A new generation low-frequency seismic vibrator

ABSTRACT Extending the vibroseis acquisition bandwidth toward very low frequencies (below 5 Hz) can be very beneficial for land seismic exploration. However, most conventional hydraulic vibrators have physical limitations as well as harmonic distortion in the vibrator mechanical and hydraulic systems that limit the ground-force output at low frequencies. To enhance the low-frequency range, the vibrator output force must be increased with an improved signal-to-noise ratio. An improved design of the vibrator mechanical and hydraulic system becomes very necessary to achieve this goal. With this goal, a newly designed low-frequency vibrator is developed and field-tested. Experimental results find that this new generation low-frequency vibrator can produce the recoverable seismic data with a low-frequency range from 1 to 4 Hz.