Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2020, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (1): 152-158.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.2020.1.16

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Tracer test and simulation of thermal energy storage in carbonate rocks of the Xian County geothermal field

LI Tingxin1(), CAI Yongfeng1, LIU Yanguang2,*(), LIU Guihong3, ZHANG Hongliang4, QIN Xiangxi5   

  1. 1. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Hidden Metallic Ore Deposits Exploration & Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Hidden Nonferrous Metal Deposits and Development of New Materials in Guangxi, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
    2. Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
    3. Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
    4. Hydrogeology Team of Hebei Coalfield Geology Bureau, Handan 056000, China
    5. China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2019-06-03 Revised:2019-10-21 Online:2020-01-20 Published:2020-01-20
  • Contact: LIU Yanguang

Abstract:

The theoretical model of predicting thermal breakthrough in production well during geothermal recharge is still not perfect. In this paper, we carried out well recharge tracer test in the Xian County geothermal field and performed parameter inversion using the Comsol Multiphysics modeling software. We used the software’s theoretical framework to explain the tracer test data quantitatively and predict thermal breakthrough in heat mining wells. The results demonstrated a relatively low tracer recovery rate of 0.0225%, with one preferential passage of about 513.7 m long in the geothermal doublet well, indicating poor hydraulic connection between the doublet wells. After parametric analysis, we calculated the goodness-of-fit R2 to be 0.7907, greater than 0.6, suggesting a strong correlation between the optimization result and measured value, therefore a good model fit. Our model predicts that 100 years of continuous exploitation will not cause thermal breakthrough.

Key words: geothermal resources, carbonatite reservoir, recharge tracer, inverse modelling, thermal breakthrough

CLC Number: