DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Predictive Inverse Model for Advective Heat Transfer in a Short–Circuited Fracture: Dimensional Analysis, Machine Learning, and Field Demonstration

Abstract

Identifying fluid flow maldistribution in planar geometries is a well–established problem in subsurface science/engineering. Of particular importance to the thermal performance of enhanced (or “engineered”) geothermal systems is identifying the existence of nonuniform (i.e., heterogeneous) permeability and subsequently predicting advective heat transfer. Here, machine learning via a genetic algorithm (GA) identifies the spatial distribution of an unknown permeability field in a two–dimensional Hele–Shaw geometry (i.e., parallel plates). The inverse problem is solved by minimizing the L2 norm between simulated residence time distribution (RTD) and measurements of an inert tracer breakthrough curve (BTC) (C–Dot nanoparticle). Principal component analysis (PCA) of spatially correlated permeability fields enabled reduction of the parameter space by more than a factor of 10 and restricted the inverse search to reservoir–scale permeability variations. Thermal experiments and tracer tests conducted at the mesoscale Altona Field Laboratory (AFL) demonstrate that the method accurately predicts the effects of extreme flow channeling on heat transfer in a single bedding–plane rock fracture. However, this is only true when the permeability distributions provide adequate matches to both tracer RTD and frictional pressure loss. Without good agreement to frictional pressure loss, it is still possible to match a simulated RTD to measurements, but subsequent predictionsmore » of heat transfer are grossly inaccurate. Here, the results of this study suggest that it is possible to anticipate the thermal effects of flow maldistribution, but only if both simulated RTDs and frictional pressure loss between fluid inlets and outlets are in good agreement with measurements.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [2]
  1. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
  2. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
  3. California State Univ. (CalState), Long Beach, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Geothermal Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1843957
Grant/Contract Number:  
EE0006764
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Water Resources Research
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 56; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 0043-1397
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING

Citation Formats

Hawkins, Adam J., Fox, Don B., Koch, Donald L., Becker, Matthew W., and Tester, Jefferson W. Predictive Inverse Model for Advective Heat Transfer in a Short–Circuited Fracture: Dimensional Analysis, Machine Learning, and Field Demonstration. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1029/2020wr027065.
Hawkins, Adam J., Fox, Don B., Koch, Donald L., Becker, Matthew W., & Tester, Jefferson W. Predictive Inverse Model for Advective Heat Transfer in a Short–Circuited Fracture: Dimensional Analysis, Machine Learning, and Field Demonstration. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020wr027065
Hawkins, Adam J., Fox, Don B., Koch, Donald L., Becker, Matthew W., and Tester, Jefferson W. Sat . "Predictive Inverse Model for Advective Heat Transfer in a Short–Circuited Fracture: Dimensional Analysis, Machine Learning, and Field Demonstration". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020wr027065. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1843957.
@article{osti_1843957,
title = {Predictive Inverse Model for Advective Heat Transfer in a Short–Circuited Fracture: Dimensional Analysis, Machine Learning, and Field Demonstration},
author = {Hawkins, Adam J. and Fox, Don B. and Koch, Donald L. and Becker, Matthew W. and Tester, Jefferson W.},
abstractNote = {Identifying fluid flow maldistribution in planar geometries is a well–established problem in subsurface science/engineering. Of particular importance to the thermal performance of enhanced (or “engineered”) geothermal systems is identifying the existence of nonuniform (i.e., heterogeneous) permeability and subsequently predicting advective heat transfer. Here, machine learning via a genetic algorithm (GA) identifies the spatial distribution of an unknown permeability field in a two–dimensional Hele–Shaw geometry (i.e., parallel plates). The inverse problem is solved by minimizing the L2 norm between simulated residence time distribution (RTD) and measurements of an inert tracer breakthrough curve (BTC) (C–Dot nanoparticle). Principal component analysis (PCA) of spatially correlated permeability fields enabled reduction of the parameter space by more than a factor of 10 and restricted the inverse search to reservoir–scale permeability variations. Thermal experiments and tracer tests conducted at the mesoscale Altona Field Laboratory (AFL) demonstrate that the method accurately predicts the effects of extreme flow channeling on heat transfer in a single bedding–plane rock fracture. However, this is only true when the permeability distributions provide adequate matches to both tracer RTD and frictional pressure loss. Without good agreement to frictional pressure loss, it is still possible to match a simulated RTD to measurements, but subsequent predictions of heat transfer are grossly inaccurate. Here, the results of this study suggest that it is possible to anticipate the thermal effects of flow maldistribution, but only if both simulated RTDs and frictional pressure loss between fluid inlets and outlets are in good agreement with measurements.},
doi = {10.1029/2020wr027065},
journal = {Water Resources Research},
number = 11,
volume = 56,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Oct 17 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Sat Oct 17 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}

