Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Book chapters
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-68225-9_7
Title (Primary) HT (convection) processes
Title (Secondary) Thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical processes in fractured porous media: Modelling and benchmarking. From benchmarking to tutoring
Author Magri, F.; Cacace, M.; Fischer, T.; Naumov, D.; Wang, W. ORCID logo ; Watanabe, N.; Zheng, T.; Miao, X.-Y.; Nagel, T.; Walther, M.
Publisher Kolditz, O.; Nagel, T.; Shao, H.; Wang, W.; Bauer, S.
Source Titel Terrestrial Environmental Sciences
Year 2018
Department ENVINF
Page From 157
Page To 177
Language englisch
Abstract In a geothermal system, unstable fluid density profiles due to temperature variations can trigger the onset and development of free thermal convective processes (J.W. Elder. Transient convection in a porous medium. (Elder in J Fluid Mech 27: 609–623 , 1967, Elder 1967). Early studies on the problem showed that the development of free thermal convection in the Earth’s crust require a relatively high permeability of the porous rocks (Lapwood in Math Proc Camb Philos Soc, 44:508–52, 1948, Lapwood 1948). Since the permeability inside the damaged area of major fault zones can far exceed the permeability of the enclosing rocks (Wallace, Morris in PAGEOPH, 124:107–125, 1986, Wallace and Morris 1986), one can expect the development of free thermal convective instabilities to occur in such tectonically perturbed rocks. The onset of thermal convection of a single-phase fluid in a vertical fault enclosed in impermeable rocks was considered in a full 3D approximation by Wang, Kassoy, Weidman (Int J Heat Mass Trans, 30:1331–1341, 1987, Wang et al. (1987)). A fundamental result of those investigations was that highly permeable faults allow for onset of free thermal convection even under a normal (e.g. 30 ∘C⋅km−1) geothermal gradient. In contrast to simple homogenous 1D and 2D systems, no appropriate analytical solutions can be derived to test numerical models for more complex 3D systems that account for variable fluid density and viscosity as well as permeability heterogeneity (e.g. presence of faults). Owing to the efficacy of thermal convection for the transport of thermal energy and dissolved minerals in the moving fluid, a benchmark case study for density/viscosity driven flow is crucial to ensure that the applied numerical model accurately simulates the physical processes.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=21365
Magri, F., Cacace, M., Fischer, T., Naumov, D., Wang, W., Watanabe, N., Zheng, T., Miao, X.-Y., Nagel, T., Walther, M. (2018):
HT (convection) processes
In: Kolditz, O., Nagel, T., Shao, H., Wang, W., Bauer, S. (eds.)
Thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical processes in fractured porous media: Modelling and benchmarking. From benchmarking to tutoring
Terrestrial Environmental Sciences
Springer Nature, Cham, p. 157 - 177 10.1007/978-3-319-68225-9_7