is gcneratcd by the
total internal reflection of the acoustic energy at the
borehole face beyond the shear critical angle. It travels
within the borehole by multiple internal reflections
without loss of energy into the formation; therefore, it is
----- p
a guided wave. Its amplitude decays exponentially in the
formation away from the borehole face, but is oscillatory - s
in the fluid. A pseudo-Rayleigh wave is not generated -. -. Guided Waves
unless I’., > l’f and it travels with a velocity 11,.such that
vf< I’,. s v,> with an Airy phase traveling slower than ‘f.
Fig. 5 I .25 shows the dispersion characteristics for the
Fig. 51.24-Two-receiver sonde and the ray paths of body and
phase and group velocities of the guided waves in a
guided waves.
fluid-filled borehole. ” The parameters used are (1) for
the formation, P-wave velocity= I5 x IO3 ftisec, S-wave
velocity=9~ 10’ ftisec, density=2.3 g/cm”, and (2)
for the borehole fluid, P-wave velocity=6x 10’ ftisec,
density = 1.2 g/cm3 : the borehole diameter is 8 in. The
phase and group velocities plotted are normalized to the CUtOIl
P-wave velocity of the borehole fluid. Frequency
As shown in this figure, the pseudo-Rayleigh waves

are very dispersive. At the low-frequency end. there is a
cutoff frequency below which these waves are not
generated. At this frequency, the pseudo-Rayleigh wave
phase velocity is equal to the shear-wave velocity of the
- - Group
formation and it steeply decreases with increasing fre-
quency and asymptotically approaches at high frequen-
cies the velocity of the fluid in the mud. Group velocity
of pseudo-Rayleigh wave has an Airy phase that travels
more slowly than the borehole fluid velocity (Fig.
5 1.25). Pseudo-Rayleigh waves have large amplitudes
and arrive after the refracted shear wave, often making I I I
0 10 20 30
identification of the smaller-amplitude S-wave arrival
FREQUENCY. ktiz
difficult. However, only a small error is made if the
velocity estimates are made by using the pscudo-
Rayleigh arrivals. Fig. .51.25-Dispersion characteristics of the pseudo-Rayleigh
and Stoneley waves.
The second type of guided waves is the Stoneley
wave. which is the true surface wave coupled between
the borehole fluid and the formation. The particular mo-
tion of these waves is shown in Fig. 5 1.26. 7’ where Y is
the borehole radius. Their amplitudes decay exponential-
ly both in the fluid and in the formation away from the
borehole face. As shown in Fig. 51.24, they are slightly
dispersive. have no geometric spreading, and travel at
velocities slightly slower than that of the borehole fluid

or formation shear wave velocity, whichever is less.
Unlike the formation shear wave or pseudo-Rayleigh
waves, Stoneley waves always are present, whether or
not v,~ is greater than vf. They arrive as a compact pulse
slightly later than that for a direct fluid arrival or shear
arrival if v,~< vf. Stoneley wave amplitudes are high at
low fre uencies and decay rapidly with increasing fre-
quency. 9 ’ In the low-frequency end, the Stoneley waves
are called tube waves and travel with a velocity, v,,
given by’
i Rock
I
r 0 r=R “f
Elorehole v, = Kf ,~, . . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. . ... . . ... (9)
F.X.?
( 57 >
Fig. 51.26-Stoneley (or tube) wave particle motions
where Kf is the bulk modulus of the fluid, given by
Q=P~; >
and
Therefore, in formations with v, < vf, so that neither

Formrtlo” shear nor pseudo-Rayleigh waves are present, the
Stoneley wave can be used to estimate formation shear-
wave velocity if formation bulk density is available from
a density log.
The dispersion characteristics described so far (of the
pseudo-Rayleigh and the Stoneley waves) are for a
borehole containing a point source. The effects of the
logging sonde on dispersion behavior also have been in-
vestigated by Cheng and Toks6z.67 Their study in-
Fig. 51.27-Transit time measurement by a single-receiver dicated, first, that the dispersion curves for the pseudo-
tool. Rayleigh wave are shifted to lower frequencies as the
borehole radius increases. They further found that for a
relatively rigid tool, presence of a logging sonde simply
makes the borehole diameter appear smaller, thus shift-
ing the dispersion curves to higher frequencies.
As stated at the beginning of this section. only a
qualitative description was given of the elastic wave
propagation in a fluid-filled borehole. Ray theory is only
an approximation when describing elastic wave proper-
ties in a cylindrical geometry. Accurate description of
this phenomenon requires solution of the wave equation
for cylindrical boundary conditions. The reader is re-
ferred to the references given at the beginning of this sec-
ou1put tion for a more quantitative treatment.
From
Receiver 1
Methods of Recording Acoustic Data

As described in the previous section, an acoustic
waveform is rich in information. It may have four com-
ponent waves: compressional, shear, pseudo-Rayleigh,
OlAput and Stoneley. Each of these, in turn, has four measurable
From
Receiver 2 properties: velocity, amplitude, amplitude attenuation,
and frequency. 27
Various methods of logging were developed to record
one or more of these properties. A brief description of
Fig. 51.28-Transit time measurement by a two-receiver tool. some of these logging techniques, with emphasis on
those in more common use. follows.
-------- MeasuredTnnsltTlmr
Fig. 51.29-The effect of hole enlargement on the response of

Transmitter
acoustic velocity logging tools: (a) one-receiver
type and (b) two-receiver type.
Conventional Acoustic Logging

The most commonly used property of acoustic waves in
a borehole is the velocity of compressional waves. In
conventional acoustic logging, the time, t, required for a
compressional wave to travel through 1 ft of formation is
recorded as a function of depth. This parameter, 1, re-
ferred to as the interval transit time, transit time, or
travel time, is the reciprocal of the velocity of the com-
pressional waves:
,=,,J-
“P
Transit time also is referred to as compressional-wave

slowness and is identified as fP to differentiate it from
shear wave transit time:
lr Transmitter
Velocities observed in acoustic logging vary from
4,000 to 25,000 ft/sec; hence, the travel times range
from 40 to 250 ~s/ft.
Tool Characteristics. The original acoustic logging

tool, as mentioned earlier, used one transmitter and one Fig. 51.30-Borehole-compensated acoustic log
receiver (Fig. 51.27). Values of L recorded in this ar-
rangement, however, also include travel time of sound in
mud in the borehole. To remove this component, a
dual-receiver commercial tool was introduced74 to
measure the time difference between the arrival of the
signal at the first receiver and at the second receiver
(Fig. 51.28).
Two-receiver systems, however, also were found to be
unsatisfactory, especially at boundaries of hole ir-
regularity, 75 as illustrated in Fig. 5 1.29.
To improve accuracy of 1 measurement further, a
borehole-compensated sonde (Fig. 51.30) with two
Caliper BHC Sonic Log

Hole Diam. 2’ Span
Inches t p see/it
i 16 100 70 40
Measurements from Lower Transmftler LT

+I
Fig. 51.31-Travel time measurement with the borehole-com- Fig. 51.32-Presentation of acoustic log
pensated acoustic log.
transmitters and four receivers was developed.76 This Log Presentation. Transit time 1 measured by acoustic
borehole-compensated tool may be considered to be velocity logs is recorded as a function of depth across
composed of two separate two-receiver systems. As il- Tracks 2 and 3 in units of microseconds per foot
lustrated by the measurement scheme in Fig, 5 1.3 1, per- (psecift). The typical example shown in Fig. 51.32 also
turbations caused by hole irregularities are oppositely has the integrated travel time recorded at the left edge of
directed; therefore, they cancel. These sondes usually Track 2 as a series of pips, placed at l-millisecond
have a 2-ft span between the receivers with a 3-ft spacing intervals.
between each transmitter and its near receiver.
Additional Curves Recorded. A three-arm caliper and
a gamma ray curve can be recorded simultaneously in
Track I of the conventional acoustic logs (Fig. 51.32).
The gamma ray curve can be replaced or supplemented
by a spontaneous-potential (SP) curve; however, this SP
should be used only for qualitative interpretation because
of proximity of the electrode to the metal in the sonde.
h
Tool Span. The usual span for the acoustic log receivers
is 2 ft; however, tools with receiver spacings of 3 in.77
to 1 rn” or longer also have been developed for special
applications.
The shorter the span, of course, the more detail given
by the tool. The relative effects of bed thickness. h, and
tool span on measured transit times are illustrated in Fig.
5 1.33. The log measures only the formation between the
ib, receivers. The measured transit time is the weighted
average of transit times in formations between the
Fig. 51.33-The effect of bed thickness on the response of an receivers.
acoustic velocity logging device: (a) bed thinner
than the span and (b) bed thicker than the span.
Cycle Skipping and Triggering on the Noise. In transit
time logging, the first arrival of the acoustic pulse must
trigger both receivers of the sonde to yield correct values
SP 1 / 1’Span 3’Span 3’Span

Cycle Sklpptng
5 7; P 4 .Accentuated
L-
- I
Detection
Levels
Near
Receiver -
Far
Receiver
I I + 1 Cycle
14
Fig. 51.34-Cycle skip and triggering on the noise Fig. 51.35-Sonic log run in Edwards limestone: (a) 1-ft span,
(b) 34 span, and (c) 34 span with intentionally ac-
centuated cycle-skipping.
of t. Under certain conditions, even though the first ar- An essential factor is to ensure the proper calibration
rival is strong enough to trigger the first receiver, it may of the logging system. Calibration procedures of each
be attenuated to such an extent that by the time it reaches commercially available acoustic velocity system are
the far receiver it may be too weak to trigger it (Fig. described in respective service company manuals. These
5 I .34). Instead, the far receiver may be triggered by a should be required before and after logging to ensure the
later arrival in the same acoustic pulse. This causes large accuracy of the surface equipment. It is important to em-
and abrupt increases in the recorded transit time values. phasize, however, that most calibration procedures do
This phenomenon, known as “cycle skipping,” may oc-
cur when the signal is strongly attenuated by (1) gas
sands, especially if they cause gas in the mud; (2) poorly Induction Interval
consolidated formations: (3) recently drillstem-tested in- Resistivity Travel Time
tervals, because of the release of gas; (4) fractured for- (API Units) (f]M) (psecht)
mations: and (5) aerated mud. 50 100 0.2 2.0 200 150 100
If the detection levels are set too low, however, either
one or both receivers may be triggered by noise, which is -7- x
always present as the tool is being dragged up the hole.
Depending on the receivers involved, triggering may
cause 1 spikes either too short or too long. Examples of
cycle skipping and trig ering by noise are illustrated in
Figs. 51.35 and 51.36. $9
Calibration. The precision of measurement of acoustic

transit time with the acoustic log is determined by the
precision of the timing circuitry, which, in turn. is con-
trolled by the frequency of the quartz crystal used. For
the usual crystals of 2.5 MHz, the potential resolution of
the transit time measurement is f0.4 psecift.
The accuracy of the transit time measurement,
however, depends on many other factors in addition to
the precision of the timing circuitry. A discussion of
some of the factors affecting the measurement of transit
time is given by Thomas.‘j Fig. 51.36-Cycle skip and noise on acoustic log
TIME, @SEC
just that. They merely check linearity of some of the cir-
2000 3000 cuitry in the surface instrumentation without any input
from the downhole sonde.
A true calibration requires measuring the response of
the complete system, surface instrumentation, and sonde
in a standard environment. For this purpose, the tool is
placed in a fluid-filled steel sleeve and transit time is
checked against the known value of 57 psec/ft. In addi-
tion, some free pipe in the surface casing should be
logged while going in and coming out of the hole, and
checked against the value for steel of 57 psec/ft.
Anhydrite beds, with a transit time of 50 pseclft, and
other formations with known transit times sometimes can
be used to check the accuracy of the log; however, these
methods are useful only if the downhole velocities in
naturally occurring rocks are known not to vary from
location to location or with depth of burial.
Amplitude/Time Recording
As described earlier, the acoustic wave (Fig. 51.37a)
contains information other than compressional wave
velocity. One of the methods developed to record some
of this formation is the amplitude/time recording. In this
method, which is also called the “X-Y mode,” the
amplitude of acoustic energy is recorded as a function of
time at preassigned depths along the wellbore (Fig.
5 1.37~). Usually, this is achieved by analog recording of
the output of one of the receivers on film.
Within the last few years, however, the introduction of
wellsite and downhole computers has made possible the
digital recording of waveforms from an array of acoustic
Fig. 51.37-Acoustic waveform recording receivers. For example, with one of these tools, a
waveform is digitized at every %-in. depth interval of
the borehole to obtain more than 500 data points. Pro-
cessing of this wealth of new information is a current
area of research that is expected to increase significantly
the usefulness of borehole acoustic measurements.
Intensity/Time Recording
For most applications, analog recordings of waveforms
L
Sonde
at %-in. depth intervals are rather cumbersome
or a log, waveforms are recorded in the intensity/time

