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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects

This report is the third in a series of reports sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program in which a range of water-related issues surrounding geothermal power production are evaluated. The first report made an initial attempt at quantifying the life cycle fresh water requirements of geothermal power-generating systems and explored operational and environmental concerns related to the geochemical composition of geothermal fluids. The initial analysis of life cycle fresh water consumption of geothermal power-generating systems identified that operational water requirements consumed the vast majority of water across the life cycle. However, it relied upon limited operational water consumption data and did not account for belowground operational losses for enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs). A second report presented an initial assessment of fresh water demand for future growth in utility-scale geothermal power generation. The current analysis builds upon this work to improve life cycle fresh water consumption estimates and incorporates regional water availability into the resource assessment to improve the identification of areas where future growth in geothermal electricity generation may encounter water challenges.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Geothermal Case Studies

The US Geological Survey (USGS) resource assessment (Williams et al., 2009) outlined a mean 30GWe of undiscovered hydrothermal resource in the western US. One goal of the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) is to accelerate the development of this undiscovered resource. The Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) Blue Ribbon Panel (GTO, 2011) recommended that DOE focus efforts on helping industry identify hidden geothermal resources to increase geothermal capacity in the near term. Increased exploration activity will produce more prospects, more discoveries, and more readily developable resources. Detailed exploration case studies akin to those found in oil and gas (e.g. Beaumont, et al, 1990) will give operators a single point of information to gather clean, unbiased information on which to build geothermal drilling prospects. To support this effort, the National Renewable Energy laboratory (NREL) has been working with the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a template for geothermal case studies on the Geothermal Gateway on OpenEI. In fiscal year 2013, the template was developed and tested with two case studies: Raft River Geothermal Area (http://en.openei.org/wiki/Raft_River_Geothermal_Area) and Coso Geothermal Area (http://en.openei.org/wiki/Coso_Geothermal_Area). In fiscal year 2014, ten additional case studies were completed, and additional features were added to the template to allow for more data and the direct citations of data. The template allows for: Data - a variety of data can be collected for each area, including power production information, well field information, geologic information, reservoir information, and geochemistry information. Narratives ? general (e.g. area overview, history and infrastructure), technical (e.g. exploration history, well field description, R&D activities) and geologic narratives (e.g. area geology, hydrothermal system, heat source, geochemistry.) Exploration Activity Catalog - catalog of exploration activities conducted in the area (with dates and references.) NEPA Analysis ? a query of NEPA analyses conducted in the area (that have been catalogued in the OpenEI NEPA database.) In fiscal year 2015, NREL is working with universities to populate additional case studies on OpenEI. The goal is to provide a large enough dataset to start conducting analyses of exploration programs to identify correlations between successful exploration plans for areas with similar geologic occurrence models.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Alkali-Activated Cement Composites for High Temperature Goethermal Wells

Under the Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE EERE) Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP), the scope of work at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) was aimed at developing and characterizing multifunctional high-temperature geothermal well cement composites. These materials are suitable for both conventional hydrothermal reservoirs at temperature of 300°C and enhanced geothermal system (EGS) environments at heating temperatures up to 600°C. The multifunctional cements were being developed with the following five advanced properties: 1) thermal shock (TS) resistance under 5 cycle heatingcooling water quenching tests, where one cycle involved heating at 500 or 600°C for 24 h and then quenching in 25°C water; 2) improved compressive toughness; 3) enhanced protection of carbon steel (CS) against brine-induced corrosion; 4) superior durability of the bond between the CS and cement surfaces; and 5) good resistance to pH 0.5 H 2 SO 4 solution at 90°C, compared to two conventional geothermal well cements (Class G modified with SiO 2 and calcium aluminum phosphate (CaP)). The latter cement was originally formulated and developed at BNL as a CO 2 - resistant cement under the previous GTP project. Unlike Class G, CaP is classified as a chemically bonded cement; namely, chemical reactions are responsible for strengthening the cement at an earlier curing stage.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Formed-in-place Ceramic Systems for Sealing and Flow Control in Geothermal Applications

