scholarly journals Ground-Source Heat Pump Systems: The Effects of Variable Trench Separations and Pipe Configurations in Horizontal Ground Heat Exchangers

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3919
Author(s):  
Yu Zhou ◽  
Asal Bidarmaghz ◽  
Nikolas Makasis ◽  
Guillermo Narsilio
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Effective Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Fluid Temperature ◽  
Ground Source Heat Pump ◽  
Carrier Fluid ◽  
Ground Heat Exchangers ◽  
Ground Source

Ground-source heat pump systems are renewable and highly efficient HVAC systems that utilise the ground to exchange heat via ground heat exchangers (GHEs). This study developed a detailed 3D finite element model for horizontal GHEs by using COMSOL Multiphysics and validated it against a fully instrumented system under the loading conditions of rural industries in NSW, Australia. First, the yearly performance evaluation of the horizontal straight GHEs showed an adequate initial design under the unique loads. This study then evaluated the effects of variable trench separations, GHE configurations, and effective thermal conductivity. Different trench separations that varied between 1.2 and 3.5 m were selected and analysed while considering three different horizontal loop configurations, i.e., the horizontal straight, slinky, and dense slinky loop configurations. These configurations had the same length of pipe in one trench, and the first two had the same trench length as well. The results revealed that when the trench separation became smaller, there was a minor increasing trend (0.5 °C) in the carrier fluid temperature. As for the configuration, the dense slinky loop showed an average that was 1.5 °C lower than those of the horizontal straight and slinky loop (which were about the same). This indicates that, when land is limited, compromises on the trench separation should be made first in lieu of changes in the loop configuration. Lastly, the results showed that although the effective thermal conductivity had an impact on the carrier fluid temperature, this impact was much lower compared to that for the GHE configurations and trench separations.

Heat Transfer Analysis of Groundwater Flow for Ground Heat Exchangers in the Multi-Borehole Field of Ground Source Heat Pump under the Intermittent Operation

2014 ◽  
Vol 548-549 ◽  
pp. 595-600
Author(s):  
Can Can Zhang ◽  
Yue Jin Yu
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Analysis ◽  
Ground Source Heat Pump ◽  
Pump System ◽  
Heat Pump System ◽  
Ground Heat Exchangers ◽  
Ground Source ◽  
Thermal Interference

In order to analyze the influence of groundwater flow on ground heat exchangers with different arrangements, with a project in Nanjing the access temperature field in the multi-borehole field was simulated after the ground source heat pump system had been performed for a year. Simulation results show that the access temperature is higher in the ground surrounding the borehole than the center of the corresponding borehole, thus forming a thermal barrier surrounding the borehole. Groundwater flow helps relieve temperature imbalance owing to the imbalance of heating and cooling load. The performance of the ground heat exchangers is better in staggered arrangement than in aligned arrangement. In the borehole field, the boreholes upstream have thermal interference on those downstream. And the extent of thermal interference depends on the direction of the groundwater flow when the locations of the boreholes are fixed in the borehole field.

Determination of Optimum Design Parameters of Horizontal Parallel Pipe and Vertical U-Tube Ground Heat Exchangers

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakan Demir ◽  
Ahmet Koyun ◽  
S¸. O¨zgu¨r Atayılmaz
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Objective Function ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Ground Heat Exchanger ◽  
Ground Source Heat Pump ◽  
Soil Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Ground Heat Exchangers ◽  
Ground Source

The most important part of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) is the ground heat exchanger (GHE) that consists of pipes buried in the soil and is used for transferring heat between the soil and the heat exchanger of the ground source heat pump. Soil composition, thermal properties and water content affect the length of ground heat exchanger. Another parameter affects the size of the ground heat exchanger is the shape. There are two basic ground heat exchanger configurations: vertical U-tube and horizontal parallel pipe. There are plenty of works on ground source heat pumps and ground heat exchangers in the literature. Most of the works on ground heat exchangers are based on the heat transfer in the soil and temperature distribution around the coil. Some of the works for thermo-economic optimization of thermal systems are based on thermodynamic cycles. This study covers comparative thermo-economical analysis of horizontal parallel pipe and vertical u-tube ground heat exchangers. An objective function has been defined based on heating capacity, investment and energy consumption costs of ground heat exchanger. Investment and energy consumption costs were taken into account as total cost in the objective function. The effects of the soil thermal conductivity, number of pipes, thermal capacity of ground heat exchanger, pipe diameter and the burial depth on the objective function were examined. The main disadvantage of U-tube ground heat exchanger is higher borehole cost that makes installation cost higher than parallel pipe ground heat exchanger. To make reference functions equal for both type of ground heat exchangers, the borehole cost must be under 20 $/m (now 55 $/m) for a given heating or cooling capacity. The performance of ground heat exchangers depends on the soil characteristics especially the soil thermal conductivity.

The Effects of Groundwater Flow on Vertical-Borehole Ground Source Heat Pump Systems

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Funabiki ◽  
Masahito Oguma ◽  
Taisei Yabuki ◽  
Takao Kakizaki
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Flow Velocity ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
High Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Ground Source Heat Pump ◽  
Ground Heat Exchangers ◽  
Ground Source ◽  
Gravel Size

Heat advection by groundwater flow is known to improve the performance of ground heat exchangers (GHEs), but the effect of groundwater advection on performance is not yet fully understood. This study examined how parameters related to groundwater flow, such as aquifer thickness, porosity, lithology, and groundwater flow velocity, affect the performance of a borehole GHE. Under the thin-aquifer condition (10 m, or 10% of the entire GHE length in this study), groundwater flow velocity had the greatest effect on heat flux. With a groundwater flow velocity of at least 10−4 m/s through a low-porosity aquifer filled with gravel with high thermal conductivity, the heat flux of a GHE was as much as 60% higher than that of a non-aquifer GHE. If the aquifer is as thick as 50 m (50% of the entire GHE length), the high thermal conductivity of gravel doubled the heat flux of the GHE with a groundwater flow velocity of at least 10−5 m/s. Thus, not only groundwater flow velocity, but also aquifer thickness and thermal conductivity were important factors. However, groundwater seldom flows at such high velocities, and porosity, gravel size, and aquifer thickness vary regionally. Thus, in the design of ground source heat pump systems, it is not appropriate to assume a large groundwater effect.

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