8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
[S24-2-02] Geothermal field under development: monitoring using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
Development of a geothermal reservoir requires a system of wells, pipelines and pumping equipment. Management and monitoring of such system is quite complicated, so, in 2016, a Geoscan 201 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with regular and infrared imaging cameras was used for a survey of the Khankala geothermal field (Chechen Republic, Russia). The reservoirs of the geothermal field are being exploitated with a number of old wells and a newly built (2015) doublet and Khankala Heat Geothermal Plant (KHGP). The survey's goals were: (a) – to locate the leaks of the old wells and pipelines, (b) – to compare an environmental impact of KHGP with and without reinjection of the geothermal fluid, and (c) – to evaluate a capacity of UAV-based monitoring methods for geothermal sites. As a result of the survey: (a) - 13 thermal anomalies have been allocated in the area of about 10 sq.km. Analysis of the anomalies facilitated determination of their sources: fire, pipelines, leaking wells, etc., which was confirmed by a ground check; (b) – temporal and spatial parameters of the heat pollution originated from KHGP without the fluid's reinjection have been evaluated; and (c) - a high potential of UAV surveys for environmental and technological monitoring of geothermal fields under exploitation, and/or development have been revealed.
The evaluation of the heat pollution has been studied on the basis of two UAV surveys executed with different regimes of the KHGP's exploitation. As a side effect, possibilities of using the plant as an experimental stand should be underlined taking into count high-level KHGP technologies facilitating the doublet, heat-exchangers, and the regime of the whole geothermal loop management.
The evaluation of the heat pollution has been studied on the basis of two UAV surveys executed with different regimes of the KHGP's exploitation. As a side effect, possibilities of using the plant as an experimental stand should be underlined taking into count high-level KHGP technologies facilitating the doublet, heat-exchangers, and the regime of the whole geothermal loop management.