International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment

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CFD Simulation Studies for Vertical Temperature Profile, Pitch Optimisation and Parametric Study of Borehole Heat Exchanger

Received: 23 July 2016    Accepted: 10 August 2016    Published: 06 September 2016
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Abstract

In this communication, simulation studies of a borehole heat exchanger are worked out through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. A two dimensional (k-ε) realizable turbulent model with standard wall function is used to evaluate the temperature variation along with depth of BHE, pitch optimization and to determine the effect of two dimensionless parameters as ratio of pitch to borehole diameter and ratio of borehole to pipe diameter. The predicted results are validated through experimental data; and statistical assessment shows a good agreement between simulated and experimental results. The tube air temperature is proportional to depth in cooling mode and BHE can decrease the temperature of air by 13-14°C when ambient temperature observed by 41°C. The optimised pitch for 8 inch borehole and 2 inch diameter U-tube is found to be 4 inch, however two U-tubes are recommended for enhanced performance. The effective borehole to tube diameter ratio is estimated by 4. The BHE system can be used for heating and cooling of buildings it is a feasible solution for sustainable development.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11
Published in International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment (Volume 1, Issue 2, October 2016)
Page(s) 16-23
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Borehole Heat Exchanger, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Optimization

References
[1] Kaushik,S.C.; Lal,S.; Bhargava P.K.(2013); Earth–air tunnel heat exchanger for building space conditioning: a critical review. Nanomaterials and energy; vol. 2(4), pp. 216-227, DOI: 10.1680/nme.13.00007.
[2] Kaushik, S.C.; Garg, T.; Lal, S. (2014); Thermal performance prediction and energy conservation potential of earth air tunnel heat exchanger for thermal comfort in India. Journal of renewable and sustainable energy, 6, pp. 013107 (1-12), DOI: 10.1063/1.4861782.
[3] Sanner,B. (2001); Shallow geothermal energy; GHC Bulletin, pp.19-25.
[4] Zeng,H.; Diao,N.; Fang, Z. (2003); Heat transfer analysis of borehole on vertical ground heat exchangers. International journal of heat and mass transfer;vol. 46, pp. 4467-4481, DOI: 10.1016/S0017-9310(03)00270-9.
[5] Sagia, Z.; Stegou, A.; Rakopoulos, C. (2012); Borehole resistance and heat conduction around vertical ground heat exchanger; The open chemical engineering journal, vol. 6, pp. 32-40.
[6] Beier, R.A.; Smith, M.D.; Spitler, J.D. (2011); Reference data sets for vertical borehole ground heat exchanger models and thermal response test analysis; Geothermics, vol. 40, pp. 79-85, DOI: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2010.12.007.
[7] Rees,S.J. and He, M. A. (2013); three-dimensional numerical model of borehole heat exchanger heat transfer and fluid flow; Geothermics, vol. 46, pp. 1-13, DOI: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2012.10.004.
[8] Sharqawy, M.H.;Mokheimer, E.M.;Badr, H.M. (2009);Effective pipe-to-borehole thermal resistance for vertical ground heat exchangers; Geothermics, vol. 38, pp. 271-277, DOI: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2009.02.001.
[9] Gu, Y.; O’Neal D.L. (1998); Development of an equivalent diameter expression for vertical U-tubes used in ground-coupled heat pumps; ASHRAE Transactions,vol. 104, pp. 347–355.
[10] Remund, C.P. (1999); Borehole thermal resistance: laboratory and field studies; ASHRAE Transactions,vol. 105, pp. 439–445.
[11] Shonder, J.A.; Beck J.V. (1999); Field test of a new method for determining soil formation thermal conductivity and borehole resistance; ASHRAE Transactions,vol. 106, pp. 843–850.
[12] Gustafsson, A.M.; Westerlund, L. (2010); Simulation of the thermal borehole resistance in groundwater filled borehole heat exchanger using CFD; International journal of energy and environment,vol. 1(3), pp. 399-410
[13] Bouhacina, B.; Saim, R.;Benzenine, H.; Oztop, H.F. (2013). Analysis of thermal and dynamic comportment of a geothermal vertical U-tube heat exchanger. Energy and buildings, vol. 58, pp. 37-43, DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2012.11.037.
[14] Lee, C.K.; Lam, H.N. (2012); A modified multi-layer model for borehole ground heat exchangers with an inhomogeneous groundwater flow; Energy, vol. 47, pp. 378-387, DOI: 10.1016/j. energy.2012.09.056.
[15] http://www.cfd-online.com/Wiki/Standard_k-epsilon_model, retrieved on December 10, 2013
[16] Jalaluddin; Miyara, A.; Tsubaki, K.; Yoshida, F. (2011); Numerical simulation of vertical ground heat exchangers for ground source heat pumps;10 IEA heat pumps conference, pp.1-10
Author Information
  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajasthan Technical University Kota, India