mode. In this presentation,
to use.
Hence, for routine use, to obtain a continuous recording
each waveform is reduced to

a series of dashes of varying width and intensity, de-
pending on its frequency and amplitude (Fig. 51.37b).
The process can be visualized by rotating the acoustic
waveform of Fig. 51.37b by 90” on its horizontal axis
and then recording the positive-going portions of the
wave train as series of dashes and leaving the negative-
going portions as blank spaces, as shown in Fig. 51.37
c. The intensity/time log (Fig. 51.37d) is obtained by
stacking these dashed lines from each depth interval.
Unfortunately, this process has not been standardized.
Some service companies have the negative part of the
waveform as the dark dashes and the positive part as the
Fig. 51.38-Approximate volume of investigation of conven- light blanks; other companies, vice versa. Also, some
tional acoustic logs. service companies have the time increasing from left to
right, while other companies increase in the opposite
direction. The various trade names for this presentation
are Variable Density Log’” (VDL) by Schlumberger and
Dresser, 3-D Log’” by Birdwell, and Micro-Seismogram
Log’” by Welex.
Long-Spaced Acoustic Logging

Introduction. Conventional acoustic logs have a
relatively shallow depth of investigation, Di. The ap-
proximate bulk volume of the rock investigated by con-
Long Spacing
ventional acoustic logs is illustrated in Fig. 51.38. so
8-10 ft Sonde
This region is most subject to alterations because of 190
stress relief, mechanical damage caused by drilling, and
160
chemical alteration (clay hydration) caused by drilling
fluid. An important early study by Hicks” clearly 170
demonstrated that acoustic velocities in certain forma-
160
tions sensitive to damage were significantly lower when
measured near the borehole face than when measured - 150 Conventional
deeper in the formation. Hicks” clearly demonstrated 7
3-5 ft Sonde
that these borehole effects on acoustic velocities i 140
diminish with increased transmitter-to-receiver spacing.
2 130
Since then, many investigators have observed drastically
poor logging data caused by borehole enlargement and 120
formation alteration around the borehole.
110
Borehole Size, Effects of borehole geometry on log Transmitter-Near

100
Receiver Spacing
measurements can be considered in terms of hole rugosi-
ty and hole enlargement. Borehole rugosity, which can 90
cause significant errors in pad-type tools (such as densi-

ty. sidewall neutron porosity, microrcsistivity, and high- 6 8 10 12 14 16 16 20
frequency dielectric measurements) can produce diffrac- HOLE DIAMETER. IN.
tions in acoustic waves propagating along the borehole.
In general, these should not affect the first-arrival com- Fig. 51.39-Maximum detectable formation transit time,
pressional transit time measurements but can affect the various transmitter-to-near-receiver spacing.
Fig. 51.40-Effects of cavity on density, sldewell neutron, and acoustic logs.

Conventional Long Spacing

(3-5 11) (E-10 11)
40 120 100 150
R
5
I
a 150 120
< 30
R 9 100
Long Spacing
‘r\;; i
Acoustic Log e :::I
f
d :_p 2
:.
:.1 g a
p 10
z:i; i E’ 20 A
o:::.’ n I
- n I; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
ALTERATION DEPTH
9 IO 11 12 13 14 1s
R e::jI ; (Inches from Borehole Wall)

:. ::.
‘.:::
:. .’
::: r Fig. 51.42-Effects of formation alteration on measurements
., :.:.:. with convemional (3 lo 5 ft) and long-spacing (8 to
:.
‘.:. m 10 ft) acoustic sondes.
Conventional :. a
R
Acoustic Log t
‘
‘....:,‘.
.. line, the long-spaced tool measures high formation tran-
‘..,.I. i
‘. .’.‘‘.. 0 sit times in larger-diameter holes in the range where con-
ventional tools would record incorrectly low formation
‘. ..
& travel times.
n
Even though these borehole size effects are important.
conventional borehole-compensated acoustic logs can
T record reliable measurements under much more adverse
borehole conditions than other porosity tools, such as
density and neutron tools. The influence of a cavity on
the density, sidewall neutron, and conventional acoustic
Fig. 51.41-Comparison of depth of investigations of conven- tools is compared in Fig. 5 1.40. s3 In this figure, over
tional and long-spacing acoustic logs. the elliptical cavity indicated by the calipers on the den-
sity and acoustic logs, both the density and sidewall
neutron curves are useless, whereas the acoustic log pro-
vides reliable data. This feature of the acoustic log is
used to complement density and neutron porosity that are
amplitudes. The hole size, however, can have a signifi- not reliable because of poor hole conditions.
cant effect on the transit time measurements if the hole is
large enough and the tool is centralized because the Formation Alteration. A more important factor affect-
acoustic energy traveling directly down the hole in the ing the borehole acoustic measurements is formation
mud might arrive at the receiver before the formation alteration or damage around the borehole (Fig. 51.41).
compressional wave. This can occur because of stress relaxation near the
Hole size effects on acoustic measurements have been borehole wall, mechanical damage caused by prolonged
investigated extensively. ‘%** For a centralized tool, exposure to drilling, or chemical alteration of the foma-
Goetz et al. 8L computed the travel times along the direct tion by interaction of drilling fluid with sensitive clays in
mud path and the refracted path in the formation, for the formation. Under these conditions, accurate
various hole sizes. Some of their results are illustrated in measurements of acoustic velocities depend on hole size
Fig. 5 I .39 in terms of I vs. borehole diameter. Below the and transmitter receiver spacing, as well as velocities of
line labeled conventional 3- to 5-ft sonde, a centered tool both altered and unaltered zones around the borehole.
will read the formation transit time. Between this line Formation alteration was investigated by Goetz et
and the dashed line (computed for a receiver with a 5ft ul. ** by assumi n g a step profile transit time around the
spacing from the transmitter), a centered tool will record borehole, with the altered or damaged zone having a
a value intermediate between formation and mud transit transit time kd that is greater than the undisturbed forma-
times. Above the dashed line, a conventional acoustic tion 1 and a mud transit time of 200 psec/ft. They com-
log measures the velocity of compressional waves in the puted the depths of investigation of conventional
mud. The upper solid line is for a longer-spacing acoustic (3- to 5-ft) and long-spacing (8- to lo-ft)
acoustic log with 8- to lo-ft receiver spacing. Below this acoustic logs in a 10.in.-diameter borehole. They also
,’
LTd’
10'
12'
10'
Fig. 51.44-Borehole-compensated transit time measure-
ments: (a) conventional and (b) depth derived.
to 12-ft spacing. Borehole compensation is accomplished

by a depth-derived measurement scheme illustrated in
Fig. 51.44b, rather than the inverted array technique
shown in Fig. 5 1.44a, which was described earlier (Fig.
5 1.3 1). To obtain the transit time at depth level, first the
transmitter Tr is pulsed twice and the respective times
fI =Tr -RI, t? =Tr --‘RI are recorded. The transit
LTl time for this case is given by
II -tz
tI =- psecift,
2
Fig. 51.43-Schlumberger long-spacing sonic log.
which is subject to errors discussed earlier if the hole size
is different at the two receiver positions.
After the tool has moved 9 ft 8 in. up hole, the
transmitters will be spanning the same depth interval be-
calculated formation alteration (td-t) as a function of tween the points of refraction. This time they are each
alteration depth for unaltered formation transit times of pulsed, and the travel times, t3 =Tt -+R? and
100, 120, and 150 psec/ft. Their results, plotted in Fig. f4 =Tz +Rz are recorded by the second receiver (Rz).
5 I .42, illustrate the ability of the longer-spacing tool to For this second case, the transit time is given by
overcome the effects of formation damage. In this
figure, the area to the left of each curve represents the f4 -13
11 = - psecift,
conditions for reliable measurements. For example, at an 2
alteration of 20 psecift, a conventional tool can handle
an alteration of 5 in. if the formation transit time, I, is which is subject to the same errors as t, but in an op-
100 psec/ft, but only 3 in. if t= 150 psec/ft. posite direction. The depth-derived transit time for the 8
to IO-ft spacing is obtained by averaging these two
Long-Spacing Acoustic Logging Tool. Both the measurements:
borehole enlargement and the formation alteration ef-
fects can be accommodated by acoustic tools with longer II +t2
transmitter-to-receiver spacings. A schematic diagram of t-
one such tool, the Long Spacing Sonic’” by 2
Schlumberger, s4 is shown in Fig. 5 1.43. Two transmit-
ters, 2 ft apart, are at the bottom, and two receivers, 2 ft A similar borehole compensation is obtained for the
apart, are at the top, with 8ft spacing between the two lo- to 12-ft spacing by using the second transmitter T2
sections. Two long-spacing logs are recorded concur- in the first position, instead of T , , and the first receiver
rently, one with 8- to IO-ft spacing and the other with lo- R r in the second position, instead of RZ
250 pseclft
LJJ
BHC Sonic ‘( :. Spacing

