State-of-the-Art of Models for Geothermal Recovery Processes

Abstract

Recent interest in geothermal energy development has contributed to the advance in the modeling of nonisothermal flows, especially of the two-phase, steam-water phenomena. In this paper, the key processes associated with a geothermal energy reservoir are described and the current approaches are pointed out. The state-of-the-art of geothermal modeling is reviewed by comparing the governing equations, numerical methods, code availability, validations, and applications of several selected major existing models. The needs for further studies are discussed.