This experiment involves stressing a rock containing a borehole (like an oil well), and measuring acoustic velocities near the borehole and far from the borehole. The idea is to use changes in velocity to detect the onset of mechanical damage. This plot shows how the results could be used by oil well drillers. Will appear in the January 2005 issue of Geophysics.

Submitted by:
Kenneth Winkler
Sensor Physics Acoustics
Schlumberger Research (SDR)