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The Effect of Water Saturation on the Elastic Properties of the Wellington Shale at Seismic Frequencies
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 80th EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2018, Jun 2018, Volume 2018, p.1 - 5
Abstract
We studied the influence of water saturation on the elastic and anisotropy parameters of the Wellington shale in the range of the seismic frequencies from 0.1 Hz to 100 Hz at a confining pressure of 6 MPa. The measurements were conducted on three specimens retrieved at 0°, 45° and 90° angles with respect to the formation bedding. The specimens were saturated with water at four relative humidities of 12, 44, 72 and 97.5%. The measurements show a decrease in the components of the stiffness tensor with increasing saturation as well as a decrease of Thomsen’s parameters ε and γ, whereas parameter δ remains virtually unchanged. We assume that the obtained results can be explained by the presence of a high percentage of smectite in the shale.