115
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Influences of stratified ground thermophysical properties on the performance and thermal response test of deep coaxial borehole heat exchanger

, &
Pages 268-282 | Received 06 Sep 2022, Accepted 05 Mar 2023, Published online: 30 Mar 2023
 

ABSTRACT

Deep coaxial borehole heat exchanger (DCBHE) is a promising kind of ground heat exchanger for geothermal exploitation. In this study, effects of stratified ground thermophysical properties (GTP) are considered, and then an improved semi-analytical heat transfer model is developed and validated to analyze the DCBHE performance. Then, influences of stratified GTP on the DCBHE performance are investigated. Finally, thermal response test (TRT) of DCBHE with stratified GTP is simulated by a numerical model, and by using the simulated TRT data, the improved model is combined with a parameter estimation method to identify the effective values of GTP, which are compared with actual values. The results show that stratified ground thermal conductivities have an important influence on the DCBHE performance, and that stratified volumetric heat capacities of ground have a small influence on the DCBHE performance. The DCBHE performances based on the effective values and actual values of GTP match well with each other for different cases and geothermal gradients, indicating that for stratified thermal conductivities or volumetric heat capacities of ground, the effective GTP are reliable and can be used for accurately predicting the DCBHE performance.

Nomenclature

a=

geothermal gradient, ℃ m−1

C=

volumetric heat capacity, J m−3 K−1

G=

G-function

h=

convection heat transfer coefficient, W m−2 K−1

L=

length of internal pipe, m

Qout=

heat output rate, W

q=

heat flow from grout to annular fluid, W m−1

Rae=

thermal resistance between annular fluid and outside surface of external pipe, m K W−1

Ria=

thermal resistance between internal and annular fluids, m K W−1

r=

radial coordinate, m

T=

temperature, ℃

t=

time, s

V=

volumetric flow rate, m3 s−1

z=

axial coordinate, m

Greek letters=
λ=

thermal conductivity, W m−1 K−1

Subscripts=
0=

initial condition

a=

annular fluid

b=

borehole wall

ei=

inside surface of external pipe

eo=

outside surface of external pipe

ep=

external pipe

f=

fluid

g=

grout

i=

internal fluid

ii=

inside surface of internal pipe

in=

inlet of DCBHE

io=

outside surface of internal pipe

ip=

internal pipe

j, n=

j-th and n-th time nodes, respectively

out=

outlet of DCBHE

s=

ground

s,ave=

weighted average value of stratified GTP

s,eff=

effective value of GTP, which is estimated by TRT

sur=

ground surface

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (Grant No. 1808085QE178) for the financial support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province [1808085QE178]

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.