About this Research Topic
Our planet itself is a storehouse of enormous renewable heat energy, termed geothermal energy. According to the World Energy Council (WEC) data, the total human-available heat stored within the upper 5 km shell of the earth is about 1e7 EJ, which is a huge amount compared with the world energy consumption, about 500 EJ annually. Partial geothermal energy is continuously supplemented by the heat released from the decay of radioactive materials beneath the earth surface. The earth also acts like a natural solar collector absorbing heat of the sunlight. It is estimated that the geothermal energy generated from various sources amounts to about 660 EJ annually. Even if all the energy requirements of the universe were taken from the geothermal energy, it would still be renewable and sustainable. An enhanced geothermal system (EGS) is the main approach to heat exploitation, allowing fluid circulation between the injection and production wells through rock and fracture media. The heat extraction efficiency depends largely on the heterogeneity, stress state of geothermal reservoirs, which should be paid more attention.
Injection of various fluids into a geothermal reservoir, which involves complex physical and mechanical processes. Seepage induced by the fluid injection can significantly influence the pressure, temperature and stress state of the subsurface reservoir, thus leading to the change in its permeability caused by the variation of both matrix porosity and fracture aperture, activation of existing natural fractures and faults as well as the initiation and propagation of fractures. Meanwhile, these changes will in turn affect the development of multiphase flow in the fractured porous medium. To produce energy from the subsurface in an efficient and safe manner, an advanced experimental, theoretical and numerical method is required to analyze such complex coupled multiphase flow and multi-filed processes in heterogeneous and discontinuous geological medium.
This Research Topic aims at presenting recent advances in studies on complex fluid flow behavior, simulation of multi-phase and multi-filed coupling modeling of fractured rock mass. We invite you to submit comprehensive review papers and original articles. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Experimental studies on complex fluid flow behavior in single fracture
• Novel simulation of fluid flow in roughness-walled fracture
• Novel simulation of fluid flow in fracture network or porous fractured media
• multi-phase mechanism and simulation of fractured rock mass
• multi-filed coupling modeling of fractured rock mass
• The evolution process of seepage-induced problems in deep reservoirs
• Thermal-hydro-mechanical coupling in geomaterials
Injection of various fluids into a geothermal reservoir, which involves complex physical and mechanical processes. Seepage induced by the fluid injection can significantly influence the pressure, temperature and stress state of the subsurface reservoir, thus leading to the change in its permeability caused by the variation of both matrix porosity and fracture aperture, activation of existing natural fractures and faults as well as the initiation and propagation of fractures. Meanwhile, these changes will in turn affect the development of multiphase flow in the fractured porous medium. To produce energy from the subsurface in an efficient and safe manner, an advanced experimental, theoretical and numerical method is required to analyze such complex coupled multiphase flow and multi-filed processes in heterogeneous and discontinuous geological medium.
This Research Topic aims at presenting recent advances in studies on complex fluid flow behavior, simulation of multi-phase and multi-filed coupling modeling of fractured rock mass. We invite you to submit comprehensive review papers and original articles. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Experimental studies on complex fluid flow behavior in single fracture
• Novel simulation of fluid flow in roughness-walled fracture
• Novel simulation of fluid flow in fracture network or porous fractured media
• multi-phase mechanism and simulation of fractured rock mass
• multi-filed coupling modeling of fractured rock mass
• The evolution process of seepage-induced problems in deep reservoirs
• Thermal-hydro-mechanical coupling in geomaterials
Keywords: numerical simulation, geomaterial, fluid flow, multi-field coupling, heat transfer
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