Conventional oil and gas tools are frequently unsuitable for downhole applications in geothermal wells, largely due to uncased well configurations and their extreme thermal/chemical fluid conditions. Consequently, relatively common O&G tools like bridge plugs and sand control screens are difficult or at times impossible to implement in geothermal wells. In commercial oil and gas, thermite-based tools are being developed for intervention and decommissioning applications, and gaining field experience and credibility. We are developing and testing such systems for geothermal applications, with the objective of forming ceramic sealing and flow control features in-situ. The process uses self-propagating thermite reactions, in which a metal is combined with an oxidizer to release significant amounts of energy in a controlled, non-explosive manner. These solid phase reactions can be engineered to generate ceramic products with specific physical and flow characteristics. We are developing and testing formulations and wireline deployment tools which yield low to high permeability as needed, and preferentially expand to fill boreholes in both large diameter and slimhole wells. Near term applications are bridge plugs for P&A operations, screens for sand control and borehole stabilization, and lost circulation control during drilling. Laboratory tests have demonstrated the ability to form these products under high temperature and pressure conditions. Field tests are in planning to demonstrate the full-scale performance of these tools. This paper will present the status and results of this demonstration project, in its first year of advanced development for the DOE geothermal technologies program. New developments utilizing thermite tools in the HP/HT oil and gas domain will also be highlighted, particularly those which may have utility in geothermal applications.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2013

Advanced Seismic Data Analysis Program (The Hot Pot Project), DOE Award: DE-EE0002839 (Phase 1 Report)

A five-line (23 mile) reflection- seismic survey was conducted at the Hot Pot geothermal prospect area in north-central Nevada under the USDOE (United States Department of Energy) Geothermal Technologies Program. The project objective was to utilize innovative seismic data processing, integrated with existing geological, geophysical and geochemical information, to identify high-potential drilling targets and to reduce drilling risk. Data acquisition and interpretation took place between October 2010 and April 2011. The first round of data processing resulted in large areas of relatively poor data, and obvious reflectors known from existing subsurface information either did not appear on the seismic profiles or appeared at the wrong depth. To resolve these issues, the velocity model was adjusted to include geologic input, and the lines were reprocessed. The resulting products were significantly improved, and additional detail was recovered within the high-velocity and in part acoustically isotropic basement. Features visible on the improved seismic images include interpreted low angle thrust faults within the Paleozoic Valmy Formation, which potentially are reactivated in the current stress field. Intermediate-depth wells are currently targeted to test these features. The seismic images also suggest the existence of Paleogene sedimentary and volcanic rocks which potentially may function as a near-surface reservoir, charged by deeper structures in Paleozoic rocks.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Complete Fiber/Copper Cable Solution for Long-Term Temperature and Pressure Measurement in Supercritical Reservoirs and EGS Wells

