Neutron radigoraphy of fluid flow for geothermal energy research
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
Enhanced geothermal systems seek to expand the potential for geothermal energy by engineering heat exchange systems within the earth. A neutron radiography imaging method has been developed for the study of fluid flow through rock under environmental conditions found in enhanced geothermal energy systems. For this method, a pressure vessel suitable for neutron radiography was designed and fabricated, modifications to imaging instrument setups were tested, multiple contrast agents were tested, and algorithms developed for tracking of flow. The method has shown success for tracking of single phase flow through a manufactured crack in a 3.81 cm (1.5 inch) diameter core within a pressure vessel capable of confinement up to 69 MPa (10,000 psi) using a particle tracking approach with bubbles of fluorocarbon-based fluid as the “particles” and imaging with 10 ms exposures.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1214478
- Journal Information:
- Physics Procedia, Vol. 69; ISSN 1875-3892
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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