Geohydrological environmental effects of geothermal power production: Phase I. Final report

Technical Report · Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1975

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7119556· OSTI ID:7119556

Pritchett, J W; Garg, S K; Brownell, Jr, D H; Levine, H B

Results are presented for the first phase of a three-phase research effort to develop reliable computer simulators whereby field information for a specific liquid- or vapor-dominated geothermal system can be used to predict reservoir performance and subsurface environmental effects due to production and reinjection of geothermal fluids. The environmental effects of interest include land surface subsidence, induced seismic activity, and pollution of freshwater aquifers by geothermal brines. The approach is to develop large-scale finite-difference and finite-element computer programs, based upon fundamental principles, and to validate these codes using both laboratory measurements and field data. During the first year, separate codes were developed for describing the multiphase multidimensional unsteady flow of steam and water in a heterogeneous geologic setting without rock deformation, and for calculating the response of a multidimensional rock matrix to prescribed pore pressure changes without specific consideration of fluid flow. Both of these codes were tested against analytic results and laboratory data, and the results of a few sample calculations are presented.

• Research Organization: Systems, Science and Software, La Jolla, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7119556
• Report Number(s): SSS-R-75-2733
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150200* -- Geology & Hydrology of Geothermal Systems
150904 -- Geothermal Engineering-- Geothermal Reservoir & Well Performance
COMPUTER CODES
ENERGY TRANSFER
ENGINEERING
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
FLOW MODELS
FLUID FLOW
FLUID INJECTION
FLUID WITHDRAWAL
FLUIDS
GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS
GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS
GROUND SUBSIDENCE
Geothermal Legacy
HEAT TRANSFER
HOT-WATER SYSTEMS
HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEMS
ITERATIVE METHODS
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
REINJECTION
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING
RESERVOIR ROCK
ROCKS
SEISMIC EFFECTS
SIMULATION
VAPOR-DOMINATED SYSTEMS