Estimation of fracture-strike azimuth by QVOA analysis validated by simulated seismic data of physical modeling

Estimation of fracture-strike azimuth by QVOA analysis validated by simulated seismic data of physical modeling | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Estimation of fracture-strike azimuth by QVOA analysis validated by simulated seismic data of physical modeling Tatiana Chichinina, Vladimir Sabinin, Rafael Avila-Carrera, Viacheslav Polovkov, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3959084/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Vertical fractures cause azimuthal anisotropy. To predict the fractures’ azimuth, we use anisotropy analysis of the seismic attribute QVOA. The QVOA means “Q Versus Offset (θ) and Azimuth (φ)”. Q is a quality factor. The inverse (or the reciprocal) of the quality factor (Q -1 ) is a measure of the attenuation of the seismic-wave energy. When analysing the azimuthal variation of attenuation, it is considered that a fractured reservoir can be represented as a model of a transversely isotropic medium with a horizontal axis of symmetry (HTI). We derive an updated QVOA method to achieve the highest accuracy in estimation of the fracture-strike angle. The method is based on a new formula for the Q -1 (θ,φ)-attenuation function, which gives the highest accuracy in estimating the azimuth of fractures by the least-squares method (LSM). As a sought-for parameter, we consider the fractures’ azimuth (φ 0 ). In the former version of QVOA method, we used a simplified approximation formula of the attenuation function in the form A + Bx + Cx 2 (where x = sin 2 θ cos 2 (φ-φ 0 )), as well as its truncated approximation A + Bx. However, to achieve the highest accuracy in estimating fracture direction, it is best to use our new canonical formula of the attenuation function, which gives the best accuracy of 0.25 degrees, which is validated by simulated seismic data of physical modelling. To test our QVOA method we use seismic data simulated by ultrasonic experiment. An artificial sample of fractured rock is built in the form of a four-layer cake model, which is immersed in water. Inside this layer cake there is an insert with artificial vertical aligned cracks. The Q-data on the attenuation are estimated along three seismic lines with 3 azimuths of the source-receiver line, φ = 0°, φ = 45°, and φ = 90°. To estimate the fracture-strike φ 0 -azimuth, we use the least squares method (LSM), namely, we minimize the functional of the difference between the theoretical function Q -1 (θ,φ) and the real attenuation estimated from seismic data. The canonical formula results in the smallest and the most stable error (compared to the older versions of QVOA-method). The maximal attenuation is obtained at the φ = 0°-azimuth, which is the direction orthogonal to the fracture strike; and the minimal attenuation is at the φ 0 = 90°, which is the fracture-strike. Thus, the experiment fully confirms the QVOA-method. Azimuthal Anisotropy Fractures Quality Factor Q Q-Anisotropy Attenuation Attenuation Anisotropy HTI Physical Modelling Fracture Strike Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3959084","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":278914829,"identity":"6cafad12-af89-4af8-8519-5f8a08e17238","order_by":0,"name":"Tatiana Chichinina","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAv0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZgY2MM3PAGUQBDwwLZINRGuBGW5wgFgt9uzMzx68bbORN76R/OzBhwoGeX6xA4QcxmZuOLctzXDbjTRzwxlnGAxnzk4gpIWHTZrnzGHGbTcSzKR52xgSDG4TqcV+84z0b6RoqTicuEEih1hbDrOZSc6pSEueceZNmeSMMxKE/cLef/iZxBsDG9v+9vRtEh8qbOT5pQlogVgFIgTAKiWIUA7Xwn+ASNWjYBSMglEw4gAAfwM5m69XWQAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Mexican Institute of Petroleum","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tatiana","middleName":"","lastName":"Chichinina","suffix":""},{"id":278914830,"identity":"20536d98-7e5f-4bf3-be6f-fb7c9f24fa6a","order_by":1,"name":"Vladimir Sabinin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mexican Institute of Petroleum","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vladimir","middleName":"","lastName":"Sabinin","suffix":""},{"id":278914832,"identity":"5c74aada-c109-4e72-a635-84d729a9fc32","order_by":2,"name":"Rafael Avila-Carrera","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mexican Institute of Petroleum","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rafael","middleName":"","lastName":"Avila-Carrera","suffix":""},{"id":278914833,"identity":"07b3251a-7ee0-45cc-99e3-a6cc9a57bb9d","order_by":3,"name":"Viacheslav Polovkov","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Saint Petersburg State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Viacheslav","middleName":"","lastName":"Polovkov","suffix":""},{"id":278914834,"identity":"bfe824ca-c158-4916-b9ce-7d7d2ea5f814","order_by":4,"name":"Dmitry Popov","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Saint Petersburg State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dmitry","middleName":"","lastName":"Popov","suffix":""},{"id":278914836,"identity":"4caf0291-3b82-4cf9-9163-9d548c421a23","order_by":5,"name":"Pinbo Ding","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Petroleum (Beijing)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pinbo","middleName":"","lastName":"Ding","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-02-15 15:49:50","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3959084/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3959084/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":63341085,"identity":"ee24da9c-8e52-446b-a523-a8db729f7a38","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-27 06:40:38","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":767825,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ChichininaTatianaDiscoverGeoscience2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3959084/v1_covered_aedd9314-c9ec-423a-b068-d7b4d61d08d9.