Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Geothermal energy is considered as a green and infinite energy source at human scale. Currently, the yield of geothermal power plants is limited to temperatures of the operating fluid which 350 °C. From tectonic and volcanic activity at mid-ocean ridges, Iceland is a location where supercritical fluid extraction (T> 375 °C) can considered for the near future. Exploiting such fluids could theoretically multiply by a factor of ten the electrical power delivered by geothermal wells. Can such fluids circulate at the base of brittle oceanic crust? This work investigates the petrophysical properties of basalts in order to constrain geophysical observations in Iceland and predict the behavior of very high temperature geo-hydrothermal reservoirs. The first approach consisted in studying the physical properties of rocks that have hosted deep hydrothermal circulations at oceanic ridges. The study of these rocks at ODP Site 1256 shows that the porosity measured both in the field and in the lab is associated with amphibolite facies alteration minerals (T> 500 ° C). The second approach was to recreate in the laboratory the conditions of pressure, temperature and pore fluid pressure of high temperature to supercritical hydrothermal systems to predict the mechanical and electrical properties of basalts under these conditions. The mechanical results indicate that the brittle/ductile transition occurs at a temperature of about 550° C, where a strong permeability decrease is expected. The implementation and calibration of a new cell for measuring electrical conductivity at high temperature provide the first results for the interpretation of geophysical data. When applied to basaltic crustal conditions in Iceland, these results indicate that hydrothermal fluids could circulate, at least temporarily, in a supercritical state up to 5 km depth.
La géothermie est considérée comme une source d'énergie propre et inépuisable à échelle humaine. Actuellement, le rendement des centrales géothermiques est limité à l'exploitation de fluides de températures inférieures à 350 °C. L'association de l'activité tectonique et volcanique aux dorsales océaniques fait de l'Islande un lieu où l'extraction de fluides supercritiques (T> 375 °C) peut être envisagée. Cette exploitation pourrait multiplier par dix la puissance électrique délivrée par le système géothermal. Ces fluides peuvent-ils circuler dans la croûte océanique ? Ce travail propose de contraindre les observations géophysiques et de prédire le fonctionnement des réservoirs géo-hydrothermaux de très haute température par l'étude des propriétés physiques des basaltes. La première approche est focalisée sur l'étude de roches ayant accueilli une circulation hydrothermale par le passé. L'étude de ces roches au site ODP 1256, montre que leur porosité est associée à la présence de minéraux d'altération hydrothermale du facies amphibolite (T> 500 °C). La seconde approche a consisté à recréer, en laboratoire, les conditions des systèmes hydrothermaux, à très haute température, afin de prédire les propriétés mécaniques et électriques des basaltes dans ces conditions. Les résultats mécaniques indiquent que la transition fragile/ductile, souvent associée à une forte décroissance de perméabilité, intervient à une température d'environ 550 °C. La mise en place d'une cellule de mesure de la conductivité électrique de haute température a fourni les premiers résultats utiles à l'analyse des données géophysiques. Appliqués aux conditions de la croûte basaltique Islandaise, ces résultats indiquent que des fluides hydrothermaux pourraient circuler au moins transitoirement à l'état supercritique jusqu'à ~ 5 km de profondeur.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591798

tel-00591798
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591798
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591798/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591798/file/THESE_MV_pro.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
We aim at testing and validating a mobile-immobile mass transfer model from a set of single-well injection withdrawal tracer tests in a heterogeneous porous aquifer. By varying the duration of the injection phase, different volumes of aquifer are investigated by the tracer. Hence, we focus the transport model validation not only on reproducing a single breakthrough curve (BTC) but also on the model's capacity to predict the amount of mixing as a function of the volume visited by the tracer. All the BTCs are strongly asymmetric, as expected when dispersion is controlled by diffusive mass transfers between the mobile water and the immobile water part of the porosity. However, the BTC cannot be modeled by a conventional mobile-immobile mass transfer model with a simple power law memory function. To account for that, we implement a continuous time random walk model in which the transition time distribution y (t), which is related to the excursion time probability of the tracer in the immobile domain, is a dual-slope power law distribution. The model best fits the BTC data set with a transitional regime controlled by y(t) t2 and an asymptotic regime characteristic of the conventional double-porosity model with y(t) t1.5 . This work emphasizes that high-resolution concentration measurement and multiple-scale tracer tests are required for assessing solute dispersion models in heterogeneous reservoirs and for subsequently obtaining reliable predictions.
ISSN: 0043-1397

insu-00373698
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00373698
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00373698/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00373698/file/Borgne_et_al-2008-Water_Resources_Research.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2007WR006279

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Random walk (RW) or Continuous Time Random Walk (CTRW) are recurring Monte Carlo methods used to model convective and diffusive transport in complex heterogeneous media. Many applications can be found, including fluid mechanic, hydrology, and chemical reactors modeling. These methods are easy to implement, very versatile and flexible enough to become appealing for many applications because they generally overlook of deeply simplify the building of explicit complex meshes required by deterministic methods. RW and CTRW provide a good physical understanding of the interactions between the space scales of het-erogeneities and the transport phenomena under consideration. In addition, they can result in efficient up-scaling methods, especially in context of flow and transport in fractured media. In the present study, we review the applications of RW or CTRW for several situations coping with various spatial scales, and different insights into up-scaling applications. RW and CTRW advantages and downsides are also discussed, thus providing a few avenues for further works and applications.
ISSN: 0169-3913

hal-01449131
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01449131
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01449131/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01449131/file/0025972-02.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s11242-016-0693-z

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Random walk (RW) methods are recurring Monte Carlo methods used to modelconvective and diffusive transport in complex heterogeneous media. Many applications canbe found, including fluid mechanic, hydrology and chemical reactors modeling. These methodsare easy to implement, very versatile and flexible enough to become appealing for manyapplications because they generally overlook or deeply simplify the building of explicit complexmeshes required by deterministic methods. RWprovides a good physical understandingof the interactions between the space scales of heterogeneities and the transport phenomenaunder consideration. In addition, they can result in efficient upscaling methods, especiallyin the context of flow and transport in fractured media. In the present study, we review theapplications of RW to several situations that cope with diverse spatial scales and differentinsights into upscaling problems. The advantages and downsides of RW are also discussed,thus providing a few avenues for further works and applications.
ISSN: 0169-3913

insu-01308060
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01308060
DOI : 10.1007/s11242-016-0693-z