Acoustic Measurements on Cores as a

Tool for Calibration and Quantitative

Interpretation of Sonic Logs
Dominique P. Marion. SPE, and Franc;ois M. Pellerin. Elf Aquitaine

:S PS ~501 '8'
Summary. An upscaling technique is developed for acoustic measurements on cores to present core data as a log for improved comparison
between laboratory and sonic measurements. The method combines a laboratory study performed over a wide range of frequency, pressure,
and saturation conditions on a series of core samples and construction of a synthetic log that includes upscaling of core measurements at
the sonic wavelength and simulation of the log response for various spacing of the tool receivers. A comparison of core and sonic measure-
ments in a carbonate reservoir illustrates the benefit of comparing core and log measurements at the same scale. Agreement between punctu-
al core and sonic measurements is within ± 10%, whereas core data upscaled at the level of sonic measurements are within ± 2% of the
sonic. In addition, results of quantitative interpretation of the sonic data in terms of porosity also confirm that sonic measurements can pro-
vide accurate estimates of petrophysical properties when properly calibrated with core data.

Introduction
Integration of geophysical techniques in reservoir characterization
is becoming common with new developments in seismic acquisition
(i.e., 3D seismic, well-to-well seismic, three-component vertical
seismic profile, and repetitive seismic, etc.), seismic processing and
interpretation (i.e., amplitude vs. offset analysis), and well-logging
sonic measurements (Le., array sonic and shear logs). These new
techniques provide an improved structural image of the reservoir
zone and contain information on the type of fluid, porosity, ce-
mentation,lithology, etc. To convert such physical properties of the
reservoir rocks from seismic or sonic measurements, it is necessary
to establish relationships between wave propagation attributes (i.e.,
velocity and impedance) and petrophysical and lithological proper-
ties. Such relationships can be obtained from laboratory measure-
ments on cores and may be applied to sonic and seismic interpreta-
tion, provided proper calibration of such measurements at different
scales is performed.
To compare measurements obtained on cores with sonic log data,
effects of frequency, wavelength, scale, and resolution must be con-
sidered. In this paper, we address these issues and present an upscal-
ing technique for acoustic measurements that allows representation
of core data as a log for a more accurate comparison between core
and log measurements. In the first part, the method is applied to a
carbonate reservoir for core and log calibration. The second part il-
lustrates how a relationship established in the laboratory between
velocity and porosity is applied to sonic log interpretation.
Upscaling Method
Direct comparison between core and log measurements is often dif-
ficult because of the following.
1. The volumes investigated vary by two to three orders of magni-
tude. For log measurements, depth of investigation is not known
precisely and may vary with receiver spacing and tool frequency.
2. Measurement frequencies and wavelengths vary typically by
one or two orders of magnitude.
3. The velocity-averaging process for stratified or heterogeneous
media is wavelength-dependent.
4. Core sampling may be biased and unrepresentative.
5. State of stress, saturation state, and degree of invasion are not
known accurately.
In our attempt to present core measurements in the form of a log,
we address these points through a laboratory study performed over
a wide range of frequency, pressure, and saturation conditions on a
series of core samples and construct a synthetic log that includes
upscaling of core measurements at the sonic wavelength and simu-
lation of the log response for various spacings of the tool receivers.
The example we chose to illustrate the method is a carbonate oil res-
ervoir in the Paris basin.
Copyright 1994 SOCiety of Petroleum Engineers
Laboratory Data. The laboratory data set involved two kinds of
measurements. Velocity was measured for a set of small core plugs
that had been sampled about every 3 cm for conventional measure-
ments of porosity, air permeability, and mineral density. Compres-
sional and shear velocities were measured at ultrasonic frequencies
(500 kHz) on dry cores at atmospheric pressure. A lithological de-
scription was available for each core, and representativeness was es-
timated visually and quantified in terms of representative height.
Velocity measurements were also performed under various stress
and saturation conditions on a smaller set of representative samples
that spanned the full range of rock properties to quantify the effect
of in-situ conditions of pressure and saturation on velocities and
travel time. Ultrasonic compression and shear velocities were mea-
sured simultaneously up to an effective pressure of 26 MPa on
room-dry and brine-saturated samples. On brine-saturated samples,
variations of porosity with stress were also recorded.
Fig. 1 is a comparison of core measurements with sonic log data
(solid line). Measurements on dry cores obtained at atmospheric
pressure are shown as filled squares. Measurements performed at
various states of stress are shown as open squares for dry conditions
and crosses for saturated conditions. The arrow indicates increasing
stress from Oto 26 GPa. We find that slowness (the inverse ofveloc-
ity) measured on dry cores under laboratory conditions is systemati-
cally greater (5 to 30 ",sIft) than sonic measurements, whereas the
few measurements performed under in-situ pressure and saturation
conditions are in closer agreement with sonic data.
In the following sections, we show how corrections are applied
to measurements on dry cores to simulate in-situ pressure and satu-
ration conditions.
Correction for Stress. To quantify the influence of confining pres-
sure on velocity measurements and to correct measurements ob-
tained at atmospheric pressure for the effect of stress, we used the
following semiempirical method. For a rock with a given porosity,
mineralogy, and fluid type, velocity, v, is theoretically bounded by
an upper and a lower limit given by the Reuss! and Voigt 2 averages
for elastic moduli, M
v = ~, ..................................... (I)
where, for the upper limit, M is given by the Reuss average,
M = <j; Mj>, ................................... (2)
and, for the lower limit, M is given by the Voigt average,
M-i = <j;IMj>. . ................................. (3)
Velocity values close to the upper bound correspond to rocks with
stiff pores, such as vugs. whereas proximity to the lower bound indi-
cates "softer" porosity, which may consist of cracks and unce-
mented grain contacts. Hence, for a given rock, the value of velocity

