The potential effect of ground stratification on the efficiency of ground heat exchangers (GHEs) in lateritic clay regions remains unclear. Model experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of soil dry density, water content, and ground stratification on the heat exchange between GHEs and the surrounding lateritic clay. A 3D numerical model accounting for ground stratification was proposed and validated using experimental data. The model further examined the influence of soil moisture on the dynamic heat exchange process. The findings of the model experiments indicate that the heat from buried pipes increase soil temperature by 12.8 % when the initial water content of lateritic clay (with dry density of 1.1 g/cm3) rises from 5 % to 28 %. Raising the dry density from 1.1 to 1.3 g/cm3 at 28 % water content results in a 7.5 % temperature increase. The initial soil moisture and density have negligible effects on the temperature gradient within 18 cm of the geothermal pipes. The temperature increased faster in the sand layer than in the lateritic clay layer owing to the difference in thermal properties. The impact of heat produced by GHEs on the temperature field in homogeneous soil layers differs considerably from that in stratified soil layers. The 3D numerical model provided a good fit for the measured soil temperature in the stratified soil layer, including the soil temperature variation at the layered interface. The simulation results showed that for dry and saturated strata, the temperature of the lateritic clay around the GHEs increased with increasing initial stratum moisture. For unsaturated lateritic clay strata, because of the possible impacts of moisture and heat coupling migration, the temperature of the stratum around the GHEs first increased and subsequently decreased as the initial stratum moisture was enhanced.
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