| Title | Numerical modelling of thermal and hydraulic processes in faulted geological systems – implications for geothermal energy applications |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mauro Cacace, Guido Blöcher, Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth, Ernst Huenges |
| Year | 2014 |
| Conference | European Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | Numerical modelling, faults, sedimentary basins, geothermal reservoirs |
| Abstract | Determining transport processes in natural faulted and fractured geological systems receives increasing attention for different application in geoscience. Examples comprise oil and gas industry, to geothermal recovery and C02 sequestration issues. Due to recent advances in hardware and software capabilities, numerical operations of various degrees of complexity are increasingly applied in the scientific study of natural processes occurring in those complex systems. State of the art geoscience offers high-end geophysical technologies, which can effectively integrate the amount of information gathered from multiple sources and sampled at different scales in a resulting detailed geological scenario. When integrated in physical models, this information can effectively be used to examine the interactions of simultaneously active processes and variable parameters within the constraints given by physical principles. In this study, we present the results from recent efforts in modelling coupled thermal and hydraulic processes occurring in complex natural settings comprising a heterogeneous sedimentary matrix structure and discrete geological discontinuities, i.e. faults and fractures. We use novel modelling concepts to integrate into forward dynamic models details of 3D geological architecture of faulted/fractured geological systems at different scales (from regional to the reservoir scale). As such, these models enable to fully account for the coupling between non-linear physical hydro-thermal processes given their proper temporal and spatial scales and to specifically investigate and quantify interactions between discrete flow paths through and across faults and fractures and within the porous rock matrix. |