Heat Storage in Aquifers: Buoyancy Flow and Thermal-Stratification Problems

摘要

Heat Storage in aquifers involves injecting warm water into a confined aquifer and recovering the heat later by pumping out the warm water. Heat loss in the aquifers is roughly proportional to the area of the warm storage region which may be increased to unacceptable levels by buoyancy effects. Thermohydraulic problems in heat storage aquifers, methods for predicting the buoyancy flow, and changes in the thermal front within different aquifer types are discussed. Some general observations are made. Results of some analytical solutions are presented. The superposition of forced and natural convection is dealt with. Formulas for the tilting of the thermal front as a function of time are given. These are tested against numerical simulations and applied to laboratory and field experiments. The different results, formulas, and tilting criteria are summarized. (ERA citation 07:047008)