Investigation of Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics in Fractured Granite

Jin Luo, Yumeng Qi, Qiang Zhao, Long Tan, Wei Xiang and Joachim Rohn
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Jin Luo: Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China
Yumeng Qi: School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Qiang Zhao: Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China
Long Tan: Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China
Wei Xiang: Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China
Joachim Rohn: Geo-Center of Northern Bavaria, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Hydraulic and heat transfer properties of artificially fractured rocks are the key issues for efficient exploitation of geothermal energy in fractured reservoirs and it has been studied by many previous researchers. However, the fluid temperature evolution along the flow path and rock temperature changes was rarely considered. This study investigated flow and heat transfer characteristics of two sets of fractured granite samples each with a single fissure. The samples were collected from a geothermal reservoir of Gonghe basin in Qinghai province in China. The results show that the larger area ratio, the higher hydraulic conductivity exhibited. Hydraulic conductivity of fractured rock masses is positively proportional to injection pressure, but inversely proportional with both confining pressure and temperature. In order to analyze heat transfer during the flow process, temperature distribution along the flow path in a fracture was monitored. The temperature of the fluid was determined to increase with distance from the flowing inlet. Increasing the temperature of the rock or decreasing the injection pressure will raise the temperature at the same location. Furthermore, in order to understand the heat transfer in rock mass, temperature distribution was observed by using an infrared thermal camera. Finally, the energy exchange efficiency during the flowing process was examined. The energy exchange rate increases continuously with the rock temperature, with an effective stress ratio of 1:2.

Keywords: fractured rock mass; flow properties; heat transfer process; infrared thermal imaging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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