Travel Time
(psedft)
140 40
Hole O::n 4 Days
--------_---_
--Hole Open 79 Days
-r-r-~Ir-lr-~-r1-l r y-r 7 T r
.
r- -;
<T- ., -'
i ..-
-I
C'>
CT ,,
_ '
r
. j
Fig. 51.45-Formation alteration caused by exposure to mud; Fig. 51.46-Conventional and long-spacing acoustic logs tn a
bit size 12% in. sand/shale section.
Effects of prolonged exposure to drilling and drilling The example in Fig. 5 1.47 is a comparison of the two
mud on acoustic velocities measured with a conventional acoustic tools in shallow and deeper Louisiana gulf coast
borehole-compensated acoustic log are illustrated in ex- sand/shale sequences. s6 Physical characteristics of both
ample logs in Fig. 5 1.45 taken from the reference by the shale at 3,470 ft and the sand at 3.500 ft have been
Misk et al.*’ The dashed curve is obtained after the hole altered by drilling and interaction with mud filtmte. The
has been exposed to drilling for 4 days with the borehole conventional spaced tool is reading 15 psecift higher
relatively undamaged; the solid curve is after 79 days of because of this alteration. This is also reflected by a
exposure. During this period, the formation over much lo-millisecond difference between the respective transit
of the interval has been damaged enough to increase the 1 time integration curves shown in the depth tract. In the
by 30 psecift or more. deeper section, as the formations become more com-
As described previously, long-spacing acoustic logs pacted, the formation alteration is reduced; hence, the
are less affected by altered zones A comparison of con- conventional and long-spacing measurements are in
ventional and long-spaced acoustic logs is shown in Fig. agreement within the interval 8,500 to 8,600 ft.
51.46 for a sand/shale section.73 In the upper section, Even though, in most instances. the t values from 8- to
the conventional log is reading higher values of I than IO-ft and lo- to 12-ft spaced receivers are in agreement,
those by the long-spacing tool, probably because of shale very deep formation alteration can sometimes affect the I
alteration. In Sand Z, both logs are in agreement. values recorded by the S- to IO-ft receivers. The example
whereas in sections directly above and below Sand Z. the in Fig. 51.48 is from a shallow well with modified
conventional log is reading significantly higher values of depths. ” In the upper zone, the 8- to IO-h spacing is
t. probably because of hole washouts. reading values higher by IO psecift than those given by
- psedft
GR 160 60
b
:I
il i
i
Fig. 51.47-Conventional (BHC) and long-spacing (LSS) Fig. 51.48-Very deep formation alteration.
acoustic logs in a Louisiana gulf coast sand/shale
sequence.
the lo- to 12-ft spacing, because of very deep formation to 20 in. In the lower section, the borehole is not washed
alteration. In the lower section, the 8 to IO-ft spacing out but the conventional tool is reading up to 60 ,usec/ft
still reads a few microseconds higher down to the com- too high because of formation alteration. Below 8,700 ft,
pacted formations below depth 227 ft. all three curves (i.e., the 3- to 5-ft, 8 to lo-ft, and IO- to
In the final example shown in Fig. 51.49, the better 12-ft curves), are in agreement.
response of the long-spaced logs in enlarged boneholes is
illustrated. In the upper section, the conventional spaced Summary. Borehole size and formation alteration can
tool is reading the mud transit time in a hole washed out significantly affect the properties of acoustic waves
1
\ ’ I-
I -
\
I
/
c ,‘“L
I
3’-5’+\
BHC :
I
Fig. 51.50-Identification of shear arrivals on analog recording
1 of (a) acoustic waveforms and (b) variable-density
I- (3D) presentations.
I
I -
I
I_
I
/ traveling in a borehole. The long-spaced acoustic tools
I- are much less affected by borehole conditions and yield
-I more reliable values of compressional-wave transit times
under borehole conditions in which conventional tools
i
would be grossly in error. The vertical bed boundary
resolution of the long-spaced tool is the same as that of
the conventional tool since the receiver spacing is 2 ft for
both. Because of the longer transmitter-to-receiver spac-
ing, the acoustic energy has to travel farther; therefore, it
is attenuated more. This has caused more frequent spik-
ing and cycle skipping on the long-spaced acoustic logs;
however, this technology is improving through the in-
troduction of more powerful transmitters, more sensitive
receivers, downhole digitizing, and surface processing
of waveforms.
Shear-Wave Logging
The borehole acoustic measurement methods described
so far have been for obtaining compressional wave
velocities. The desirability of obtaining other informa-
tion contained in the acoustic waveform has long been
recognized. I7 Most of the effort has been directed
toward obtaining the velocity of shear waves.
Early attempts involved hand-picking the shear-wave
arrivals on the analog recording of either waveforms or
variable-density-microseismogram or three-dimension-
al (3.D)-presentations as illustrated in Fig. 5 1.50e3
Another method involves automatic recording of
shear-wave travel times by a bias technique. “v’)’ In this
method, a high-amplitude event following the
compressional-wave arrivals is assumed to be the shear
wave arrival. The transit time of these waves is measured
by setting the voltage bias level higher than the compres-
sional-wave amplitudes.
A thorough investigation of conventional methods for
Fig. 51.49~-Response of conventional and long-spacing
acoustic logs In an enlarged borehole. determining shear-wave velocities from long- and short-
spaced acoustic logs was conducated by Koerperich.”
In this study. borehole experiments were conducted by
using a conventional Schlumberger Borehole Compen-
sated Sonic Log@ (BHC) with two transmitters and four
receivers at 3- and 5-ft spacing and a Schlumberger ex-
perimental long-spaced tool with a single transmitter and
four receivers located at 10, 12. 14. and 16 ft from the
transmitter. Waveforms recorded with these tools in a Depth. r “S‘ Wave Time Pick T-R
II Spacing
carbonate section are shown in Fig. 51.51 for several
transmitter-to-receiver spacings. As indicated in this 591.6 3’
figure, it is easier to identify the later arrivals on the

591.6 5
longer-spacing waveforms because of the greater separa-
tion in arrival times.
Some measurement results from this study are shown 5946-v - 10’
in Figs. 51.52 and 51.53 for a carbonate and a
sand/shale section, respectively. For both compressional 594 7 12’
and shear waves, long spacings generally yield slightly

lower travel times (higher velocities) than short spac-
ings. Another important aspect of this study involved
laboratory measurements of acoustic velocities on core
0 1000 2000
samples. Compressional and shear-wave velocities were Time.qec
measured on core plugs subjected to simulated subsur-
face overburden and pore pressure conditions. These
Fig. 51.51-Acoustic waveforms recorded at various trans-
results are lotted as circles in Figs. 51.52 and 51.53. mitter-to-receiver spacings in a carbonate section.
Koerperich r, states that average agreement between the
laboratory and log shear velocities (for both the long-
and short-spaced tools) is within 2% for carbonates and
8% in sandstones, and that it is slightly better for the
compressional waves. He states further that these dif-
ferences between the laboratory and the log values are Another acoustic array log is a 12-receiver experimen-
nonsystematic. tal sonde developed by Schlumberger. ” It has a single
The foregoing discussion demonstrates that determina- IO-kHz transmitter and an array of 12 receivers. The
tion of shear transit times in a borehole by hand-picking receivers have been arranged both in a nonuniform array
the arrival times from waveforms or from variable- spanning 4 ft with spacings of 0, 6, 9, 12, 1.5, 18, 21,
density presentations is at best a tedious and not very ac- 24, 27, 30, 36, 42, and 48 in. and in a uniform array
curate process. Further, attempts to automate this pro- spanning 5.5 ft with 6 in. between the receivers. The
cess by threshold detection have been subject to errors spacing between the transmitter and a receiver array is
when using an axial transmitter/receiver logging adjustable between 5 and 25 ft.
technology designed primarily for measurement of An experimental tool developed by Elf Aquitaine uses
compressional-wave travel times. The reasons for these an array of transmitters and an array of receivers. ” The
errors are explained by some of the recent modeling transmitting array has five transmitters uniformly spaced
studies of acoustic wave propagation in a fluid-filled at 0.25 m apart; hence, it has a span of 1 m. The receiv-
borehole. 6sm67These studies demonstrate that the shearing array has 12 receivers uniformly spaced at I-m inter-
wave arrival is indistinguishable from the onset of the vals. The distance between the receiving and the
reflected conical waves on the synthetic acoustic transmitting arrays is set at 1 m.
waveforms. However, the phase and group velocities of Finally, the prototype sonde by Schlumberger (shown
the reflected conical wave at its low-frequency cutoff are in Fig. 51.56) has an eight-receiver array and two
equal to the formation shear-wave velocity (see Fig. transmitters.‘j In addition, it has two additional
5 1.25). Hence. if the onset of the reflected conical wave receivers spaced at 3 and 5 ft from the transmitter to
is measured in error, the transit time will be close to that simulate conventional tools. It also has the capability to
of the shear wave. This might be the case in some of the measure the compressional-wave velocity of the
previously discussed studies. borehole fluid. Again, waveforms are digitized
downhole and transmitted to the surface for recording
Acoustic Array Logging and analysis.
Borehole modeling of acoustic wave propagation has As apparent from the previous discussion, this is a
demonstrated the need for a new generation of acoustic very active area of development. Tools are constantly
logging technology to extract more information from being developed to explore the extraction of additional
acoustic waveforms. Acoustic logging tools having ar- information, such as pseudo-Rayleigh and Stoneley
rays of transmitters and receivers, and complex digital wave velocities, from acoustic waveforms. Capabilities
signal processing capabilities have been developed to are being developed to record large amounts of data. For
analyze the data obtained. example, more data are obtained with one of these array
One such tool is shown in Fig. 51.54.” It has a Iower- tools in a l-mile-deep well than are recovered in a l-mile
frequency transmitter (1 1 kHz vs. the conventional 20 seismic section.
kHz), an array of four receivers placed at a longer spac- A parallel and complementary area of development is
ing from the transmitter, and a downhole digitizer to signal processing methods for analyzing these data.
record waveforms without cable distortions. Surface in- Processing methods such as direct phase determina-
strumentation records the signals digitally. The process- tion, y4 slowness time coherence, 93 and semblance 77,95
ing method, using a four-fold correlation algorithm. have been developed to permit automated analysis of
analyzes waveforms from the four receivers simulta- shear-wave transit times. Array processors are being ad-
neously to obtain compressional and shear-wave transit ded to wellsite data acquisition systems to permit real-
times (Fig. 51.55). time signal processing.
Fig. 51.52-Borehole and laboratory measurements of compressional- and shear-wave transit times
in a carbonate section.
Fig. 51.53-Borehole and laboratory measurements of compressional- and shear-wave transit times
in a sand/shale section.
Gamma
I
0
Ray
APIU ,
-------------
r----
-;rx;]
,
L------------------l
Van
Cartridge
1 (Telemetry. Analog-to-
Digital bonvertk)
T&&
0.3 Ill
Compr.
0.3 Ill tP -
0.3 In
C
spacers
iii
Fig. 51.54-A four-receiver acoustic array log with a downhole Fig. 51.55-Compressional- and shear-wave transit time log ob-
digitizer. tained by analysis of the waveforms recorded with
the sonde in Fig. 51.54.
So far, emphasis has been on extraction of shear-wave generate a picture of the borehole wall. When the
velocity from acoustic waveforms. With continued im- borehole wall is smooth, the amplitude of the reflected
provement in tool design and signal processing, it is ex- signal is high; it is recorded as a light spot. Low-
pected that in the not too distant future, acoustic logs will amplitude reflections from fractured or vuggy walls are
record not only the velocities of compressional, shear, recorded as dark spots. The resulting log is essentially a
pseudo-Rayleigh and Stoneley waves, but their attenua- black and white picture of the borehole wall, split ver-
tions as well. tically along magnetic north and flattened (Figs. 51.58
through 5 1.60).
For the borehole televiewer (BHTV) log, the vertical
Reflection Method scale is depth and the horizontal scale corresponds to
The reflection method of acoustic wave propagation log- azimuth of the borehole wall. An isometric view of a
ging is basically similar to sonar. A single transducer vertical fracture intersecting the wellbore in an east-west
rotates at constant speed, emitting acoustic pulses in the direction is shown on the left in Fig. .51.58.97 The cor-
megahertz range and recording their echoes from the responding BHTV log on the right shows the fracture as
borehole face (Fig. 51.57). As in the transmission two vertical dark lines 180” apart. Similarly, an
method, both travel times and amplitudes are used. The isometric of a south-dipping fracture or bedding plane is
azimuth of the beam also is recorded. shown with the corresponding BHTV log in Fig. 5 1.59.
The first such logging tool, the borehole televiewer, Vh An example of a BHTV log (SeisvieweP by Bird-
used only the amplitude of the reflected signals to we1198) based on amplitude imaging is shown in Fig.
S
Receiver Electronics
R
E W
N
1III.
~ Fluid-Delta T Measurement
Wideband Receivers *o- --_ .

