Hydrogeological and Thermal Modelling of an Underground Mining Reservoir

Numerical flow and heat transport models can help to estimate the efficiency of geothermal installations in mines. Also, it is possible to anticipate the repercussion of different scenarios of use on the system efficiency. However, modelling a mine reservoir is highly complex, as it is necessary to solve the flow and heat transport simultaneously within the mine voids and in the surrounding medium, whose hydrogeological parameters can also be affected by mining. This paper presents the numerical model developed for the mining reservoir formed by the coal mine workings of Barredo and Figaredo shafts, in the Central Coal Basin of Asturias (Spain) using the FEFLOW software. This model is designed to obtain the hydrogeological and thermal characteristics of the reservoir, and to make long term predictions about the temperature of the mine water under different scenarios of water extraction and injection.