Improving the thermal performance of coaxial borehole heat exchangers

Borehole heat exchangers are the fundamental component of ground coupled heat pumps, which are now widely employed for energy saving in building heating and cooling. The improvement of the thermal efficiency of Coaxial Borehole Heat Exchangers (CBHEs) is pursued in this paper by investigating the effects of thermal short-circuiting and of flow rate, as well as of the constituent materials and of the geometrical configuration of the CBHE cross section. The analysis is performed by means of finite-element simulations, implemented through the software package COMSOL Multiphysics. The real 2-D axisymmetric unsteady heat transfer problem is modelled, for both winter and summer working conditions, by considering CBHEs with a length of 100 m placed either in a high conductivity or in a low conductivity ground. The results point out that the effects of flow rate and of thermal short-circuiting are both important, and that the latter can be reduced considerably by employing a low conductivity material, such as PPR80, for the inner tube. Finally, it is shown that the performance of the CBHE could be improved, with respect to the commonly used geometry, by increasing the diameter of the inner tube while leaving the outer tube unchanged.     

Biodegradability and groundwater pollutant potential of organic anti-freeze liquids used in borehole heat exchangers

Ground source heat pump systems are increasingly being used to exploit the energy content of shallow geothermal resources for space heating and cooling. In this study we evaluate the potential for groundwater contamination of the different organic anti-freeze compounds (ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and betaine) used in these pumps, based on a literature review of their biodegradability and the results of our own laboratory experiments on aquifer material.Ethylene and propylene glycol were found to be readily biodegradable under both oxic and anoxic conditions, without formation of toxic or persistent intermediates. Long-term groundwater contamination by the glycols is therefore not expected. Betaine is also expected to be readily biodegradable in oxic and anoxic groundwater. The potential formation of trimethylamine, an intermediate of anaerobic betaine degradation, is, however, regarded as critical due to its unpleasant odor even at very low concentrations. Additionally, betaine has the potential to complex metal ions and thus may mobilize toxic metals in groundwater. We therefore recommend that betaine not be used in borehole heat exchanger fluids.In addition to organic anti-freeze compounds such as glycols, borehole heat exchanger fluids also contain additives such as corrosion inhibitors or biocides. We demonstrate that potentially toxic additives in these fluids inhibit biodegradation of the organic anti-freeze compounds. In order to ensure environmental compatibility of borehole heat exchanger fluids, further research should be conducted on the impact of additives on subsurface microbiological activity and on groundwater quality.     

A moving finite line source model to simulate borehole heat exchangers with groundwater advection

Available analytical models for the thermal analysis of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) either neglect groundwater flow or axial effects. In the present study a new analytical approach which considers both effects is developed. Comparison with existing analytical solutions based on the finite and infinite line source theory is carried out. This study shows that in general the heat transfer at the borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is affected by groundwater flow and axial effects. The latter is even more important for long simulation times and short borehole lengths. At the borehole wall the influence of the axial effect is restricted to Peclet numbers lower than 10, assuming the BHE length as characteristic length. Moreover, the influence of groundwater flow is negligible for Peclet numbers lower than 1.2. As a result for Peclet numbers between 1.2 and 10 the combined effect of groundwater flow and axial effects has to be accounted for when evaluating the temperature response of a BHE at the borehole wall and thus the use of the moving finite line source model is required.     

A two-region simulation model of vertical U-tube ground heat exchanger and its experimental verification

Heat transfer around vertical ground heat exchanger (GHE) is a common problem for the design and simulation of ground coupled heat pump (GCHP). In this paper, an updated two-region vertical U-tube GHE analytical model, which is fit for system dynamic simulation of GCHP, is proposed and developed. It divides the heat transfer region of GHE into two parts at the boundary of borehole wall, and the two regions are coupled by the temperature of borehole wall. Both steady and transient heat transfer method are used to analyze the heat transfer process inside and outside borehole, respectively. The transient borehole wall temperature is calculated for the soil region outside borehole by use of a variable heat flux cylindrical source model. As for the region inside borehole, considering the variation of fluid temperature along the borehole length and the heat interference between two adjacent legs of U-tube, a quasi-three dimensional steady-state heat transfer analytical model for the borehole is developed based on the element energy conservation. The implement process of the model used in the dynamic simulation of GCHPs is illuminated in detail and the application calculation example for it is also presented. The experimental validation on the model is performed in a solar-geothermal multifunctional heat pump experiment system with two vertical boreholes and each with a 30 m vertical 1 1/4 in nominal diameter HDPE single U-tube GHE, the results indicate that the calculated fluid outlet temperatures of GHE by the model are agreed well with the corresponding test data and the guess relative error is less than 6%.     