Spaced 6” Apart --.
il N E S W N
Vertical Fracture BHTV Log
Intersecting Well Bore
Fig. 51.58-Isometric of a vertical fracture intersecting a bore-

Rg\ Two Standard Ceramic Receivers
hole and corresponding BHTV log.
51.60 for a borehole intersected by two fractures. The

corresponding isometric on the right describes the two
UT\ Two Low-Frequency Transmitters
different dips and strikes.
Significant hardware and signal processing im-
LT/’ provements have been made to early BHTV
technology. 97,99-101 Current technology uses transit
time information to obtain an image, in addition to the
Transmitter Electronics image obtained from the amplitudes of the reflected
signals. Transit time images complement amplitude im-
ages in many ways. Transit time measurement is essen-
l-l tially a near-perfect borehole geometry tool with a
resolution of 0.05 in. BHTV images developed from the
Fig. 51.56-An eight-recerver acoustic array sonde.
transit time measurements can be considered as two-
dimensional (2D) relief maps of the borehole.
Further use of transit time measurements is made in
generating tilted polar scan displays. 99 These are essen-
tially 3D casts of the borehole, which can be viewed
from all directions. The tilted polar scan of Fig. 51.61
shows a damaged section of a casing viewed from two
angles, which also can be viewed from any desired
angle.
Applications
Introduction
Some present and possible future applications of acoustic
logging will be presented to illustrate the use of borehole
acoustic measurements described earlier and listed in
Table 51.1. Discussion here will emphasize the more
important uses, and only references will be given to
more routine and less significant ones.
Seismic and Geological Interpretation

Borehole measurements of acoustic properties were
developed originally to obtain time/depth curves to use
Fig. 51.5743lock diagram of BHTV logging system.
in seismic interpretation. lo2 In addition to recording
transit times of the compressional waves as functions of
depth, acoustic logs also integrate these data and record a
tick mark on the log for each millisecond of elapsed
time. These marks are then used in conjunction with
check-shot surveys for seismic interpretation. 79,‘03
Recent advances in borehole shear-wave velocity
recording also have allowed this technology to be used
with surface seismic shear surveys in a way similar to the
compressional-wave velocity log use with the seismic
compressional surveys. ‘04
An important geological application of acoustic logs

has been for correlating geologic sections. As described
earlier (see Fig. 51.39), acoustic log response is much
less affected by borehole irregularities than are some of
the other porosity logs. As a result, acoustic logs provide
valid data over a large proportion of the borehole.
Further, acoustic logs usually show much character
and detail. Therefore, they have been useful for locating
bed boundaries, identifying gas/oil interfaces, and deter-
mining subsurface geology. An example of geological
correlation is shown in Fig. 5 1.62; even though the two
wells in this figure are 10 miles apart, the character of
the compressional transit time curves is quite similar.
Porosity
Borehole measurements of acoustic velocities were in-
strumental in the development of quantitative formation
evaluation in the 1950’s, although they were developed
BHTV Log
initially to aid seismic interpretation. Over the years, the
primary use of acoustic logs in formation evaluation has Dip: Orientation of Minimum
been the determination of porosity from measurements Angle: tan-’ h/d
of compressional-wave transit time (t= l/v,). Earlier in

this chapter, factors affecting acoustic properties were Fig. 51.59~isometric of fracture or bedding plane intersecting
described through both theoretical and experimental borehole at moderate dip angle, and corresponding
studies of elastic wave propagation in porous media. On BHTV log.
the basis of these discussions, it would be at best naive to
expect a simple linear relationship between porosity and
compressional-wave transit time. However, empirical
observations have indeed demonstrated the validity of
such a relationship under certain special conditions.
N E S W N
5560
Consolidated Rocks. A commonly used linear relation- Dip
ship for estimating porosity from acoustic measurements 5561 Ang leq ir ec lia n
58’ N 70 E
(based on laboratory measurements of acoustic velocity
5562
and porosity in porous rocks and other materials) was
proposed by Wyllie et al. 18,t9 Commonly referred to as Angle Direction
5563 740 N 46 w
the Wyllie time-average equation, it is expressed as
5564
1 G , (l-4)
. . .. . . (10) 5565
VP “L V,
or in terms of transit times, as

Fig. 51.60-BHTV indicating two fractures of different dips and
strikes.
t=&+(l-4)1,, ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (11)
where
( (= 1lvP) = transit time of the compressional
waves for the liquid-saturated
porous medium,
I~(= l/vL) = transit time for saturant liquid that
forms the solid frame of the porous
medium,
t, (= l/v,) = transit time for rock matrix that forms
the solid frame of the porous
medium, and
$I = porosity.
This relationship can be rearranged as
1’(hL -tm)++t, .. .... .... . . . . (12)

Fig. 51.61-BHTV tilted polar image of a section of a damaged
casing.
where the slope is m=tL-t,,, and the intercept is b=t,.

The most attractive feature of Eq. 12 is its simplicity.
It states that the transit time of an acoustic wave in a
porous rock is the porosity-weighted average of its tran-
sit times in the matrix and the liquid in its pores. Also, it
extrapolates to correct values for 0 and 100% poros-
ities-i.e., I, and tL, respectively.
This simplicity coupled with pedagogically pleasing
qualities made Eq. 12 popular and, more importantly,
established acoustic logging as an important tool in for-
mation evaluation. As stated, however, there is no
theoretical justification for such a simple relationship. In
the Appendix, the linear relationship, Eq. 13, is shown
Fig. 51.62-Acoustic log correlation between two wells
to be a second-order approximation of a comprehensive
relationship, Eq. A-9, with the intercept h approximately
equal to the matrix transit time and the slope m strongly
dependent on elastic properties of the porous rock frame
and the compressibility of pore fluid. Nevertheless,
under the right conditions, a linear dependence of transit
time on porosity has been established through literally
hundreds of empirical observations.
A graphical representation of the time-average equa-
Porosity Evaluation from I tion, Eq. 11, is given in Fig. 51.63. lo5 This is a good
beginning for determining porosity from acoustic log
measurements when no other information is available. It
provides acceptable values of porosity for well-
t -t, I
compacted rocks with uniform pore size distribution and
d=-X-
under effective stress (difference between the over-
Ipwtm FCP
burden stress and pore fluid pressure) of at least 4,000
psi.
In most applications, the linear relationship of Eq. 13
has been found to be more useful than the time-average
equation, Eq. 11, provided that the values of b and m can
be determined. As indicated in the Appendix, the
parameter b is approximately equal to (l/v,,,); therefore,
it depends on rock matrix properties. Published values
for b range from 50 to 60 yseclft for sandstones, from 45
to 50 for limestones, and from 40 to 48 for dolomites.
Velocities of compressional and shear waves for a
large number of materials are given in handbooks by
Clark lo6 and by Simmons and Wang. lo7 An extensive
,I/(//.//.. list of compressional and shear transit times have been
30 40 50 60 70 60 90 100 110 120 130
I,, /Jsec/ll compiled by Wells et al. lo8 for minerals and rocks en-
v, ftlsec i,. @?c/ft countered in oil and mineral exploration. Probably the
most comprehensive compilation of compressional and
Sandsloner 16,000 - 19,500 55.5 - 51.3
shear-wave velocities for marine sediments, rock-
Limestones 21,000 - 23,000 47.6 - 43.5
Dolomites 23,000 - 26,000 43.5 - 38.5
forming minerals, and rocks is given, for various
pressures and temperatures, in a recent handbook by
Carmichael. ‘09 A set of compressional and shear-wave
Fig. 51.63-Porosity evaluation from acoustic log
velocity data from the literature is listed in Table 5 1.3 ”
for selected materials, to illustrate the range of velocities
encountered in and around the borehole.
The values of m depend on the elastic moduli of the
rock frame, which in turn are controlled by the effective
stress and pore structure and by the compressibility of
the pore fluid. Changes in velocities have been observed
to become smaller with increasing effective stress.
Therefore, pressure dependence of m may be small
enough to be neglected in normally pressured sections
below 7,000 ft. Effects of pore structure might be
TABLE 51.3-ACOUSTIC VELOCITIES
Material v,(fllsec) v,(ftlsec)

Nonporous solrds
anhydrite 20,000 11,400
calcite 20,100* -
cement (cured) 12,000
dolomite 23,000 12,700
granite 19,700 11,200
gypsum 19,000 -
limestone 21,000 11,100
quartz 16,900 * 12,000
salt 15,000* 8,000
steel 20,000 9,500
Water-saturated porous rocks in situ Porosity (o/o)

dolomites 5 to 20 20,000 to 15,000 11,000 to 7,500
limestones 5 to 20 18.500 to 13.000 9,500 to 7,000
sandstones 5 to 20 16,000 to 11,500 9,500 to 6,000
sands (unconsolidated) 20 to 35 11,500 to 9,000 -
shales‘ 7,000 to 17,000 -
Liquids’ *
water (pure) 4,800
water (100,000 mg NaCIIL) 5,200
water (200,000 mg NaCIIL) 5.500
drilling mud 61000
petroleum 4,200
Gases
air (dry or motst) 1,100
hydrogen 4,250
methane 1,500
described qualitatively by stating that the magnitude of m the close agreement between acoustic-log-measured
increases with decreasing grain contact areas. Thus, m is transit times and core-measured porosities for carbonate
small for crystalline rocks and larger for granular and sections in two wells.
shalier rocks, ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 psec/ft for car- In fact, the acoustic log in certain areas is the most
bonates and from I to 3 psec/ft for sandstones. consistently reliable porosity device. To reiterate, the
Compressibility of the pore fluid depends on whether conditions required are (1) lithology is accurately
it is gas, oil, or water and becomes significant in poorly known, (2) porosity is largely intergranular, and (3)
consolidated rocks (see Eq. A-7). In well-consolidated rocks are well compacted and subjected to a differential
rocks under high effective stress, the relative contribu- stress of at least 4,000 psi.
tion of pore fluid compressibility to the overall rock As with other conventional porosity logs, variations in
elastic moduli is small; therefore, variations of m lithology make porosity estimates from compressional-
because of pore fluid content may be neglected. wave transit times unreliable. To overcome this. acoustic
The large range in values of b and m necessitates the logs are used with density and/or neutron logs, or with
use of core analysis data to calibrate the acoustic log for measurements of shear-wave transit times described in
estimating porosity. For this purpose, porosities and the next section.
travel times are measured on core samples under the
equivalent subsurface pressure conditions, and the linear
relationship between the two is established by statistical Secondary Porosity. Another application of the acoustic
analysis. If laboratory measurements of I are not log is for estimation of “secondary porosity” in vugular
available, restored pressure measurements of porosity, and/or fractured rocks. For this, it is assumed that com-
or porosity corrected for equivalent subsurface condi- pressional wave velocity is affected only by the primary
tions can be correlated to I from the acoustic log to or intergranular porosity. The density and neutron logs
establish the linear relationship. provided that adequate are assumed to respond to total porosity. Hence, any dif-
depth correspondence between core and log data can be ference between these is assumed to be secondary
established. porosity consisting of vugs and/or fractures. An example
There are numerous field examples of acoustic log of this is shown in Fig. 5 1.65, where the section contains
measurements yielding reliable estimates of porosity in anhydrite with fracture porosity. ’‘u Notice that while the
well-compacted, clean sandstones and carbonates, pro- transit time I remains approximately constant over the
vided that the lithology is known. Fig. 51.64 illustrates entire section, density oh decreases from 2.97 to 2.83
South Ralph
Wevburn Saskatchewan Steelman (Kvqsford) Field Saskatchewan
Mlsswpplan LImestone M~ss~rs~pp~en Limestone
Tranr,, Tlrn.3 /Jsec/tt Tranl,, Tlrnl? /.lsecm

100 85 70 55 40 100 85 70 55 40
Salt Potential Spacing - 1 ft, 2 Receivws Specsng - 1 ft. 2 Receivers

Self Potential
millivolts Poro.lfy - (%) mdlivolts Porolltv - (%)
35 30 25 21 15 10 5 0
~--
/
3
>
L-
Sonic Log
/---- Zore I
ore Analysis 4naIySiS-j-
/
/ I
I --_--+-I
----i--1
t ‘?. ’ ;
I r
-
i
+
-1
I~<-, L
L-
Note: Porosity Scale Based on Matrix Velocity , Vm q 23,000 ft/sec
Fig. 51.64-Acoustic log vs. core analysis porosity

