Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003.

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第14138号 / 工博第2972号 / 新制||工||1441(附属図書館) / 26444 / UT51-2008-N455 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科社会基盤工学専攻 / (主査)教授 松岡 俊文, 教授 石田 毅, 教授 三ケ田 均 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

Borehole radar is a short-range, high-resolution geophysical technique that can be used to delineate the position of the Merensky platinum reef in underground mines situated in the Western Bushveld Complex. In this study, borehole radar is used in reflection mode from four boreholes drilled sub-parallel to the expected position of the Merensky Reef within an underground mining block bounded by two cross-cuts and a haulage. This study relates the stratigraphic column at Amandelbult Section to borehole radar reflectivity. The radar illumination line coordinates produced along the Merensky Reef surface are used to construct a three-dimensional surface of the reef within the defined mining block. The geophysical interpretation presented here shows how a slump in the Merensky Reef, called a pothole, is imaged using borehole radar. This study analyses the increase in geological confidence related to the improved delineation of the elevation of the Merensky Reef. The financial impact of using borehole radar to delineate this pothole is analysed at the various mining steps, namely: orebody definition, mine planning, mine development, ore extraction and ore processing. The information gained by conducting borehole radar is compared with the information acquired using only standard geological drilling. This study concludes that the application of borehole radar significantly increases the confidence in the geological model prior to mining. Conducting borehole radar prior to mining improves mine planning and development, ensures that less waste is mined, facilitates the effective deployment of labour crews, prevents waste being sent to the processing plant and avoids deferring income until a later date. Recommendations are made on how to plan for and include borehole radar in the mining process. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Geology / unrestricted

Geothermal energy is one of the oldest forms of energy on our planet. Its use by humanity dates back to the beginning of the ages. The forms of this energy gradually changed from the direct heat of the hot springs, through the heating of the buildings and the baths to the later use of superheated steam for industrial use. Nowadays, there is a large share of the use of large number of ground geothermal boreholes with heat exchangers drilled in the matrix. The geometric arrangement of such system has a considerable impact on its operation. Specific examples show that, unlike the design, actual boreholes in such system can often be drilled non vertically or even curved. These imperfections then usually deteriorate the thermal properties of the system. This thesis demonstrates the influence analysis of the borehole geometry distortion on the system thermal properties, it also informs about the development of a special measuring device designed to obtain information about the actual geometric shape of the investigated borehole and about the development of software for in situ rapid borehole system properties evaluation. The theoretical part of thesis contains the derivation of a simplified numerical model of heat conduction in the vicinity of the borehole system. Its results serve to compare the different borehole variants and the inaccuracy of borehole shaping. Using the simulations, the influence of inaccuracies in the borehole system on its thermal properties is demonstrated in several model configurations. This effect does not occur in a single borehole, but it is significantly visible in organized geothermal borehole systems. It may deteriorate system properties, but under certain circumstances its properties may improve. Verification of the results of these simulations was performed by the FEFLOW simulation software. In the practical part the development of a special instrument for measuring the shape of a geothermal energy borehole is documented. ....

