skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Inert and Adsorptive Tracer Tests for Field Measurement of Flow-Wetted Surface Area

Abstract

Abstract Field tests in a discrete rock fracture validated a combined inert/adsorbing tracer test method to estimate the contact area between fluids circulating through a fracture and the bulk rock matrix (i.e., flow‐wetted surface area, A). Tracer tests and heat injections occurred at a mesoscale well field in Altona, NY. A subhorizontal bedding plane fracture ∼7.6 m below ground surface connects two wells separated by 14.1 m. Recovery of the adsorbing tracer cesium was roughly 72% less than the inert tracer iodide. Using an advection‐dispersion‐reaction model in one‐dimension, the adsorbing/inert tracer method identified substantial flow channelization. These results are consistent with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and thermal sensors. All characterization methods suggest circulating fluids were concentrated in a narrow, 1–2 m wide channel directly connecting the injection and production well. The inert/adsorbing tracer method identified two flow channels with areas of 28 and 80 m 2 . A one‐dimensional heat transport model predicted production well temperature rises 20.5°C in 6 days, whereas measured temperature rise was 17.6°C. For comparison, two‐dimensional heat transport through a fracture of uniform aperture (i.e., homogeneous permeability) predicted roughly 670 days until production well temperature would rise 17.6°C. This suggests that the use of a fracturemore » of uniform aperture to predict heat transport may drastically overpredict the thermal performance of a geothermal system. In the context of commercial geothermal reservoirs, the results of this study suggest that combined inert/adsorbing tracer tests could predict production well thermal drawdown, leading to improved reservoir monitoring and management.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]
  1. Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
  2. California State Univ., Long Beach, CA (United States)
  3. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
California State Univ. (CalState), Long Beach, CA (United States); Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
OSTI Identifier:
1539737
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1464869
Grant/Contract Number:  
EE0006763; EE0006764; DE EE0006764; DE EE0006763
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Water Resources Research
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 54; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 0043-1397
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Marine & Freshwater Biology; Water Resources

Citation Formats

Hawkins, Adam J., Becker, Matthew W., and Tester, Jefferson W. Inert and Adsorptive Tracer Tests for Field Measurement of Flow-Wetted Surface Area. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1029/2017wr021910.
Hawkins, Adam J., Becker, Matthew W., & Tester, Jefferson W. Inert and Adsorptive Tracer Tests for Field Measurement of Flow-Wetted Surface Area. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017wr021910
Hawkins, Adam J., Becker, Matthew W., and Tester, Jefferson W. 2018. "Inert and Adsorptive Tracer Tests for Field Measurement of Flow-Wetted Surface Area". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017wr021910. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1539737.
@article{osti_1539737,
title = {Inert and Adsorptive Tracer Tests for Field Measurement of Flow-Wetted Surface Area},
author = {Hawkins, Adam J. and Becker, Matthew W. and Tester, Jefferson W.},
abstractNote = {Abstract Field tests in a discrete rock fracture validated a combined inert/adsorbing tracer test method to estimate the contact area between fluids circulating through a fracture and the bulk rock matrix (i.e., flow‐wetted surface area, A). Tracer tests and heat injections occurred at a mesoscale well field in Altona, NY. A subhorizontal bedding plane fracture ∼7.6 m below ground surface connects two wells separated by 14.1 m. Recovery of the adsorbing tracer cesium was roughly 72% less than the inert tracer iodide. Using an advection‐dispersion‐reaction model in one‐dimension, the adsorbing/inert tracer method identified substantial flow channelization. These results are consistent with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and thermal sensors. All characterization methods suggest circulating fluids were concentrated in a narrow, 1–2 m wide channel directly connecting the injection and production well. The inert/adsorbing tracer method identified two flow channels with areas of 28 and 80 m 2 . A one‐dimensional heat transport model predicted production well temperature rises 20.5°C in 6 days, whereas measured temperature rise was 17.6°C. For comparison, two‐dimensional heat transport through a fracture of uniform aperture (i.e., homogeneous permeability) predicted roughly 670 days until production well temperature would rise 17.6°C. This suggests that the use of a fracture of uniform aperture to predict heat transport may drastically overpredict the thermal performance of a geothermal system. In the context of commercial geothermal reservoirs, the results of this study suggest that combined inert/adsorbing tracer tests could predict production well thermal drawdown, leading to improved reservoir monitoring and management.},
doi = {10.1029/2017wr021910},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1539737}, journal = {Water Resources Research},
issn = {0043-1397},
number = 8,
volume = 54,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed May 09 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Wed May 09 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 18 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Cation Exchange in Chemical Flooding: Part 3 - Experimental
journal, December 1978


An analytical thermohydraulic model for discretely fractured geothermal reservoirs: ANALYTICAL THERMOHYDRAULIC MODEL
journal, September 2016


Thermal Effects of Reinjection in Geothermal Reservoirs With Major Vertical Fractures
journal, September 1984


The effect of spatial aperture variations on the thermal performance of discretely fractured geothermal reservoirs
journal, October 2015


A series of large, Late Wisconsinan meltwater floods through the Champlain and Hudson Valleys, New York State, USA
journal, November 2005


Reservoir Sizing Using Inert and Chemically Reacting Tracers
journal, March 1988


Comparing flux-averaged and resident concentration in a fractured bedrock using ground penetrating radar: CONCENTRATION IN BEDROCK
journal, September 2010


Dispersion in tracer flow in fractured geothermal systems
journal, April 1983


The Behavior of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs
journal, September 1963


Cross-polarized GPR imaging of fracture flow channeling
journal, December 2015


A comprehensive set of analytical solutions for nonequilibrium solute transport with first-order decay and zero-order production
journal, July 1993


Reservoir engineering aspects of reinjection
journal, January 1985


Evaluation of inert tracers in a bedrock fracture using ground penetrating radar and thermal sensors
journal, May 2017


Measurement and simulation of heat exchange in fractured bedrock using inert and thermally degrading tracers: THERMALLY DEGRADING TESTS
journal, February 2017


Transport of a reactive tracer in saturated alluvium described using a three-component cation-exchange model
journal, April 2003


Anisotropie Permeability of Fractured Media
journal, December 1969


Prediction of enthalpy production from fractured geothermal reservoirs using partitioning tracers
journal, March 2008


Thermal properties of rocks
text, January 2019


Tracer dilution sampling technique to determine hydraulic conductivity of fractured rock
journal, September 1966


Contaminant transport in fractured porous media: Analytical solution for a single fracture
journal, June 1981


Prediction Of Tracer Behavior In Five-Spot Flow
conference, April 2013


Theory of heat extraction from fractured hot dry rock
journal, March 1975


Tracer transport in fractured crystalline rock: Evidence of nondiffusive breakthrough tailing
journal, July 2000


Thermal properties of rocks
report, January 1988


Analysis of tracer test data, and injection-induced cooling, in the Laugaland geothermal field, N-Iceland
journal, December 2001


Channel model of flow through fractured media
journal, March 1987


Thermal problems in the siting of reinjection wells
journal, June 1972


Oxide surfaces
journal, August 2009


Works referencing / citing this record: