Techno Press
Techno Press

Geomechanics and Engineering
  Volume 40, Number 3, February10 2025 , pages 205-216
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/gae.2025.40.3.205
 


Innovative numerical techniques for calculating rock strength characteristics: Leveraging integrated machine learning and geostatistical methods
Fataneh Fakhri, Danial Mansourian, Hossein Baghishani, Ayub Elyasi, Esmael Makarian and Fatemeh Saberi

 
Abstract
    Accurately predicting rock mechanical properties, such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and internal friction angle (o), is crucial for various subsurface engineering applications. Traditional laboratory testing methods for determining these parameters are often expensive and time-consuming. This research presents a novel methodology that integrates two key techniques, machine learning (ML) and geostatistics, to more efficiently and accurately estimate UCS and o from routinely measured P- and S-wave velocities (VP and VS) based on well-logging operations. The methodology involves training three machine learning models, including multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso), and Ridge regression, on 70% of the data to predict UCS and o. Predictions were validated through cross-validation on the remaining 30% of the data. Next, the Ordinary Kriging (OK) method was employed to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of the applied methods. Finally, all the results were assessed using various metrics, including mean biased prediction error (MBPE), mean absolute prediction error (MAPE), mean squared prediction error (MSPE), and R-squared (R2). The results indicate that the Ridge model delivers the best performance for predicting o, with the lowest MSPE of 2.29 and the highest R2 of 0.98. Additionally, the value of MAPE is the lowest at 0.91, and MBPE has the lowest distance to zero. For UCS, the MARS demonstrates the lowest MSPE and MAPE values, as well as the highest R2, indicating superior performance compared to the other models.
 
Key Words
    geostatistics; internal friction angle; machine learning; seismic velocities; uniaxial compressive strength
 
Address
Fataneh Fakhri and Hossein Baghishani: Department of Statistics, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran
Danial Mansourian: Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy, Oklahoma University, USA
Ayub Elyasi: Department of Petroleum Engineering, College of Engineering, Knowledge University, Erbil 44001, Iraq
Esmael Makarian: Department of Mining Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz 94173-71946, Iran
Fatemeh Saberi: Harold Hamm School of Geology & Geological Engineering, University of North Dakota, USA
 

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