Abstract:
Electromechanical device for generating elastic waves in a material medium such as the subsoil in a frequency range where the wavelengths of the waves generated are great in view of the dimensions of the device, and method for implementing it.  
     The device comprises one or more vibrators suited to be buried in the medium, associated with a control system. Each vibrator comprises at least one inertia mass ( 1 ), several plates ( 2, 3 ) providing mechanical coupling with the medium, electromechanical transducers ( 4, 5 ) connecting inertia masses ( 1 ) to plates ( 2, 3 ). Control system ( 7 ) is suited to apply to the various transducers ( 4, 5 ) respective control signals so that the resulting elastic wavefield generated in the medium by the device is preferentially oriented in one or more directions. This focused wavefield can be obtained directly by applying suitable control signals to the various transducers of each vibrator or by carrying out several successive emission phases with different wavefields so that, by combining the seismograms obtained during these different phases, the equivalent wavefield is focused, or by combining focused wavefields emitted by several simple vibrators.  
     Application: onshore seismic prospecting for example.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a focused-emission electromechanical device for generating vibrations in a material medium such as the subsoil and to a method of implementation.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    The object of seismic prospecting operations is to record seismograms of the formation to be explored from elastic waves picked up by suitable receivers coupled with the formation (arranged at the surface or in wells). The elastic waves are reflected by the subsoil discontinuities in response to waves emitted by an elastic wave source of any type, either an impulsive source such as an explosive charge in a hole, air guns towed by a ship at sea, etc., or vibrators emitting signals of variable length which generally are variable-frequency signals. The frequency variation can be continuous within a certain frequency range (sweep) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,124 or discontinuous with binary coding as described in French patent 2,589,587.  
           [0005]    The vibrators can be, for example, of electromagnetic or electrohydraulic type, or piezoelectric. A piezoelectric type vibrator comprises for example a plate for coupling with the ground having a sufficiently heavy inertia mass coupled with the plate by means of one or more piezoelectric transducers. Each transducer comprises for example a pile of piezoelectric ceramic elements coupled in parallel which is connected to a vibrational signal generator. A piezoelectric vibrator is described for example in French patent 2,791,780 filed by the applicant.  
           [0006]    The seismic sources coupled with the ground surface are directional but the seismic energy they can emit depends very much on the coupling quality, which itself depends on the local climatic variations. This is a drawback notably when long-term monitoring operations are carried out in a reservoir under development so as to be able to compare, at intervals of several months for example, the seismograms obtained successively, and thus to detect variations in the state thereof. It is therefore preferable, when a certain emission reproducibility is desired, to couple the sources with the formation, below the weathered zone. A well of sufficient depth to reach the base of the weathered zone is therefore bored, the source is installed at the bottom thereof and connected to a suitable power generator.  
           [0007]    However, the drawback of this coupling mode is that the source is no longer directional and emits upwards. The radiation that crosses the weathered zone disturbs the seismograms obtained.  
           [0008]    A directional source is described, for an acoustic application, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,674. It is a high-frequency Janus type immersed source comprising a mass fastened between two piezoelectric transducers. A plate is fastened to the end of each transducer opposite the central mass. The mechanical impedance of the immersion medium is identical for each plate. The two transducers are fed independently of one another so that the motion of one or the other plate is inhibited. In the relatively high acoustic frequencies range, since the wavelengths of the waves emitted are short in view of the dimensions of the source, the waves are emitted only towards the outside of the mobile plate and practically not on the opposite side. In the very low frequencies range in which seismic sources operate, inhibition of the speed of one of the plates does not make the source directional because the mobile plate generates a back wave in phase opposition.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The device according to the invention allows generation, in a material medium, a focused vibrational wavefield (obtained in one or two successive phases with two distinct wavefields, non-focused but complementary insofar as their sum results in a focused field), in a frequency range where the wavelengths of the waves generated are great in view of the dimensions of the device. It comprises at least one vibrator for burying in the medium, including at least one inertia mass, at least two plates mechanically coupled with the medium (the mechanical impedance of this medium is not necessarily uniform so that the two plates can undergo different impedances), electromechanical transducers connecting each inertia mass to the plates and a control system suited to apply to the electromechanical transducers respective control signals so that the resulting wavefield generated in the medium by the device is focused in a predetermined spatial direction.  
           [0010]    The invention has applications notably within the scope of seismic exploration or seismic monitoring of an underground formation such as a hydrocarbon reservoir.  
