Characteristics of flow phase transition and heat transfer of N2O medium at the rock core scale of dry hot rock

The phase characteristics of the heat exchange medium play a crucial role in the thermal performance of the heat reservoir in Enhanced Geothermal Systems. A numerical model was developed at the core scale for a two-dimensional rough single fracture, incorporating the phase-change behavior of N2O. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yongsheng Liu, Jiansong Zhang, Jianxin Xia, Jianguo Lv
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25005416
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Summary:The phase characteristics of the heat exchange medium play a crucial role in the thermal performance of the heat reservoir in Enhanced Geothermal Systems. A numerical model was developed at the core scale for a two-dimensional rough single fracture, incorporating the phase-change behavior of N2O. The thermal-hydraulic transport characteristics of liquid and supercritical N2O within a single fracture in hot dry rock were investigated under varying inlet velocity and temperature conditions. The results reveal the following key findings: (1) When N2O is in the supercritical state, vortex-like streamlines are more likely to form at the corners of the flow channel. Under high-velocity and low-temperature conditions, the temperature variation of N2O at the fracture edges exhibits a more pronounced sawtooth pattern. (2) At an inlet velocity of 0.01 m/s, the phase state of N2O varies at different locations within the fracture channel: liquid near the inlet and supercritical near the outlet. (3)Compared to the inlet temperature, the inlet velocity has a more pronounced effect on the heat extraction rate at the outlet. When the inlet velocity of N2O is 0.01 m/s and the temperature is 40 °C, the maximum heat extraction rate reaches 830.89 W/m. These findings provide valuable insights into the thermal-hydraulic transport processes of heat exchange medium with phase-change characteristics in fractured reservoirs of hot dry rock.
ISSN:2214-157X