• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.39-44
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• 2009

Geothermal energy is the heat contained in the earth and its internal fluids. Geothermal energy is stored as sensible or latent heat. Supplied by both internal and external sources, it represents a vast supply which is only started to be tapped for generation of electric power. In general, this is natural dry or wet medium to high enthalpy steam at temperatures above $150^{\circ}C$. For some time, binary systems employing substances with a lower boiling point than water in a secondary circuit have been used to generate vapor for driving turbines at a lower temperature level. The utilization of binary plants and the possibility of production from enhanced geothermal systems can expand its availability on a worldwide basis. The geothermal electricity installed capacity is approaching the 10,000GW threshold. Geothermal energy is not present everywhere, but its baseload capability is a very important factor for its success.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.197.1-197.1
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• 2011

Target generation capacity of geothermal power generation pilot plant project through the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) with a doublet system down to 5 km depth was estimated. Production and re-injection temperatures of geothermal fluid were assumed $160^{\circ}C$ and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively, based on reservoir temperature of $180^{\circ}C$ calculated from the geothermal gradient of $33^{\circ}C$ in Pohang area. In this temperature range, 0.11 of thermal efficiency of the binary generation cycle is a practical choice. Assuming flow rates of 40 kg/sec, which is possible in current EGS technology, gross power generation capacity is estimated to reach 1.848 MW. Net generation considering auxiliary power including pumping power for geothermal fluid and condensing (cooling) energy of working fluid can be 1.5 MW.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2010

In this study, an absorption power cycle, which can be used for a low-temperature heat source driven power cycle such as geothermal power generation, was investigated and optimized in terms of power by the simulation method. A steady-state simulation model was adopted to analyze and optimize its performance. Simulations were carried out for the given heat source and sink inlet temperatures, and the given flow rates were based on the typical power plant thermal-capacitance-rate ratio. The cycle performance was evaluated for two independent variables: the ammonia fraction at the separator inlet and the maximum cycle pressure. Results showed that the absorption power cycle can generate electricity up to about 14 kW per 1 kg/s of heat source when the heat source temperature, heat sink temperature, and thermal-capacitance-rate ratio are $100^{\circ}C$, $20^{\circ}C$, and 5, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Geothermal and Hydrothermal Energy
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2009

In this study, an ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) is investigated for a low-temperature geothermal power generation by a simulation method. A steady-state simulation model is developed to analyze cycle's performance. The model contains a turbine, a pump, an expansion valve and heat exchangers. The turbine and pump are modelled by an isentropic efficiency. Simulations were carried out for the given heat source and sink inlet temperatures, and given flow rate that is based on the typical power plant thermal-capacitance-rate ratio. HFC-245fa is considered as a working fluid of the cycle. Simulation results, at the given secondary working fluids conditions, show that even though the power can be presented by both the evaporating temperature and the turbine inlet superheat, it depends on the evaporating temperature primarily.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.569-572
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• 2009

In this study, HFC ORCs (Organic Rankine Cycles) are investigated for a low-temperature geothermal power generation by a simulation method. A steady-state simulation model is developed to analyze and optimize cycle's performance. The model contains a turbine, a pump, an expansion valve and heat exchangers. The turbine and pump are modelled by an isentropic efficiency. Simulations were carried out for the given heat source and sink inlet temperatures, and given flow rate that is based on the typical power plant thermal-capacitance-rate ratio. 3 HFC fluids are considered as a candidate for a working fluid of low-temperature ORCs. In this study, all optimized HFC ORCs are shown to yield almost the same performance in terms of power for a low-temperature heat source of about $100^{\circ}C$.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2011

Geothermal energy is believed to be an important source among the renewable energy sources to provide the base load electricity. Although there has been a drastic increase in the use of geothermal heat pump in Korea, there is no geothermal power plant in operation in Korea. Fortunately, the first EGS (Enhanced Geothermal System) Project in Korea has started in Dec 2010. This five year project is divided into two stages; two years for exploration and drilling of 3 km depth to confirm the minimum target temperature of 100 degrees, and another three years composed drilling 5 km doublet, hydraulic stimulation of geothermal reservoir with expected temperature of 180 degrees (40 kg/s) and construction of MW geothermal power plant in the surface. This EGS project would be a landmark effort that invited a consortium of industry, research institutes and university with expertises in the fields of geology, hydrogeology, geophysics, geomechanics and plant engineering.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.142-146
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• 2012

In the geothermal power, the geothermal fluid such as water or steam is moved from the ground to turbine a pipeline. Because the geothermal fluid with high temperature contains Cl-and SO4-, It cause to diminish the system lifetime due to the increase in the corrosion of pipeline. In the present work, the characteristics of corrosion and its fatigue of the sus316 which is used in the pipeline are evaluated experimentally. From this study, the following results can be obtained; for the case of the corrosion environment, it is found that the corrosion rate is faster than that of the steam environment by 10 to 30 times, and the corrosion fatigue limit is underestimated compared to that of steam state.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.573-573
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• 2009

