Forward modeling of sonic logging in fractured rocks with stress induced anisotropy

ABSTRACT: CO₂ leak path estimation is essential for successful carbon capture and storage. Even in the case of successful cementing, the risk of long-term gas migration remains and is mainly cost by the occurrence of microfractures. The complexity of the microfracture detection problem requires both advanced processing methods and highly effective numerical methods. We study the possibility to locate the fractures in the near wellbore zone by processing the waveforms obtained by the conventional sonic logging modeling experiments. The modeling algorithm is based on the spectral element method (SEM with Schoenberg’s linear slip model (LSM). In this article, we extend the method with acoustoelastic theory and investigated the possibility of detecting radial fractures. We showed that the stress concentration zone near the fracture changes the effective elasticity parameters of the rock, which can be detected in the recorded waveform data.