Sketch-Based Geological Modelling and Flow Diagnostics for Geothermal and Heat Storage Applications

Conference paper (2022)

Authors

Carl Jacquemyn Imperial College London
Gary Hampson Imperial College London
Matthew Jackson Imperial College London
Dmytro Petrovskyy Heriot-Watt University
S. Geiger Applied Geology - CEG
Julio Daniel Machado Silva University of Calgary
Sicilia Judice University of Calgary
Fazilatur Rahman University of Calgary
Mario Costa Sousa University of Calgary
Research Group
Applied Geology (CEG) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2022 Carl Jacquemyn, Gary Hampson, Matthew Jackson, Dmytro Petrovskyy, S. Geiger, Julio Daniel Machado Silva, Sicilia Judice, Fazilatur Rahman, Mario Costa Sousa
DOI
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https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202210828
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Published Date

2022

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Department

Geoscience and Engineering

Research Group

Applied Geology

Abstract

Production of subsurface heat from geothermal sources and subsurface storage of heat (and cool) are important for energy transition. Doublets for geothermal and warm- and cold wells for aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) depend on circulation of fluids and heat. Estimating the potential and feasibility of such systems requires a careful analysis with simulation of fluid flow and heat transport. As building models and running simulations are time-consuming, a prototyping approach is beneficial to quickly assess viability and sensitivity of such systems.

Sketch-based geological modelling combined with flow diagnostics forms the ideal for such a prototyping approach. Geological models can be sketched in 3D in a couple of minutes. Flow diagnostics then provides several key metrics on predicted flow behaviour. The quick turnaround time from sketching to quantitative results is key to understand the impact of heterogeneity on flow and helps to decide which detailed geological models and flow simulations are useful to carry out. This prototyping approach is applied to aquifers in shallow marine deposits, as proxy for thermal breakthrough time in geothermal doublet system and to estimate well spacing between cold and hot wells for ATES.

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