High Temperature insulated wire and optical fiber cable is a key enabling technology for the Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP). Without insulated electrical wires and optical fiber, downhole temperature and pressure sensors, flow meters and gauges cannot communicate with the surface. Unfortunately, there are currently no insulated electrical wire or fiber cable constructions capable of surviving for extended periods of deployment in a geothermal well (240-325°C) or supercritical (374°C) reservoir. This has severely hindered engineered reservoir creation, management and utilization, as hot zones and cool water intrusions cannot be understood over time. The lack of a insulated electrical wire and fiber cable solution is a fundamental limitation to the viability of this energy source. The High Temperature Downhole Tools target specification is development of tools and sensors for logging and monitoring wellbore conditions at depths of up to 10,000 meters and temperatures up to 374oC. It well recognized in the industry that no current electronic or fiber cable can be successfully deployed in a well and function successfully for more a few days at temperatures over 240oC. The goal of this project was to raise this performance level significantly. Prysmian Group’s objective in this project was to develop a complete, multi-purpose cable solution for long-term deployment in geothermal wells/reservoirs that can be used with the widest variety of sensors. In particular, the overall project objective was to produce a manufacturable cable design that can perform without serious degradation: • At temperatures up to 374°C; • At pressures up to 220 bar; • In a hydrogen-rich environment; and • For the life of the well (> 5 years). This cable incorporates: • Specialty optical fibers, with specific glass chemistry and high temperature and pressure protective coatings for data communication and distributed temperature and pressure sensing, and • High-temperature insulated wire conductors Prysmian Group has developed a geothermal fiber optic cable (GFOC) solution which incorporates novel glass chemistry for optical fibers to operate at the required bandwidths in high temperature/high pressure hydrogen rich environments with fiber protection, high temperature insulated conductors and protective cladding for cable components. The cable solution has been tested in a geothermal installation for 10 months. The electrical insulation and optical fibers have been validated through laboratory testing to ensure successful operation for greater than 5 years at 300°C, with the possibility of higher temperatures depending on the particular well environment. With the 300°C optical fiber and electrical insulation developments completed and validated in laboratory tests the greatest challenge to a complete 300°C cable solution was protecting the optical fibers in the cable. Optical fibers are typically incased in a protective tube where the tube is filled with a gel. The gel serves as mechanical protection, prevent moisture ingress, and can include hydrogen scavenging materials. A suitable gel for use at 300°C could not be identified and an industrialized alternative was not fully attained. Despite the problems encountered and the lower long-term operating temperature of the cable solution, the project showed success in developing a complete cable solution for a large portion of the geothermal wells in operation today. Further work to obtain the higher long-term temperature goal of the project can be achieved based on the knowledge gained in the current project. This project is significant for many reasons including the new materials science, manufacturing technology, energy independence, and jobs created and will create.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

High Temperature 300°C Directional Drilling System

Many countries around the world, including the USA, have untapped geothermal energy potential. Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology is needed to economically utilize this resource. Temperatures in some EGS reservoirs can exceed 300°C. To effectively utilize EGS resources, an array of injector and production wells must be accurately placed in the formation fracture network. This requires a high temperature directional drilling system. Most commercial services for directional drilling systems are rated for 175°C while geothermal wells require operation at much higher temperatures. Two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) projects have been initiated to develop a 300°C capable directional drilling system, the first developing a drill bit, directional motor, and drilling fluid, and the second adding navigation and telemetry systems. This report is for the first project, “High Temperature 300°C Directional Drilling System, including drill bit, directional motor and drilling fluid, for enhanced geothermal systems,” award number DE-EE0002782. The drilling system consists of a drill bit, a directional motor, and drilling fluid. The DOE deliverables are three prototype drilling systems. We have developed three drilling motors; we have developed four roller-cone and five Kymera® bits; and finally, we have developed a 300°C stable drilling fluid, along with a lubricant additive for the metal-to-metal motor. Metal-to-metal directional motors require coatings to the rotor and stator for wear and corrosion resistance, and this coating research has been a significant part of the project. The drill bits performed well in the drill bit simulator test, and the complete drilling system has been tested drilling granite at Baker Hughes’ Experimental Test Facility in Oklahoma. The metal-to-metal motor was additionally subjected to a flow loop test in Baker Hughes’ Celle Technology Center in Germany, where it ran for more than 100 hours.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

DEVELOPMENT OF A SOFTWARE DESIGN TOOL FOR HYBRID SOLAR-GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS IN HEATING- AND COOLING-DOMINATED BUILDINGS