           [0011]    According to an embodiment, each vibrator comprises a single inertia mass, at least two plates coupled with the medium and electromechanical transducers tightly fastened on the one hand to the inertia mass and to the plates respectively, two of the plates having a common spatial orientation, the control system applying thereto different control signals so selected that the combination of the stresses applied to the medium is mainly oriented in a predetermined direction.  
           [0012]    According to another embodiment, each vibrator comprises a single inertia mass, at least one pair of plates coupled with the medium and at least one pair of electromechanical transducers tightly fastened on the one hand to the inertia mass and to the plates of the pair of plates respectively, the two plates of each pair have a common spatial orientation and are arranged on either side of the inertia mass, the two electromechanical transducers of each pair being arranged in line along the same axis.  
           [0013]    According to another embodiment, each vibrator comprises at least two pairs of plates associated with the inertia mass by means of at least two pairs of transducers, the respective axes of the various pairs of transducers being oriented in different directions.  
           [0014]    The control system comprises means for applying to a first transducer of the pair of transducers a combined control signal obtained by summing a first signal (U D ) and a second signal (U F ) selected as a function of first signal (U D ), and for applying to the second transducer of said pair of transducers a second combined control signal obtained by summing a first signal f D (U D ) and a second signal f F (U F ) so as to neutralize the radiation of the plate associated with the second transducer. Functions f D  and f F  are described in detail hereafter.  
           [0015]    Second signal U F  is expressed as a function of first signal U D  for example by the relation:  
         U   F     =       U   D     ×         2                 π     λ     .                             
 
           [0016]    According to another embodiment, the device comprises several vibrators including each at least one inertia mass, at least two plates mechanically coupled with the medium, electromechanical transducers tightly connecting the inertia mass to the plates and a control system which applies to the electromechanical transducers of the vibrators respective control signals such that the global wavefield produced by the device is oriented in a predetermined spatial direction.  
           [0017]    The device comprises for example means (a cement mass or equivalent, or an element made of an elastic material in contact with at least one of the plates for example) for modifying the coupling coefficient of the various plates with the medium, so as to reinforce the polarization of the waves applied to the medium by the device.  
           [0018]    According to another embodiment, at least one inertia mass is a volume of the medium or of a volume of a solid material.  
           [0019]    The method of prospecting a material medium such as the subsoil according to the invention comprises forming seismograms of the formation to be explored from elastic waves picked up by suitable wave receivers coupled with the formation, the waves being reflected by the discontinuities of the medium in response to elastic waves which are emitted. It comprises using as a source of elastic waves a device including at least one vibrator for burying in the medium, comprising at least one inertia mass, at least two plates mechanically coupled with the medium, electromechanical transducers connecting each inertia mass to the plates and a transducer control system, and applying to the transducers control signals of selected amplitude and phase so that the resulting wavefield applied to the medium is focused in a given direction.  
           [0020]    According to an implementation mode where each vibrator comprises a single inertia mass, connected to at least one pair of plates by at least one pair of electromechanical transducers, the two plates of each pair being arranged on either side of the inertia mass and having a common spatial orientation, and the two electromechanical transducers of each pair are arranged in line along the same axis. The resulting wavefield is generated:  
           [0021]    by applying during a first stage respectively to the electromechanical transducers respectively two vibrational signals in phase opposition (U F ) and f F (−U F ) so as to form a first seismogram of the medium,  
           [0022]    by applying during a second stage respectively to the two electromechanical transducers respectively two vibrational signals in phase (U D ) and f D (U D ), with (U D ) selected as a function of the first vibrational signal (U F ), so as to form a second seismogram of the medium, and  
           [0023]    by summing the seismograms formed during the first and the second stage, the seismogram obtained by summation resulting in a wavefield, corresponding to a focused emission of elastic signals.  
           [0024]    According to an implementation mode with a device comprising a single inertia mass, connected to at least one pair of plates by at least one pair of electromechanical transducers, the two plates of each pair being arranged parallel to one another and on either side of the inertia mass, and the two electromechanical transducers of each pair being arranged in line along the same axis, the resulting wavefield is generated by applying to one of the electromechanical transducers a vibrational signal that is equal to the sum of a first vibrational signal (U D ) and of a second vibrational signal (U F ) selected as a function of first vibrational signal (U D ), and by applying to the other electromechanical transducer a second combined control signal obtained by summing a first signal f D (U D ) and a second signal f F (U F ) so as to neutralize the radiation of the plate associated with the second electromechanical transducer.  
