PHENOMENOLOGICAL THEORY OF ATTENUATION AND PROPAGATION VELOCITY OF ELASTIC WAVES IN ROCKS.

A phenomenological theory of velocity and attenuation of elastic waves in rocks is proposed and applied to several rock types. The theory is based upon the two main assumptions: (a) that the macroscopic behavior can be modelled as a superposition of linear dissipative processes and (b) that these processes involve thermal activation with a flat distribution of activation energies over a range whose end points depend on the partial pressure of the volatile to which the rock is exposed. A correlation is made between certain parameters of this phenomenological theory, on one hand, and the fracture stress, induration, and other petrographic factors, on the other.