**Abstract**

Geothermal energy technology has successfully provided a means of generating stable base load electricity for many years. However, implementation has been spatially limited to rare high quality traditional resources possessing the combination of a shallow high heat flow anomaly and an aquifer with sufficient permeability and fluid recharge. Enhanced Geother‐ mal Systems (EGS) technology has been proposed as a potential solution to enable addition‐ al energy production from the much more common non-traditional resources. To advance this technology development, a heated true triaxial load cell with a high pressure fluid injec‐ tion system has been developed to simulate an EGS system from stimulation to production. This apparatus is capable of loading a 30x30x30 cm3 rock sample with independent princi‐ pal stresses up to 13 MPa while simultaneously providing heating up to 180 ºC. Multiple ori‐ entated boreholes of 5 to 10 mm diameter may be drilled into the sample while at reservoir conditions. This allows for simulation of borehole damage as well as injector-producer schemes. Dual 70 MPa syringe pumps set to flow rates between 10 nL/min and 60 mL/min injecting into a partially cased borehole allow for fully contained fracturing treatments. A six sensor acoustic emission (AE) array is used for geometric fracture location estimation during intercept borehole drilling operations. Hydraulic pressure sensors and a thermocouple array allow for additional monitoring and data collection as relevant to computer model valida‐ tion as well as field test comparisons. The results of the scale model hydraulic fracturing tests demonstrate the functionality of the equipment while also providing some novel data on the propagation and flow characteristics of hydraulic fractures. Fully characterized test sample materials used in the scale model tests include generic cement grout, custom high

© 2013 Frash et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

performance concrete, granite, and acrylic. Fracturing fluids used include water, brine, and Valvoline® DuraBlend® SAE 80W90 oil.

**Keywords:** Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), true triaxial device, hydraulic fracturing, scale model testing, acoustic emissions
