Estimation of the distribution of rock permeability using elastic wave tomography

The purpose of this study is to develop the method to evaluate permeability distribution in rock masses using elastic wave tomography. This method is based on Biot theory and BISQ theory which describe the dependency of elastic wave velocity on frequency. To verify the applicability of this method to rock masses, we performed laboratory and in-situ experiments. In laboratory experiments, we measured seismic velocity in several frequencies. In in-situ experiments, we performed seismic exploration using three frequencies. In this paper, we present the results of these experiments. From the laboratory experiments results, it is turned out there is the possibility that this method is applicable to various kinds of rock. And from the results of in-situ experiments, we consider that this method also has the possibility of application to the real field.