Fracturing in Deep Boreholes

The development of the base-load capable, climate-friendly, and practically inexhaustible source of "geothermal energy" represents an important pillar of the energy supply of the future. If it were possible to expand geothermal energy production accordingly, Germany could generate 100% of its energy in a climate-neutral manner by 2050. The joint research project "Dolomitkluft," funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy from 2016 to 2018, aims to establish a new and improved reservoir model for the Upper Jurassic carbonates of the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin for deep geothermal energy. Emerged from this project, the dissertation by Mr. Stockinger geomechanically and numerically characterizes the deep geothermal reservoir in carbonate rocks-limestones and dolomites-of the Upper Jurassic in the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin in over 4000 m depth. This book specifically addresses fracture initiation, propagation, and hydraulic conductivity around a borehole and their controlling factors such as the in situ stress, the existing discontinuity network, and the geomechanical rock properties. Mr. Stockinger has thus successfully addressed the most important aspects for the retrievability of deep geothermal energy at its point of origin-namely the (deep) borehole.

Auteur

Georg Stockinger is a Geologist with a Bachelor's degree in Geosciences and a Master's degree in Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU). After a research fellowship at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada), he joined the Chair of Engineering Geology at TUM as research associate and lecturer in 2016. His research interests focus on various topics in engineering rock mechanics, such as parameterization of mechanical and petrophysical rock properties, landslide research and reservoir engineering. In 2021 he received his PhD from TUM for the dissertation on characterizing fracturing processes in geothermal reservoirs by applying combined field, laboratory, and advanced numerical FEM-DEM simulation methods.

Contenu

Introduction.- Rock Mechanical Basics.- The Bmwi Project Dolomitkluft and the Study Site.- Sampling and Methodology.- Results.- Discussion.- Conclusions, Implementation and Outlook.