GEOPHYSICS, VOL. 60, NO. 4 (JULY-AUGUST 1995); P. 1243-1248, 5 FIGS.

Short Note Anisotropic parameters of layered media in terms of composite elastic properties

John Brittan*, Mike Warner*, and Gerhard Pratt*

INTRODUCTION In elastic earth models, at a wide variety of scales, the subsurface is a layered sequence of different constituent media. It is therefore important to understand the elastic properties of such a sequence, in particular to determine the response of the layering to an investigating seismic wave. It can be shown that if the individual layer thicknesses are much less than the wavelength of a seismic wave passing through the stack, the wave will propagate as though it were traversing a homogenous, anisotropic medium (Postma, 1955). This property has been subjected to rigorous testing both experimentally (Melia and Carlson, 1984) and numerically (Carcione et al., 1991). The elastic properties of this equivalent medium can be derived algebraically from the elastic properties of the materials that compose the layers (Backus, 1962). The homogenous equivalent medium will be transversely isotropic (hereafter referred to as TI), the axis of symmetry lying perpendicular to the layering. Thomsen (1986) has derived a set of parameters that can be used to describe the transverse isotropy of a medium. The parameters are defined in terms of components of the TI mediums stiffness tensor. Thus, in principle, the Thomsen parameters of the equivalent medium of a stack of thin layers can be derived analytically from the elastic properties of the constituent layers. Obtaining the anisotropic parameters in terms of the composite elastic properties enables a greater understanding of the elastic properties of layered sequences, indicating to what degree particular combinations of materials will appear anisotropic to seismic experiments. This may be particularly relevant to studies of the subsurface where the seismic waves pass through what appear, at shorter wavelengths, to be highly layered sequences. Particular combinations of materials may produce a highly anisotropic equivalent medium and consequently lead to an inaccurate representation of the composition of the subsurface if the anisotropy is not taken into account. In this paper, we shall investigate the simplest case, the elastic properties of a layered sequence of two isotropic materials using explicit derivations of the anisotropic parameters (we give equations for TI constituent layers in the Appendix). ANISOTROPIC PARAMETERS OF A LAYERED SEQUENCE The elasticity of any medium can be described by a fourth-order stiffness tensor, the components of which can (following the be written as a 6 x 6 matrix with elements Voigt recipe). For an isotropic medium there are only two and These are independent nonzero elements, related to the Lame parameters of the medium by

and

Backus (1962) showed that a stack composed of thin layers of two different homogenous materials behaved as a homogand The enous TI medium with elastic parameters thin layers can be isotropic or TI media. The case of isotropic constituent layering will be discussed in detail here; the anisotropic parameters of a stack of two alternating TI media are discussed in the Appendix. and are defined, for a stack of The parameters two isotropic constituents, in terms of the respective Lame and and the volume fraction of parameters They are material 1 present in the stack, (1) = R= + (2) (3)

Manuscript received by the Editor June 1, 1994; revised manuscript received October 31, 1994. *Dept. of Geology, Imperial College, London SW7 2BP, United Kingdom. 1995, Society of Exploration Geophysicists. All rights reserved.
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Two further elastic parameters, S and T, can be described in terms of and the dimensionless ratio of the square of the shear-wave velocity to compressional-wave velocity within the constituents = T= + + (1 (4) (5)

straightforward although algebraically tedious. We obtain the following expressions for a layered composite of two homoeenous isotropic materials 1 = 1 + + + P2 1

These five parameters can be related to the components of the stiffness tensor for the homogenous equivalent TI medium. The five relationships relevant to the anisotropic parameters derived by Thomsen are (1 R 1 R 2T (7) + R =L, (8) (9) (10) Thomsen derives five parameters, and which describe the velocity and anisotropy of a TI medium. These parameters are related to the components of the stiffness tensor of the anisotropic equivalent medium by (11) + (6)

+ + (20) 1 = (21) where p 1 P2, are the respective densities of the two layers are defined as and and the factors n

(12)

(13) + (14)

for = 1 or 2. The function represents the P-wave slowness squared of each layer, similarly represents the square of the S-wave slowness. Equations (17) and (18) show that for both Pand S-waves the slowness squared of the TI medium is a simple inverse density-weighted average of the slowness squared of the constituent layers. The physical meaning of the solutions for the anisotropic parameters and for isotropic layers is discussed in the following three sections. DELTA

(15) where p is the density of isotropic material. In the case of an approximation can be made, assuming that the anisotropy is small and discarding all but first-order terms (Chapman and Pratt, 1992). Thus, for weak anisotropy (i.e., where in the first order becomes + . (16)