           [0025]    Vibrational signal (U F ) is connected to vibrational signal (U D ) for example by the relation:  
         U   F     =       U   D     ×         2      π     λ     .                             
 
           [0026]    According to another implementation mode, the resulting wavefield is generated by making the plates or the coupling mode of the plates with the medium unsymmetrical.  
           [0027]    According to another implementation mode, at least a first plate is brought into contact with a cement mass or equivalent, and at least a second plate is brought into contact directly with the medium.  
           [0028]    The device according to the invention thus allows deep burying down one or more vibrators which emit a focused wavefield in a frequency range where the wavelengths of the waves generated are great in view of the dimensions of the device. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0029]    Other features and advantages of the device according to the invention and of the method for implementing it will be clear from reading the description hereafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows the layout of the vibrator with its associated control device,  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic example of setting in the field of an onshore seismic system using the vibrator of FIG. 1,  
         [0032]    [0032]FIGS. 3A, 3B and  3 C show the respective emission lobes of the two transducers of the vibrator, in a two-stage seismic acquisition procedure (FIGS. 3A, 3B) allowing obtaining, by trace stacking, a highly directional resulting wavefield (FIG. 3C),  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 4 diagrammatically shows an embodiment where each vibrator comprises several electromagnetic transducers with different spatial orientations,  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 5 diagrammatically shows another embodiment where each vibrator comprises several pairs of electromagnetic transducers oriented each in a different direction,  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 6 diagrammatically shows another embodiment where the device comprises several vibrators buried close to one another, suited to emit focused waves in different directions,  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 7 diagrammatically shows another embodiment where the device comprises one or more vibrators comprising two inertia masses and three electromechanical transducers, and  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 8 diagrammatically shows the dynamic components of the device of FIG. 1 for example. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0038]    According to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the device comprises at least one focused vibrator V essentially including a sufficiently heavy inertia mass  1 , two plates  2  and  3  arranged parallel to one another and on either side of the inertia mass, two electromechanical transducers  4  and  5  of any type (piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, hydraulic, etc.), in line along the same axis, connecting inertia mass  1  respectively to the two plates  2  and  3  and an elastic sheath  6  intended to externally insulate vibrator V.  
         [0039]    Vibrator V is arranged (FIG. 2) in a cavity provided in the medium, in a consolidated zone, either directly or embedded in a mass of cement poured in the cavity around it. A control system  7  applies to the two transducers respective forces such that the resulting wavefield generated in the medium is unsymmetrical. Wave receivers R are coupled with the medium and an acquisition and recording system  8  which forms seismic seismograms of the medium from the signals picked up by the receivers in response to the emitted wavefields produced by vibrator V.  
         [0040]    The signals applied to each vibrator in order to obtain a focused emission in a given direction are determined as follows.  
         [0041]    An acoustic impedance value is first fixed for each plate and the forces generated on each plate are calculated. The vibrator is therefore modelled using the transfer matrix technique described for example by Decarpigny J. N. et al in J. Acoust. Soc. Am.,  78  ( 5 ) November 1985, pp.1499-1507.  
         [0042]    The amplitude ratios required for the forces are generated so that, after combination, certain desired emission directions are obtained. The theoretical radiation diagrams of point sources of force or of a dipole type, in spaces or half spaces, can be used therefore, or these radiation diagrams can be calculated by means of specialized numerical computing softwares which are well-known in the art.  
         [0043]    In order to illustrate the method of calculating the control signals that lead to inhibiting the radiation on one side of the device, the general case is considered of a pair of transducers (FIG. 8) where neither the device nor the impedances undergone by the two plates are symmetrical. M is the mass of inertia mass  1 , M 1  and M 2  are the respective masses of plates P 1  and P 2 , K 1  and K 2  are the stiffness of transducers  4  and  5  respectively associated with plates P 1  and P 2 , Z 1  and Z 2  are the impedances of the ground undergone by plates P 1  and P 2  respectively, r 1  and r 2  are the electrodynamic coupling coefficients connecting the voltage to the dynamic force, and U 1 (t) and U 2 (t), referred to as U 1  and U 2  hereafter, are the time-variable supply voltages of transducers  4  and  5  (positive voltages imply an elongation of the stock, by convention).  