This work explores the impact of burying a short term thermal storage (STTS) tank within a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES, or borehole field). There is motivation to bury tanks in order to save space on ground level, as well as to improve the overall efficiency of the system by reducing heat losses from the tank. This work mainly looks to understand the impact of the lack of boreholes under the buried tank, as well as the thermal interactions between the tank and boreholes. Computational Fluid Dynamics was used to predict the transient temperature throughout the domain. The long-term performance was assessed by simulation a five year period. Examination of factors that influence the tank-borehole interactions was studied and it was determined that radial stratification of the borehole field as well as the soil properties have the largest influence in terms of increasing the efficiency of the BTES. Other factors, such as tank stratification and tank insulation have little impact and the remainder (tank aspect ratio, and alternate geometries) have some impact. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Published Article / Although research has been conducted in the field of Acoustic Doppler Borehole Flowmeters (ADBF), it has been focused on point source of flow and three dimensional borehole flow techniques. However as of yet, no studies have been conducted on the possible use of Acoustic Doppler Borehole Profiling (ADBP). This technique of borehole flow measurement is possibly a revolutionary concept in how vertical flow in a borehole is measured. It makes use of a single inexpensive transducer that can float on the surface of the water in a borehole and use Acoustic Doppler techniques to profile the flow in a borehole. No complicated and expensive flow probe winching systems will be required. Another added benefit of the ADBP will be the non-evasive technologies that comprise its design. Current borehole flow probes are required to be present at the point of flow measurement in the borehole. The presence of the probe inadvertently alters the flow in the borehole by adding resistance to the flow in the borehole. Under stressed or pumped flow tests these flow resistance effects cause sufficient pressure gradients at the flow sensors to divert part of the flow away from the sensor. This causes erroneous readings of flow as a part of the flow in the borehole is not accounted for. In ADBP the sensor is not physically present at the point of flow being read. This makes the ADBP technique of borehole flow measurement far more representative of the natural flow conditions in the borehole under ambient and stressed conditions.

Downhole production measurements are periodically acquired in hydrocarbon reservoirs to monitor and diagnose fluid movement in the borehole and the near-borehole region. However, because of the complexity involved with physical modeling and numerical implementation of borehole and formation multiphase flow behavior, inference of near-borehole petrophysical properties from production measurements is limited to simplified single-phase reservoir models. This dissertation develops a new transient coupled borehole-formation fluid flow algorithm to numerically simulate two-phase production logs (PL) acquired across heterogeneous rock formations penetrated by vertical and deviated boreholes. Subsequently, the coupled flow algorithm is used to estimate relevant dynamic petrophysical properties from borehole production measurements. The developed reservoir-borehole fluid flow model is based on an isothermal, one-dimensional (borehole axis) version of two-fluid formulation that simulates simultaneous flow of two fluid phases in oil-water, oil-gas, and gas-water flowing systems. Linkage of borehole and formation fluid flow models is carried out by introducing additional source terms into borehole mass conservation equations. Transient simulation of two-phase production measurements indicates the presence of borehole cross-flow when performing a shut-in test across differentially-depleted multilayer reservoirs. In a two-layer synthetic reservoir model penetrated by a vertical borehole, only two hours of through-the-borehole cross-communication of differentially-depleted layers gives rise to more than 14% increase in volume-averaged oil-phase relative permeability of the low-pressure layer. Simulated borehole fluid properties in the presence of cross-flow are used to estimate formation average pressure from two-phase selective-inflow-performance analysis. A new inversion-based interpretation algorithm is developed to estimate near-borehole absolute permeability and fluid-phase saturation from two-phase production logs. The inversion algorithm integrates production logs acquired in time-lapse mode to construct a near-borehole reservoir model that describes depth variations of skin factor over the elapsed time. Feasibility studies using synthetic reservoir models show that the estimated petrophysical properties are adversely influenced by the large volume of investigation associated with PL measurements. Moreover, undetectable fluid production across low-permeability layers decreases the sensitivity of production logs to layer incremental flow rate, thus increasing estimation uncertainty. Despite these limitations, the estimated fluid saturation and permeability across high-permeability layers are within 25% and 20% of the corresponding actual values, respectively. Oil-water and oil-gas flowing systems are additionally studied to quantify the added value of remedial workover operations (e.g., water and gas shut-off). Simulation of a gas shut-off performed in a gas-oil field example recommends a minimum bottom-hole pressure to prevent high gas production caused by (i) gas coning effects, and (ii) released gas from oil solution. Maintaining bottom-hole pressure above that limit gives rise to more than 60% reduction of downhole gas production. / text

No description available.