  • Central for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

  • Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, India

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    Shiv Lal, Subhash Chand Kaushik, Pradeep Kumar Bhargava. (2016). CFD Simulation Studies for Vertical Temperature Profile, Pitch Optimisation and Parametric Study of Borehole Heat Exchanger. International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment, 1(2), 16-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11

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    ACS Style

    Shiv Lal; Subhash Chand Kaushik; Pradeep Kumar Bhargava. CFD Simulation Studies for Vertical Temperature Profile, Pitch Optimisation and Parametric Study of Borehole Heat Exchanger. Int. J. Econ. Energy Environ. 2016, 1(2), 16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11

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    AMA Style

    Shiv Lal, Subhash Chand Kaushik, Pradeep Kumar Bhargava. CFD Simulation Studies for Vertical Temperature Profile, Pitch Optimisation and Parametric Study of Borehole Heat Exchanger. Int J Econ Energy Environ. 2016;1(2):16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11,
      author = {Shiv Lal and Subhash Chand Kaushik and Pradeep Kumar Bhargava},
      title = {CFD Simulation Studies for Vertical Temperature Profile, Pitch Optimisation and Parametric Study of Borehole Heat Exchanger},
      journal = {International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment},
      volume = {1},
      number = {2},
      pages = {16-23},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeee.20160102.11},
      abstract = {In this communication, simulation studies of a borehole heat exchanger are worked out through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. A two dimensional (k-ε) realizable turbulent model with standard wall function is used to evaluate the temperature variation along with depth of BHE, pitch optimization and to determine the effect of two dimensionless parameters as ratio of pitch to borehole diameter and ratio of borehole to pipe diameter. The predicted results are validated through experimental data; and statistical assessment shows a good agreement between simulated and experimental results. The tube air temperature is proportional to depth in cooling mode and BHE can decrease the temperature of air by 13-14°C when ambient temperature observed by 41°C. The optimised pitch for 8 inch borehole and 2 inch diameter U-tube is found to be 4 inch, however two U-tubes are recommended for enhanced performance. The effective borehole to tube diameter ratio is estimated by 4. The BHE system can be used for heating and cooling of buildings it is a feasible solution for sustainable development.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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    T1  - CFD Simulation Studies for Vertical Temperature Profile, Pitch Optimisation and Parametric Study of Borehole Heat Exchanger
    AU  - Shiv Lal
    AU  - Subhash Chand Kaushik
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    Y1  - 2016/09/06
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11
    T2  - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment
    JF  - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment
    JO  - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment
    SP  - 16
    EP  - 23
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5021
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeee.20160102.11
    AB  - In this communication, simulation studies of a borehole heat exchanger are worked out through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. A two dimensional (k-ε) realizable turbulent model with standard wall function is used to evaluate the temperature variation along with depth of BHE, pitch optimization and to determine the effect of two dimensionless parameters as ratio of pitch to borehole diameter and ratio of borehole to pipe diameter. The predicted results are validated through experimental data; and statistical assessment shows a good agreement between simulated and experimental results. The tube air temperature is proportional to depth in cooling mode and BHE can decrease the temperature of air by 13-14°C when ambient temperature observed by 41°C. The optimised pitch for 8 inch borehole and 2 inch diameter U-tube is found to be 4 inch, however two U-tubes are recommended for enhanced performance. The effective borehole to tube diameter ratio is estimated by 4. The BHE system can be used for heating and cooling of buildings it is a feasible solution for sustainable development.
    VL  - 1
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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