Thermal Response Test by Improved Test Rig with Heating or Cooling Soil

An improved test rig providing both the heat and cold source was used to perform thermal response test （TRT）, and the line source model was used for data analysis. The principle of determining the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet of test well can keep the heating or cooling rate constant, along with a reduced size of test rig. Among the influencial factors of the line source model, the temperature difference was determined as the most important, which agreed with the test results. When the gravel was taken as the backfill material, the soil thermal conductivities of heating and cooling at the test place were 1.883 W/（m＆#183;K） and 1.754 W/（m＆#183;K）, respectively, and the deviation of TRT between heating and cooling soil was 6.8%. In the case of fine sand, the thermal conductivities of heating and cooling were 1.541 W/（m＆#183;K） and 1.486 W/（m＆#183;K）, respectively, and the corresponding deviation was 6%. It was also concluded that different velocities of water had less influence on TRT than the temperature difference.

Numerical simulation for thermal response test performance in closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger

In this study, a series of numerical analyses was performed in order to evaluate the performance of full-scale closed-loop vertical ground heat exchangers constructed in Wonju, South Korea. The circulating HDPE pipe, borehole and surrounding ground formation were modeled using FLUENT, a finite-volume method (FVM) program, for analyzing the heat transfer process of the ground heat exchanger system. Two user-defined functions (UDFs) accounting for the difference in the temperature of the circulating inflow and outflow fluid and the variation of ground temperature with depth were adopted in the FLUENT modeling. The thermal conductivities of grouts (cement vs. bentonite) measured in laboratory were used as input values in the numerical analyses to compare the thermal efficiency of the cement and bentonite grouts used for installing the closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger. A series of numerical analyses was carried out to simulate in-situ thermal response tests performed in the construction site. From the comparison between the in-situ thermal response test results and numerical simulations, the average thermal conductivity of the ground formation in the construction site is back-calculated as approximately 4 W/mK. This value can be used in evaluating the long-term performance of the closed-loop vertical ground heat ex changer.

Thermal performance analysis of borehole size effect on geothermal heat exchanger

Thermal performance was the most important factor in the development of borehole heat exchanger utilizing geothermal energy. The thermal performance was affected by many different design parameters, such as configuration type and borehole size of geothermal heat exchanger. These eventually determined the operation and cost efficiency of the geothermal heat exchanger system. The main purpose of this work was to assess the thermal performance of geother^nal heat exchanger with variation of borehole sizes and numbers of U-tubes inside a borehole. For this, a thermal response test rig was established with line-source theory. The thermal response test was performed with in-line variable input heat source. Effective thermal conductivity and thermal resistance were obtained from the measured data. From the measurement, the effective thermal conductivity is found to have similar values for two- pair type （4 U-tubes） and three-pair type （6 U-tubes） borehole heat exchanger systems indicating similar heat transfer ability. Meanwhile, the thermal resistance shows lower value for the three-pair type compared to the two-pair type. Measured data based resistance have lower value compared to computed result from design programs. Overall comparison finds better thermal performance for the three-pair type, however, fluctuating temperature variation indicates complex flow behavior inside the borehole and requires further study on flow characteristics.

Characteristic analysis of bleeding effect on standing column well (SCW) type geothermal heat exchanger

Thermal performance is the most important factor in the development of a borehole heat exchanger utilizing geothermal energy.The thermal performance is affected by many different design parameters and different operating conditions such as bleeding.This eventually determines the operation and cost efficiency of the borehole heat exchanger system.The thermal performance of an open standing column well (SCW) type geothermal heat exchanger was assessed under the influence of bleeding.For this,a thermal response test rig was established with line-source theory.The test rig also had a bleeding function by releasing fluid while taking additional underground water through the heat exchanger.The thermal response test was performed with an additional constant input heat source.Effective thermal conductivity and thermal resistance were obtained from the measured data.From the measurement,the effective thermal conductivity is found to have 1.47 times higher value when bleeding is applied.The thermal resistance also increases by 1.58 times compared to a non-bleeding case.This trend indicates enhanced heat transfer in the SCW type heat exchanger with a bleeding function.Bleeding,therefore,could be an effective method of achieving a high heat transfer rate in the SCW type heat exchanger with sufficient underground water supply.

Experimental Verification to Estimate Ground Thermal Conductivity Using Spiral Coil Type Ground Heat Exchangers

This paper presents an experimental study on the evaluation of thermal response of a spiral coil type GHE （ground heat exchanger）. This GHE was installed on partially saturated landfill ground that was composed of silt and clay in the runway area of Incheon International airport. TRT （thermal response test） was conducted for more than 65 hours under continuous operation conditions. Ground thermal conductivity was derived based on line source theory, which has usually been found to be appropriate for line type GHEs such as U, W and 2U types. A reasonable method to derive ground thermal conductivity using the infinite line source theory for a spiral coil type GHE was introduced. Ground thermal conductivity from the TRT using spiral coil type GHE was compared with those from the analytical equivalent model of ground thermal conductivity.