A three-dimensional numerical investigation of a novel shallow bore ground heat exchanger integrated with phase change material

Mingkan Zhang; Xiaobing Liu; Kaushik Biswas; Joseph Warner

doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.114297

A three-dimensional numerical investigation of a novel shallow bore ground heat exchanger integrated with phase change material

Mingkan Zhang, Xiaobing Liu, Kaushik Biswas, Joseph Warner

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

41 Scopus citations

Abstract

The heat transfer performance of an innovative design of ground heat exchanger, called underground thermal battery (UTB), was investigated in this paper. The UTB is designed to be installed in a shallow subsurface of the ground (less than 20 ft or 6 m below the grade), which is much shallower than the vertical bores (deeper than 200 ft or 60 m) required for installing conventional vertical bore ground heat exchangers (VBGHE). The UTB consists of a water-filled tank that also contains a phase change material (PCM), which impart the UTB a large thermal storage capacity. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical model has been developed to evaluate the performance of the UTB and to compare it with a conventional VBGHE. The simulation results indicated that a UTB can better regulate the entering water temperature of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) for more efficient operation than a conventional VBGHE under short-term high thermal load conditions. In addition, the UTB can make more effective use of PCMs compared with using PCMs to replace the conventional grouting material in a VBGHE.

Original language	English
Article number	114297
Journal	Applied Thermal Engineering
Volume	162
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.114297
State	Published - Nov 5 2019

Funding

The authors appreciate the constructive and useful comments provided by five anonymous reviewers. This research was supported by the Emerging Technologies Program of the Buildings Technology Office at the U.S. Department of Energy .

Funders	Funder number
Buildings Technology Office
U.S. Department of Energy

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.114297

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abstract = "The heat transfer performance of an innovative design of ground heat exchanger, called underground thermal battery (UTB), was investigated in this paper. The UTB is designed to be installed in a shallow subsurface of the ground (less than 20 ft or 6 m below the grade), which is much shallower than the vertical bores (deeper than 200 ft or 60 m) required for installing conventional vertical bore ground heat exchangers (VBGHE). The UTB consists of a water-filled tank that also contains a phase change material (PCM), which impart the UTB a large thermal storage capacity. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical model has been developed to evaluate the performance of the UTB and to compare it with a conventional VBGHE. The simulation results indicated that a UTB can better regulate the entering water temperature of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) for more efficient operation than a conventional VBGHE under short-term high thermal load conditions. In addition, the UTB can make more effective use of PCMs compared with using PCMs to replace the conventional grouting material in a VBGHE.",

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N2 - The heat transfer performance of an innovative design of ground heat exchanger, called underground thermal battery (UTB), was investigated in this paper. The UTB is designed to be installed in a shallow subsurface of the ground (less than 20 ft or 6 m below the grade), which is much shallower than the vertical bores (deeper than 200 ft or 60 m) required for installing conventional vertical bore ground heat exchangers (VBGHE). The UTB consists of a water-filled tank that also contains a phase change material (PCM), which impart the UTB a large thermal storage capacity. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical model has been developed to evaluate the performance of the UTB and to compare it with a conventional VBGHE. The simulation results indicated that a UTB can better regulate the entering water temperature of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) for more efficient operation than a conventional VBGHE under short-term high thermal load conditions. In addition, the UTB can make more effective use of PCMs compared with using PCMs to replace the conventional grouting material in a VBGHE.

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A three-dimensional numerical investigation of a novel shallow bore ground heat exchanger integrated with phase change material

Abstract

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UN SDGs

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