Approximate Solution for the Temperature Distribution Caused by Flow up a Fault and its Application to Temperatures Measured in a Drillhole at Raft River Geothermal Area, Cassia County, Idaho
- Key words
- Reservoir Model; Thermal Profile; Fault Controlled; Fluid Flow; USA; Idaho; Raft River; Steady State; Temperature Prediction; Wellbore Profile; Temperature Log; Isotherms; USGS
- Location
- Raft River, Idaho
- Conference
- Geothermal Resources Council Transactions
- Year
- 1979
- Session
- Reservoir modeling; Fluid dynamics; Thermodynamics
- Language
- English
Abstract
An approximate analytical solution for the temperature distribution in a slab caused by the flow of water up a fault is obtained by assuming that the heat lost from the water is proportional to the temperature difference between the water and the slab at a distance far from the fault. Comparison of the analytical solution with the numerical solution of Sorey (1975) shows generally good agreement except in the region very close to where the fluid exits from the fault. The disagreement is caused by the approximate boundary condition used in the analytical solution not being valid in that region. A temperature profile in well RRGE-1 at the Raft River Geothermal Area, Idaho is compared to temperature distributions calculated at various distances from the fault. The gross features of the measures and calculated profiles agree if the well is assumed to be near the fault and the flow up the fault is about 6 liter/sec per kilometer of fault length.
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