Numerical modeling of geothermal processes: issues and examples. 10th International Mine Water Association Congress

Geothermics has an increasing importance for energy supply worldwide. Hence, there is also an increasing need to model different geothermal scenarios. Depending on the type of problem it may be necessary to take density coupled processes into account. Furthermore, thermal dependence of material properties should be considered. Special problems occur in cases of fracture flow, which can be of high importance with respect to productivity. Finally, the simultaneous modeling of heat and mass transport processes may be necessary. Several simulation codes are available which apply different numerical methods. However, the applicability for complex subsurface geometries reduces the number substantially. We will present modeling approaches with FEFLOW®. These will include applications for deep geothermics (enhanced geothermal systems), the use of mine-water for heating purposes and the numerically efficient modeling of shallow ground heat exchanger arrays