This project provides an easy-to-use, menu-driven, software tool for designing hybrid solar-geothermal heat pump systems (GHP) for both heating- and cooling-dominated buildings. No such design tool currently exists. In heating-dominated buildings, the design approach takes advantage of glazed solar collectors to effectively balance the annual thermal loads on the ground with renewable solar energy. In cooling-dominated climates, the design approach takes advantage of relatively low-cost, unglazed solar collectors as the heat rejecting component. The primary benefit of hybrid GHPs is the reduced initial cost of the ground heat exchanger (GHX). Furthermore, solar thermal collectors can be used to balance the ground loads over the annual cycle, thus making the GHX fully sustainable; in heating-dominated buildings, the hybrid energy source (i.e., solar) is renewable, in contrast to a typical fossil fuel boiler or electric resistance as the hybrid component; in cooling-dominated buildings, use of unglazed solar collectors as a heat rejecter allows for passive heat rejection, in contrast to a cooling tower that consumes a significant amount of energy to operate, and hybrid GHPs can expand the market by allowing reduced GHX footprint in both heating- and cooling-dominated climates. The design tool allows for the straight-forward design of innovative GHP systems that currently pose a significant design challenge. The project lays the foundations for proper and reliable design of hybrid GHP systems, overcoming a series of difficult and cumbersome steps without the use of a system simulation approach, and without an automated optimization scheme. As new technologies and design concepts emerge, sophisticated design tools and methodologies must accompany them and be made usable for practitioners. Lack of reliable design tools results in reluctance of practitioners to implement more complex systems. A menu-driven software tool for the design of hybrid solar GHP systems is provided that is based on mathematically robust, validated models. An automated optimization tool is used to balance ground loads and incorporated into the simulation engine. With knowledge of the building loads, thermal properties of the ground, the borehole heat exchanger configuration, the heat pump peak hourly and seasonal COP for heating and cooling, the critical heat pump design entering fluid temperature, and the thermal performance of a solar collector, the total GHX length can be calculated along with the area of a supplemental solar collector array and the corresponding reduced GHX length. An economic analysis module allows for the calculation of the lowest capital cost combination of solar collector area and GHX length. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was funded by the United States Department of Energy DOE-DE-FOA-0000116, Recovery Act Geothermal Technologies Program: Ground Source Heat Pumps. The lead contractor, The University of Hartford, was supported by The University of Dayton, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratories. All funding and support for this project as well as contributions of graduate and undergraduate students from the contributing institutions are gratefully acknowledged.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Application of 2D VSP Imaging Technology to the Targeting of Exploration and Production Wells in a Basin and Range Geothermal System

The Humboldt House-Rye Patch geothermal resource area (HH-RP) comprises approximately 12,000 acres along and west of the Humboldt Range, adjacent to the Rye Patch Reservoir. A Federal Geothermal Unit covers essentially all of the known shallow thermal anomaly at the site, and the Operator, Presco Energy, is in the process of completing wellfield development adjacent to the Rye Patch binary plant, a nominal 17-megawatt system in the southern Unit area. DOE award EE0002840, made under the auspices of the Geothermal Technologies Program, was originally approved in January of 2010, and used a VSP profiling technology to improve seismic imaging in the Basin and Range. Phase I field activities were conducted in the 3rd quarter of 2010, and both the Phase I report and a supplemental report were completed in March and April of 2011. Two targets were identified for tests of upflow structures, both using existing wellbores, originally the 51-21 and 52-28, in the Rye Patch wellfield. The Phase II validation was approved by DOE in May of 2011.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Development of Models to Simulate Tracer Tests for Characterization of Enhanced Geothermal Systems

A recent report found that power and heat produced from enhanced (or engineered) geothermal systems (EGSs) could have a major impact on the U.S energy production capability while having a minimal impact on the environment. EGS resources differ from high-grade hydrothermal resources in that they lack sufficient temperature distribution, permeability/porosity, fluid saturation, or recharge of reservoir fluids. Therefore, quantitative characterization of temperature distributions and the surface area available for heat transfer in EGS is necessary for the design and commercial development of the geothermal energy of a potential EGS site. The goal of this project is to provide integrated tracer and tracer interpretation tools to facilitate this characterization. This project was initially focused on tracer development with the application of perfluorinated tracer (PFT) compounds, non-reactive tracers used in numerous applications from atmospheric transport to underground leak detection, to geothermal systems, and evaluation of encapsulated PFTs that would release tracers at targeted reservoir temperatures. After the 2011 midyear review and subsequent discussions with the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technology Program (GTP), emphasis was shifted to interpretive tool development, testing, and validation. Subsurface modeling capabilities are an important component of this project for both the design of suitable tracers and the interpretation of data from in situ tracer tests, be they single- or multi-well tests. The purpose of this report is to describe the results of the tracer and model development for simulating and conducting tracer tests for characterizing EGS parameters.

