A Review of Simulation Models of Heat Extraction for a Geothermal Reservoir in an Enhanced Geothermal System

Xiang Gao, Tailu Li, Yao Zhang, Xiangfei Kong and Nan Meng
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Xiang Gao: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 400301, China
Tailu Li: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 400301, China
Yao Zhang: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 400301, China
Xiangfei Kong: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 400301, China
Nan Meng: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 400301, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-23

Abstract: This paper reviews the heat transfer model for geothermal reservoirs, the fracture network in reservoirs, and the numerical model of hydraulic fracturing. The first section reviews the heat transfer models, which contain the single-porosity model, the dual-porosity model, and the multi-porosity model; meanwhile the mathematical equations of the porosity model are summarized. Then, this paper introduces the fracture network model in reservoirs and the numerical method of computational heat transfer. In the second section, on the basis of the conventional fracture theory, the PKN (Perkins–Kern–Nordgren) model and KGD (Khristianovic–Geertsma–De Klerk) model are reviewed. Meanwhile, the DFN (discrete fracture network) model, P3D (pseudo-3D) model, and PL3D (planar 3D) model are reviewed. The results show that the stimulated reservoir volume method has advantages in describing the fracture network. However, stimulated reservoir volume methods need more computational resources than conventional fracture methods. The third section reviews the numerical models of hydraulic fracturing, which contains the finite element method (FEM), the discrete element method (DEM), and the boundary element method (BEM). The comparison of these methods shows that the FEM can reduce the computational resources when calculating the fluid flow, heat transfer and fracture propagations in a reservoir. Thus, a mature model for geothermal reservoirs can be developed by coupling the processes of heat transfer, fluid flow and fracture propagation.

Keywords: hot dry rock; porosity model; fracture network; hydraulic fracturing; numerical model (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: 2022
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