An efficient numerical simulator for geothermal simulation: A benchmark study

• Published in: Applied energy 2020-04, Vol.264, p.114693, Article 114693
• Main Authors: Wang, Yang, Voskov, Denis, Khait, Mark, Bruhn, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Benchmark test; Geothermal simulation; Operator-based linearization
• ISSN: 0306-2619; 1872-9118
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114693

•An efficient numerical simulator (DARTS) for geothermal simulations and applications is proposed.•A set of benchmark tests are performed in DARTS compared to state-of-the-art numerical simulators.•The good matches with other simulators verify the capability of DARTS for geothermal simulation.•Higher performance is achieved in DARTS owing to the Operator-Based Linearization (OBL) approach. Accurate prediction of temperature and pressure distribution is essential for geothermal reservoir exploitation with cold water re-injection. Depending on our knowledge about the heterogeneous structure of the subsurface, the reservoir development scheme can be optimized and the overall lifetime of the geothermal field can be extended. In this study, we present Delft Advanced Research Terra Simulator (DARTS), which provides fast and accurate energy production evaluation for geothermal applications. This simulation framework is suitable for uncertainty analysis with a large ensemble of models. In DARTS, we select the molar formulation with pressure and enthalpy as primary variables. Besides, the fully-coupled fully-implicit two-point flux approximation on unstructured grids is implemented to solve the mass and energy conservation equations. For the nonlinear solution, we employ the recently developed Operator-Based Linearization (OBL) approach. In our work, DARTS is compared with the state-of-the-art simulation frameworks using a set of benchmark tests. We demonstrate that DARTS achieves a good match for both low- and high-enthalpy conditions in comparison to other simulators. At the same time, DARTS provides high performance and flexibility of the code due to the OBL approach, which makes it particularly useful for uncertainty quantification in processes involving complex physics.