ACOUSTIC LOGGING
g/cm 3 . and the neutron porosity 4 W increases from 0 IO

4%. thereby indicating a secondary porosity of 4%.
Poorly Consolidated Rocks. In poorly consolidated

sandstones, reliability of porosity estimates from
acoustic logs is rather poor. In these cases, usually a
combination of density and neutron logs is preferred.
-
One significant advantage of the acoustic log is that it is
much less affected by the hole conditions, such as
washouts and rugosity. This was illustrated in Fig. 5 I .39
where the density and sidewall neutron logs were re-
sponding to hole conditions whereas the acoustic log was
found to yield reliable estimates of porosity.
Several methods have been developed to obtain
porosity information from acoustic logs in poorly com-
pacted sands. 21.1’1 One approach 2’ involves adjustment
of porosity calculated from the time-average equation us-
ing a compaction correction factor Fc,,. First. the ap-
parent porosity $,, is computed from
‘-‘,,I
I$,=-. ... . . .(14)
~1‘
- ’01
t
Then this value is corrected by F,, to obtain the cor-
rected porosity, 4,.. from
&=$. . . .(15)
‘P
The values of Fc7, (Fig. 5 1.63) range from 1 to 1.6 or

higher. One method used to estimate F,, is based on
estimating the compaction of sands from the compaction
of adjacent shales. If the transit time of adjacent shales is
100 psecift or less, they are assumed to be compacted.
Hence. to obtain the correction factor, the transit time L,,,~
observed in the nearby shales is divided by 100.
FcP=*. . . . .. .. ..... . . .(16)

100
Fig. 51.65~Secondary porosity in the Auquilco formation. Neu-
quen basin, Argentina.
Other methods for determining F,, include determina-
tion of porosity either from a resistivity log in a water-
bearing sand or from other porosity logs such as density
and/or neutron, and then comparing the value with 4,,
obtained from the acoustic log.
More recently another empirical relationship for
estimating porosity from compressional-wave velocity
was developed by Raymer et al. ’’’ on the basis of exten-
sive field observations of transit time vs. porosity. The
relationship reported is for the full porosity range from 0
to 100%; however, for the porosity range of interest, 0 to
37%, it is expressed as
TRANSIT TIME, psedlt
where v, is 17,850 filsec for sandstone, 20,500 ftisec

for limestone, and 22,750 ftisec for dolomite, respec- Fig. 51.66-An empirical relationship for estimating porosity in
tively; and of is velocity of sound in the pore fluid. sandstone, limestone, and dolomite.
Time Average Eq.

1, 56 psec/li.
a) Laminated
c) Grain Boundary Structural
l Clean Sands
A Shaly Sands
b) Framework Structural
Velocity, ft/sec
d) Dispersed
0 Sandstone
80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 7J60
50 I, INTERVAL TRANSIT TIME, vsec/ft CD Clay
Fig. 51.67-Velocity/porosity correlations for moderately con- Fig. 51.68-Shaly sand models for acoustic wave propagation
solidated to unconsolidated sands. studies.
A graphical representation of this empirical relation-

ship is given in Fig. 51.66. Raymer et al. t It found this
relationship to be a better estimator of porosity than the
time-average equation. They also reported that it is ap-
plicable to both consolidated and unconsolidated rocks.
Predictions from this relationship and from the time-
average equations were investigated by Hartley It* for
the moderately consolidated to unconsolidated sands of
the Gulf of Mexico. The lack of agreement indicated in
Fig. 5 1.67 led Hartley to the universally applicable con-
clusion that empirical relationships “may provide er-
roneous porosities if they are applied outside of the data
fif set from which they were developed.”
9-
5 0 - Laminated Shaly Sands. Another aspect of Hartley’s study t ” con-
1 siders the effects of shaliness in porosity interpretation.
-- Structural
-.- Dispersed In Fig. 5 1.67, porosity predictions from the empirical
relations are worse for the shaly sands. Effects of shales
on acoustic velocities are not very well understood; as a
result, they are difficult to account for. A recent
Compressional theoretical study by Mineart’” shed much light on this
problem by relating clay effects to their distribution
within the rock framework. Minear used the Kuster-
Toksoz ‘I4 model of porous media and divided clay
distributions into four groups. As illustrated in Fig.
51.68, these four groups are (1) the laminated model
(Fig. 51.68a), in which clay-mineral-rich and shaly
layers alternate with clean sandstone layers. (2) the
framework structural model (Fig. 51.68b), in which
10 20 30 40 50 60
shale grains substitute for quartz grains randomly, (3) the
CLAY/SHALE FRACTION OF FORMATION, % grain boundary structural model (Fig. 5 1.68c), in which
shale grains occur at some, but not all. boundaries be-
Fig. 51.69-Estimated shale effects on compressional and tween the quartz grains, and (4) the dispersed clay model
shear velocities. (Fig. 51.68d), in which clays occur dispersed in the pore
fluid or lining the pores but not between the grain
contacts.
90 100 110 120 130 140 150

I,, dn
Laboralory Data (Ref. 27) Field Data (hiked Lithologlar Excluded)

C Limestone OLtmertone
ADolomite QDolomltc
1 Sandstones 0 Sandntone
Fig. 51.70-Compressional-wave transit time vs. shear-wave Fig. 51.71-Compressional- to shear-wave velocity ratio vs.
transit time. compressional-wave velocity. Data from Fig. 51.70.
One of the obvious conclusions in this study is that the (v,Iv,) are closely spaced for dolomites and
time-average equation is applicable to the laminated limestones- 1.8 and I .9, respectively. The sandstones
model. A more interesting conclusion, however, states range from 1.6 for low-porosity sands to 1.75 for high-
that the framework (Fig. 51.68b) and grain-boundary porosity sands under low effective stress.
(Fig. 5 1.68~) shales seem to have the same effect on Lithology identification is also illustrated in Fig.
acoustic velocities. Further results of this study are sum- 51.71 by replotting the velocity ratio data of Fig. 5 1.70
marized in Fig. 51.69. The differences, t&ly -tclean, vs. compressional wave velocities.
between the transit times of the shaly and clean forma- Use of borehole measurements of compressional and
tion for both the compressional and shear waves are plot- shear transit times is described by NationsEX for deter-
ted vs. the clay or shale fraction for a sandstone with a mining porosity and lithology in mixed-lithology rocks.
porosity of 30%. Structural and laminated shales have He assumes that velocity ratio is a constant for a “pure”
approximately the same effect on I,, and l-5 but increase rock type: 1.6 for sandstones, 1.8 for dolomites, and 1.9
t,, more than I,, Dispersed clay, if it has a density close for limestones. He further assumes that mixed-lithology
to that for sandstone, has about the same effect on L,, as rocks will exhibit a ratio that is directly proportional to
the structural and the laminated clays: however, its effect the content of the two minemls and that porosity is
on I,, is only about one-third of that by the other two. distributed equally between the two. From the velocity
ratio, he first determines the mineralogical composition;
Lithology then, on the basis of this information, assigns the ap-
Estimation of lithology from conventional acoustic log propriate matrix transit time for calculating porosity. An
measurements may be made by solving for the matrix example of the results of this technique is illustrated in
travel time from the time-average equation if the porosity Fig. 5 1.72 for dolomite/sandstone and dolomite/
is known from another source. Even though this tech- limestone mixtures.
nique has been used under certain conditions, matrix
transit times of the most common rock types determined
Hydrocarbon Content
in this fashion are not distinct enough to make this a very
useful method. Acoustic signals on microseismogram or variable-
A more deterministic method for establishing lithology density logs are known to disappear sometimes in oil and
from acoustic log measurements is based on the relation- gas zones in unconsolidated formations. This property is
ships shown in Fig. 5 1.70. In this figure, laboratory- and used to locate oil/water contacts. as well as gas caps, but
borehole-measured values of compressional-wave transit is not completely reliable. Sometimes, even within the
times are plotted against shear-wave transit times. bame zone, signal disappearance may or may not be in-
Laboratory data cover a porosity range of 5 to 30% for dicative of presence of hydrocarbons.
sandstones and 5 to 2.5 % for carbonates. and an effective Laboratory studies conducted by Gardner and Har-
stress range of 0 to 6.000 psi.” As indicated, each ris”’ on sandpacks indicate that shear-wave velocities
lithology has a well-defined trend, regardless of porosity decrease when liquid is added to sandpacks, whereas the
or effective stress (depth). Lines of equal velocity ratio compressional-wave velocity increases (Fig. 51.73).
Lithology Set
0 Dolomite-Sandstone
*Dolomite-Limestone
4\
Water Saturated
- 1000
ps,
200 PSI
Dolomitlc Sandstone
3
c
3
With Part of Pore 0.
Space Not Connecte 0.
0
0 I I I I I I
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
FDC-CNL POROSITY, POROSITY. ‘.
Fig. 51.72-Porosity from compressional-wave transit time cor- Fig. 51.74-Ratio of compressional-wave to shear-wave veloci-
rected for lithology by the velocity ratio vs. porosity ty for sands and consolidated rock.
from density/neutron crossplot for complex
lithologies.
These observed differences between compressional

and shear-wave velocities are illustrated by plotting
velocity ratio as a function of porosity and pressure (Fig.
5 1.74). Also shown in this figure is the velocity ratio
range of 1.75 & 0.20 for the consolidated sedimentary
rocks. A velocity ratio greater than two indicates an un-
consolidated sand saturated with liquid. Below this value
it may be either an unconsolidated sand containing gas or
a consolidated rock.
For the consolidated rocks, the ranges of velocity
ratios for liquid and gas saturation were obtained by
Gregory50 through laboratory measurements. The
results of his study are summarized in Fig. 51.75.
Additional experimental data obtained on a sandpack
are shown in Fig. 51.76. ’I6 Laboratory measurements
of compressional- and shear-wave velocities are
measured as a function of water saturation and plotted on
\ this figure together with measured values of density.
\
-we_
\
These data and the previous observations may be inter-
preted in general terms through use of the Gassmann-
,y
5000 psig Biot theory described in the Appendix. Taking the
square roots of Eqs. A-l and A-2 gives, respectively,
\
\
I
L’,,= - PC/ +f(Kf)
Ph ‘%[
I I
20 40
and
POROSITY, 40
Fig. 51.73-Variation of compressional-wave and shear-wave G %

velocilles of wet and dry sands with porosity at v,,= - .
5,000 psig differential pressure. ( Ph >
Predictions of these equations also are plotted on Fig.

