Numerical study of horizontal ground heat exchanger for high energy demand applications

Abstract In this paper, a method of designing horizontal ground heat exchanger for high energy demand applications is presented as the role of ground heat exchangers on the performance of the ground source heat pumps (GSHP) is very critical. A numerical model was developed and validated to predict the thermal performance of various types of ground heat exchangers. A parametric study was performed to identify the important factors affecting the thermal performance of the ground heat exchanger. It was found that thermal conductivity of soil plays a vital role in the heat transfer process. The heat transfer fluid velocity, thereby mass flow rate was an important parameter affecting the amount of heat exchanged with soil. The depth of installation was found to have negligible effect on the thermal performance of ground heat exchangers. A novel design concept was introduced for designing ground heat exchanger for high energy applications for given foot print area and the mean thermal energy dissipation with low cost of installation. The new configuration can be considered as the combination of horizontal and vertical ground heat exchanger.

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