| Abstract: | Calculations have been made to determine the variation with time of the temperature distribution around pipes buried 15 m below the soil surface, assuming the latter to be held at a constant temperature. For a fixed rate of heat extraction it is found that the soil temperatures reach quasi-static conditions in, at most, a few days after extraction commences, implying that simpler theories for steady-state temperatures are applicable. Calculations on the effects of grouping pipes together indicate that the pipes can be considered to be effectively isolated from one another if their separation is not less than 1 m. |