5 1.76 as dashed lines. One of the predictions of Eq. A-l
is that for 100% gas saturation, incompressibility of pore
ACOUSTIC LOGGING
1 .QO
fii
,.20 _ Consolidated Sedimentary Rocks $J 5.0 I I
Pressure Range - O-10,000 psi = I
1.10 I I I I I 1 1 1 i Measured (VP) ,
Ii 1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 e 4.0’7 -- I ---L-__-!-- i 1.
POROSITY, %
Computed rvp)’ / -----/
I
Fig. 51.75-Variations of velocity ratio with porosity for water- i I
saturated and gas-saturated rocks.
fluid (K$ is much smaller than that of the rock matrix 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
(K,,,); hence, f(Kf) becomes negligibly small (see Eq.
WATER SATURATION, S,
A-4). Therefore, P-wave velocities calculated from this
equation for the gas-saturated rocks are smaller than Fig. 51.76-Compressional- and shear-wave velocity and bulk
those for the liquid-saturated rocks. density vs. saturation for a sand pack.
The S-wave velocity, however, becomes the function
of gas saturation through dependence on the bulk density
because the shear modulus G is the same for the rock
Sonic, ii secift -200 180 130
whether it contains gas or liquid. Hence, as indicated in Induction Log I I I
Eq. A-2, shear-wave velocity increases upon introduc- Resistivily f!M 1 1.o 10.0 100.0
I I I
tion of gas to the extent that the bulk density decreases.
Returning to the P-wave velocities, since the com-
pressibility of gas is much larger than that of water, a
small amount of gas reduces pore fluid compressibility
essentially to that of gas as predicted by Eq. A-7 (see
Appendix).
Cf=S,,.c,,. i-(1 -S,,.)c,,
where cX is gas compressibility. Hence, a small amount

of gas reduces compressional-wave velocities signifi-
cantly, but additional gas saturation has little further ef-
fect. This was illustrated by the laboratory data and
theoretical prediction plotted in Fig. 5 I .76. A field ex-
ample shown in Fig. 51.77 confirms this by
demonstrating that compressional-wave transit time does
not differentiate the upper zone at 90% gas saturation
from the lower one containing 20% gas, because the I
curve essentially is responding to the velocity of the mud
in both intervals.
Effects of gas saturation on the compressional to
shear-wave velocity ratio is illustrated in Fig. 5 1.78 for a
deep dolomite reservoir. ‘I7 Over the 18,500 to
18,520-ft interval the v,,Iv, ratio is 1.8; this is as ex-
pected for a dolomite lithology. Over the gas zone below
18,520 ft, however, this ratio is reduced to 1.6, and
clearly differentiates the gas zone. A similar gas effect is
shown in Fig. 5 I .79 for a sandstone reservoir. In this
case, the vp/v, ratio is reduced from 1.67 to 1.5 1, again
clearly dehneating the gas zone. Fig. 51.77-Gas effect on acoustic log
Fig. 51.78-Gas effect on compressional- to shear-wave veloci- Fig. 51.81-Scope pictures from selected levels in the log on
ty ratio in a dolomite reservoir. Fig. 51.80.
1.6 1.7 In general, the effects of gas saturation on acoustic

t Velocity velocities in rock may be summarized as follows.
rllTl
Ralio
1. Compressional-wave velocity is greater in liquid-
saturated rocks than in comparable gas-saturated rocks,
whereas the reverse is true for shear-wave velocities.
2. The difference in compressional-wave velocity for
the liquid- and gas-saturated states becomes negligibly
small with increasing depth, whereas the equivalent dif-
ference for the shear-wave velocities remains constant.
Fig. 51.79-Gas effect on compressional- to shear-wave veloci- 3. Under equivalent pressure conditions, compres-
ty ratio in sandstone reservoir. sional-wave velocity decrease upon gas saturation (in
poorly consolidated rocks) is much greater than that in
well-consolidated rocks.
Attenuations of elastic waves are also used to identify
gas zones. ’I8 This is illustrated in the typical Gulf Coast
sandsshowninFigs.51.80and51.81.InFig.51.80,the
induction log indicates two gas zones: one in a thin
stringer at 5,476 ft and the other in a massive sand at
5,520 ft underlain by water. Scope pictures in Fig. 5 1.8 1
were recorded with a single-transmitter, dual-receiver
acoustic log while going into the hole described in the
previous figure. In Fig. 51.81a, the lower-receiver
signal is just becoming affected as it moves very close to
the gas stringer. One foot lower, at 5,477 ft, the lower
receiver is in the top of the gas zone. In Fig. 5 1.8 lc, the
t lower receiver is in the gas sand and the upper receiver is
being affected. In the massive gas sand at 5,540 ft, both
receivers are showing almost total compressional wave
loss, whereas in the water sand at 5,580 ft, a strong
Fig. 51.80-Typical gulf coast induction log indicating Iwo gas signal is apparent at both receivers. For comparison, a
sands. typical shale response at 5,462 ft is given in Fig. 5 1.8lf.
Geopressure Detection 0
Geopressure refers to a buried rock/fluid system in
which the fluid pressure is greater than the hydrostatic
pressure of a full column of formation water.
-
Geopressure also is called abnormal pressure or over- 2
pressure. Abnormally high fluid pressures are found
worldwide. Such pressures occur when fluid in the pore
space begins to support more overburden than just
fluids-i.e., not all the compressional forces are 4 -
transmitted by the rock matrix only.
The ability to predict the occurrence and magnitude of
abnormal pressures is a requirement in planning efficient
drilling and, ultimately, completion procedures. Hott- 6
man and Johnson”’ established a procedure for deter-
mining the first occurrence of geopressure and the
precise depth vs. pressure relationship. They observed
that for hydrostatic-pressure formations in a given 8 -
geological province, a plot of the logarithm of
compressional-wave travel time in shales, i,,h, vs. depth
is generally a straight line. The divergence of the observ-
ed travel time kc,,, from that obtained with the established 10
normal trend kli is a measure of the pore-fluid pressure in
the shale and, hence, in the adjacent permeable forma-
tion (Fig. 51.82). They also established a trend of
resistivity vs. depth for shales and used it similarly in
conjunction with acoustic log data.
12
A field example showing acoustic log response in an 'ob
abnormal pressure section in the North Sea is given on
the right track of Fig. 5 1.83. ‘*” A remarkably accurate / I
prediction of abnormal pressure by surface seismic
14
measurements is shown for comparison in the left track.
A procedure for evaluation of formation pressure is
summarized as follows. “’
1. Plot shale velocity or transit time and establish a
normal compaction trend line. Fig. 51.82-Prediction of Qeopressure from shale transit time.
2. Locate the anomalous pressure top at the depth at
which plotted data points diverge from the normal trend.
3. Take the difference between observed shale transit
time and normal shale transit time.
4. Convert the difference to formation pressure gra-
dient by means of an empirically derived curve for a Predicted Actual
given age and for a given area (Fig. 5 1.84 was used for
the example shown in Fig. 51.83).
5. Multiply the pressure gradient obtained by depth to
Abnormal
compute the formation fluid pressure at that depth. Abnormal
Pressure TopL
Another approach for evaluating abnormal pressures is Pressure Top
Normal
suggested by Eaton. ‘*’ He proposes the following em- Pressure or
pirical relationship for predicting pore fluid pressure Lithology Change
(Pf): Abnormal-’
Pressure
1(
i
t&-f, = 36
where I,,‘,-‘n = 38
Mud Wt. = 14.0
Mud Wt. = 13.3 1 ____.~.~
D = depth, ft
Top Chalk
Top Chalk
p/D = pore fluid pressure gradient, psi/ft,
p,/D = overburden stress gradient, psi/ft,
(P/D) ,r = normal hydrostatic pressure gradient
(0.456 psiift for Gulf Coast, 0.434 for
Fig. 51.83-Comparison of seismic prediction and actual down-
fresh waters), hole pressure environment.
1, = transit time on the extrapolated normal

curve at depth,
17 ‘oh = observed transit time at depth, and

m = empirical exponent varying regionally
around a value of three.
Cement Bond Quality

The primary purposes of oilwell cementing are to secure
casing to prevent leakage to the surface and to isolate
producing zones from water zones. With the increasing
cost of completing wells, accurate determination of the
quality of the casing cementation has become necessary
to avoid costly recompletion and squeeze cementing
jobs.
The successful cementing of a well is affected by
many factors: cement setting time, pressure, tempera-
ture, hole size and deviation, formation and cement
characteristics, casing surface, and damage to the ce-
ment bond by perforating or squeezing operations. These
and many other factors must be considered when
evaluating the effectiveness of a cement job.
Early in acoustic logging, it was observed that the
MEASURED, I&, - NORMAL fs,, amplitude of an acoustic signal in a firmly cemented pipe
is only a fraction of that of a free pipe. tZ3 Since then,
Fig. 51.84-Transit-time/pressure correlation, North Sea. downhole acoustic measurements have been firmly
established as the primary technology for determining
cement bondin not only to the casing but to the forma-
tion as well . ” %.‘25 Under favorable conditions even the
compressive strength of cement can be determined. ‘I6
Free Pipe. A schematic axial transmitter and receiver

0 200 I400 600 600 1000 configuration is shown in Fig. 5 1.85 for cement bond
..,
logging. ‘*’ In a free pipe, most of the energy is confined
to the casing and the borehole fluid, as indicated in Fig.
.#,,I ,I..
5 I .85. The resulting acoustic waveform as recorded by
the receiver is also shown in this figure. The following
observations characterize waveforms observed in free,
unbonded casing.
‘I 1. The first arrival of the waveform is equal to the total
‘I ‘; travel time in casing between transmitter and receiver,
,I
I- Caring Travel Time plus the travel time in fluid between the tool and the
pipe.
2. The amplitude of the entire waveform is high.
3. The waveform exhibits a highly uniform frequency.
Fig. 51.8%Free pipe
4. The waveform is persistent and lasts a relatively
long time.
Good Bond to Casing and Formation. When the ce-

ment is perfectly bonded to both the casing and the for-
mation, a very favorable acoustic coupling is developed.
As a result, maximum energy is transferred to the forma-
tion, and very little energy is transmitted through the cas-
ing and cement sheath. As shown in Fig. 51.86, the
waveform shows practically no signal at the casing ar-
rival time and very little amplitude until the formation ar-
rival time.
Bond to Casing and to a High-Velocity Formation. In

areas of high-velocity formations, signals from the for-
mation arrive at the same time as or earlier than the cas-
ing signal, thereby complicating the interpretation
significantly (Fig. 51.87).
-. \
Fig. 51.86-Good bond to casing and formation Cement Bond to Casing Only. A commonly occurring
condition is that the periphery of the casing is totally sur-
rounded and bonded by a hardened sheath of cement that
0 200 ,; 400 600 800 1000

1
.I : 1
.*: t.-. I,
1 ‘1
i
,-Casing Travel Time I- Casing ikeI Time
I
Fig. 51.87-Bond to casing and to a high-velocity formation. Fig. 51.88-Cement bond to casing only.
is not bonded to the formation (Fig. 5 1.88). This might varnish, the effect tends to appear over a long section of
happen because the cement does not bond with mudcake log. Channeling ordinarily occurs over shorter sections.
of poorly consolidated formations, or the mudcake dries Examples of various bonding conditions are illustrated
and shrinks away from cement. by the variable-density (3D) log shown in Fig. 5 I .90. “’
Under this condition, energy traveling through the cas- The interval from X552 to X614 ft shows a good pipe
ing is attenuated drastically because of the highly at- bond but no formation bond. Only a few formation ar-
tenuating cement sheath. The annulus outside the cement rivals can be seen, indicating a lack of acoustical cou-
sheath offers very unfavorable acoustic coupling; hence. pling between the cement sheath and the formation itself.
very littlc energy is transferred to the annular fluid and Above and below this interval are sections of poorly
virtually none into the formation. This is indicated by the bonded pipe. This probably is due to channeling. This is
lack of later-arriving formation energy in the waveform suggested by the strong pipe signal overriding a weak
of Fig. 51.88. The energy observed at Y!O psec is the formation signal. The interval from X468 to X518 ft i$
beginning of the fluid wave for the transmitter-to- well bonded, as evidenced by the strong formation
receiver spacing of 5 ft. signal. However, there is evidence of a microannulus
between X506 and X518 ft. Here the fonnation signal is
Partial Bonding. A most difficult situation in evaluating distorted somewhat by a casing signal. “’
cement bond quality is the condition of partial bond (Fig. A recently introduced technology, the Cement Evalua-
5 I .89). A small gap may be formed between the casing tion Tool by Schlumberger. shows great promise in dif-
and cement in an otherwise well-bonded casing. In this ferentiating between microannulus and channeling. I”’
situation the waveform typically contains two distinct This tool is based on the acoustic reflection method;
wave energies. The first wave energy arrives at casing however, unlike the boreholc telcviewcr with one
time, since part of the casing is free to vibrate. The sec- rotating transducer, it has eight transducers placed on a
ond wave energy arrives at a time indicated by the centralized sonde at 45” from each other in a helical
velocity of the formation. Hence, both a moderately path. These transducers, emitter and receiver. are about
strong casing arrival and a moderate-to-strong formation
arrival exists.
The typical partial-bonding waveform is characteristic
of either a microannulus or a channel in the cement. A
microannulus is a very small separation between casing
and cement. Normally, a hydraulic seal exists with a
microannulus. but not with a channel in the cement.
0 200 ,400 600 800 1000
Thus. it is important to differentiate between the two. ‘I I
The best way is to rerun the bond log with pressure on -f~ ,‘I,.
-~ ., 4 ,
the casing. If a microannulus exists, the casing will ex- /
_I
pand, decreasing the separation and transferring acoustic
energy to and from the formation. The casing signal will
decrease and formation signals will then become more
evident. However, if only channeling exists, pressuring
the casing will not greatly alter the log.
- C&g Tk~el Time
Another way to differentiate between microannulus
and channeling is by noting the length of section over
which the condition exists. ‘I5 Since microannulus is
thought to be caused by the condition of the exterior sur-
face of the casing, such as the presence of grease or mill Fig. 51.89-Partial bonding
I- usec lncreasina
Good Bond
Probable
Micro-Annulus
Channel-Poor Bond
Good Bond to Casing

