TY  - JOUR
A1  - Cherubini, Yvonne
A1  - Cacace, Mauro
A1  - Blöcher, Guido
A1  - Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena
T1  - Impact of single inclined faults on the fluid flow and heat transport -   results from 3-D finite element simulations
JF  - Environmental earth sciences
N2  - The impact of inclined faults on the hydrothermal field is assessed by adding simplified structural settings to synthetic models. This study is innovative in carrying out numerical simulations because it integrates the real 3-D nature of flow influenced by a fault in a porous medium, thereby providing a useful tool for complex geothermal modelling. The 3-D simulations for the coupled fluid flow and heat transport processes are based on the finite element method. In the model, one geological layer is dissected by a dipping fault. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to quantify the effects of the fault's transmissivity on the fluid flow and thermal field. Different fault models are compared with a model where no fault is present to evaluate the effect of varying fault transmissivity. The results show that faults have a significant impact on the hydrothermal field. Varying either the fault zone width or the fault permeability will result in relevant differences in the pressure, velocity and temperature field. A linear relationship between fault zone width and fluid velocity is found, indicating that velocities increase with decreasing widths. The faults act as preferential pathways for advective heat transport in case of highly transmissive faults, whereas almost no fluid may be transported through poorly transmissive faults.
KW  - Hydrothermal field
KW  - 3-D numerical simulations
KW  - Inclined faults
KW  - Fault zone
KW  - Coupled fluid flow and heat transport
KW  - Finite elements
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-2212-z
SN  - 1866-6280
SN  - 1866-6299
VL  - 70
IS  - 8
SP  - 3603
EP  - 3618
PB  - Springer
CY  - New York
ER  -