100 SPE Formation Evaluation, June 1994

 • • •o
•
0>---...
·&.--0

••
lB76
•
I-+- P-wav•• I
•
.4
•
•
lBBO
........... •
E
......... • ro .3
..c
-t-

-0
0-
Q)
•
•
-..2:
ro
1>
lBB4
>
-- .2
~o _ _ _ _ _ _ _~o+-L-~~

•
,
••
.1
•
lBBB
• •

o~~~--~~--~~--~~~
100 80 60 .4 .5 .6 .7 .8
tp (,uS/ft) X
Fig. 1-Core measurements vs. sonic data. Fig. 2-Velocity increase with stress is proportional X.

with respect to the upper and lower bounds may characterize pore ception of very tight samples where dispersion of a few percent is
stiffnesses that dictate the stress dependence of velocity. observed on saturated rocks (Fig. 4) .
Fig. 2 illustrates this dependence where the increase in velocity Gassmann's predictions and laboratory measurements performed
with stress measured on seven samples selected for stress measure- under stress also were compared with sonic-log measurements (Fig.
ments is plotted vs. X, velocity measured at atmospheric pressure, 5). For saturated samples, results confirm that ultrasonic travel
Va, normalized to the upper and lower bounds, Vub and Vlb, respec- times are in close agreement with sonic data, whereas Gassmann's
tively. predictions slightly overestimate travel time in slow formations.
In the following section, Gassmann's relations are applied to con-
X = (Va-Vlb)/(vub-Vlb). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4) ventional, dry-core measurements to simulate the effect of satura-
The value of X, ranging from 0 to 1, represents the closeness of Va tion. The relationships used are
to the upper bound. The closer X is to unity, the less the stress de- /Ks + 4/3G s
pendence of velocity should be. We notice on Fig. 2 that the increase ............................ (5)
in velocity with stress is inversely proportional to X. Using this em- V Ph '
pirical relationship, we corrected velocities measured on dry core where
samples for the effect of stress based on porosity and mineralogy.
After correction, we find that the discrepancy between core and log (I-K;/K;')
data is strongly reduced (Fig. 3). We note, however, that small dif-
Ks = Kd + if> 1,p K ························· (6)
ferences remain because of saturation effects. - + - - -d
Kf Km Kf"

Correction for Fluid Type. Velocity measurements in porous rocks
are sensitive to fluid type because of the wide range of compressibil-
ities and densities of pore-filling fluids. The effect of saturation on
velocities in rocks is also frequency-dependent. At low frequencies,
the effect of fluid type on velocity may be described with Gass-
mann's3 theory. At high frequencies, fluid-flow effects at the grain
scale may create velocity dispersion as suggested by theoretical
works by O'Connell and Budiansky4 and Mavko and Jizba5 and by
experimental studies by Winkler6 and by Murphy.7
To try to quantify the influence of saturation and velocity disper-
sion between sonic-log and ultrasonic laboratory measurements,
velocities were measured in the laboratory at frequencies ranging
from 30 kHz (sonic frequencies) to 1 MHz (ultrasonic) on dry and
brine-saturated cores at atmospheric pressure. On the samples we
tested, we did not find a significant difference between sonic and ul-
trasonic velocity data on dry and saturated samples with the ex-
and Gs = Gd. ................................... (7)
After correction for stress and saturation, core measurements
closely agree overall with log measurements (Fig. 6). However, in
a detailed comparison between core and log data (1887 to 1888 m),
we note some differences (± 5 p,s) that may be attributed to differ-
ences in resolution between punctual core measurements and con-
tinuous logs.
Influence of Wavelength and Resolution. We used the following
approach to scale up core measurements to sonic wavelength and
simulate in a synthetic log at the resolution of the sonic tool.
1. The representative height for each core was used to extrapolate
velocity measured punctually to the interval defined by the repre-
sentative height.
2. In a window in which length, I, is defined by the spacing be-
tween two receivers of the sonic tool, an average travel time was