Works referenced in this record:

Flow and Storage in Groundwater Systems
journal, June 2002


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


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

  • Becker, Matthew W.; Shapiro, Allen M.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 36, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1029/2000WR900080

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

  • Becker, Matthew W.; Tsoflias, Georgios P.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 46, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1029/2009WR008260

Groundwater flow into underground openings in fractured crystalline rocks: an interpretation based on long channels
journal, December 2016

  • Black, John H.; Woodman, Nicholas D.; Barker, John A.
  • Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 25, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10040-016-1511-y

Solute transport in a single fracture with negligible matrix permeability: 1. fundamental mechanisms
journal, June 2003


Roughness of sandstone fracture surfaces: Profilometry and shadow length investigations
journal, January 1999

  • Boffa, J. M.; Allain, C.; Chertcoff, R.
  • The European Physical Journal B, Vol. 7, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1007/s100510050602

Fluid circulation and heat extraction from engineered geothermal reservoirs
journal, August 1999


Correlation between the surfaces of natural rock joints
journal, December 1986

  • Brown, Stephen R.; Kranz, Robert L.; Bonner, Brian P.
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 13
  • DOI: 10.1029/GL013i013p01430

Sustainable land use optimization using Boundary-based Fast Genetic Algorithm
journal, May 2012


Scales and Effects of Fluid Flow in the Upper Crust
journal, April 1990


Data-driven model reduction for the Bayesian solution of inverse problems: DATA-DRIVEN MODEL REDUCTION FOR INVERSE PROBLEMS
journal, August 2014

  • Cui, Tiangang; Marzouk, Youssef M.; Willcox, Karen E.
  • International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, Vol. 102, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1002/nme.4748

Stochastic simulation of radionuclide migration in discretely fractured rock near the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory: RETENTION IN FRACTURE NETWORKS
journal, February 2004

  • Cvetkovic, V.; Painter, S.; Outters, N.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 40, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1029/2003WR002655

Combined interpretation of radar, hydraulic, and tracer data from a fractured-rock aquifer near Mirror Lake, New Hampshire, USA
journal, September 2004

  • Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Lane, John W.; Gorelick, Steven M.
  • Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10040-004-0372-y

Scaling of random fields by means of truncated power variograms and associated spectra
journal, May 1997

  • Di Federico, Vittorio; Neuman, Shlomo P.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 33, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1029/97WR00299

Flow in multiscale log conductivity fields with truncated power variograms
journal, May 1998

  • Di Federico, Vittorio; Neuman, Shlomo P.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 34, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1029/98WR00220

Reinjection in geothermal fields − A worldwide review update
journal, January 2016

  • Rivera Diaz, Alexandre; Kaya, Eylem; Zarrouk, Sadiq J.
  • Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 53
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.151

From evolutionary computation to the evolution of things
journal, May 2015


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

  • Fox, Don Bruce; Koch, Donald Lyle; Tester, Jefferson William
  • Geothermal Energy, Vol. 3, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1186/s40517-015-0039-z

Non-Fourier thermal transport in fractured geological media: NON-FOURIER THERMAL TRANSPORT
journal, July 2010

  • Geiger, Sebastian; Emmanuel, Simon
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 46, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1029/2009WR008671

Fluid flow in synthetic rough fractures and application to the Hachimantai geothermal hot dry rock test site
journal, May 1998

  • Glover, P. W. J.; Matsuki, K.; Hikima, R.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 103, Issue B5
  • DOI: 10.1029/97JB01613

Rock-water interactions in the Fenton Hill, New Mexico, hot dry rock geothermal systems. II. Modeling geochemical behavior
journal, January 1989


Measuring well hydraulic connectivity in fractured bedrock using periodic slug tests
journal, February 2015


Thermal drawdown-induced flow channeling in a single fracture in EGS
journal, May 2016


Inert and Adsorptive Tracer Tests for Field Measurement of Flow‐Wetted Surface Area
journal, August 2018

  • Hawkins, Adam J.; Becker, Matthew W.; Tester, Jefferson W.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 54, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1029/2017WR021910

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

  • Hawkins, Adam J.; Fox, Don B.; Becker, Matthew W.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 53, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1002/2016WR019617

Genetic Algorithms
journal, July 1992


Computer-Automated Evolution of an X-Band Antenna for NASA's Space Technology 5 Mission
journal, March 2011

  • Hornby, Gregory. S.; Lohn, Jason D.; Linden, Derek S.
  • Evolutionary Computation, Vol. 19, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1162/EVCO_a_00005

