13 research outputs found
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On the development of a three-dimensional finite-element groundwater flow model of the saturated zone, Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Development of a preliminary three-dimensional model of the saturated zone at Yucca Mountain, the potential location for a high-level nuclear waste repository, is presented. The development of the model advances the technology of interfacing: (1)complex three-dimensional hydrogeologic framework modeling; (2) fully three-dimensional, unstructured, finite-element mesh generation; and (3) groundwater flow, heat, and transport simulation. The three-dimensional hydrogeologic framework model is developed using maps, cross sections, and well data. The framework model data are used to feed an automated mesh generator, designed to discretize irregular three-dimensional solids,a nd to assign materials properties from the hydrogeologic framework model to the tetrahedral elements. The mesh generator facilitated the addition of nodes to the finite-element mesh which correspond to the exact three-dimensional position of the potentiometric surface based on water-levels from wells. A ground water flow and heat simulator is run with the resulting finite- element mesh, within a parameter-estimation program. The application of the parameter-estimation program is designed to provide optimal values of permeability and specified fluxes over the model domain to minimize the residual between observed and simulated water levels
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A NEW GHOST-NODE METHOD FOR LINKING DIFFERENT MODELS WITH VARIED GRID REFINEMENT
A flexible, robust method for linking grids of locally refined models that may be constructed using different types of numerical methods is needed to address a variety of hydrologic problems. This work outlines and tests a new ghost-node model-linking method based on the iterative method of Mehl and Hill (2002, 2004). It is applicable to steady-state solutions for ground-water flow. Tests are presented for a homogeneous two-dimensional system that facilitates clear analysis of typical problems. The coupled grids are simulated using the finite-difference and finite-element models MODFLOW and FEHM. Results indicate that when the grids are matched spatially so that nodes and control volume boundaries are aligned, the new coupling technique has approximately twice the error as coupling using two MODFLOW models. When the grids are non-matching; model accuracy is slightly increased over matching grid cases. Overall, results indicate that the ghost-node technique is a viable means to accurately couple distinct models
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Problems associated with application of a wellbore heat transmission computer code
An analysis of the discrepancies between actual temperature surveys and results obtained from a wellbore heat transmission computer code are presented for recent workover operations in well EE-2 at the Fenton Hill Hot Dry Rock Geothermal site. Several sources of error in modeling the thermal behavior of wellbores are considered. These are errors in the estimation of in-situ properties, particularly thermal conductivity, the failure to include frictional heating effects when high flow rates are involved, and error in reporting the flow rate history. These errors were also found to have a cumulative effect. A sensitivity analysis of the computed results to each error type is presented for countercurrent flow. It is concluded that all the errors considered can cause temperature discrepancies between measured and computed temperature. Wellbore codes should have provisions for variable thermal properties and frictional heating. In addition, modeling efforts should be coordinated with periodic temperature surveys so cumulative errors can be minimized
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Software requirements, design, and verification and validation for the FEHM application - a finite-element heat- and mass-transfer code
The requirements, design, and verification and validation of the software used in the FEHM application, a finite-element heat- and mass-transfer computer code that can simulate nonisothermal multiphase multicomponent flow in porous media, are described. The test of the DOE Code Comparison Project, Problem Five, Case A, which verifies that FEHM has correctly implemented heat and mass transfer and phase partitioning, is also covered