Numerical Modeling of the Effects of Pore Characteristics on the Electric Breakdown of Rock for Plasma Pulse Geo Drilling

Mohamed Ezzat, Benjamin M. Adams, Martin O. Saar and Daniel Vogler
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Mohamed Ezzat: Geothermal Energy and Geofluids Group, Institute of Geophysics, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Benjamin M. Adams: Geothermal Energy and Geofluids Group, Institute of Geophysics, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Martin O. Saar: Geothermal Energy and Geofluids Group, Institute of Geophysics, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Daniel Vogler: Geothermal Energy and Geofluids Group, Institute of Geophysics, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland

Energies, 2021, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Drilling costs can be 80% of geothermal project investment, so decreasing these deep drilling costs substantially reduces overall project costs, contributing to less expensive geothermal electricity or heat generation. Plasma Pulse Geo Drilling (PPGD) is a contactless drilling technique that uses high-voltage pulses to fracture the rock without mechanical abrasion, which may reduce drilling costs by up to 90% of conventional mechanical rotary drilling costs. However, further development of PPGD requires a better understanding of the underlying fundamental physics, specifically the dielectric breakdown of rocks with pore fluids subjected to high-voltage pulses. This paper presents a numerical model to investigate the effects of the pore characteristics (i.e., pore fluid, shape, size, and pressure) on the occurrence of the local electric breakdown (i.e., plasma formation in the pore fluid) inside the granite pores and thus on PPGD efficiency. Investigated are: (i) two pore fluids, consisting of air (gas) or liquid water; (ii) three pore shapes, i.e., ellipses, circles, and squares; (iii) pore sizes ranging from 10 to 150 μ m; (iv) pore pressures ranging from 0.1 to 2.5 MPa. The study shows how the investigated pore characteristics affect the local electric breakdown and, consequently, the PPGD process.

Keywords: plasma pulse geo drilling; electropulse drilling; geothermal energy; plasma physics; micro-plasma modeling; partial discharge; electric breakdown; high-voltage pulses (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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