Reservoir engineering aspects of reinjection
journal, January 1985


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

  • Horne, Roland N.; Rodriguez, Fernando
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 10, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1029/GL010i004p00289

Constraining the uncertainty in fracture geometry using tracer tests
journal, October 2008


A closed-form analytical solution for thermal single-well injection-withdrawal tests: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR THERMAL SWIW TESTS
journal, March 2012

  • Jung, Yoojin; Pruess, Karsten
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 48, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1029/2011WR010979

Impact of velocity correlation and distribution on transport in fractured media: Field evidence and theoretical model
journal, February 2015

  • Kang, Peter K.; Le Borgne, Tanguy; Dentz, Marco
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 51, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1002/2014WR015799

Principal Component Geostatistical Approach for large-dimensional inverse problems
journal, July 2014


Transient hydraulic tomography approach to characterize main flowpaths and their connectivity in fractured media
journal, February 2020


Formation Mechanism of Carbogenic Nanoparticles with Dual Photoluminescence Emission
journal, December 2011

  • Krysmann, Marta J.; Kelarakis, Antonios; Dallas, Panagiotis
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 134, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1021/ja204661r

Anomalous dispersion in a dipole flow geometry
journal, January 1994

  • Kurowski, P.; Ippolito, I.; Hulin, J. P.
  • Physics of Fluids, Vol. 6, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.868075

Understanding the effect of single-fracture heterogeneity from single-well injection-withdrawal (SWIW) tests
journal, May 2013


Effective solution of nonlinear subsurface flow inverse problems in sparse bases
journal, September 2010


Numerical simulation study on the heat extraction performance of multi-well injection enhanced geothermal system
journal, May 2020


Monitoring artificially stimulated fluid movement in the Cretaceous Dakota aquifer, western Kansas
journal, December 2002


A Reassessment of the Groundwater Inverse Problem
journal, May 1996

  • McLaughlin, Dennis; Townley, Lloyd R.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 32, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1029/96WR00160

Geometrical heterogeneities and permeability anisotropy of rough fractures
journal, February 2001

  • Méheust, Y.; Schmittbuhl, J.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 106, Issue B2
  • DOI: 10.1029/2000JB900306

Thermal energy storage in a confined aquifer: Second cycle
journal, June 1981

  • Molz, F. J.; Parr, A. D.; Andersen, P. F.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 17, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1029/WR017i003p00641

Flow and nuclide transport in fractured media: The importance of the flow-wetted surface for radionuclide migration
journal, June 1993


Analysis of Some Laboratory Tracer Runs in Natural Fissures
journal, July 1985

  • Moreno, Luis; Neretnieks, Ivars; Eriksen, Tryggve
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 21, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1029/WR021i007p00951

An Approximate Method for Determining Areal Sweep Efficiency and Flow Capacity in Formations with Anisotropic Permeability
journal, December 1961

  • Mortada, M.; Nabor, G. W.
  • Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, Vol. 1, Issue 04
  • DOI: 10.2118/16-PA

Energy extraction from fractured geothermal reservoirs in low-permeability crystalline rock
journal, January 1981

  • Murphy, Hugh D.; Tester, Jefferson W.; Grigsby, Charles O.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 86, Issue B8
  • DOI: 10.1029/JB086iB08p07145

A note on fracture flow dispersion mechanisms in the ground
journal, April 1983


Hydrothermal coupling in a self-affine rough fracture
journal, September 2010


Fracture roughness and thermal exchange: A case study at Soultz-sous-Forêts
journal, July 2010

  • Neuville, Amélie; Toussaint, Renaud; Schmittbuhl, Jean
  • Comptes Rendus Geoscience, Vol. 342, Issue 7-8
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.crte.2009.03.006

A Field Example of Measuring Hydrodynamic Dispersion in a Single Fracture
journal, August 1985

  • Novakowski, Kentner S.; Evans, Gordon V.; Lever, David A.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 21, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1029/WR021i008p01165

Design of pressure-driven microfluidic networks using electric circuit analogy
journal, January 2012

  • Oh, Kwang W.; Lee, Kangsun; Ahn, Byungwook
  • Lab Chip, Vol. 12, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20799K

The shunt problem: control of functional shunting in normal and tumour vasculature
journal, July 2010

  • Pries, Axel R.; Höpfner, Michael; le Noble, Ferdinand
  • Nature Reviews Cancer, Vol. 10, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1038/nrc2895

Fluorescent Carbon Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, and Bioimaging Application
journal, October 2009

  • Ray, S. C.; Saha, Arindam; Jana, Nikhil R.
  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 113, Issue 43
  • DOI: 10.1021/jp905912n