No Bond to Formation
Channel-Poor Bond
Fig. 51.90-Good bond to casing-no bond to formation Fig. 51.92-Full waveforms and variable-density log for dif-
ferent bonding conditions.
1 in. in diameter and operate at 500 kHz. They repeated-

ly send a short ultrasonic pulse toward the casing to
make it resonate in its thickness mode. Cement behind
the casing is detected as a rapid damping of this
resonance, whereas a lack of cement gives a longer
resonance decay.
An example of a cement evaluation log is shown in
Fig. 5 1.91. I30 The right track can be viewed as a map of
cement behind the casing. It is divided into eight chan-
nels, each one representing one transducer with a
shading from white (free pipe) to black (good cement).
In this example, a channel is clearly visible as a white
streak.
Summary of Bonding Conditions. Typical full

waveforms for various bonding conditions are sum-
marized in Fig. 51.92. 128
When there is no cement bonded to the casing, a free
casing signal is indicated on the variable-density log as
straight dark lines with distortion at the collars. This
distortion occurs for a vertical distance equal to the spac-
ing between the transmitter and receiver of the logging
instrument (6 ft on the example shown in Fig. 51.92).
When there is good cement bonding both to the casing
and to the formation, there is no casing signal. but there
is a strong formation signal. The difference in response
for the low- and high-velocity arrivals for a well-bonded
Maxlmwn section is clearly illustrated in the lower section of the
variable-density log of Fig. 51.92.
Cased-Hole Evaluation
Most existing wells were completed before the advent of
reliable porosity logging devices; therefore, accurate
porosity data for planning of enhanced recovery opera-
tions must be obtained through existing casing. Radioac-
tivity logging measurements commonly are used for this
purpose; this information, however, can be sup-
Fig. 51.91-Ultrasonic cement evaluation log plemented by the acoustic log measurements in wells
where a good cement bond exists between casing and the

formation. 13’ A recent study ‘X2 involving laboratory Interval Transit Time 1
modeling and computer simulations has indicated that
500 pslm A0
acoustic logging can be successful in both bonded and I I
unbonded casing.
Through-casing acoustic logs have provided reliable
measurements of compressional and shear-wave velocity
data for evaluating porosity and lithology. An openhole
and cased-hole comparison is shown in Fig. 5 1.93 for
the compressional and shear-wave transit times t,, and I,,
The logs were obtained by analysis of the waveforms
digitally recorded with the acoustic logging system
shown in Fig. 51.54. The agreement between compres-
sional and shear transit time logs run in open and cased
holes is excellent. This further enhances the role of
acoustic measurements in cased-hole evaluation.
Mechanical Properties ,
A knowledge of the mechanical properties of rocks is im-
I
portant in drilling, production, and formation evaluation.
Mechanical properties include the elastic properties such 2 Cased Hole
as Young’s modulus, shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio,
and bulk pore compressibilities, as well as the inelastic
properties such as fracture pressure gradient and forma-
tion strength. Borehole measurements of acoustic prop-
erties in combination with density log measurements are
being used more and more for in-situ determination of
mechanical properties of rocks.
Elastic Moduli. Elastic constants describe the

mechanical properties of matter: Young’s modulus,
shear modulus, bulk modulus, and Poisson’s ratio.
Knowledge of these moduli for rocks is needed in study-
ing the propagation of acoustic waves, as well as in prac-
tical engineering problems connected with drilling, for-
mation fracturing. and predicting reservoir performance.
A commonly used approach to gather this information
is to obtain core samples and to conduct laboratory ex-
periments. For meaningful results. these measurements Fig. 51.93-Comparison of digital-sonic logs in a well before
and after casing.
must be made at equivalent subsurface conditions.
Needless to say, these are time-consuming and costly.
Even then the results are suspect because the process of
coring removes the overburden stress from the sample
and causes other disturbances that may not be reversible. Since then, many other investigators have used
Numerous studies have been conducted that compared borehole acoustic measurements to determine elastic
elastic moduli obtained by the static (from measurements moduli. 89,‘37,‘38 Compressional- and shear-wave veloc-
of stress and strain) and the dynamic (from acoustic ities obtained from the acoustic log measurements are
velocities and density) methods. In rocks subjected to used with values of density from a density log to calcu-
lower effective stresses, the dynamic elastic moduli are late Young’s modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus,
higher than the static values; as the stress increases, and Poisson’s ratio by assuming an infinite, iso-
however, these differences decrease. ‘33.‘31 Theoretical tropic, homogeneous, and elastic medium (see Eqs. 3
studies by Walsh ‘X predicted that this could be caused through 6).
by the resence of cracks in rocks. In fact, Simmons and Applications of these in-situ-determined values of
Brace’ P’ found the static and dynamic moduli to be in moduli include predicting sand production and sub-
close agreement when rocks are subjected to higher sidence, and determining fracturing characteristics of
stresses (30,000 psi) so that the cracks are closed. formations. An application involving fracture
The relationship of the in-situ-measured elastic moduli characteristics is shown in Fig. 51.94.h” The core and
to those determined in the laboratory was investigated by log data are from a section of igneous and metamorphic
Myung and Helander. “’ They made laboratory rocks. The fracture characteristics of the core are shown
measurements of compressional- and shear-wave velociL graphically as well as plotted quantitatively as rock
ties on core samples under simulated subsurface pressure quality designation (RQD), which is the ratio of the
conditions and reported a close agreement between in- cumulative length of unfractured core to the unit length
situ and laboratory-determined values of dynamic elastic of core. Elastic moduli curves are quite similar to the
moduli. RQD curve.
R.Q.D. Elastic Properties 3-D Velocity
,&ECINCREASING I
mo4oobooaoomoonoouoo 91aJw
Fig. 51.94-Comparison of rock quality designatton (R.Q.D.), elastic properties, and 3D velocity log
Fracturing. Fracturing of formations is a commonly However, a knowledge of fracture pressure is needed for
used well stimulation technique. To detennine the best proper design of fracturing operation to stimulate
zoncb for fracturing. laboratory compressibility tests can hydrocarbon production from tight formations. An
be run on rock samples from the zones of interest. Frac- estimate of fracture pressure (p/,.) is given by Hubbert
ture design requires a knowledge of elastic moduli. and Willis: “”
which can be obtained from borehole measurements.
An earlier use of boreholc acoustic measurements was
for the identification of zones favorable for fracturing.
Hi@amplitude and high-velocity Lhear w;1vc\ have
been associated with zonch that can be fractured sue-
w\fully. whereas Tones with low-velocity and low- where
amplitudc S-waves wcrc found to be quite plastic. In the 1~0 = overburden pressure.
example shown in Fig. 51 .c)S. Anderson and Walker”” 11, = pore-fluid pressure.
inclicatc 3 wcil-defined shear wave in the /lone from p = Poisson’> ratio. and
4.600 to 4.54.5 ft and none ahovc this LOW. D = depth.
During drilling. control of hydrostatic prcssurc in the
horeholc is nccc.shaQ to not cscccd fracturing prczsuro ot Recent applications of this relationship are discusxcd hy
the formations. thcrcby causing circulation 10~. Atkinson. I41
Am&ude
an +
4500
4600
Comp. 1Shear
Fig. 51.95-Evaluation of fracturing prospects.
Sand Control. Sand-production control has been a cost- performance of these reservoirs is much less understood.
ly problem affecting the economics of oil and gas pro- Techniques for evaluating naturally fractured reservoirs
duction in many areas. To avoid unnecessary sand- are reviewed in the literature by Aguilera and van
control measures, various techniques have been Poollen, IJ5 Suau and Gartner, ‘A6 and Aguilera. “’
developed that use borehole measurements of acoustic Among these, techniques based on measurements of
propertics, 13X.IJ?~l4~ acoustic properties are prominent. Cycle skipping
In the example shown in Fig. 5 I .96. the need for sand observed on the transit time curve has been associated
control is predicted by assuming that hydrocarbon effects with fracturing in certain formations. Also. reduction of
on acoustic properties are predominant in poorly con- signal amplitude has been correlated with fractures.
solidated formations. “’ In the oil zones shown, transit More successful applications, however. involve the use
times are significantly higher than the value in the water of variable-density or waveform logs. ‘4x.‘4y For these
zone, and the amplitudes are reduced, thereby indicating logs, when fractures occur, anomalies also occur in the
poorly consolidated rocks. acoustic wave banding pattern. Sometimes these are
diagonal patterns. but more often they occur as sudden
Fracture Evaluation breaks in the banding.
Many of the important reservoirs in the world produce Fig. 51.97 shows a variable-density log (3-D log)
from naturally occurring fractures, yet evaluating the from a granite section in New Hampshire. “’ In Zone C.
ohmmVm
RESISTIWTY
0 18” Normal
125-130
5650..
t
Fig. 51.96-Hydrocarbon effects indicate the need for sand control.
the compressional wave is not attenuated, whereas the

