Ph.D. Thesis Proposal - Ximena Muguruza
Title: Experimental validation of a supersonic ejector for borehole flow in geothermal applications
Wednesday, February 1, 2023, 11:00 - 12:00, room M123
Thesis committee:
Supervisor - María Sigríður Guðjónsdóttir, Reykjavik University
Guðrún Sævarsdóttir, Reykjavik University
Yonatan Afework Tesfahunegn, Reykjavik University
Ragnar Lárusson, Reykjavik University
Egill Júlíusson Arctic Green Energy
Vijay Chauhan GEG
Abstract:
An ejector is an equipment that uses high-pressure fluid to induce fluid flow from a low-pressure source, resulting in an intermediate standard outlet or back pressure. Ejectors are used extensively in the oil and gas, chemical, nuclear, aeronautics, fuel cells, desalinisation, and refrigeration industries. In the geothermal sector, ejectors mainly extract non-condensable gases from power plant condensers. However, no successful use of ejectors to induce geothermal fluid from low-pressure wells has been reported in the literature. The main objective of this research is to design and build different geometrical configurations of supersonic ejectors at a laboratory scale and test them using saturated steam as a primary fluid (higher pressure) and a mixture of liquid water and steam as a secondary fluid (lower pressure). The entrainment ratio will be evaluated for different pressure conditions and geometrical parameters like the area ratio between the nozzle throat and the constant-area mixing section throat, the nozzle exit position, and the length of the constant-area mixing section; to find the best design parameters that could work for geothermal power plant conditions.
