Geothermal Engineering: Fundamentals and Applications

This book explains the engineering required to bring geothermal resources into use. The book covers specifically engineering aspects that are unique to geothermal engineering, such as measurements in wells and their interpretation, transport of near-boiling water through long pipelines, turbines driven by fluids other than steam, and project economics. The explanations are reinforced by drawing comparisons with other energy industries. Arnold Watson was most recently Director of the Geothermal Institute at the University of Auckland, from which he retired and entered private consultancy in 2003. His previous appointments include Geothermal Division Manager at KRTA (KML) Ltd., Auckland; Lecturer in Engineering, Simon Engineering Laboratories, University of Manchester; and Scientific Officer, UK Atomic Energy Authority. He holds a PhD from the University of London. Introduction.- Sources of Geothermal Heat.- Thermodynamics Background and the Properties of Water.- The Equations Governing Heat and Single-Phase Fluid Flow and their Simplification for Particular Applications.- Geothermal Drilling and Well Design.- Well Measurements from Completion Tests to the First Discharge.- Phase Change Phenomena and Two-Phase Flow.- The Discharging Well.- The Transient Response of Formations to Flow in a Well – Transient Pressure Well Testing.- The Economics of a Geothermal Electricity Generation Project.- The Power Station.- The Steamfield.- The Resource Development Plan.- Struggles Between Commercial Uses and Conservation – Examples from New Zealand.- Appendix 1: Saturation Properties of Water from the Triple Point to the Critical Point.- Appendix 2: Compressibility of Water from 0-100C and 0-1000 Bar.- Appendix 3: The Boiling-Point-for-Depth Curve.