shear-wave amplitude is reduced significantly. A
theoretical study by Knopoff and McDonald”’ would
predict this to be due to a low-angle (or horizontal) frac-
ture. High-amplitude compressional and shear energies
indicate that Zone B has no fractures. High attenuation
of the compressional and shear waves in Zone A is inter-
preted to be caused by an oblique fracture. The diagonal
energy pattern below Zone C is caused by the presence
of a reflector (fracture) near the borehole.
In the foregoing analysis, fractures are considered to
be thin reflectors causing distortion in wave propagation
because of acoustic impedance mismatch with the sur-
rounding rock. Since abrupt changes in lithology and
porosity also can cause similar acoustic impedance
mismatches, this simplified interpretation becomes much
more complex.
When the hole conditions are favorable and there is no
mudcake or heavy muds in the hole, the borehole reflec-
tion method provides a more straightforward technique
for the evaluation of fractures. A borehole televiewer
sonde operating in a circular borehole intersectin a ver-
tical fracture is shown on the left in Fig. 51.98. 8(” The
Fig. 51.97-Variable density (3D) log in fractured granite. borehole televiewer log obtained in this configuration.
shown on the right. clearly depicts the vertical fracture as
two dark lines.
Fig. 51.98-Vertical fracture intersecting a circular borehole and its representation on BHTV
amplitude log
The amplitude image from the BHTV, however, can- Later, iv a theoretical study, RosenbaumM applied
not distinguish whether the fracture is open or filled. An Biot’s theory to the investigation of propagation of
open fracture produces an image on the amplitude log acoustic pulses in a fluid-filled borehole surrounded by a
because little or no signal returns to the sonde. A filled porous medium. He predicted that permeability could be
fracture also can produce an image if there is sufficient estimated from an analysis of tube wave data contained
acoustic impedance contrast between the filling material in the acoustic waveform recorded in a borehole. He sug-
and the host rock to produce a weaker signal. Therefore, gested that, for a sealed interface between the borehole
both open and filled fractures may produce similar dark and formation, maximum sensitivity to permeability was
images on the amplitude log. obtained in the interval between S-wave arrival and the
Transit time imaging, however, responds not to varia- fluid wave. For the open interface (no mudcake), the en-
tions of signal amplitude but rather to the travel time tire signal following the S-wave arrival could be used.
(and, hence, the distance) from the borehole wall. On the The P-wave arrival was least sensitive to permeability
transit time log, the distance to the borehole face is and could be used for normalization.
represented by a gray scale designating white for far, Results of this study were first tested by Staai and
dark for near, and black for no signal. Therefore, an Robinson 15’ in the Groningen gas field, The
open fracture produces a black image on the transit time Netherlands. They recorded acoustic waveforms and
image, whereas a filled fracture does not. Fig. 51.99 analyzed them to obtain a permeability profile, which
shows a vertical fracture on the amplitude log on the left. compared favorably with the core analysis data.
The similar black outline on the transit time log on the More recently, Rosenbaum’s prediction@ of the rela-
right confirms that this is an open fracture. tionship between the energy loss of the tube (Stoneley)
wave and permeability was investigated more extensive-
ly by Williams et al. ‘52 Using a special long-spacing
Permeability acoustic logging tool, they measured the tube wave tran-
Theoretical studies by Biot45.46 have indicated that sit time and energy ratio in wells located in different
changes in acoustic attenuation may reflect the fluid geographic locations with formations of varying
mobility (the ratio of permeability to viscosity). Later lithology, permeability, saturating fluid, depth, and
studies by Wyllie et al. 24 and Gardner and Harris”’ geological age. From these wells, they also obtained
considered the logarithmic decrement (Eq. 6) of acoustic whole core samples for measurements of permeability.
energy to be a result of solid friction (“jostling” decre- For these widely varying conditions, they report
ment) in the rock matrix and viscous drag (“sloshing” qualitative correlations between core-measured permea-
decrement) within the saturant fluid. bilities and the tube wave data.
The solid matrix losses (jostling losses) were studied An example shown in Fig. 5 1.100 for a Cretaceous
experimentally by Gardner and Harris, ‘I5 with respect carbonate section is highly promising as it indicates that
to the effects of overburden pressure and fluid saturation. both tube amplitude ratio, Am /AR’ , and transit time cor-
The results of their investigation indicate the jostling relate well with a permeability increase of three orders of
decrement of a sandstone under overburden pressures to magnitude in the center zone.
be almost independent of fluid saturation and signal fre-
quency. Hence, changes in the logarithmic decrement Conclusions
can be attributed to sloshing loss, which, according to Borehole measurements of acoustic properties have a
Biot,45.46 reflects changes in fluid mobility. wide range of applications in exploration, production,
51-46
TRANSIT TIME
AMPLITUDE
Black-No Slgnal
Dark-Weak Slgnal Dark-Near
While-Strong SIgnal White-Far
I E S W N N E S W N
Fig. 51.100-Permeability correlation with tube wave data

5210
Nomenclature
5220 A = area; or signal amplitude
A,, = signal amplitude at the source
h = intercept defined by Eq. 13
c = compressibility
d = diameter
Di = depth of investigation
5230 E = Young’s modulus
f‘ = frequency
f(Kf) = function of incompressibility of a fluid
in pore spaces
Fig. 51.99-Vertical fracture of the BHTV amplitude log on the
F = force
left, confirmed to be open by the BHTV transit time F,, = compaction correction factor
log on the right.. F, = quality factor
G = shear modulus
I = intensity
and formation evaluation. Theoretical and experimental
studies have significantly improved our understanding of I,, = acoustic intensity at the source
the relationships between acoustic wave propagation and K = bulk modulus
formation evaluation parameters, such as porosity, fluid L = length
saturation, and lithology. This, in turn, has prompted the m = slope
development of new and improved borehole acoustic n = number
measurement technology and sophisticated digital signal p = pressure
processing technology to analyze the large amount of pCi = differential pressure
data. Even then. current applications often use only a pf = internal (pore fluid) pressure
small fraction of the information available in acoustic
pf/D = pore fluid pressure gradient. psiift
waveforms.
Advances in the understanding of acoustic wave prop- (pf./D) ,I = normal hydrostatic pressure gradient
agation are interactively complementing improvements (0.456 psiift for U.S. gulf coast)
in downhole recording and transmission technology. and P.fr = fracture pressure
developments in signal processing. This should result PO = external (overburden) pressure
not only in a broader and more quantitative use of the p,,lD = overburden stress gradient. psiift
present applications, but also in the development of P,l = P-wave modulus for the rock frame (or
many new applications. the dry rock)
r = borehole radius APPENDIX

s = arbitrary point Theory of Elastic Wave Propagation
S = saturation in Rocks
f = travel time
The first theoretical expression of elastic behavior of a
t = transit time
saturated porous medium was given by Gassmann.U
I( = I/Y,,) = transit time for the compressional Later, Biot45,46 developed a more comprehensive theory
waves for a liquid-saturated porous of elastic wave propagation in a fluid-saturated,
medium isotropic, porous solid over a wide frequency range. The
I~~(= I/Y~,) = transit time for saturant liquid predicted velocity dispersion by this theory is. in
‘,I = damaged zone transit time general, less than 3% ” ; therefore, the low-frequency
I,,,( =1/t,,,,) = transit time for rock matrix that forms approximation should be useful for most applications.
the solid frame of a porous medium Velocities predicted by this theory at the lower fre-
transit time on the extrapolated normal quencies can be expressed simply by
1,, =
curve at depth
1oh = observed transit time at depth 7 P‘l +mf)
\‘; = . (A-1)
N = particle motion at s Ph
1’= velocity
“f = compressional-wave velocity of drilling and
mud
I’,, = compressional-wave velocity G
\‘r = pseudo-Rayleigh-wave velocity Lj,,Z= - ....... .... ........ .. . (A-2)
\‘,, = shear-wave velocity Pb
\‘, = tube- or Stoneley-wave velocity

coefficient of absorption; or attenuation where Pd is the P-wave modulus for the rock frame (or
O!=
the dry rock), and f(Kf) is the function of the incom-
coefficient
pressibility of the fluid in the pore spaces. The P-wave
6= logarithmic decrement
modulus for the dry rock can be expressed, in turn, by
E= strain
CL = longitudinal strain
t, = shearing strain Pd=Kd+;Gd: .t.. (A-3)
CT = transverse strain
0, = S-wave critical angle and the functionf(Kf), by
X= wave length
P”= Poisson’s ratio (1-K,,/K,,,)’
density flKf.1=Kj (A-4)
P=
porosity
(I-K$K,,,M+(K,,, -K,,)K+K,,,’ ’
4=
Subscripts in which K is incompressibility (or bulk modulus), G is

a= apparent shear modulus, and the subscripts d, f, and m refer to the
rock frame (or the dry rock), fluid, and rock matrix.
C= corrected
For rocks containing both water and hydrocarbons, the
(1 = dry rock
bulk density is expressed as
f= pore fluid
,? = gas p/,=$p,.+(l -d)p,,,, . .(A-5)
hc = hydrocarbon
L= liquid where
/n = matrix
N= neutron Pf=S,,P,,.+(l -S,,.)p,,(,, .(A-6)
0 = overburden or oil
P= pore volume; or P-wave modulus and the fluid incompressibility. K,, which is the inverse
.s = S-wave modulus of compressibility, cf, is given by
S/l = shale
1\’ = water c, =S,,.c,,.+(l -S,,,)C,,< , (A-7)
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank A.A. Brown, G.S. De, and K.J. Dunn of where S denotes saturation, and the subscript hc refers to
Chevron Oil Field Research Co. and M.N. Toksoz of the hydrocarbon.
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology for reviewing the Rock frame incompressibility, K,,. in Eq. A-3. which
manuscript. Debbie Ivey for typing. and. more impor- is the inverse of compressibility of dry rock, (‘,I, is
tantly. the participants of the Chevron Formation related to PV compressibility, c,, . by
Evaluation seminar durmg the past 20 years for many
helpful suggestions toward the evolution of this chapter. c,,=&.,~ +c,,$. (A-X)
on the basis of Van der Knaap’s” definitions. Substitu- 14. ToksBz. M.N., Cheng. C.H.. and Timur, A.: “Velocities ot
Seismic Waves in Porous Rocks,” Grophwics (1976) 41.
tion of this equation into Eq. A-l, after some manipula-
621-45.
tion, results in 15. Toksiiz, M.N., Johnston, D.H., and Timur. A: “Attenuation of
Seismic Waves in Dry and Saturated Rocks. Paa I: Laboratory
Measurements.” Geophysics (1979) 44, 68 I-90.
3 1-p CL 16. Johnston, D.H., Toksb;z, M.N., and Timur. A. “Attenuationof
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Ph”‘,i 2 1 +!J (cf-CJ’ SC, -’ Models and Mechanisms,” Gmphgsics (1979) 44. 691-71 I.
17. Timur, A.: “Temperature Dependence of Compressional and
Shear Wave Velocities in Rocks.” Grr,p/zwic.r (1977) 42,
Further substitutions into this equation for density from 950-56.
18. Wyllie, M.R.J., Gregory, A.R., and Gardner, G.H.F.: “Elastic
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Chapter 51

v,=+(K+4/,G)“, . ... . . .(I)

Hooke’s Law Region

Fig. 51.3-Compressional wave. Fig. 51.4-Shear wave.

Characteristics of Acoustic Waves distance, s, from the source is

An additional feature of acoustic waves to be con-

where I,, is the acoustic intensity at the source, I is inten-

Acoustic Properties I Or, in more common units, attenuation is given in

Other parameters defining attenuation are the quality

where v is velocity and f is frequency.

” Porosity 11.5. Density 2.46

I OVERBURDEN PRESSURE, PSI x 101

Stress samples including dolomite, limestone, and sandstone

VELOCITY, km/s VELOCITY, km/s

TABLE 51.2-ROCK COMPOSITION

Sample Navajo sandstone

Berea Sandstone first important theoretical contribution was made by

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

Fig. 51.17-Observed and theoretical compressional- and

assumed to consist of a solid matrix and pores of

Fig. 51.20~-Scanning electron micrographs of pore system cn Troy granite

rocks with pores of various shapes.

Summary Acoustic Wave Propagation Methods

Fig. 51.22-Compressional, P, and shear, S, wave propagation

traveling with a velocity, vf. in the mud. When these

part of the energy is transmitted into the formation in the

where (Y is in decibelift and F,, is a geometrical

As shown in this figure, the pseudo-Rayleigh waves

velocities slightly slower than that of the borehole fluid

Therefore, in formations with v, < vf, so that neither

Methods of Recording Acoustic Data

Fig. 51.29-The effect of hole enlargement on the response of

Conventional Acoustic Logging

Transit time also is referred to as compressional-wave

Tool Characteristics. The original acoustic logging

Caliper BHC Sonic Log

Measurements from Lower Transmftler LT

SP 1 / 1’Span 3’Span 3’Span

Calibration. The precision of measurement of acoustic

or a log, waveforms are recorded in the intensity/time

each waveform is reduced to

Long-Spaced Acoustic Logging

Borehole Size, Effects of borehole geometry on log Transmitter-Near

cause significant errors in pad-type tools (such as densi-

Fig. 51.40-Effects of cavity on density, sldewell neutron, and acoustic logs.

Conventional Long Spacing

R e::jI ; (Inches from Borehole Wall)

to 12-ft spacing. Borehole compensation is accomplished

BHC Sonic ‘( :. Spacing

figure, it is easier to identify the later arrivals on the

and shear waves, long spacings generally yield slightly

Wideband Receivers *o- --_ .

Fig. 51.58-Isometric of a vertical fracture intersecting a bore-

51.60 for a borehole intersected by two fractures. The

Seismic and Geological Interpretation

An important geological application of acoustic logs

of compressional-wave transit time (t= l/v,). Earlier in

or in terms of transit times, as

This relationship can be rearranged as

1’(hL -tm)++t, .. .... .... . . . . (12)

where the slope is m=tL-t,,, and the intercept is b=t,.

TABLE 51.3-ACOUSTIC VELOCITIES

Material v,(fllsec) v,(ftlsec)