Modelling geothermal fluid flows

Bruel, D. 1995. Heat extraction modeling from forced fluid flow through stimulated fractures rock masses Applications to the Rosemanowes hot-dry rock reservoir. Geothermics, 24, 361-374. 

PRUESS, K. 2002. Mathematical Modeling of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Geothermal Systems. An introduction in five lectures held at the United Nations University Geothermal Programme, Reykjavik, Iceland. Report to the Earth Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, 83 pp. 

The above suite of hydrate sensing tools (thermodynamics, geothermal gradients, kinetics, BSRs, lithology and fluid flow, logging and coring tools, and subsea tools) has enabled an assessment of where hydrates may exist worldwide. On the basis of the data provided by these tools, hydrate formation models such as that of Klauda and Sandler (2005) enable our prediction of hydrate formation sites in nature—notably the a priori prediction of 68 of the 71 sites at which hydrates have been indicated. 

Mohais, R., Xu, C., Dowd, PA., 2011 b. An analytical model of coupled fluid flow and heat transfer through a fracture with permeable walls in an EGS. In 2011 Australian Geothermal Energy Conference, pp. 175-179. 

Reynolds number, is borehole radius, /i is characteristic vertical sizes of the model area K permeability of the media, p and pi fluid viscosity and density, respectively. For the typical conditions of the geothermal reservoir exploitation, /i =100m, PI,= l )00kg/m 9=200-lO mVs, p=3-10S-N/m% 7-w=0.1m and /k=10 m we have Re=10 Hence, flow is laminar and the Forchheimer drag force can be neglected in the model. In this case the linear Darcy momentum equations can be employed, namely, Uf =-(Kj i)(dPIdf), where/=x, y, z. 

Since the fluid velocity within the geothermal reservoirs created in the fractured rock can be relatively high and the characteristic sizes of the solid blocks of the rock, which constitute the fissured reservoir media, are relatively large, the high mean values of heat flow rates are typically attained within the stimulated region. In this situation the effect of thermal dispersion is an important factor that should be included into the mathematical model of the heat transport within the natural or artificially developed fissured geothermal reservoirs. Employing different... 

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