Anisotropic poroviscoelastic medium: reflection of inhomogeneous waves at the plane boundary with restricted seepage of pore fluid

Abstract

An attenuating wave field in an anisotropic poroviscoelastic medium is represented through the three‐dimensional inhomogeneous propagation of four bulk waves. Propagation of each wave is governed by a complex slowness vector, which specifies its phase direction, phase velocity and coefficients for homogeneous/inhomogeneous attenuation. Partially opened surface pores restrict the seepage of pore fluid at the boundary. A generalized reflection phenomenon is illustrated for incidence of inhomogeneous waves at this boundary. Horizontal slowness of this incidence derives the slowness vectors of four inhomogeneous waves reflected into the medium. Slowness vectors and polarizations of incident and reflected waves are used to calculate the amplitudes, phase shifts and energy fluxes of reflected waves in comparison to the incident wave. A particular example illustrates the numerical implementation of the derived mathematical model for anisotropic poroviscoelastic reflection.