Impacts of underground heterogeneity and flow on thermal response tests in geothermics

The Institut national de la recherche scientifique is a university dedicated to research and training at the graduate level. The Centre Eau Terre Environnement focuses its activities on the sustainable management of water and earth resources. French is the official language.

PhD project: The objective is to develop thermal response tests (TRT) used to measure underground thermal conductivity for the design of geothermal heat pump systems. These systems which enable important energy savings are becoming more common in Canada but few people have expertise in this field. The field method to be used involves TRT with heating cable sections which could eventually be marketed. Heat injection tests will be combined with high resolution temperature measurements to obtain underground thermal profiles. Temperatures recorded during the tests and thermal profiling will be analyzed using analytical and numerical methods to evaluate the impacts of underground heterogeneity and flow on TRT. Analysis of the thermal profile will have to take into account the topography and the paleoclimate temperature variations at the surface.The hydrogeological setting of the study sites will be evaluated and field results validated by laboratory analysis of the thermal conductivity of drill cuttings. The design of standard geothermal systems with analytical methods will be done based on TRT results to evaluate the benefits of the methods developed. Research work will be done in Québec and Montréal in collaboration with enterprises in the field of geothermal energy.

Requirements: Bachelor and Master’s degrees in the following fields: geology, geological engineering, physical engineering (geoscience major), mechanical engineering. Autonomy and strong interest in research. Experience in geothermal energy is an asset. Language : The candidate should either speak French or demonstrate his or her ability to learn it to be able to interact with colleagues.