         [0044]    The dynamic forces F 1  and F 2  developed by plates P 1  and P 2  in the surrounding medium meet (by orienting them in the same direction):  
           F   1     =         k   11          U   1       +       k   12          U   2           ,     
            F   2     =         k   21          U   1       +       k   22          U   2           ,   avec               k   11     =           Z   1          r   1       D          {         Z   2          K   2       -       ω   2          [       M        (       Z   2     +     K   2       )       +       K   2          M   2         ]       +       ω   4          M   2        M       }         ,     
            k   22     =       -         Z   2          r   2       D            {         Z   1          K   1       -       ω   2          [       M        (       Z   1     +     K   1       )       +       K   1          M   1         ]       +       ω   4          M   1        M       }         ,     
            k   12     =           Z   1          r   2       D          {         Z   2          K   1       -       ω   2          K   1          M   2         }         ,     
            k   21     =       -         Z   2          r   1       D            {         Z   1          K   2       -       ω   2          K   2          M   1         }         ,     
          D   =         Z   1            Z   2          (       K   1     +     K   2       )         +       K   1            K   2          (       Z   1     +     Z   2       )         -       ω   2          [         K   1            K   2          (     M   +     M   1     +     M   2       )         +       (       K   1     +     K   2       )          (         M   2          Z   1       +       M   1          Z   2         )       +     M        (         Z   1          Z   2       +       Z   1          K   2       +       Z   2          K   1         )         ]       +                
                       ω   4          [         MM   1          (       Z   2     +     K   2       )       +       MM   2          (       Z   1     +     K   1       )       +       M   1            M   2          (       Z   1     +     K   1       )         +       M   1            M   2          (       K   1     +     K   2       )           ]       -       ω   6          M   1          M   2          M   .                                 
 
         [0045]    For the device to act as a simple force on the medium, the relationship F 1 =F 2  must be; which implies the following value for supply voltage U 2 :  
         U   2     =         f   F          (     U   1     )       =       -     U   1       ×           r   1       r   2            [         2        K   2          Z   1          Z   2       -       ω   2          (         Z   1          Z   2        M     +       Z   1          K   2        M     +       Z   1          K   2          M   2       +       Z   2          K   2          M   1         )       +       ω   4          Z   1          M   2        M           2        K   1          Z   1          Z   2       -       ω   2          (         Z   1          Z   2        M     +       Z   2          K   1        M     +       Z   2          K   1          M   1       +       Z   1          K   1          M   2         )       +       ω   4          Z   2          M   1        M         ]       .                               
 
         [0046]    For the device to act as a dipole, the relationship F 1 =−F 2  must be; which implies the following value for supply voltage U 2 :  
         U   2     =         f   D          (     U   1     )       =       U   1     ×           r   1       r   2            [           Z   2          K   2          M   1       -       Z   1          Z   2        M     -       Z   1          K   2        M     -       Z   1          K   2          M   2       +       ω   2          Z   1          M   2        M             Z   1          K   1          M   2       -       Z   2          Z   1        M     -       Z   2          K   1        M     -       Z   2          K   1          M   1       +       ω   2        2        M   1        M         ]       .                               
 
         [0047]    For the combination of the two emissions to be minimized on one side of the device, the relationship  
           (     F   1     )     force     =         (     F   1     )     dipole     ×       2      π     λ                             
 
         [0048]    must be, where λ is the wavelength of the waves generated. This relationship allows selection (U 1 ) force  as a function of (U 1 ) dipole , hereafter referred to as U F  and U D  respectively, with:  
               U   F     =       U   D     ×       2      π     λ               (   1   )                               
 
         [0049]    for the radiations of the dipole and the force to be inhibited on one side.  
         [0050]    According to a first implementation mode, the resulting wavefield is obtained in two stages. During a first stage, two sinusoidal signals U F (t) and f F (U F (t)) (FIG. 3A) in phase opposition are respectively applied to the two transducers  4  and  5 . Vibrator V generates a first wavefield along the common axis of the two transducers  4  and  5  and acquisition of the seismic signals reflected by the medium is performed so as to form a first seismogram of the medium. Then, during a second stage, two sinusoidal signals U D (t) and f D  (U D (t)) (FIG. 3B) in phase are applied to the two transducers and acquisition of the seismic signals reflected by the medium is performed in the same way so as to form a second seismogram of the medium. Signals U F (t) and U D (t) are properly adjusted in accordance with relation  1  above so that summation of the seismograms formed during the first and the second stage allows obtaining an equivalent seismic seismogram corresponding to a focused elastic wavefield as shown in FIG. 3C.  
