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As the global demand for energy increases, Geothermal, a low-carbon energy source, will play an important role in boosting baseload power supply. Enthalpy of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), resources having temperatures > 375 °C and pressures > 22 MPa, is much higher than natural hydrothermal systems. As such, future power production will target Super-Hot Rocks (SHR) for heat, either by creating subsurface fracture networks or by drilling long boreholes. Previous attempts have been made to produce geothermal power from superhot reservoirs. Till date, roughly 20 vertical and near-vertical boreholes have been drilled to temperatures as hot as 500 °C and to depths up to 5 km. Most wells failed rapidly, and none are currently producing power. Multiple factors impact the mechanical stability of an EGS/SHR well. Casing stresses due to thermal cycling (temperature changes up to 375 °C), exposure to supercritical water and corrosive fluids over course of the well-lifetime results in degradation of downhole-metallurgy and cement. Addressing these issues will require a combination of design, well-completions procedures, and high-performance materials with superior mechanicals and corrosion resistance.
Proposed symposium plans to bring together faculty and scholars from academia and industry to present their investigations on new and novel materials targeted to enable EGS/SHR. Will include student presentations to showcase their work.
Plans to generally cover the following topics:
- Nano/UFG materials with ultra-high strength mechanicals at elevated temperatures for structural & functional applications in EGS/SHR
- Processing and property-enhancement of conventional alloys by severe plastic deformation (SPD) to economically produce thermally stable, ultra-high strength, creep-resistant alloys for EGS/SHR
- Novel alloys and composites with enhanced resistance to corrosion, environmentally assisted cracking and hydrogen-embrittlement for applications in EGS/SHR
- High-temperature electronic materials to develop sensors for monitoring EGS/SHR
- Advanced non-metallics, polymers and cements capable of reliably operating in EGS/SHR
- High temperature energy storage, batteries to support EGS/SHR baseload power
- Reservoir characterization, and fluid phase behaviors in EGS/SHR affecting deployed materials
- Materials technology gaps and case-studies: Lessons learned from Forge and other international efforts
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