EGS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Understanding nanofluid stability through molecular simulation

We performed molecular dynamics simulations to study solvation of a nanoparticle and nanoparticle-nanoparticle interactions in an n-hexane solution. Structural signatures are barely observed between the nanoparticle and n-hexane molecules because of weak binding and steric effects. The dynamic properties of the n-hexane molecule, on the other hand, are significantly influenced by the solvated nanoparticle. The diffusion of n-hexane molecules inside the nanoparticle is significantly decreased mainly because of the loss of dimensions of translation. Because one translational degree of freedom is lost by colliding with the wall of nanoparticle, the n-hexane molecules outside the nanoparticle diffuse 30% slower than the molecules in pure solution. The computed free energy profiles illustrate that the arrangement of the nanoparticles in bulk n-hexane solution are dependent on the orientation and functional group. We found that the n-hexane solvent exerts some effects on the interactions between the solvated nanoparticles. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences and by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Geothermal Technologies Program. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a multiprogram national laboratory operated for DOE by Battelle.

Dang, Liem X↗
DOE OSTI2015

A Combined Experimental and Computational Study on the Stability of Nanofluids Containing Metal Organic Frameworks

Computational studies on nanofluids composed of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) were performed using molecular modeling techniques. Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations were used to study adsorption behavior of 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane (R-245fa) in a MIL-101 MOF at various temperatures. To understand the stability of the nanofluid composed of MIL-101 particles, we performed molecular dynamics simulations to compute potentials of mean force between hypothetical MIL-101 fragments terminated with two different kinds of modulators in R-245fa and water. Our computed potentials of mean force results indicate that the MOF particles tend to disperse better in water than in R-245fa. The reasons for this observation were analyzed and discussed. Our results agree with experimental results indicating that the employed potential models and modeling approaches provide good description of molecular interactions and the reliabilities. Work performed by LXD was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences. Work performed by HVRA, SKN, RKM, and PBM was supported by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Geothermal Technologies Program. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a multiprogram national laboratory operated for DOE by Battelle.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1974

The NSF/RANN FY 1975 program for geothermal resources research and technology

The specific goal of the NSF geothermal program is the rapid development by industry of the nation's geothermal resources that can be demonstrated to be commercially, environmentally and socially acceptable as alternate energy sources. NSF, as the lead agency for the federal geothermal energy research program, is expediting a program which encompasses the objectives necessary for significant utilization. These include: acceleration of exploration and assessment methods to identify commercial geothermal resources; development of innovative and improved technology to achieve economic feasibility; evaluation of policy options to resolve environmental, legal, and institutional problems; and support of experimental research facilities for each type of geothermal resource. Specific projects in each of these four objective areas are part of the NSF program for fiscal year 1975.

Kruger, P.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Analysis of Ground Source Heat Pump ECMs: Implemented Under DOE ESPC IDIQ Contract

Several federal performance and decarbonization objectives are driving the U.S. government to transition to net-zero emissions across the federal building portfolio. The overarching purpose of this Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) work is to support federal facilities in accomplishing the administration’s federal building decarbonization goals. Creating awareness of existing geothermal (or ground-source) heat pump (GHP) systems deployed on federal property, implemented using performance contracts and evaluating the energy and environmental impacts of these systems, this work will assist federal facilities in considering inclusion of GHP technology energy conservation measures (ECMs) in future performance contracting project awards. This report summarizes analyses of data from GHP ECMs installed under the DOE ESPC IDIQ contract across various climate areas and geographic locations, agencies, and building use types. Through the analysis of proposed GHP ECMs and understanding key metrics on implemented GHP systems in a variety of applications, FEMP and GTO can further support federal agencies in meeting decarbonization and net-zero building goals by evaluating and incorporating GHP systems into performance contracts and communicate the benefits of this technology.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