3-D Numerical Modeling of Transient Electromagnetic Responses in Anisotropic Formation With Cement-Coated Steel Casing Borehole

Electromagnetic (EM) exploration is one of the most important geophysical methods for monitoring hydraulic fracturing. However, recently published research has focused on the effects of steel infrastructures while neglecting the contribution of the cement layer that interfaces between the casing and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing 2024, Vol.62, p.1-12
Main Authors: Long, Gang, Shen, Jinsong, Hu, Zuzhi, Liu, Xuejun, Ran, Shang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Anisotropic
Anisotropy
Boreholes
Cement
Cement industry
cement-coated steel casing
Coatings
Concrete
Conductivity
Cracks
Electric fields
Electromagnetics
Electrostatic properties
Geological surveys
Geophysical exploration
Geophysical methods
Geophysical surveys
Hydraulic fracturing
Hydraulic systems
Image enhancement
Interfaces
Mathematical models
Monitoring methods
Numerical models
numerical simulation
Solid modeling
Steel
Target detection
transient electromagnetic (TEM)
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Summary:Electromagnetic (EM) exploration is one of the most important geophysical methods for monitoring hydraulic fracturing. However, recently published research has focused on the effects of steel infrastructures while neglecting the contribution of the cement layer that interfaces between the casing and the surrounding geological formation. Additionally, they have ignored the effects of the anisotropic nature of subsurface structures, arising from both hydraulic fractures and natural fissures. In this article, we first analyze the transient EM (TEM) responses in various conductive backgrounds with cement-coated steel casing boreholes. We then investigate the effects of the anisotropic nature of subsurface structures caused by hydraulic fractures and natural fissures. To balance computational efficiency with accuracy, we model the hollow steel casing as a rectangular prism. Numerical results demonstrate that the presence of cement-coated steel casing not only alters the electrostatic field within the casing but also affects the distribution of geometric currents in the surrounding geological formation. Moreover, electrical anisotropy significantly influences the TEM responses. If processed with an isotropic model, potential artifacts could be introduced into the target images. These findings could enhance the accuracy of geophysical surveys in hydraulic fracturing operations, leading to more reliable detection and characterization of subsurface fractures and improving the management of extraction processes.
ISSN:0196-2892
1558-0644
DOI:10.1109/TGRS.2024.3480452