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Validation of borehole heat exchanger models against multi-flow rate thermal response tests

Beier, Richard A. ; Mitchell, Matt S. ; Spitler, Jeffrey D. and Javed, Saqib LU (2018) In Geothermics 71. p.55-68
Abstract

A recently developed vertical borehole ground heat exchanger model that accounts for transit time effects and time-varying short-circuiting heat transfer has been validated against two multi-flow-rate thermal response tests (MFR-TRT). The MFR-TRT, when performed with a wide range of flow rates, results in significant changes in the borehole thermal resistance, the borehole internal thermal resistance, and the short-circuiting heat transfer between the two legs of a single U-tube. The model accounts for short-circuiting by an analytically computed weighting factor that is used to determine the mean fluid temperature. The weighting factor portion of the model can be readily utilized in other ground heat exchanger models that currently... (More)

A recently developed vertical borehole ground heat exchanger model that accounts for transit time effects and time-varying short-circuiting heat transfer has been validated against two multi-flow-rate thermal response tests (MFR-TRT). The MFR-TRT, when performed with a wide range of flow rates, results in significant changes in the borehole thermal resistance, the borehole internal thermal resistance, and the short-circuiting heat transfer between the two legs of a single U-tube. The model accounts for short-circuiting by an analytically computed weighting factor that is used to determine the mean fluid temperature. The weighting factor portion of the model can be readily utilized in other ground heat exchanger models that currently rely on a simple mean fluid temperature. Use of the weighting factor is shown to give significantly better estimations of entering and exiting fluid temperature than using the simple mean fluid temperature. The new model is also compared to an alternative approach − using an effective borehole thermal resistance. While both the effective borehole thermal resistance model and the weighting factor give quite good results a few hours after a step change in flow rate, the weighting factor model gives much better results in the first few hours after a step change in flow rate.

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author
; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Borehole heat transfer, Borehole thermal resistance, Ground heat exchanger, Ground-source heat pump, Thermal response test
in
Geothermics
volume
71
pages
14 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85034021975
ISSN
0375-6505
DOI
10.1016/j.geothermics.2017.08.006
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
dfe39905-c66f-4a15-baeb-c8dc5896a5d7
date added to LUP
2018-03-26 13:42:17
date last changed
2022-03-25 00:55:15
@article{dfe39905-c66f-4a15-baeb-c8dc5896a5d7,
  abstract     = {{<p>A recently developed vertical borehole ground heat exchanger model that accounts for transit time effects and time-varying short-circuiting heat transfer has been validated against two multi-flow-rate thermal response tests (MFR-TRT). The MFR-TRT, when performed with a wide range of flow rates, results in significant changes in the borehole thermal resistance, the borehole internal thermal resistance, and the short-circuiting heat transfer between the two legs of a single U-tube. The model accounts for short-circuiting by an analytically computed weighting factor that is used to determine the mean fluid temperature. The weighting factor portion of the model can be readily utilized in other ground heat exchanger models that currently rely on a simple mean fluid temperature. Use of the weighting factor is shown to give significantly better estimations of entering and exiting fluid temperature than using the simple mean fluid temperature. The new model is also compared to an alternative approach − using an effective borehole thermal resistance. While both the effective borehole thermal resistance model and the weighting factor give quite good results a few hours after a step change in flow rate, the weighting factor model gives much better results in the first few hours after a step change in flow rate.</p>}},
  author       = {{Beier, Richard A. and Mitchell, Matt S. and Spitler, Jeffrey D. and Javed, Saqib}},
  issn         = {{0375-6505}},
  keywords     = {{Borehole heat transfer; Borehole thermal resistance; Ground heat exchanger; Ground-source heat pump; Thermal response test}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  pages        = {{55--68}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Geothermics}},
  title        = {{Validation of borehole heat exchanger models against multi-flow rate thermal response tests}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2017.08.006}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.geothermics.2017.08.006}},
  volume       = {{71}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}