Investigation of dynamic heat transfer process through coaxial heat exchangers in the ground

Recently, researchers are focussing on using ground coupled heat pump systems as a heat source or sink rather than air source heat pumps for HVAC needs due to the stable temperature and the high thermal inertia of the soil. The investment cost of these systems is too expensive therefore the precise thermal analysis, design and parameter optimization are essential. For an accurate design, the maximum of physical phenomena such as: axial effects, seasonal effects, underground water flow and BHE dynamic behaviour must be accounted for in order to reflect exactly the real physical situation. In the present paper thermal interferences are investigated under seasonal effects and a dynamic heat flux for a vertical coaxial borehole heat exchangers field. This enables to avoid thermal interferences by predicting efficient period of operation corresponding to the beginning of the studied phenomena (interferences) for a given separation distance between two boreholes. To reach this purpose, as a first step, a transient 2D Finite volume method (FVM) for a single borehole heat exchanger was built using MATLAB, which accounts for accurate axial and seasonal effects and a dynamic heat flux that is function of depth and time. This model has been validated against the Finite Line Source (FLS) analytical solution and good agreement between analytical and numerical methods has been obtained. Then the model has been extended to a quasi-3D model in order to investigate thermal interferences between two neighbouring boreholes. After 500 h and at the mid-point of the separating distance (1.5 m) where interferences are the strongest, the temperature is 50% (6.64 °C) lower than the case where there are no interferences.     

Dynamic performance of a natural circulation loop with end heat exchangers under different excitations

In the present work the dynamic performance of a natural circulation loop (NCL) has been studied under step, ramp, exponential and sinusoidal excitations. The loop is equipped with two heat exchangers at its lower and upper end for the heating and cooling of the loop fluid. For the analysis, transient one-dimensional conservation equations have been constructed for the loop fluid as well as for the two fluid streams of hot and cold end heat exchangers. The solution of a set of differential equations and one integro-differential equation has been obtained through a finite element method (FEM). For different excitations imposed to the inlet temperature of the hot fluid responses have been studied for the outlet temperature of the two fluid streams and the mass flow rate of the coupling fluid. It has been observed that all these quantities experience some initial transients before reaching the steady state. Time needed for the attainment of steady state varies with the type of excitation. A finite time delay is observed before the cold fluid stream temperature starts responding to the excitation. This delay is related to the time required for the advection of a fluid particle.     

Evaluation of the performance of a ground-source heat-pump system with series GHE (ground heat exchanger) in the cold climate region

Ground-source heat-pump systems provide a new and clean way of heating buildings in the world. They make use of renewable energy stored in the ground, providing one of the most energy-efficient ways of heating buildings. Consumption costs are lowered through the use of free energy from the environment, and the dependence on fossil fuels simultaneously reduces. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of vertical ground-source heat-pump system for climatic condition of Erzurum having cold climate in Turkey. For this purpose, an experimental set-up was constructed. The experimental apparatus consisted of a series GHE (ground heat exchanger), a liquid-to-liquid vapor compression heat pump, water circulating pumps and other measurement equipments. In this study, the performance of the system was experimentally investigated. The experimental results were obtained from October to May for the months of heating season of 2008–2009. The experimental results indicate that the average heat-pump COP and overall system’s COPS values are approximately 3.0 and 2.6 in the coldest months of heating season. This study also shows that this system could be used for residential heating in the province of Erzurum being a cold climate region of Turkey.     

