Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Fracture network modeling of a Hot Dry Rock geothermal reservoir

Conference ·
OSTI ID:887218
Fluid flow and tracer transport in a fractured Hot Dry Rock (HDR) geothermal reservoir are modeled using fracture network modeling techniques. The steady state pressure and flow fields are solved for a two-dimensional, interconnected network of fractures with no-flow outer boundaries and constant-pressure source and sink points to simulate wellbore-fracture intersections. The tracer response is simulated by particle tracking, which follows the progress of a representative sample of individual tracer molecules traveling through the network. Solute retardation due to matrix diffusion and sorption is handled easily with these particle tracking methods. Matrix diffusion is shown to have an important effect in many fractured geothermal reservoirs, including those in crystalline formations of relatively low matrix porosity. Pressure drop and tracer behavior are matched for a fractured HDR reservoir tested at Fenton Hill, NM.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AS07-84ID12529
OSTI ID:
887218
Report Number(s):
SGP-TR-113-30
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Fracture network modeling of a Hot Dry Rock geothermal reservoir
Conference · Thu Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1987 · OSTI ID:5492249

A discrete fracture model for a hot dry rock geothermal reservoir
Conference · Sat Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1988 · OSTI ID:6110362

A tracer-based model for heat transfer in a hot dry rock reservoir
Conference · Wed Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1986 · OSTI ID:6268192

Related Subjects