Publications

The Hard Rock Penetration program is developing technology to reduce the costs of drilling and completing geothermal wells. Current projects include: lost circulation control, rock penetration mechanics, instrumentation, and industry/DOE cost shared projects of the Geothermal Drilling organization. Last year, a number of accomplishments were achieved in each of these areas. A new flow meter being developed to accurately measure drilling fluid outflow was tested extensively during Long Valley drilling. Results show that this meter is rugged, reliable, and can provide useful measurements of small differences in fluid inflow and outflow rates. By providing early indications of fluid gain or loss, improved control of blow-out and lost circulation problems during geothermal drilling can be expected. In the area of downhole tools for lost circulation control, the concept of a downhole injector for injecting a two-component, fast-setting cementitious mud was developed. DOE filed a patent application for this concept during FY 91. The design criteria for a high-temperature potassium, uranium, thorium logging tool featuring a downhole data storage computer were established, and a request for proposals was submitted to tool development companies. The fundamental theory of acoustic telemetry in drill strings was significantly advanced through field experimentation and analysis. A new understanding of energy loss mechanisms was developed.

Thermal energy contained in magmatic systems represents a huge potential resource. In the US, useful energy contained in molten and partially-molten magma within the upper 10 km of the crust has been estimated at 50,000 to 500,000 Quads. The objective of the Magma Energy Extraction Program is to determine engineering feasibility of locating, accessing and utilizing magma as a viable energy resource. Engineering feasibility will depend on size and depth of the resource; extraction rates; and material life times. 11 refs., 29 figs., 1 tab.