The seismoelectric effect: a nonisochoric streaming current 2. Theory and its experimental verification

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Physical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• The seismoelectric effect describes the electric response generated by ultrasound propagation in liquid-saturated porous media.
• The reverse electroseismic effect uses an electric field to drive fluid motion.
• Existing electroacoustic devices, typically used for liquid dispersions, show potential for characterizing porous bodies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a derived theory for the seismoelectric effect, building on Frenkel's foundational work.
• To experimentally verify the derived theory by measuring the seismoelectric current in silica particle sediments.
• To demonstrate the application of this method for determining sediment porosity and zeta-potential.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical derivation of the seismoelectric effect based on Frenkel's principles.
• Experimental measurement of seismoelectric currents in sediments composed of micrometer-sized silica particles.
• Calibration and application of electroacoustic devices for porous body characterization.

Main Results:

• The study successfully measured the seismoelectric current in silica sediments.
• The measurements allowed for accurate determination of sediment porosity.
• The calculated zeta-potential using the derived theory closely matched independently measured values for dispersions.

Conclusions:

• The presented theory and measurement technique offer a novel approach to characterizing porous materials.
• Electroacoustic devices can be effectively utilized for determining porosity and zeta-potential in porous bodies, even those with low permeability.
• This research bridges the gap between dispersion characterization and porous media analysis using electroacoustic phenomena.