The Impact of Subsurface Heterogeneity on the Performance of Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) Systems

地下非均质性对含水层热能储存 (ATES) 系统性能的影响

• 批准号: 2788219
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Queen's University Belfast
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2788219
• 关键词: Impact; Subsurface; Heterogeneity; Performance; Aquifer

Global energy needs are steadily rising with a predicted increase of 45% within the next 15 years. In the long-term, sustainable energy is hoped to connect economic growth to increased social equity while preserving natural resources in line with the UN sustainable development goals. In this context, geothermal energy present one of the potential key pillars to achieve this goal. The application of shallow geothermal energy systems has been increasing over the past decades with >1.7 million units installed across the EU in 2015. One of the commonly applied designs for geothermal installations are open loop systems consisting of abstraction and re-injection wells installed in the aquifer system/groundwater body to extract heat from or to inject/store heat into the aquifer. A particular design of open loop geothermal installations support Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) systems which allow the seasonal storage of waste heat in the subsurface for subsequent use to meet heating demands. The efficiency of the system relies on the productivity of the well installations as well as suitable aquifer properties (incl. aquifer permeability & porosity and thermal properties). The planned research project will investigate the impact of subsurface heterogeneity on the performance of ATES installations. Subsurface heterogeneities may be associated with depositional features of sedimentary aquifers or discontinuities such as fractures, igneous intrusions or faults and may affect hydraulic and thermal properties of the host rock. These heterogeneities may affect the groundwater flow regime within the aquifer unit and impact on ability of the aquifer to store and conduct heat. This in turn may ultimately affect the overall efficiency and sustainability of the ATES installation. The project will use the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Aquifer as a case study example. The Sherwood Sandstone Aquifer is an important regional aquifer across central England and Northern Ireland that hosts deep potable groundwater to depth >100m. The study will combine full-scale field experiments utilising existing borehole installations at Queen's University Belfast with numerical modelling studies. The study will combine the baseline characterisation of the aquifer system by completing a series of active borehole geophysical measurements, hydraulic borehole tests, with the long-term monitoring of experimental thermal injection tests using fibre optic distributed temperature sensing. Collected monitoring data will be integrated into numerical heat transport models to evaluate field-scale subsurface properties to better understand the impact of aquifer heterogeneity on system performance.

全球能源需求正在稳步上升，预计未来15年将增长45%。从长远来看，可持续能源有望将经济增长与增加的社会公平联系起来，同时保护符合联合国可持续发展目标的自然资源。在这方面，地热能是实现这一目标的潜在关键支柱之一。在过去的几十年里，浅层地热系统的应用一直在增加，2015年欧盟各地装机容量为170万套。地热设施常用的设计之一是开放环路系统，由安装在含水层系统/地下水体内的抽水井和回注井组成，用于从含水层提取热量或向含水层注入/储存热量。开环地热设施的特殊设计支持含水层热能存储(ATES)系统，该系统允许将废热季节性存储在地下，供后续使用，以满足供暖需求。该系统的效率取决于油井设施的生产率以及适当的含水层性质(包括。含水层渗透性&孔隙度和热物性)。计划中的研究项目将调查地下非均质性对ATES安装性能的影响。地下非均质性可能与沉积含水层的沉积特征或裂隙、火成岩侵入体或断层等不连续面有关，并可能影响主岩的水力和热学性质。这些非均质性可能会影响含水层单元内的地下水流动状况，并影响含水层储存和传导热量的能力。这反过来可能最终影响ATES安装的整体效率和可持续性。该项目将以三叠系舍伍德砂岩含水层为例进行研究。舍伍德砂岩含水层是横跨英格兰中部和北爱尔兰的一个重要的地区性含水层，蕴藏着深达100米的可饮用地下水。这项研究将利用贝尔法斯特女王大学现有的钻孔设施进行全面的现场实验与数值模拟研究相结合。这项研究将通过完成一系列活跃的钻孔地球物理测量、水力钻孔试验，以及利用光纤分布式温度传感对实验性热注入试验进行长期监测，来确定含水层系统的基线特征。所收集的监测数据将被整合到数值热传输模型中，以评估实地规模的地下特性，以便更好地了解含水层非均质性对系统性能的影响。