SPE Fonnation Evaluation, June 1994 101

 .... IV~
...
• •
I
t = I

where
Ii N*' ............................... (9)

~ [pr ..............................
1876
•
• N' (10)

•• Note that when the layers in a window do not exhibit strong velocity
• or density contrasts, the ray and effective medium-averaging
1880
• approximations give similar results.
• 3. A moving window then was applied to the entire section to sim-
• ulate the sonic-log response.
In Fig. 7, results from this simulation are compared with the actu-
• allog response. Note that differences between punctual core and log
N measurements are reduced to an average of ± 2Its/ft, particularly
in the zone with rapid core-velocity variations.
1884
Interpretation of Sonic Data
After core and log measurements are calibrated, relationships estab-
lished in the laboratory between acoustic and petrophysical proper-
• ties may be applied to sonic-log interpretation. In the example of a
carbonate reservoir presented in the following section, conventional
porosity determination based on neutron-density logs provided un-
1888 satisfactory results. As an alternative, sonic measurements were
used for porosity determination.
An empirical relationship between porosity and velocity was es-
tablished from core measurements made under stress:
100 80 60
_ _ 304.8
tp (~s/ft) vp(km / s) - 5.75-8.51/> - ( /f)'
tp Its t
(11)

This empirical relation then was applied to sonic data to transform

Fig. 3-Conventional core measurements corrected for stress
the P-wave slowness log into a porosity log. For comparison, a po-
effect.
rosity log also was constructed by use of the Wyllie et al.9 time-aver-
age equation (Eq. 12) which possibly would be used by default in
calculated with ray or effective medium approximations 8 depend- well-log interpretation.
ing on the ratio of layer thickness to wavelength, hfl....
For h/A<O.l, slowness in the window was given by ray tracing 304.8
tP(lts/ft) = 52(1-tj» + 1891/> = vp(km/s), ......... (12)
approximation:
In Eq. 12, the slowness value of 52 for mineral grains was deter-
-l"'h
t - I L tj j. • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• (8) mined to best fit the laboratory data.
In Fig. 8, porosity logs are compared with porosity measurements
For hfl...>O.I, slowness in the window was given by effective me- on cores. Porosity measurements on cores also are presented as a log
dium approximation,
80~--~----~--~~--~----~--~

IC ULTRASONIC I •
• c
•
c
•
•c •

60 70 80
3000 4000 5000
LOG TRAVEL TIME (~s/ft)
Vp 500 KHz (m/s)
Fig. 5-Gassmann's3 predictions and laboratory data vs. son-
Fig. 4-Effect of frequency on velocity measured on cores. ic-log measurements.

102 SPE Formation Evaluation, June 1994

 by use of the same upscaling technique that was used for velocity
measurements. In that case, porosity in a given window is a
weighted average of porosity of each layer. We find good agreement
overall between the porosity log calculated with the calibrated ve-
locity-porosity relationship whereas the time-average prediction
1876 underestimates porosity in the reservoir zone.

Conclusions
• We propose a method to construct a synthetic log by use of core mea-
• surements with the objective to improve calibration between core
and log measurements for better sonic-log interpretation. In our ap-
1880 proach, the influence of stress, saturation, frequency, and scale of
.......... measurement on velocity are quantified on the basis of semiempiri-
cal relationships or theoretical models. We find that using this meth-
E od of comparison between core and log measurements is more accu-
'-"
rate. Hence, results established in the laboratory between acoustic
N and petrophysical properties can be applied to sonic interpretation
with improved confidence.
1884
Nomenclature
Ii = volume fraction of Phase i
Gd = shear modulus of dry rock, m1Lt2, GPa
Gs = shear modulus of saturated rock, m1Lt2, GPa
h = layer thickness, L, m
1888 hi = thickness of Layer i, L, m
Kd = bulk modulus of dry rock, m1Lt2, GPa
=
Kf bulk modulus of pore fluid, m1Lt2, GPa
Km = bulk modulus of mineral grains, m1Lt2, GPa
100 80 60 Ks = bulk modulus of saturated rock, m1Lt2, GPa
tp (~/ft) I = window length, L, m
M = elastic modulus, m1Lt2, GPa
Mi = elastic modulus of Phase i, m1Lt2 , GPa
Fig. 6-Conventional core measurements corrected for stress
and fluid type effects. N* = effective uniaxial strain modulus, m1Lt2, GPa
N; = uniaxial strain modulus of Layer i, m1Lt2, GPa
t = slowness, tIL, Jls/ft
ti = slowness of Layer i, tIL, Jls/ft
tp = compressional slowness, tIL, Jls/ft