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Estimation of fracture-strike azimuth by QVOA analysis validated by simulated seismic data of physical modeling","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Azimuthal Anisotropy, Fractures, Quality Factor Q, Q-Anisotropy, Attenuation, Attenuation Anisotropy, HTI, Physical Modelling, Fracture Strike","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3959084/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3959084/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eVertical fractures cause azimuthal anisotropy. To predict the fractures\u0026rsquo; azimuth, we use anisotropy analysis of the seismic attribute QVOA. The QVOA means \u0026ldquo;Q Versus Offset (θ) and Azimuth (φ)\u0026rdquo;. Q is a quality factor. The inverse (or the reciprocal) of the quality factor (Q\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e) is a measure of the attenuation of the seismic-wave energy. When analysing the azimuthal variation of attenuation, it is considered that a fractured reservoir can be represented as a model of a transversely isotropic medium with a horizontal axis of symmetry (HTI). We derive an updated QVOA method to achieve the highest accuracy in estimation of the fracture-strike angle. The method is based on a new formula for the Q\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e(θ,φ)-attenuation function, which gives the highest accuracy in estimating the azimuth of fractures by the least-squares method (LSM). As a sought-for parameter, we consider the fractures\u0026rsquo; azimuth (φ\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e). In the former version of QVOA method, we used a simplified approximation formula of the attenuation function in the form A\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Bx\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Cx\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e (where x\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;sin\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eθ cos\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e(φ-φ\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e)), as well as its truncated approximation A\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Bx. However, to achieve the highest accuracy in estimating fracture direction, it is best to use our new canonical formula of the attenuation function, which gives the best accuracy of 0.25 degrees, which is validated by simulated seismic data of physical modelling. To test our QVOA method we use seismic data simulated by ultrasonic experiment. An artificial sample of fractured rock is built in the form of a four-layer cake model, which is immersed in water. Inside this layer cake there is an insert with artificial vertical aligned cracks. The Q-data on the attenuation are estimated along three seismic lines with 3 azimuths of the source-receiver line, φ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0\u0026deg;, φ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45\u0026deg;, and φ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;90\u0026deg;. To estimate the fracture-strike φ\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e-azimuth, we use the least squares method (LSM), namely, we minimize the functional of the difference between the theoretical function Q\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e(θ,φ) and the real attenuation estimated from seismic data. The canonical formula results in the smallest and the most stable error (compared to the older versions of QVOA-method). The maximal attenuation is obtained at the φ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0\u0026deg;-azimuth, which is the direction orthogonal to the fracture strike; and the minimal attenuation is at the φ\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;90\u0026deg;, which is the fracture-strike. Thus, the experiment fully confirms the QVOA-method.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Estimation of fracture-strike azimuth by QVOA analysis validated by simulated seismic data of physical modeling","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-03-14 18:01:58","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3959084/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cfe397bd-a5d0-49bd-895a-3e14dff845a6","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 14th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-08-27T06:32:31+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-03-14 18:01:58","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3959084","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3959084","identity":"rs-3959084","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}