A GEOMETRIC MODELING FRAMEWORK FOR THE NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF GEOTHERMAL RESERVOIRS

Abstract

In the past decade, advancements in automatic mesh generation and topological data structures have made possible the use of a more general and abstract geometric model for the description of an analysis
problem. Using a geometric model for describing a reservoir results in a conceptual model of the geothermal system, rather than a simple numerical simulation. The analyst builds the geometric model using true features of a reservoir, such as well bores and known fracture locations. Material properties and boundary conditions are then assigned to these features, not to the underlying finite element mesh or finite difference grid. This independent storage of the problem description makes it simple to run multiple analyses, potentially using different solution schemes. Definition of both 2-d and 3-d models can be greatly simplified through this more interactive, intuitive model creation process. State-of-the-art visualization and manipulation methods assist in conveying the conceptual model of the reservoir and the assumptions made for performing a simulation.