| Title | Controlling Complex Geothermal Simulations using PyTOUGH |
|---|---|
| Authors | John O\\\'SULLIVAN, David DEMPSEY, Adrian CROUCHER, Angus YEH, Mike O\\\'SULLIVAN |
| Year | 2013 |
| Conference | Stanford Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | geothermal numerical modeling pytough tough2 |
| Abstract | The TOUGH2 simulator and its parallel version TOUGH2-MP continue to be the industry standards for the development of numerical models of geothermal systems. Increasing processing power enables us to simulate larger, more complex systems, while improved data collection and remote sensing techniques provide an ever greater suite of observations against which to calibrate the model. As a consequence, the raw text input files that control the simulations grow increasingly cumbersome to construct, while post-processing of model output becomes more challenging. We use the Python scripting language and the PyTOUGH library to interact with TOUGH2 in a number of novel ways to control simulation tasks accurately and efficiently. In this paper several examples of the use of PyTOUGH are described. A new method for automatically generating geothermal production wells is described that allows well information to be stored in concise, readable and easily updatable files. Examples are given of sequential modification of model geometries to represent effects such as eruptions and excavation. The generation of atmosphere blocks that vary in space and time due to changes in lake levels and extreme altitude are presented. Methods for controlling sequential simulations with both TOUGH2 and TOUGH2-MP are described including techniques for dealing with numerical non-convergence. Finally, PyTOUGH\'s ability to combine and post-process results from multiple simulations and different types of output files is discussed. |