         [0051]    According to a second implementation mode, a similar result is obtained by applying to one of the transducers  4  a signal equal to the sum of the previous signals U F (t) and U D (t), and to the opposite transducer  5  a signal equal to f D (U D (t))+f F (U F (t)). This has the effect of neutralizing from a distance the “back” radiation and results in the device thus being made focused.  
         [0052]    The relative amplitudes of the control signals in relation to one another generally depend on the wavelength and they have to be adjusted accordingly, in cases where the emitted frequencies are modified (emission of sliding frequencies for example). According to the embodiment of FIG. 4, each vibrator V comprises an inertia mass  1  and at least three electromagnetic transducers T 1 , T 2  and T 3 . Two of them, T 1  and T 2 , whose axes are oriented in a common direction, connect two plates P 1  and P 2  to the inertia mass. The third transducer T 3  connecting a third plate P 3  to inertia mass  1  is oriented in a different direction to the other two. Control system  7  is common to all the transducers T 1 -T 3  and it applies thereto control signals selected to obtain a focused emission in a certain direction.  
         [0053]    Calculation of the suitable amplitudes for this embodiment is carried out by applying the calculation method described above, applied to oscillating system T 1 -T 3 . According to the embodiment of FIG. 5, each vibrator V comprises a common inertia mass  1  and several (three in the present example) pairs of transducers (T 1 , T′ 1 ), (T 2 , T′ 2 ), (T 3 , T′ 3 ) connecting each two plates (P 1 , P′ 1 ) or (P 2 , P′ 2 ) or (P 3 , P′ 3 ) to common inertia mass  1 . The transducers of each pair are oriented in a common direction, different from that of the other pairs. The directions of the three pairs are for example oriented along the edges of a trirectangular trihedron. The control system is also common to all the pairs of transducers and applies thereto control signals selected to obtain a focused emission in a certain direction. The amplitude of the control signals suitable for this other embodiment is calculated similarly as described above. This embodiment provides a particularly great latitude of spatial orientation of the focused emissions.  
         [0054]    According to the embodiment of FIG. 6, the device comprises n vibrators V 1 -Vn (n≧2) buried in the ground, close to one another, comprising each an inertia mass  1 ,  1 ′ and two (or more) electromagnetic transducers (T 1 , T′ 1 ) and (T 2 , T′ 2 ) connecting each a plate (P 1 , P′ 1 ) and (P 2 , P′ 2 ) to one of the inertia masses  1  and  1 ′. The axes of two transducers of each vibrator V 1  and V 2  are oriented in a common direction, different from that of the transducers of the other vibrator. The device comprises a control system  7  common to the two vibrators V 1  and V 2  and suited to apply thereto signals so as to obtain a combined wavefield whose orientation and global shape depend on the amplitudes and on the phases of the signals respectively applied to the vibrators. By using for example three vibrators whose axes are oriented along the axes of a trihedron, it is possible, by exploiting the amplitudes and the phases, to orient the wavefield produced as a function of the subsoil zone to be explored.  
         [0055]    According to the embodiment of FIG. 7, each vibrator comprises at least two inertia masses  1  and  1 ′ connected together by an electromechanical transducer T 1 , each mass  1  and  1 ′ being mechanically connected by an electromechanical transducer T 2  and T 3  to a plate P and P′.  
         [0056]    It is also possible to obtain a resulting wavefield favoring an emission direction in relation to the opposite direction by making the coupling mode of the two plates with the medium unequal. For example, one of the plates (plate  2  for example) can be brought into contact with a mass of cement or equivalent, and the opposite plate ( 3  for example) is brought into contact directly with the medium. It is also possible to interpose, between one of the plates and the medium, a layer of a material having a different acoustic quality: an elastomer layer for example.  
         [0057]    Another means uses transducers  4  and  5  with different characteristics.  
         [0058]    According to a preferred embodiment, the transducers are of piezoelectric type. They comprise each a stock consisting, as it is well-known in the art, of a pile of piezoelectric sensitive elements electrically connected in parallel. In this case, the transducers can be made different by modifying the number of piezoelectric elements that constitute the piles, or by using elements of different shapes or sizes as regards the surface area and/or the thickness thereof.  
         [0059]    The inertia mass can be made of any material: metal, cement or equivalent, or even a volume of the medium in which the device is buried, interposed between the transducers.