Investigation on water vapor adsorption performance of LiCl@MIL-100(Fe) composite adsorbent for adsorption heat pumps

MIL-100(Fe) with good hydrothermal stability and high hydrophilicity is considered to be a potential adsorbent for adsorption heat pumps (AHPs). However, its water vapor adsorption performance at low relative humidity needs to be improved. In this study, composite adsorbent LiCl@MIL-100(Fe) was synthesized by impregnating LiCl aqueous solution in MIL-100(Fe). The effects of the LiCl loading in the composite on the crystal structure, morphology, composition, pore structure as well as the vapor adsorption/desorption performance of the composites were carefully studied. The results showed that on the premise of ensuring no leakage, the LiCl loading in the composite was up to 32.9 wt%. At 20% relative humidity (RH), the saturated adsorption ratio of the composite (0.260 g/g) was higher than that of original MIL-100(Fe) (0.054 g/g). Meanwhile, the water adsorption rate of the new composite adsorbent was faster than pristine MIL-100(Fe). Moreover, after 50 cycles of vapor adsorption/desorption, the composite adsorbent showed a satisfactory stability. All these indicate that the new LiCl@MIL-100(Fe) composite adsorbent will be a prospective candidate for high-efficiency AHPs.     

Evaporation performance of a new plate‐type heat exchanger with winding tubes on plate surfaces (estimation of performance of the heat exchanger)

A method for evaluating and predicting the performance of a newly developed plate‐type heat exchanger as an evaporator for water‐refrigerant systems such as chillers has been developed. The main component of the developed heat exchanger consists of plates packed together in a casing with winding tubes connected to both sides of the plates. Refrigerant flows inside the tubes, and water flows in the space between the plates. A herringbone‐like pattern is formed in this space by the cross sections of the winding tubes. The newly developed method estimates evaporation performance of the developed heat exchanger using new empirical correlations. There are correlations for heat transfer and pressure drop in winding‐tube banks on the water side, and correlation for the pressure drop on the refrigerant side. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 33(4): 245–257, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20009     

Investigation on the feasibility and performance of ground source heat pump (GSHP) in three cities in cold climate zone,China

As a renewable energy technology, ground source heat pump (GSHP) system is high efficient for heating and cooling in office buildings. However, this technology has strong dependence on the meteorological and building envelope thermal characteristic parameters. For the purpose of quantitative investigation on the feasibility and performance GSHP, three cities located in cold climate zone, Qiqihaer, Shenyang and Beijing, were sampled. Firstly, the office building dynamic loadings in these cities were calculated on basis of the different meteorological and envelope thermal characteristic parameters. The TRNSYS, one kind of energy simulation software, were employed to simulate the operation performances of GSHP on basis of these parameters. The simulation revealed the data on the outlet/inlet temperature of buried pipes, soil temperature, energy consumption distribution and the coefficient of performance (COP) for one year operation. Furthermore, ten years operation was also simulated to show the stability of the performance based on the outlet/inlet temperature of buried pipes and soil temperature. From these results, the GSHP had shown its most suitable performance in Beijing, second in Shenyang and worst in Qiqihaer. These results could be used as a reference on suitable utilization of GSHP systems in office buildings located in cold climate zone, China.     

The influence of heat resistance and heat leak on the performance of a four-heat-reservoir absorption refrigerator with heat transfer law of Q∝Δ(T)

On the basis of an endoreversible absorption refrigeration cycle model with Newton's heat transfer law, an irreversible four-heat-reservoir cycle model with another linear heat transfer law of Q∝Δ(T⁻¹) is built by taking account the heat leak and heat resistance losses. The fundamental optimal relation between the coefficient of performance (COP) and the cooling load, the maximum COP and the corresponding cooling load, as well as the maximum cooling load and the corresponding COP of the cycle with another linear heat transfer law coupled to constant-temperature heat reservoirs are derived by using finite-time thermodynamics. The optimal distribution relation of the heat-transfer surface areas is also obtained. Moreover, the effects of the cycle parameters on the COP and the cooling load of the cycle are studied by detailed numerical examples. The results obtained herein are of importance to the optimal design and performance improvement of a four-heat-reservoir absorption refrigeration cycle.