Boiling flow in a horizontal fracture

The modeling of a geothermal reservoir requires an in-depth understanding of the heat transfer process that causes the fluid flowing within a fracture to boil as heat is transferred to the fluid from the surrounding rock. One of the key parameters that describes this process is the boiling heat transfer coefficient. In this work, experiments were performed and a model based on the experiments was developed in order to quantify the heat transfer coefficient. In the process, it was also determined that flow in fractures may be described using linear relative permeability functions. (C) 2000 CNR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.