This introduction to geothermal modeling deals with flow and heat transport processes in porous and fractured media related to geothermal energy applications. Following background coverage of geothermal resources and utilization in several countries, the basics of continuum mechanics for heat transport processes, as well as numerical methods for solving underlying governing equations are discussed. This examination forms the theoretical basis for five included step-by-step OpenGeoSys exercises, highlighting the most important computational areas within geothermal resource utilization, including heat diffusion, heat advection in porous and fractured media, and heat convection. The book concludes with an outlook on practical follow-up contributions investigating the numerical simulation of shallow and deep geothermal systems.
Dr. Norbert Böttcher is currently working as a scientist at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hanover, Germany. After his graduation in Water Supply Management and Engineering, Dr. Böttcher had worked at the Institute for Groundwater Management at Dresden University of Technology, Germany, as a lecturer and a research scientist. He received his PhD for developing a mathematical model for the simulation of non-isothermal, compressible multiphase flow processes within the context of subsurface CO2 storage. As a post-doc, Dr. Böttcher was employed at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ in Leipzig, Germany. His research topics include numerical simulations and model development of geotechnical applications.
Dr.-Ing. Norihiro Watanabe is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental Informatics at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ in Leipzig, Germany. He studied civil engineering and environmental science at Okayama University in Japan for his Bachelor and Master degrees, and received his doctoral degree in engineering from Dresden University of Technology in Germany. His research interest is in developing numerical models for coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical processes in fractured rocks for various geotechnical applications such as deep geothermal systems and underground waste disposals.
Dr. Uwe-Jens Görke is currently working as a senior scientist at the Department of Environmental Informatics of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ in Leipzig, Germany. He studied Theoretical Mechanics and Applied Mathematics at the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkov, Ukraine, and received his doctoral degree in Solid Mechanics from the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau, Germany. From 1996-2008 he worked at Chemnitz University of Technology. His research interests are related to numerical methods and constitutive modelling with applications in geotechnologies, particularly focused on energy-related topics, like geothermal energy, energy storage and carbon dioxide storage. Dr. Görke coordinates work packages of different national research projects and is involved in managing projects during all project stages -- from the application for funds to final reporting.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Olaf Kolditz is the head of the Department of Environmental Informatics at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research - UFZ. He holds a Chair in Applied Environmental System Analysis at the Technische Universität in Dresden. His research interests are related to environmental fluid mechanics, numerical methods and software engineering with applications in geotechnics, hydrology and energy storage. Olaf Kolditz is the PI of the OpenGeoSys project (www.opengeosys.org), an open-source scientific software platform for the numerical simulation of thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical processes in porous media, in use worldwide. He studied theoretical mechanics and applied mathematics at the University of Kharkov (Ukraine) and earned his PhD in 1990 in natural sciences from the Academy of Science of the GDR in geohydrodynamics. Olaf Kolditz is Editor-in-Chief of two international journals: Geothermal Energy (open access) and Environmental Earth Sciences (ISI).