Thermal properties of rocks
report, January 1988


Dispersed fluid flow in fractured reservoirs: An analysis of tracer-determined residence time distributions
journal, November 1984

  • Robinson, Bruce A.; Tester, Jefferson W.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 89, Issue B12
  • DOI: 10.1029/JB089iB12p10374

Characterization of flow maldistribution using inlet-outlet tracer techniques: An application of internal residence time distributions
journal, January 1986


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

  • Robinson, Bruce A.; Tester, Jefferson W.; Brown, Lee F.
  • SPE Formation Evaluation, Vol. 3, Issue 01
  • DOI: 10.2118/13147-PA

Scaling invariance of crack surfaces
journal, April 1995

  • Schmittbuhl, Jean; Schmitt, François; Scholz, Christopher
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 100, Issue B4
  • DOI: 10.1029/94JB02885

Fracture morphology and viscous transport
journal, March 2008

  • Schmittbuhl, J.; Steyer, A.; Jouniaux, L.
  • International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, Vol. 45, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2007.07.007

Use of tracers and temperature to estimate fracture surface area for EGS reservoirs
journal, May 2017


Overview of geological and hydrogeological conditions of the Äspö hard rock laboratory site
journal, September 1999


Engineering Flows in Small Devices
journal, January 2004


Assessing preferential flow by simultaneously injecting nanoparticle and chemical tracers: NANOPARTICLE TRACERS
journal, January 2013

  • Subramanian, S. K.; Li, Yan; Cathles, L. M.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 49, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1029/2012WR012148

Four dimensional mapping of tracer channelization in subhorizontal bedrock fractures using surface ground penetrating radar: 4D MAPPING OF FLOW CHANNELING USING GPR
journal, February 2005

  • Talley, Jennifer; Baker, Gregory S.; Becker, Matthew W.
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 32, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1029/2004GL021974

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

  • Tang, D. H.; Frind, E. O.; Sudicky, E. A.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 17, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1029/WR017i003p00555

A genetic algorithm based approach to vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pick-up and deliveries
journal, April 2012


Interwell Tracer Analyses of a Hydraulically Fractured Granitic Geothermal Reservoir
journal, August 1982

  • Tester, Jefferson W.; Bivins, Robert L.; Potter, Robert M.
  • Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, Vol. 22, Issue 04
  • DOI: 10.2118/8270-PA

Disentangling interfacial energetics
journal, December 2017


Non-Fickian dispersivity investigation from numerical simulations of tracer transport in a model double-porosity medium at different saturations
journal, October 2020


Tracer Transport in Fractures: Analysis of Field Data Based on a Variable-Aperture Channel Model
journal, December 1991

  • Tsang, C. F.; Tsang, Y. W.; Hale, F. V.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 27, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1029/91WR02270

Flow channeling in a single fracture as a two-dimensional strongly heterogeneous permeable medium
journal, September 1989


Ground-penetrating-radar response to fracture-fluid salinity: Why lower frequencies are favorable for resolving salinity changes
journal, September 2008

  • Tsoflias, Georgios P.; Becker, Matthew W.
  • GEOPHYSICS, Vol. 73, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1190/1.2957893

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

  • Tsoflias, Georgios P.; Perll, Christopher; Baker, Matthew
  • Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 26, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1007/s12583-015-0612-1

Reduced-order optimal control of water flooding using proper orthogonal decomposition
journal, March 2006

  • van Doren, Jorn F. M.; Markovinović, Renato; Jansen, Jan-Dirk
  • Computational Geosciences, Vol. 10, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10596-005-9014-2

Conservative Solute Versus Heat Transport in Porous Media During Push-pull Tests
journal, May 2008


Permeability and seismic velocity anisotropy across a ductile–brittle fault zone in crystalline rock
journal, January 2018

  • Wenning, Quinn C.; Madonna, Claudio; de Haller, Antoine
  • Solid Earth, Vol. 9, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.5194/se-9-683-2018

Form, shape and function: segmented blood flow in the choriocapillaris
journal, October 2016

  • Zouache, M. A.; Eames, I.; Klettner, C. A.
  • Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/srep35754

Flow and passive transport in planar multipolar flows
journal, November 2018

  • Zouache, M. A.; Eames, I.; Klettner, C. A.
  • Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 858
  • DOI: 10.1017/jfm.2018.771

Roughness of sandstone fracture surfaces: Profilometry and shadow length investigations
journal, January 1999

  • Boffa, J. M.; Allain, C.; Chertcoff, R.
  • The European Physical Journal B, Vol. 7, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1007/s100510050602