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Hydraulic Fracturing-driven Infrasound Signals -A New Class of Signal for Subsurface Engineering
  • +2
  • Aditya Chakravarty,
  • Jordan Stenftenagel,
  • Kan Wu,
  • Benchun Duan,
  • Siddharth Misra
Aditya Chakravarty
Texas A&M University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Jordan Stenftenagel
Texas A&M University
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Kan Wu
Texas A&M University
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Benchun Duan
Texas A&M University
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Siddharth Misra
Texas A&M University
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Abstract

Fluid injection into subsurface causes rock deformations, which give rise to mechanical waves in the surrounding rock. This article focuses on the infrasound signals (2-80 Hz) recorded by hydrophones during a meso-scale (~10 meter) hydraulic fracturing experiment at depth of 1.5 kilometer. We present a full-waveform-based data-driven workflow to map the spatiotemporal evolution of the infrasound sources produced during hydraulic fracturing. The infrasound source locations are compared against the simultaneously created microseismic source locations. Orientation of the infrasound source point cloud strongly agrees with natural fracture orientation, as inferred from the discrete fracture-network modelling. Finally, we arrive at a conceptual model of fluid-injection driven infrasound generation in subsurface and posit that the reopening of natural fractures is the main mechanism of the infrasound generation. A joint analysis of signals from microseismicity and infrasound sources can improve subsurface fracture imaging.