ASTM E957-98
(Terminology)Standard Terminology Relating to Geothermal Energy
Standard Terminology Relating to Geothermal Energy
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Standards Content (Sample)
Designation: E 957 – 98 An American National Standard
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS
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Reprinted from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Copyright ASTM
Standard Terminology Relating to
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Geothermal Energy
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E 957; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
aquifer, n—a water-bearing, permeable body of rock or from a geothermal reservoir, together with any entrained or
granular material below the surface of the earth. dissolved substances.
binary cycle plant, n—a facility that generates electric power geothermal gradient, n—the change in temperature of the
by transferring heat from produced geothermal fluids to a earth with depth, expressed either in degrees of temperature
non-aqueous working fluid that vaporizes and causes a per unit depth, or units of depth per degree.
turbine to rotate the shaft of a generator. geothermal power plant, n—a facility for the production of
brine, n—in geothermal, fluids in a liquid phase that have been electricity using geothermal energy, typically including a
produced from geothermal wells or from hot springs and that turbine, a generator, and associated surface equipment.
contain appreciable amounts of sodium chloride and other geothermal heat pump, n—a heat pump that transfers energy
salts. to or from the earth.
capacity, n—the power which a component of a geothermal geothermal reserves, n—the amount of energy anticipated to
facility (e.g., a well, a reservoir, a power plant, or a be economically recoverable from a geothermal facility over
direct-use facility) is capable of supplying at a point in time, a specified time period (e.g., the project life) using existing
assuming that other required components of the geothermal technology. Geothermal reserves are expressed in units of
facility are available. Capacity is expressed in units of power energy (e.g., terajoules in SI units), which are dimensionally
(e.g., Megawatts, kilowatts). equivalent to units of power multiplied by units of time (e.g.,
direct-use facility, n—a facility which uses geothermal energy Megawatt-years or kilowatt-hours). Geothermal reserves
for purposes other than the generation of electricity (e.g., may also be expressed as an equivalent amount of another
space heating, greenhouses, bathing, and industrial pro- energy source (e.g., barrels of oil equivalent).
cesses).
DISCUSSION—Geothermal reserves can also be characterized as to the
fumarole, n—a vent at the earth’s surface that emits steam or
degree of certainty of recovery. By analogy to usage in the mining and
gaseous vapor.
petroleum industries, reserves may be qualified as proved, probable, or
possible.
DISCUSSION—Such vents are usually found in volcanic areas.
Example of Usage:
geochemistry, n—the study of the chemistry of the rocks and
This facility has geothermal reserves of 4,000 Megawatt-
fluids of the earth for the purpose of understanding their
years, recoverable over a project life of 30 years.
composition, their temperature, and their origin.
geothermal reservoir, n—an aquifer of sufficient temperature
geothermal, adj—relating to or derived from the natural heat
and permeability to support the economic use of geothermal
of the earth.
energy.
geothermal anomaly, n—a conspicuous deviation of the
earth’s temperature, geothermal gradient, or heat flow from
DISCUSSION—The extent of a geothermal reservoir is determined by
average values; an area where such a deviation exists.
the degree of hydrologic interconnection. When an aquifer contains
geothermal energy, n—the thermal energy contained in the
both hot portions and portions that are too cool for economic use, those
portions that are sufficiently interconnected to have a significant
rocks and fluids of the earth.
hydrologic or thermal impact on each other are considered part of the
geothermal facility, n—the physical components necessary
same geothermal reservoir.
for the utilization of geothermal energy, including the
reservoir, production and injection wells, pipelines, and the
geothermal steam, n—a geothermal fluid in the vapor phase.
power plant or direct-use facility.
geothermometer, n—a method of estimating the temperature
geothermal fluid, n—water in a vapor or liquid phase or in a
of a geothermal reservoir based on the minerals in the
mixture of these phases that exists within or has been emitted
reservoir rock or the concentration of chemical species in
geothermal fluids that have come from the reservoir.
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geyser, n—a spring that intermittently blows forth hot water
This terminology is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E-44 on Solar,
Geothermal, and Other Alternative Energy Sources and is the direct responsibility of
and
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