Abstract

This book brings together for the first time the results of research on the thermal properties and temperature-related behavior of rocks with their contained fluids, under subsurface environmental conditions. These data are of increasing importance with increased application of underground processes involving high temperature and, in some cases, low temperature environments. Some of the important processes are described in which thermal data are needed. Chapters deal with thermal properties of rocks, including heat capacities, thermal conductivities and thermal diffusivities under conditions simulating subsurface environments. Discussion about the difficulty in measuring thermal properties of rock/fluid systems is included along with newly-developed models for predicting thermal properties from more-easily measured properties. The effects of thermal reactions in rocks, differential thermal expansion, and thermal alterations are discussed in separate chapters. The effects of temperature on rock properties, as distinct from the irreversible effects of heating, are reviewed. Lastly the book deals with wellbore applications of thermal and high-temperature behavior of rocks and methods of deducing thermal properties from geophysical logs run in boreholes. Appendices include thermal units conversion factors and thermal properties of some typical reservoir rocks and fluids.
Students and professionals should find this to be an excellent reference tool.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists
The material is well presented and illustrated.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
W.H. Somerton has provided the community of researchers and practitioners of heat transfer in rock with an information-packed and very welcome resource. Researchers in all these fields have undoubtedly encountered the paucity of thermal property data available, and will welcome this book as a source of both hard numbers and experimental procedures. Thermal Properties and Temperature-Related Behavior of Rock/Fluid Systems is a fine addition to the bookshelf of anyone working on thermal analysis of geological systems, particularly fluid-bearing, sedimentary rocks.
Pure and Applied Geophysics