CNLC

Sonic Logs
( Acoustic Logs )
GS, Sudan
Oct. 2005
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Contents

This lecture will cover :

1. Introduction of sonic logs ;
2. Measurement principle of sonic velocity log ;
3. Sonic response to typical formation and
Environmental Effects;
•

4. Sonic porosity ;
5. Shale Effects;
6. An introduction to Full Waveform Sonic log .
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1. Introduction of sonic logs

(1) sonic velocity log ;

(2) Full Waveform Sonic log ;
(3) Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) log ;
(4) sonic amplitude log ;
(5) down hole noise log ;
(6) sonic image logs .
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Applications of Sonic Logs

• Determine porosity and lithology (with or without
other logs);
• Determine formation mechanical properties which in
turn can be used to estimate hydraulic fracturing
pressures and to evaluate sanding problem;
• Measure attenuation of sonic energy to evaluate
fracturing and permeability;
• Combine sonic and density logs to produce synthetic
seismic traces;
• Combine sonic and check shot surveys to calibrate
surface seismic data with borehole log data.
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Propagation of Elastic Waves

An elastic wave travels through a

medium (solid, liquid, or gas) as slight
disturbances to the particles in that
medium. The wave energy will move the
particles parallel to (compressional)
and/or perpendicular to (shear) the wave
propagation direction.
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P-Waves
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S-Waves
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Stonely waves
Stoneley wave is a guided tube
wave with velocity and amplitude
determined by:

• Borehole fluid elastic properties

• Formation elastic properties
• Formation permeability.
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Interval transit time (Δt,

us/ft)---the time required
for the wave to travel
a given distance.
Transit time can be
more elegantly called
slowness.
Most formations
haveΔtc values of 45 to
150 us/ft, andΔts values
of 80 to 200 us/ft
Sonic logs are presented
on a linear scale, as
shown in right Figure.
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2. Measurement principle of sonic velocity log

The simplest sonic tool has
only one transmitters and
two receivers. This kind of
tool can record the sonic
wave that refracts at a
critical angle to borehole
wall and travels along the
side wall .The first arrival
compressional waves are
recorded by two receivers .
The interval transit time
(△t) can be used to estimate
formation porosity .
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Borehole Compensated Sonic (BCS)
The method above doesn’t
work well when sidewall is
rough and the sonde is
tilted. A simple means for
overcoming this problem is
adding a transmitter on the
•
other end , new △tc
△tc =(△tu + △tl) / (2*L)
•

will be more reliable .

Where L= span, usually
L=0.5~2 ft .
△tc is compensated △t .
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3. Sonic response to typical formation

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Environmental Effects

The depth of investigation of a sonic tool is

less than 30 in., so it is subject to borehole
effects. These include:
• gas in the borehole fluid,
• large diameter boreholes,
• very slow formations, and
• the invaded (altered) zone.
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A. Gas in the Borehole Fluid

Small bubbles of gas in the mud will scatter and

absorb the acoustic energy. Attenuation can become so
severe that receiver signal amplitudes become negligible
and no Δtc can be obtained.

It may be possible that a full waveform sonic tool,

with its improved downhole gain controls and signal
processing, can obtain an openhole Δt log where a
conventional BCS cannot.
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B. Large Diameter Borehole
If the hole size is large enough, the time t for a
compressional or shear wave to make the transmitter-mud-
formation-mud-receiver trip could exceed the time for the more
direct transmitter-mud-receiver compressional arrival. If this
happens, it is not possible to discern when the formation signal
arrives, so no valid Δt can be found.
There is a minimum transmitter-receiver spacing, Smin, with
which a centralized sonic tool can measure Δt.
Smin = (dh-dtool)[(Vf+Vfm)/(Vf-Vfm)]1/2
or,
Δtmax = Δtf[(K-1)/(K+1)]
where K=S2/(dh - dtool)2
dh----------hole size
dtool-------tool diameter
Vf----------fluid velocity
Vfm--------formation velocity
Maximum measurable Δt and hole size
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C. Very Slow Formation
Some formations, however, have shear velocities
slower than the borehole fluid velocity (Δts > Δtf). In
this case, no length of sonic tool will be able to detect
the shear wave, since there is no possible angle for
critical refraction.
sin⊙crit-s= (Δts / Δtf ) >1.0 (no possible value of ⊙)

