Multiple Artificial Geothermal Cracks in a Hot Dry Rock Mass for Extraction of Heat

Abstract

Theoretical analysis is made for multiple geothermal cracks. A periodic array of two-dimensional cracks is considered as a model of the multiple geothermal cracks, and is anlayzed on the basis of the two-dimensional theory of quasi-static thermo-elasticity. The singular integral equations are derived from the boundary conditions, and they are solved by applying the combination of inversion formula and collocation method. Numerical results for the fluid temperature at an outlet, the rock mass temperature, the shape of the geothermal cracks and the stress distribution around the geothermal cracks are shown in graphs.