To derive the Thomsen parameters for a two-layer sequence, the components of the elastic modulus matrix [equations (6) to (10)] must first be written in terms of the Lame constants of the two layers and their relative volumes [using equations (1) to (5)]. These are then inserted into equations (11)-(13), (15), and (16) to define the anisotropic parameters of and are the layered stack. The derivations of

The parameter 6 dominates the anisotropic response when the incident P-wavefront propagates approximately parallel to the axis of symmetry. It is entirely independent of the mediums seismic velocity perpendicular to the axis of symmetry and can take both positive and negative values. The parameter may be used to relate the group and phase angles (and consequently the group and phase velocities) within an anisotropic medium and is the controlling parameter for the normal moveout of compressional arrivals in a horizontally layered sequence (Thornsen, 1986). When is expressed as a function of the elastic properties of the two composite layers [equation (19)], the solution may be split into three sections. The first section comprises reaches a maximum normalizing factors. The factor when there is an equal amount of each material present, while the two terms in the denominator are the squared P-velocities of the two layer materials multiplied by the mate-

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rial density. All three terms are always positive. The relationship between the proportions of each material present and the anisotropy has been noted in laboratory analogs of wave propagation in stratified media (Melia and Carlson, 1984). The second section in equation (19) is simply the difference between the shear moduli of the two composite materials. If we define the layer with the greatest shear modulus as layer 1, this term is also positive at all times. The magnitude of this term has a large influence on the magnitude To achieve large values of near-normal incidence of anisotropy, a large difference in shear moduli between the layered materials is vital. The third and final section of the equation holds the key to the polarity of as well as being an influence on the magnitude of the parameters. The denominator term depends upon multiples of the materials volume fraction with its shear modulus. This implies that the maximum value of does not necessarily occur when the layers are of equal thickness. Figure 1 shows the dependence of on the for a weakly anisotropic TI volume fraction of material 1 medium. It can be noted that as the ratio of the two shear at which the maximum moduli increases, the value of occurs increases. The denominator term is value of always positive leaving the polarity of to be decided by the Thus for to have a negative polarity, the term

ratio of the Lame parameters more rigid layer, i.e.,

must be smallest in the

This relationship is illustrated in Figure 2. The figure plots against volume fraction for different ratios of the Lame constants in each layer. The maximum values of (positive and negative) occur when the difference in Lame ratios is largest, with the polarity of the parameter deriving from the relationship above. The maximum values can be increased by enlarging the difference between the shear moduli of the two materials. Berryman (1979) showed that = 0 is attained in the case where the shear moduli of the two layers are equal or in the case where the ratios of the two layers are equal. These results may also be seen from equation (19). It can be noted that 0 in both situations. This property is in accordance with earlier theoretical results (Postma, 1955; Backus, 1962). EPSILON For a seismic wave passing through a TI medium, the parameter dominates the P-wave velocity at propagation angles nearly perpendicular to the symmetry axis. The value of represents the percentage difference between the horizontal and vertical compressional-wave velocities. It can also be used with 6 to relate group and phase velocities within TI media.

FIG. Plot of the anisotropic parameter against the volume fraction of material 1 present in the layered stack The values calculated are for standard Lame parameters = 1, = 0.05, = 0.5 and for values of of 1, 3, and 5. The skew of the curves is caused by the dependence of the denominator term of equation (13) upon multiples of and the materials shear moduli.

FIG. 2. Plot of the anisotropic parameter against the volume fraction of material 1 present in the layered stack The values are calculated for standard Lame parameters = 1, = 1, = 0.5 and for values of of and 3

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As in the case of the relationship between and the Lame parameters of the two component layers [equation (20)] may be described in three sections. The first section comprises the normalizing factors. The denominator terms are again the density-normalized P-velocities of the two layer materials. The factor maximizes the value of when there is an equal amount of each material present. This relationship is illustrated in Figure 3. As with the second section in equation (20) is the difference between the shear moduli of the two composite layer materials. The layer with the largest shear modulus is defined as layer 1, thus this term is always positive. A large difference in shear moduli will have a significant effect on the magnitude of If the shear moduli of the two composite layers are equal, then the value of is zero. The final section of the relationship is the difference between the sums of each materials Lame parameters. From equation (20) for to have negative polarity this section must have a negative result, i.e., 2 Thus, for negative the layer with the largest bulk modulus must have the smallest shear modulus (i.e., the layer must be the most incompressible and least rigid). This would suggest that a negative is an unusual case, far less common than a negative parameter. Figure 4 shows how the values of

change with that of the Lame parameters of the two composite layers. The largest values of occur when the Lame ratio in the least rigid layer is at a minimum, i.e., when the difference between the shear and bulk moduli of the two layers are at a maximum. In the case of weak anisotropy caused by thin layering of isotropic media, Berryman (1979) and Helbig (1979) showed that in all cases