1876
I_ CORES I
1876
I-COREf.'1
I-SONIC I
1-0- SONIC0l
1- SYNTHEIlC I
1880
I-IS- WYLLIE 01
..........
1880

'-"
E
..........
E SYNTHETlc!l

N E
'--"
1884 N
1884
•
••

1888 •
1888 •

100 80 60
.3 .2 .1 o
tp (~s/ft)
POROSITY
Fig. 7-Core measurements presented as a log vs. sonic re-
sponse. Fig. S-Porosity from sonic measurements vs. core porosity.

SPE Formation Evaluation, June 1994 103

 v = velocity, LIt, rnls 9. Wyllie, M.R.I., Gregory, A.R., and Gardner, G.H.E: "Elastic Wave Vf,
Va = velocity at atmospheric pressure, LIt, rnls locities in Heterogeneous and Porous Media," Geophysics (1956) 21,
Vlb = lower-bound velocity, LIt, rnls 41.
Vp = compressional velocity, LIt, rnls
Vub = upper-bound velocity, LIt, rnls 51 Metric Conversion Factors
z = depth, L, m cycles/sec x 1.0* E+OO= Hz
A = wavelength, L, m ft x 3.048* E--Ol = m
Pb = bulk density, rnlO, glcm 3 in. 3 x 1.638 706 E+Ol = cm3
pI = effective bulk density of a given window, mlL3, psi x 6.894 757 E+OO = kPa
g/cm 3
'Conversion factor is exact.
<p = porosity
X = stiffness parameter Original SPE manuscript received for review Nov. 16, 1992. Revised manuscript received
Sept. 9, 1993. Paper accepted for publication Dec. 9, 1993. Paper (SPE 25018) first pre-
sented at the 1992 SPE European Petroleum Conference in Cannes, Nov. 16-18.

Acknowledgment
We thank Direction Exploration Production France for permission Dominique P. Marion researches rock physics at Elf Aquitaine.
to publish these data. He holds an MS degree in geophysics from Ecole National Supt)-
rieure de Geologie de Nancy and a PhD degree in geophysics
from Stanford U. Fram;ois M. Pellerin is supervisor of a reservoir
References characterization research program at Elf Aquitaine. He is study-
ing the relationship between petrophysical properties at core
1. Reuss, A.: "Berechnung der Fliessgrense von Mischkristallen auf
and log scale and lithology. Previously, he taught and conducted
Grund der Plastizitatsbedingung fUr Einkristalle," Zeitschrift for Ange- research in engineering geology. Pellerin holds an MS degree in
wandte Mathematik and Mechanik (1929) 9, 49. geology from Ecole National Superieure de Geologie de Nancy
2. Voigt, W: Lehrbuch der Kristallphysik, Teubner, Leipzig (1928). and a PhD degree in engineering geology from Ecole des Mines
3. Gassmann, E: "Elastic Waves Through a Packing of Spheres," Geo- de Paris.
physics (1951) 16, 673.
4. O'Connell, R.I. and Budiansky, B.: "Viscoelastic Properties of Fluid
Saturated Cracked Solids," J. Geophys. Res. (1977) 76, 2022.
5. Mavko, G.M. and Jizba, D.L.: "Estimating Grain-Scale Effects on Bulk
and Shear Dispersion in Rocks," Geophysics (1991) 56, 161.
6. Winkler, K.: "Dispersion Analysis of Velocity and Attenuation Sand-
stones," J. Geophys. Res. (1985) 88, 9493.
7. Murphy, W.E: "Sonic and Ultrasonic Velocities: Theory vs. Experi-
ment," Geophys. Res. Let. (1985) 12, 85.
8. Marion, D.P. and Coudin, P.: "From Ray to Effective Medium Theories
in Stratified Media: An Experimental Study," paper ST 4.7 presented at
the 1992 Annual Meeting of the Soc. of Exploration Geophysicists, New
Orleans, Oct. 26-29. Pellerin

104 SPE Formation Evaluation, June 1994