The large proportion of energy used in the built environment has made improving energy efficiency in buildings, in particular their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, a policy objective for reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions nationally and internationally. Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems, due to their high coefficient of performance (COP) and low CO2 emissions are consequently, receiving increasing attention. This work is concerned with the modelling of borehole heat exchangers (BHEs), the commonest form of ground heat exchangers found in GSHP systems. Their careful design is critical to both the short timescale and long timescale performance of geothermal heat pump systems. Unlike conventional components of HVAC systems, BHEs cannot be designed on the basis of peak load data but require 3 application of dynamic thermal models that are able to take account of the heat transfer inside the borehole as well as the surrounding ground. The finite volume method has been applied to develop a dynamic three-dimensional (3D) model for a single BHE and BHE arrays. The multi-block boundary fitted structured mesh used in this model allows the complex geometries around the pipes in BHEs and the surrounding ground around the borehole to be represented exactly. The transport of the fluid circulating along the pipe loop has been simulated explicitly in this model. The ground underneath the borehole has also been represented in this model. Validation of the 3D model has been carried out by reference to analytical models of borehole thermal resistance and fluid transport in pipes, as well as experimental data. In this work, the 3D numerical model has been applied to investigate the three-dimensional characteristics of heat transfer in and around a BHE at both short and long timescales. By implementing a two-dimensional (2D) model using the same numerical method and comparing the simulation results from the 3D and 2D models, the most significant three-dimensional effects have been identified and quantified. The findings have highlighted some of the limitations of 2D models, and based on the findings, methods to improve the accuracy of a 2D model have been suggested and validated. Furthermore, the 3D and 2D finite volume models have been applied to simulate an integrated GSHP system and their effects on overall system performance predictions have been investigated. The 3D numerical model has also been applied to examine thermal interactions within BHE arrays and to evaluate the assumptions of the line source model and their implications in the analysis of thermal response test data.

Borehole imaging is one of the fastest and most precise methods for collecting subsurface data that provides high resolution information on layering, texture and dips, permitting a core-like description of the subsurface. Although the range of information recoverable from this technology is widely acknowledged, image logs are still used in a strictly qualitative manner. Interpreting image logs manually is cumbersome, time consuming and is subjective based on the experience of the interpreter. This thesis outlines new methods that automate image log interpretation and extract subsurface lithofacies information in a quantitative manner. We developed two methodologies based on advanced image analysis techniques successfully employed in remote sensing and medical imaging. The first one is a pixelbased pattern recognition technique applying textural analysis to quantify image textural properties. These properties together with standard logs and core-derived lithofacies information are used to train a back propagation Neural Network. In principle the trained and tested Neural Network is applicable for automated borehole image interpretation from similar geological settings. However, this pixel-based approach fails to make use explicitly of the spatial characteristics of a high resolution image. TAT second methodology is introduced which groups identical neighbouring pixels into objects. The resultant spectrally and spatially consistent objects are then related to geologically meaningful groups such as lithofacies by employing fuzzy classifiers. This method showed better results and is applied to outcrop photos, core photos and image logs, including a ‘difficult’ data set from a deviated well. The latter image log did not distinguish some of the conductive and resistive regions, as observed from standard logs and core photos. This is overcome by marking bed boundaries using standard logs. Bed orientations were estimated using an automated sinusoid fitting algorithm within a formal uncertainty framework in order to distinguish dipping beds and horizontal stratification. Integration of these derived logs in the methodology yields a complete automated lithofacies identification, even from the difficult dataset. The results were validated through the interpretation of cored intervals by a geologist. This is a supervised classification method which incorporates the expertise of one or several geologists, and hence includes human logic, reasoning, and current knowledge of the field heterogeneity. By including multiple geologists in the training, the results become less dependent on each individual’s subjectivity and prior experience. The method is also easily adaptable to other geological settings. In addition, it is applicable to several kinds of borehole images, for example wireline electrical borehole wall images, core photographs, and logging-while-drilling (LWD) images. Thus, the theme of this dissertation is the development of methodologies which makes image log interpretation simpler, faster, less subjective, and efficient such that it can be applied to large quantities of data.