Comparative study on heat extraction performance of three enhanced geothermal systems

Wu, Xiaotian; Li, Yingchun; Tang, Chun’an

doi:10.1016/j.rockmb.2023.100041

Cited by 13 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 37 publications

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“…Rock damage is defined as the degradation of the macroscopic properties, such as strength, stiffness, etc [22][23][24]. The damage is the consequence of microcracks propagation, coalescence [25][26][27][28][29], and stiffness degradation [30]. The damage mechanics in rock engineering studies the evolution of damage that starts from microcracks and results in rupture failure in the macroscale of the structure [31].…”

Section: Micromechanism Of Thermal Damagementioning

confidence: 99%

Salt Cavern Thermal Damage Evolution Investigation Based on a Hybrid Continuum-Discrete Coupled Modeling

Feng

Nan

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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The integrity and stability of salt caverns for natural gas storage are subjected to a gas cycling loading operation. The coupled effect of confining pressure and temperature on the response of the salt cavity surrounding the wall is essential to stability analysis. In this study, a hybrid continuum-discrete model accounting for the thermal-mechanical process is proposed to investigate the thermal-damage evolution mechanism towards a field case with blocks falling off the salt cavity. The salt cavity is modeled by continuum zones, and the potential damage zones are simulated by discrete particles. Three specimens at different locations around the surrounding wall are compared in the context of severe depressurization. The dynamic responses of rock salt, including temperature spatiotemporal variation, microscopic cracking patterns, and energy evolution exhibit spatial and confinement dependence. A series of numerical simulations were conducted to study the influence of microproperties and thermal properties. It is shown that the evolution of cracks is controlled by (1) the thermal-mechanical process (i.e., depressurization and retention at low pressure) and (2) the anomalous zone close to the brim of the salt cavity surrounding the wall. The zone far away from the marginal surrounding wall is less affected by temperature, and only the mechanical conditions control the development of cracks. This continuum/discontinuum approach provides an alternative method to investigate the progressive thermal damage and its microscopic mechanism.

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