The Frequency Dependent Dielectric and og Conductivity Response of Sedimentary Rocks Pabitra N. Sen and W. C. Chew’ ABSTRACT In this paper we describe quantitively how the conductivity and the dielectric constant of water-filled rocks depend on textural and interfacial effects. The grain shape determines the Archie's exponent for the de conductivity as well as the frequency dependent dielectric constant. The large values of dielectric constant can arise from platey grains. Platey grains also give rise to large frequency and salinity dependences of the dielectric constant. The interfacial effects are particularly important in clayey systems. The polarization of interfacial ions gives rise to large values of dielectric constant and affects the rock conductivity. INTRODUCTION In this paper we describe why the frequency dependence of conductivity and dielectric response of rocks contain more information about geological formations than anticipated. The de conductivity of the formation is one of the most useful measures for hydrocarbon exploration. Interpretation of formation conductivity, however, requires knowledge of the connate water conductivity, which is sometimes difficult to ascertain. Since the dielectric constant of water (about 80) is much greater than that of rock (about 10), or hydrocarbon (about 2), the dielectric constant measurement can give information on the water-filled porosity without having to know the water salinity. The dielectric constant in some cases [1], 2] appears to be independent of fluid salinity, provided the frequency is high enough, e.g., in the gigahertz range. However, for lower frequencies, the dielectric constant shows considerable salinity dependence. For this reason, commercial logging tools have been designed in the gigahertz range [3]. In any event, the salinity dependence of the dielectric constant becomes more pronounced at lower frequencies (1 MHz and below), but often persists with diminishing dependence up to the 1 GHz range (see Fig. 4 of [1]). Field measurements at frequencies lower than the gigahertz range are desirable, because the depth of investigation of the logging measurement increases with diminishing frequencies. Accordingly, Meador and Cox [1] and Huchital and others [5, 6] have proposed logging tools operating in the 25 MHz range. It can be scen from Fig. | that parameters other than porosity contro} the dielectric constant of the formation at these frequencies, even in a clean (nonclay) formation. It is clear from this figure that, in order to obtain the water-filled porosity, we must understand how other geometrical and textural parameters affect the dielectric constant. In formations containing shales and clay [7, 8, 9], the dielectric constant can be drastically different from that expected from simple theories that work for clean formations. At lower frequencies, around the kilohertz range, the dielectric constant of wet rocks can be as great as 10*[ I, 7~L4]. These gigantic values are remarkable — considering that the dielectric constant ‘of any of the constituent components does not exceed 80 individually. In this paper, we summarize our current understanding of how the dielectric constant and the conductivity of sedimentary rocks depend on salinity, frequency, textural variables, and clay content. We have discussed elsewhere [15, 16] how the large value of the dielectric constant of a mixture arises when there is a conducting host, as well as an out-of-phase part of the induced polarizability @ of the inclusion. The dielectric constant of a mixture depends on the product of the dielectric constant of the host ¢,; and the induced polarization a, or equivalently, the induced dipole moment aE. The mixing formula is €y ~ ¢y (L + 31a) where 1 is the fractional volume. The imaginary part of the dielectric constant of the host is proportional to the conductivity of the host oy divided by frequency w. As @ — 0, this diverges, thus the cross term which is proportional to (Ima)(on/w) gives a large Manuscript received October 6, 1982 5p, O. Box 307, Schlumberger-Doll Research, Ridgefield. CT 06877 Copyright © 198% by IMPL, On, Comets Journal of Microwave Power, 1896 JOURNAL OF MICROWAVE POWER, 18(1), 1983 20) 18 db 16 (%) 24.6 “ é 12) i NE 12.7 al 10 100 1000 FREQUENCY (MHz) Figure 1 Dielectric constant of fresh water saturated clean sandstones as a function of frequency [1]. The dielectric constant is influenced by geometrical features other than porosity. Notice great difference between samples of porosity 12.7% and 12.9%, but identical €’ at 10 MHz of two samples of porosities 12.9% and 24.6%. value to the real part of the dielectric constant of the mixture. Physically, this implies that an out-of-phase part in a, the induced polarization, will drive an out-of-phase conduction current propor- tional to oy. This out-of-phase current is measured to be the displacement current resulting in a large dielectric constant for the effective medium. We describe below how a large Ima comes about from the textural as well as the surface effects. First, we summarize our work which makes quantitative predictions about the dielectric dis- persion arising from the polarization of the ions at rock—water interfaces [15, 16]. This model has been successfully applied to colloidal particles [16], but awaits detailed application to rock properties. We will then consider geometric effects. Geometric effects seem most important in explaining the dielectric phenomena in clay-free samples, like those shown in Fig. 1. We show that the grain shape is extremely important, and that this in fact determines the exponent m in Archie’s law, (0) = Ca(0)b” where o(0) and o,,(0) are the de conductivities of the formation and the water, ¢ is the porosity, and Caconstant. We derive Archie's law for spherical grains from first principles and show that m = 3/2, which agrees well with the experimental data. We then show that the presence of high aspect ratio (thin plate-like) particles can explain the experimentally observed frequency and salinity dependences and also the very large values of di- electric constant at low frequencies [13, 14]. As we noted above, surface effects become important at frequencies below the megahertz range and contribute to these large values of dielectric constant [15, 16] NOTATIONS Maxwell's equations entail the complex dielectric constant €(w), which is a function of fre- quency. In this paper, we write €(w) = €'(@) + io(w)/es, where €’ and o are real valued functions of frequency w, and €, is the permittivity of the vacuum. We will denote the de conductivity by o(0). At non-zero frequency, o includes parts arising from molecular polarization, wee", in addition to those arising from ‘conduction’ mechanisms. For distilled water, €,, ~ 80, remains constant up to 100 MHz, and then falls off [1]; whereas €', remains almost zero until 100 MHz, then reaches a peak around 20 GHz. The loss in saline water is dominated by the ionic conduction term which is practically independent of frequency in this range and can be represented by 0, (0)/wéy to a very good approxi- mation. The real part e’(«) and the imaginary part o(w)/oey of e(w) are related by Hilbert transforms. ‘The relations are known as Krammers-Kronig relations [18].SEN & CHEW: SEDIMENTARY ROCKS. 97 SURFACE EFFECTS The electrical properties of a rock—water mixture depend on the bulk electrical properties of the constituents, and then on (a) electro-chemical interfacial effects, (b) geometrical arrangement of the constituents. The interfacial effect is particularly prominent in clayey samples. It is well known [18, 19] that the de conductivity of clayey samples is given by o(0) = (o,(0) + BQ.) 6" Q) instead of (1). In this equation, BQ, denotes an additional conductivity due to the clay surface counterions, that become mobile in the presence of water. These counterions are polarizable, and contribute to the real part of €(w). When a solid material is immersed in an electrolyte it acquires a charge which is screened by a cloud of charges in the electrolyte. This charge cloud is known as the electrochemical double layer. Polarization of the double layer in an external clectric field has been invoked, for the last twenty years, as the mechanism responsible for large (~ 1000) values of low frequency dielectric constant of rocks containing clay particles, as well as of other colloidal and biological systems [21]. Elsewhere, [16] we have given a rigorous analysis of the phenomenon, and obtained excellent agreement with experi- ments. This analysis is free from incorrect assumptions of previous theories, and provides insight that numerical solutions cannot. We summarize the results here. Schwan [17] and co-workers in 1962 observed that a suspension of polystyrene particles (of ~ 0.1 jum diameter) in KCI solution has a dielectric constant of well over 10" at frequencies below 1 kHz. This is remarkable considering that the dielectric constant of the solution is about 80 and that of the polystyrene is about 2. They also found that the dielectric constant is proportional to the particle size and the characteristic time is proportional to the square of the particle radius. Neither the Maxwell-Wagner effect [21], nor the electrophoretic effect, was capable of explaining these high values, or the size dependences. Accordingly, an explanation was sought in the polarization of the interfacial ions [17, 23]. Schwarz [23] explained these experimental results remarkably well by a model of interfacial charges which cannot exchange with those in the bulk of the solution. This model has been criticized in the literature for being ad hoc [24-26]. In the more recent treatments [24~26], the tightly bound double layer is abandoned in favor of the Guoy-Chapman model [27]. The Guoy-Chapman or the diffuse double layer model assumes that the charge distribution is given by the Boltzmann distribution in terms of the potential. The potential is given, self consistently, in terms of these charges by Poisson’s equation. The first step of the problem involves solving these equations to a suitable approximation. Next, to obtain the dielectric and conductivity response, an external field F, is applied, and new equations are solved [16]. We obtained the dielectric constant and conductivity of a dilute ensemble of immobile, spherical particles with fixed surface (zeta) potential y, immersed in an electrolyte. These values are obtained in thin double layer approximation, i.c., 8 %, therefore 1 1, €/ diverges ase! ~ (9/4) fevexp(e®y/ksT). When applicable, the theory agrees well with experiments over three decades in frequency, with one adjustable parameter, P,. Our perturbative approach leads to a new understanding of the mechanism that gives rise to the dielectric enhancement. This mechanism is vastly different from that proposed by Schwarz [22] and also from the Maxwell-Wagner effect [21]. Schwarz’s or Maxwell-Wagner effect arises principally from induced charges on the surface. In our case the enhancement depends critically on a neutral induced diffusion cloud that extends far beyond the original double layer. In the unperturbed double