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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Modeling studies of cold water injection into fluid-depleted, vapor-dominated geothermal reservoirs

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5507073

The physical processes involved in cold water injection into a ''superheated'' fractured reservoir are not yet fully understood, and this insufficient knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms limits the possibility of forecasting future resevoir behavior and optimizing the heat extraction process. Numerical simulation can be a very effective tool in the study of the complex phenomena involved, allowing a rapid examination of different situations and conditions, a systematic investigation of the effects of various parameters on reservoir performance, and some insight into long term behavior. We have performed simulation experiments on simple one-dimensional, porous and fractured reservoir models in order to study the migration of injected water, thermodynamic conditions in the boiling zone, heat extraction, and vapor generation. A two-dimensional radial porous medium model, with some characteristics typical of the high productivity zones of Larderello, has also been applied for studying the evolution of the shape and the thermodynamic conditions of the injection plume in the presence of gravity, reservoir heterogeneities and anisotropy.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA); Istituto Internazionale per le Ricerche Geotermiche, Pisa (Italy)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
5507073
Report Number(s):
LBL-21252; CONF-860111-11; ON: DE86012024
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English