Simulation Tools for Modeling Thermal Spallation Drilling on Multiple Scales
Widespread adoption of geothermal energy will require access to deeply buried resources in granitic basement rocks at high temperatures and pressures. Exploiting these resources necessitates novel methods for drilling, stimulation, and maintenance, under operating conditions that are often difficult or impossible to reproduce in laboratory settings. Physically rigorous numerical modeling tools are vital to highlight potential risks, guide process optimization and reduce the uncertainties involved in developing new technologies for these environments. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has developed, and is constantly improving, several multi-physics solid/structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, chemistry, and discrete element codes. Integration of the LLNL simulation tools into a coherent simulation environment will provide a predictive capability for the thermomechanical response - in particular the spall and fracture - of basement rocks at high temperatures and pressures useful for drilling and other geothermal applications. This paper outlines a modeling effort investigating the processes involved in hydrothermal spallation drilling. These include interconnected phenomena on several length and time scales: from system-scale fluid dynamics and heat transfer of the high temperature jet to the rock face to the grain-scale thermomechanics of spallation. Three models are described to capture these different scale processes: a grain-scale model to investigate the onset of spallation; a particulate fluids model to simulate the transport of the produced spalls; and a borehole-scale model to represent the integrated system behavior.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - Widespread adoption of geothermal energy will require access to deeply buried resources in granitic basement rocks at high temperatures and pressures. Exploiting these resources necessitates novel methods for drilling, stimulation, and maintenance, under operating conditions that are often difficult or impossible to reproduce in laboratory settings. Physically rigorous numerical modeling tools are vital to highlight potential risks, guide process optimization and reduce the uncertainties involved in developing new technologies for these environments. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has developed, and is constantly improving, several multi-physics solid/structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, chemistry, and discrete element codes. Integration of the LLNL simulation tools into a coherent simulation environment will provide a predictive capability for the thermomechanical response - in particular the spall and fracture - of basement rocks at high temperatures and pressures useful for drilling and other geothermal applications. This paper outlines a modeling effort investigating the processes involved in hydrothermal spallation drilling. These include interconnected phenomena on several length and time scales: from system-scale fluid dynamics and heat transfer of the high temperature jet to the rock face to the grain-scale thermomechanics of spallation. Three models are described to capture these different scale processes: a grain-scale model to investigate the onset of spallation; a particulate fluids model to simulate the transport of the produced spalls; and a borehole-scale model to represent the integrated system behavior.
AU - Walsh, Stuart D.C.
A2 - Lomov, Ilya
A3 - Roberts, Jeffery J.
A4 - Kanarska, Yuliya
DB - Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI)
DP - Open EI | National Renewable Energy Laboratory
DO -
KW - geothermal
KW - thermal spallation drilling
KW - numerical modeling
KW - engineered geothermal systems
KW - egs
KW - granitic basement rocks
KW - fluid dynamics
KW - heat transfer
KW - grain-scale thermomechanics
KW - unified tool
LA - English
DA - 2012/01/01
PY - 2012
PB - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
T1 - Simulation Tools for Modeling Thermal Spallation Drilling on Multiple Scales
UR - https://data.openei.org/submissions/6531
ER -
Walsh, Stuart D.C., et al. Simulation Tools for Modeling Thermal Spallation Drilling on Multiple Scales. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 1 January, 2012, GDR. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/176.
Walsh, S., Lomov, I., Roberts, J., & Kanarska, Y. (2012). Simulation Tools for Modeling Thermal Spallation Drilling on Multiple Scales. [Data set]. GDR. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/176
Walsh, Stuart D.C., Ilya Lomov, Jeffery J. Roberts, and Yuliya Kanarska. Simulation Tools for Modeling Thermal Spallation Drilling on Multiple Scales. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, January, 1, 2012. Distributed by GDR. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/176
@misc{OEDI_Dataset_6531,
title = {Simulation Tools for Modeling Thermal Spallation Drilling on Multiple Scales},
author = {Walsh, Stuart D.C. and Lomov, Ilya and Roberts, Jeffery J. and Kanarska, Yuliya},
abstractNote = {Widespread adoption of geothermal energy will require access to deeply buried resources in granitic basement rocks at high temperatures and pressures. Exploiting these resources necessitates novel methods for drilling, stimulation, and maintenance, under operating conditions that are often difficult or impossible to reproduce in laboratory settings. Physically rigorous numerical modeling tools are vital to highlight potential risks, guide process optimization and reduce the uncertainties involved in developing new technologies for these environments. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has developed, and is constantly improving, several multi-physics solid/structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, chemistry, and discrete element codes. Integration of the LLNL simulation tools into a coherent simulation environment will provide a predictive capability for the thermomechanical response - in particular the spall and fracture - of basement rocks at high temperatures and pressures useful for drilling and other geothermal applications. This paper outlines a modeling effort investigating the processes involved in hydrothermal spallation drilling. These include interconnected phenomena on several length and time scales: from system-scale fluid dynamics and heat transfer of the high temperature jet to the rock face to the grain-scale thermomechanics of spallation. Three models are described to capture these different scale processes: a grain-scale model to investigate the onset of spallation; a particulate fluids model to simulate the transport of the produced spalls; and a borehole-scale model to represent the integrated system behavior.},
url = {https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/176},
year = {2012},
howpublished = {GDR, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/176},
note = {Accessed: 2025-05-03}
}
Details
Data from Jan 1, 2012
Last updated May 23, 2017
Submitted Feb 13, 2013
Organization
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Contact
Stuart D.C. Walsh
Authors
Original Source
https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/176Research Areas
Keywords
geothermal, thermal spallation drilling, numerical modeling, engineered geothermal systems, egs, granitic basement rocks, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, grain-scale thermomechanics, unified toolDOE Project Details
Project Name Geomechanical Modeling for Thermal Spallation Drilling
Project Lead Greg Stillman
Project Number LLNL FY12 AOP2