Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6409608 | Journal of Hydrology | 2016 | 35 Pages |
Abstract
Temperature breakthrough curves in observation wells are contrasted with what would be expected in an ideal layered aquifer. They reveal strongly unequal lateral and vertical components of the transport mechanisms. The observed complex behavior of the heat plume is explained by the groundwater flow gradient on the site and heterogeneities in the hydraulic conductivity field. Moreover, due to high injection temperatures during the field experiment a temperature-induced fluid density effect on heat transport occurred. By using a flow and heat transport numerical model with variable density coupled with a pilot point approach for inversion of the hydraulic conductivity field, the main preferential flow paths were delineated. The successful application of a field heat tracer test at this site suggests that heat tracer tests is a promising approach to image hydraulic conductivity field. This methodology could be applied in aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) projects for assessing future efficiency that is strongly linked to the hydraulic conductivity variability in the considered aquifer.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
Authors
Maria Klepikova, Samuel Wildemeersch, Thomas Hermans, Pierre Jamin, Philippe Orban, Frédéric Nguyen, Serge Brouyère, Alain Dassargues,