History of HYDROTHERM Programs

Version ht_wdh is released (February 2020)

ht_wdh is a specialized extension of version 3 of HYDROTHERM which implements the dynamic-permeability model of Weis and others (2012, Science, v. 338, p. 1613-1616) and was used by Coulon and others (2017, JVGR, v. p. 98-108). Version 3.2.0 remains the default for applications that do not require this specialized capability.

Version 3.2.0 is released (February 2016)

Modifications to Version 3.1.1 include a number of bug fixes:

1. In Version 3.1.1, the Newton-Raphson iteration stops when the pressure (p)-enthalpy (h) conditions go beyond the limits of the lookup table. This stops the entire simulation. Version 3.2.0 cuts the time step size and restarts the Newton-Raphson iteration under these circumstances. (This is probably the most important single fix; this bug had affected many HYDROTHERM users.)
2. In Version 3.1.1, at a new simulation period, new values of p, h, and/or T could be assigned only to boundary nodes that are designated to have constant p-h values. In Version 3.2.0, new values of p, h, and/or T can be assigned to any active node at the start of a new simulation period.
3. Version 3.1.1 sometimes does not run for large 3-D grids. This problem is fixed in Version 3.2.0.
4. For 3D models, the SSOR solution method is disabled in Version 3.1.1. This solution method is enabled in Version 3.2.0.
5. Version 3.2.0 also fixes some minor output printing bugs.

The following capabilities were added to Version 3.2.0:

1. The maximum number of rock types is increased to 999. This requires preparing the data input file in the VER3.2 format. (See readme.txt file included with download.)
2. Version 3.2.0 accepts the following data input file formats: VER3.2 (new), VER3 (for Hydrotherm versions 3, 3.1.0 and 3.1.1) and VER2 (for Hydrotherm version 2).

Version 3.1.1 is released (July 2011)

Modifications include fixing a bug in the calculation of the cell radii squared for cylindrical coordinates, correcting the test for iteration limit in the GMRES solver, fixing an error message format, replacing a real exponent operation with an integer exponent in the steam table calculation, and fixing a formatting error for well sources in the intermediate data file of HTI.

Version 3.1.0 is released (Mar 2008)

Initial release of version 3 of the HYDROTHERM and HYDROTHERM INTERACTIVE programs.

Documentation of Version 3 is released as a pdf file (Mar 2008)

Guide to the Revised Ground-Water Flow and Heat Transport Simulator: HYDROTHERM -- Version 3
by Kenneth L. Kipp, Jr., Paul A. Hsieh, and Scott R. Charlton
U.S. Geological Survey
Techniques and Methods 6-A25, 160 p.

Version 2.2 is released (Jun 1997)

Modifications include an improved upstream weighting routine that eliminates previous convergence problems that occurred as the saturation of a phase approached its residual saturation and the phase became immobile. The Newton-Raphson convergence criteria were also modified. See the "Dev_hist" file included with this distribution for a more detailed description of the modifications.

Version 2.1 is released (Jan 1997)

Incorporates a new method for defining the problem domain and the distribution of rock properties; all rock properties can vary in space by rock type and as functions of temperature; parameter values may be input with a choice of units of measure (SI, cgs, etc.); comment lines may be used in the input file; a new menu-oriented visualization program, HTgnu, is provided which displays HYDROTHERM output using the public-domain graphics program Gnuplot. The modifications made since the release of Version 1.1 are described in the "Dev_hist" file and in the documentation included with this distribution.

Version 1.2 is released (Dec 1994)

Added three new options for defining initial temperature distributions, added a new shell script named MakeHT to compile HYDROTHERM, added version control, included an interface to the Silicon Graphics visualization program Explorer, and introduced a new method for calculating fluid density and viscosity between nodes. These modifications made since the release of Version 1.1 are described in a two-page flyer dated December 27, 1994.

Version 1.1 is released (1994)

Documentation: The computer model HYDROTHERM, A three-dimensional finite-difference model to simulate ground-water flow and heat transport in the temperature range of 0 to 1,200 °C: by D.O. Hayba and S.E. Ingebritsen, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 94-4045, 1994, 85 p.