Towards retrieving distributed aquifer hydraulic parameters from
distributed strain sensing
Abstract
Subtle elastic rock deformation during aquifer testing may bear
hydraulic parameter (permeability and compressibility) information owing
to the poroelastic hydromechanical coupling effect. Here we report that
such in situ rock deformations (~50 µε) during an
aquifer pumping test are successfully measured along a vertical well by
a high-resolution fiber optic distributed strain sensing (DSS) tool with
an accuracy of 0.5 µε. We investigate the feasibility of hydraulic
parameter estimation at meter scale using DSS data through a coupled
hydromechanical model. Both synthetic and field cases are tested with
sensitivity analysis. The results indicate that the simultaneous
estimation of permeability and compressibility using DSS data is
possible at low noise levels. However, only non-global near-optimal
solutions can be obtained using the applied gradient-based inversion
algorithm, because of parameter crosstalk and sensitivity problems when
the data contain large noise. In particular, estimation is difficult for
zones with relatively low permeability due to the low sensitivity to the
strain changes. The estimated permeability/compressibility structures
for the field test are largely consistent with other geological
information from well logs. Our study suggests that DSS data can be
quite useful in aquifer characterization and fluid flow profiling in
addition to geomechanical monitoring. The obtained hydraulic information
is beneficial for the optimized reservoir management of water and
oil/gas storage.