Numerical study on the heat performance of enhanced coaxial borehole heat exchanger and double U borehole heat exchanger

Abstract

• The BHEs model considering the multilayer properties and groundwater flow. • An enhanced coaxial model with intermittently laid spiral ring fins was proposed. • The heat transfer performance of the vertical BHEs was evaluated. • The influence level of different factors on heat transfer performance was analyzed. • The influence of groundwater flow on the ground temperature field was analyzed. Borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) are widely used in various building air conditioning and heating systems. It has always been the unremitting pursuit of researchers to provide solutions for energy conservation by improving the heat transfer efficiency of BHE. In this work, comprehensively considering groundwater seepage in the surrounding rock and soil and the difference of heat transfer performance between various layers of rock and soil, three-dimensional geometric models of double-U BHE and enhanced coaxial BHE with intermittently laid spiral ring fins were established. The established model was verified by the drilling, geothermal, thermal response data collected through filed tests and the actual operating data of the system. The heat transfer performance and influencing factors of the two BHEs models under different working conditions were simulated by improving and replacing the double-U BHE model by means of equivalent buried pipe cross-sectional area. The results showed that the linear meter heat transfer of the enhanced coaxial BHE was significantly better than the linear meter heat transfer of the equivalent U BHE. The average linear meter heat transfer of the enhanced coaxial BHE can reach 1.46 times and 1.45 times of the equivalent U BHE under winter and summer working conditions, respectively. Finally, the results of the sensitivity analysis of single factor showed that the inlet temperature/inlet fluid heating power is the most significant impact on the heat transfer performance, followed by the inlet flow rate, and the hydraulic gradient of groundwater seepage has the least impact. The results obtained can provide a new type of the buried pipe structure that can be used as a reference for improving the heat transfer performance of BHEs in the simulation and experiment conditions.