One solution for this situation is to estimate Δts

from ΔtSt. Another method is to use the recently
developed dipole sonic tool, which uses a special dipole
sonic source that produces a flexural wave on the
borehole wall. The flexural wave travels at the same
velocity as the shear wave and can be detected by the
dipole receiver in the tool.
 D. Alteration in the Invaded Zone
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The drilling and invasion

processes may alter the
formation near the borehole
wall. One reason is that
certain swelling clays can
absorb water and expand.
The result is reduction of
density and velocity. Δt
increases 20 usec/ft have
been observed. Another
possible source of alteration
is induced stress-relief
fracturing around the
wellbore.
Example:
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4. Sonic porosity
A. Wyllie Time Averge ( WTA )
One of the first relationship proposed to determine X
from △tc was by Wyllie : ( time average )
•

Xs = (△tc 0△tma )
Cp(△tf 0△tma )
Where △tma is the pure matrix slownness ;
△tf is the pore fluid slowness ;
Cp is a ‘correction’,Cp=1 in hard rocks ,but in
unconsolidated formation better results are found by
using Cp =(△tshale /100).
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4. Sonic porosity ( continued )

B. Raymer-Hunt-Gardner ( RHG )
An alternative to the use of the correction factor (Cp )
was proposed by Hunt .It is based on an empirical
method :
[ 1 0(△tma / △tc )]
•

Xs =
[ ρma 0ρf ]
RHG method tends to fit porosities from cores and
neutron-density logs better than does the Wyllie
transform . Next figure illustrates the RHG sonic
porosity transform .
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RHG sonic porosity transform
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4. Sonic porosity ( continued )

C. HLS Empirical
Transform
Right figure shows the
HLS empirical sonic
porosity transform.
The HLS relationship
was developed from
principles of rock
mechanics and modified
slightly to fit core and
density-neutron data .
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5. Shale Effects

Sonic logs will generally have to be

corrected for the presence of shales
before estimating porosity fromΔtc. The
method is to determine Vsh from some
other source (such as the gamma ray),
and reduceΔtc by some amount which
depends on Vsh and Δtsh. The normal
method for this is:
(Δtc)shale corr = Δtc – Vsh*Δtsh
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Shale and Clay Distribution
Shale Distribution and Effects on △t
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A. Laminated Shales

The effect of shale on rock mechanical

properties, and also Δt depends on the
distribution of the shale. If the shale is
laminated, the total slowness Δtc is given
by:
Δtc =(1-Vsh)(Δtshale-free) + Vsh(Δtsh)
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B. Structural Shales

Structural shales are those where the

shale grains are scattered through the
matrix, just as if they were grains of sand.
They form part of the rock matrix, but do
not provide the same degree of support as
the laminated shales. As a result, the effect
onΔt is slightly less.
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C. Dispersed Clays
Some clays are dispersed in the pore spaces,
and do not support the rock matrix at all. They
usually form as overgrowths on sand grains
when changes in fluid pressure, salinity, or
temperature cause the clay minerals to
precipitate. The exact shapes of the clay
crystals vary, but they have almost no part in
supporting the structure of the rock. They have
little effect on rock elastic modulae, and the
sonic tool will see them as slightly denser pore
fluid.
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6. An introduction to Full Waveform Sonic (FWS) log

• The conventional sonic

velocity log only
determinates the first
arrival compressional
wave. The following wave
(such as shear wave ,
stoneley wave ) are now be
recorded , its amplitude or
wave form has been used
for rock mechanics
analyzing .
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Wave form used for rock mechanics analyzing

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In this lecture you learned :

1. branches of sonic logs ;

•

2. outline on measurement principle of sonic

velocity log ;
•

3. sonic response to typical formation ;

•

4. the sources of sonic porosity ;

•

5. Introduction of FWS log .

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Question to be answered:

1. Explain sonic velocity log

measurement principle .

2. What’s borehole compensated sonic

log ?