Full text loading...
-
Constrained Inverse Method for Estimating Virgin Stress State
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 81st EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2019, Jun 2019, Volume 2019, p.1 - 5
Abstract
Mechanical simulations require not only the knowledge of the geometry and mechanical properties of the earth but also boundary conditions such as tectonic lateral forces. Boundary conditions are not accessible and their estimation is difficult. It is possible to estimate equivalent forces by solving an inverse problem which consists in matching simulated stress with measured stress at given positions. Measured data are very expensive to acquire and therefore are sparse and fuzzy.
We present a way of constraining the inverse problem by introducing geological/mechanical constraints: the yield criteria. For example, we can impose that a fault is active or not and by this way reduce the valid domain of boundary conditions. This kind of information is usually known by geologists (fault activity) or can be easily observed from plugs (fractures).
We illustrate the workflow on a model based on a real data case.