This result can also be proven in the two-layer case using the equations derived above. Taking equation (19) from equation (20) and simplifying leads to the result

(22) It is assumed that and therefore all terms on the right-hand side of the equation are strictly positive. GAMMA The parameter describes the anisotropy of the horizonwithin a TI medium. tally polarized shear waves Thus, we can use in its conventional form to describe the SH anisotropy of a medium (Thomsen 1986), i.e.,

FIG. 3. Plot of the anisotropic parameter against the volume fraction of material 1 present in the layered stack The values are calculated for standard Lame parameters = 1, = 0.05, = 0.5, and for values of of 0.6, 1 and 2. Note that the maximum value of always occurs when the component layers have equal thickness = 0.5).

FIG. 4. Plot of the anisotropic parameter against the volume fraction of material 1 present in the layered stack The values are calculated for standard Lame parameters = 1, = 1, = 0.5 and for values of of 0.1,0.3,0.5, 1 and 2.

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similar to the maximum value of occurs when the layers = 0.5). The actual magnitude of have equal thickness depends, as do the magnitudes of and on the difference between the shear moduli of the layers. This relationship is illustrated in Figure 5. One important point to be noted is that by equation (21), is always positive. In equation (23) above, this suggests that for a two-layer sequence the velocity of the SH-wave perpendicular to the axis of symmetry is always greater than or equal to the velocity of the S-wave parallel to the axis of symmetry.
CONCLUSIONS

In the case of a sequence of layers of two materials, the parameters describing the anisotropy of the equivalent homogenous medium can be derived from the elastic parameters of the original materials. To produce a highly anisotropic equivalent medium from a stack of two isotropic layers, the layers must have significantly different shear moduli and ratios.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Paul Williamson and Leon Thomsen for their useful comments. Financial support for John Brittan was provided by a Shell International Petroleum Company scholarship.
FIG. 5. Plot of the anisotropic parameter against the volume fraction of material present in the layered stack The values are calculated for standard Lame parameters = 0.5 and for values of of 0.75, 1 and 2. REFERENCES Backus, G. E., 1962, Long-wave elastic anisotropy reduced by horizontal layering: J. Geophys. Res., 67, 4427-4440. Berryman, J. G., 1979, Long-wave elastic anisotropy in transversely isotropic media: Geophysics, 44, 896-917. Carcione, J. M., Kosloff, D., and Behle, A., 1991, Long-wave anisotropy in stratified media: A numerical test: Geophysics, 56, 245-254. Chapman, C. H., and Pratt, R. G., 1992, Traveltime tomography in anisotropic media-I. Theory: Geophys. J. Int., 109, 1-19. Helbig, K., 1979, Discussion on The reflection, refraction and diffraction of waves in media with elliptical velocity dependence b F. K. Levin: Geophysics, 44, 987-990. Melia, P. J., and Carlson, R. L., 1984, An experimental test of P-wave anisotropy in stratified media: Geophysics, 49, 364-378. Postma, G. W., 1955, Wave propagation in a stratified medium: Geophysics, 20, 3-17. Thomsen, L., 1986, Weak elastic anisotropy: Geophysics, 51, 19541966.

is the SH-wave velocity perpendicular to the axis of symmetry, and is the S-wave velocity parallel to the axis of symmetry. It can also be used to calculate the normal moveout of SH arrivals and to relate SH group and phase angles. The relationship between and the Lame parameters of the component layers [equation (17)] indicates that is a and the shear moduli function of only the volume fraction of the two layers. The first part of the equation shows that,

APPENDIX
ELASTIC PROPERTIES FOR TI COMPOSITE MEDIA

A stack composed of alternating thin layers of two TI media may be approximated by an equivalent homogenous TI medium. The anisotropic parameters of the equivalent medium can be found in terms of the elasticity-matrix components of the individual layers. Using the same notation as that used in Backus (1962), each layer has an elasticity matrix

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Denoting the matrix components for each medium by a subscript, the anisotropic parameters of the equivalent medium may be found using equation (9) of Backus and equations (13), (15), and (16) of this paper. When simplified, the anisotropic parameters and are given by

(A-1) + + + + (A-3) (A-2)

where is the volume fraction of material 1 present in the stack and, = In the case of isotropic layering, equations (A-l)-(A-3) converge to their respective isotropic equivalent [equations (19), (20), and (21)].