Simulations of Heat Supply Performance of a Deep Borehole Heat Exchanger under Different Scheduled Operation Conditions

With the changing world energy structure, the development of renewable energy sources is gradually accelerating. Among them, close attention has been given to geothermal energy because of its abundant resources and supply stability. In this article, a deep borehole heat exchanger (DBHE) is coupled with a heat pump system to calculate the heat supply and daily electricity consumption of the system. To make better use of the peaks and valleys in electricity prices, the following three daily operating modes were studied: 24-h operation (Mode 1), 8-h operation plus 16-h non-operation (Mode 2), and two cycles of 4-h operation and 8-h non-operation (Mode 3). Simulation results show that scheduled non-continuous operation can effectively improve the outlet temperature of the heat extraction fluid circulating in the DBHE. The heat extraction rates of Mode 1 is 190.9 kW for mass flowrate of 9 kg/s; in Mode 2 and Mode 3 cases, the rates change to 304.7 kW and 293.0 kW, respectively. The daily operational electricity cost of Mode 1 is the greatest because of 24-h operation; due to scheduled non-continuous operation, the daily operational electricity cost of Mode 3 is only about 66% of that of Mode 2. After an 8-month period without heating, the formation-temperature can be restored within 4 °C of its original state; 90% recovery of the formation-temperature can be achieved by the end of the second month of the non-operation season.

Nanofluid suspensions as heat carrier fluids in single U-tube borehole heat exchangers

The borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is a critical component to improve energy efficiency and decreasing environmental impact of ground-source heat pump systems. The lower thermal resistance of the BHE results in the better thermal performance and/or in the lower required borehole length. In the present study, effects of employing a nanofluid suspension as a heat carrier fluid on the borehole thermal resistance are examined. A 3D transient finite element code is adopted to evaluate thermal comportment of nanofluids with various concentrations in single U-tube borehole heat exchangers and to compare their performance with the conventional circuit fluid. The results show, in presence of nanoparticles, the borehole thermal resistance is reduced to some extent and the BHE renders a better thermal performance. It is also revealed that employing nanoparticle fractions between 0.5% and 2 % are advantageous in order to have an optimal decrement percentage of the thermal resistance.