A New Method Based on Thermal Response Tests for Determining Effective Thermal Conductivity and Borehole Resistivity for Borehole Heat Exchangers

Abstract

Research on borehole heat exchangers is described on the development of a method for the determination, based on thermal response tests, of the effective thermal conductivity and the thermal resistivity for borehole heat exchangers. This advance is important, because underground thermal energy storage increasingly consists of systems with a large number of borehole heat exchangers, and their effective thermal conductivities and thermal resistivities are significant parameters in the performance of the system (whether it contains a single borehole or a field of boreholes). Borehole thermal energy storages provide a particularly beneficial method for using ground energy as a clean thermal energy supply. This benefit is especially relevant in cities with significant smog in winter. Here, the authors describe, in detail, the development of a formula that is a basis for the thermal response test that is derived from Fourier’s Law, utilizing a new way of describing the basic parameters of the thermal response test, i.e., the effective thermal conductivity and the thermal resistivity. The new method is based on the resistivity equation, for which a solution giving a linear regression with zero directional coefficient is found. Experimental tests were performed and analyzed in support of the theory, with an emphasis on the interpretation differences that stem from the scope of the test.