지열에너지는 지구가 생성될 당시부터 지구 내부에 존재하는 무한한 열에너지로 온실가스 배출이 적으며 태양광이나 풍력 등 다른 신재생 에너지와는 달리 일정한 에너지를 공급할 수 있는 항상성 에너지로 기저부하를 담당할 수 있다. 지열을 이용한 전력 생산은 1904년에 이탈리아 라데렐로에서 처음으로 시작되었으며, 현재까지 화산지대를 중심으로 활발히 이루어지고 있다. 2001년에서 2005년 사이에 전세계 지열발전용량은 약 13% 증가하였으며, 2005년을 기준으로 약 8,933MWe의 지열발전설비가 가동 중이다. 최근 들어 지하 심부까지 시추하여 지열저장소(geothermal reservoir)를 형성하고 이를 통해 지열에너지를 생산하는 새로운 시스템인 EGS(Enhanced Geothermal Systems)가 개발됨에 따라 비화산지대에서도 지열발전소를 건설하려는 움직임이 가속화되고 있다. EGS는 지하 심부의 불투수성 결정질 암반에 존재하는 지열에너지의 경제적인 생산뿐만 아니라 물을 주입하여 생산시키는 순환 방식을 이용하여 지열에너지 획득의 매개 역할을 하는 지열수의 고갈 문제를 해결하였다. 결정질 암반에서의 지열저장소의 형성은 암반 내에 분포하는 불연속면에서 주로 발생하며, 이를 위한 압력 조건은 현지 암반의 응력 분포 특성과 암반 및 불연속면의 물성에 좌우된다. 시추공을 통해 지하 심부의 암반에 수압이 가해지면 물의 주입으로 불연속면의 마찰력이 감소하며, 이로 인해 불연속면에 전단변형이 발생하게 된다. 전단변형은 불연속면을 열린 상태로 유지시켜 지열저장소를 형성하게 된다. 불연속면의 전단 변형시 발생하는 미소 탄성파는 시추공 주변에 설치한 모니터링 장비에서 측정되며, 모니터링 장비에 의해 측정된 미소 탄성파 발생 지점의 클러스터는 지열저장소의 공간적 분포 및 규모를 추정할 수 있는 자료가 된다. 현재 EGS를 이용한 지열발전 프로젝트는 프랑스 슐츠, 스위스 바젤, 호주 하바네로에서 대표적으로 진행 중이다. 슐츠는 현재 1.5MWe의 파일럿 플랜트를 가동 중이며, 하바네로는 파일럿 플랜트 건설 단계를 진행중이다. 스위스 바젤은 지열저장소를 형성시킬 목적으로 수행된 주입시험에서 발생된 문제에 대한 기술의 신뢰성을 확보할 목적으로 잠시 중단된 상태다. 제주도는 신생대에 분출하여 형성된 대표적인 한국의 화산지형으로 지열부존 가능성이 높을 것으로 예상되는 지역이다. 따라서 폐사는 지열에너지 부존 특성을 파악하기 위한 심부 물리 탐사 및 탐사정 시추가 실시될 예정이며 궁극적으로 국내 최초의 상용화된 지열발전소 건설을 목표로 하고 있다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.84.1-84.1
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• 2015

Recent years in particular in Korea see intensive interests in a deep geothermal engineering and its application in different uses as far as from direct uses to power generation sectors, that are achieved by harnessing hot energy sources from the earth. For instance widespread interest has been generated because the geothermal energy is the source that one extracts it for more than 20 hours per day and for about 30 years of an operation of the plant, which enables to give base load as for heating as well as an electric generation. In retrospect, shallow geothermal energy using heat pumps is commonplace in Korea while the deep geothermal is in the early stage of the development. Geothermal energies in view of the way of extracting heat are mainly categorized into several types such as a single well system, a hydrothermal system, an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) etc. In this talk, this speaker focuses on the thermo-fluid engineering of the single well system by introducing the modeling in order to harness hot fluid that is thermally balanced with the fluid of an injection well, which provides a challenge to assess the life time of the well. To avoid the loss of the temperature in producing the hot fluid, a specialized pipe or a borehole heat exchanger has been designed, and its concept is introduced. On the other hand, a binary system or an organic Rankine cycle, which provides the methodology to convert the heat into an electricity, is briefly introduced. Some experimental results of the binary system which has been constructed in our lab will be presented. Lastly as for the future direction, some comments for the industrialization of the deep geothermal energy in this country will be discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Geothermal and Hydrothermal Energy
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.55-60
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• 2012

In many cases, geothemal wells will not be opened up a geothermal reservoir under such conditions that an extraction of geothermal energy is economically viable without any further measures. Geothermal wells often have to be stimulated, in order to increase productivity. For the non-volcanic area, such as Korea, the hydraulic stimulation is necessary to complete geothermal power plant. The analysis of induced seismic event showed that the thermal resource might have a much wider extent and a much higher generation potential than previously assumed. In order to record compressional and shear waves emitted during fracture stimulation, three-component geophones are placed in a seismometer. The recorded data from one seismometer is the convolution of the source magnitude, the transmission media, and the sensitivity of the instrument.