Three-dimensional Transient Heat Research Articles

Heat transport during drop impact onto a heated wall covered with an electrospun nanofiber mat: The influence of wall superheat, impact velocity, and mat thickness

Nanofiber surface coating is a promising method for the enhancement of heat transfer during spray cooling. In the present work, the drop dynamics as well as local and overall heat transfer during single drop impact onto a heated wall covered with a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber mat are investigated to obtain insight into the mechanisms governing the heat transport enhancement. The influence of wall superheat, drop impact velocity, and mat thickness on the hydrodynamics and heat transfer from the heated wall to the fluid is studied. The experiments were conducted inside a temperature-controlled test cell with a pure vapor atmosphere maintained with refrigerant FC−72 (perfluorohexane). The temperature field at the solid-fluid interface was observed with a high-speed infrared camera, and the heat flux field was derived by solving a three-dimensional transient heat conduction equation within the substrate. The presence of the nanofiber mat on the heater surface suppresses the drop receding phase due to the pinning of the contact line at the end of the spreading phase. Two different heat transfer scenarios are observed depending on the wall superheat and drop impact velocity: scenario (I), in which the liquid drop completely penetrated through the porous nanofiber mat and made contact with the heater surface; and scenario (II) in which the vapor produced inside the pores of the nanofiber mat prevented the liquid drop from touching the heater surface. In scenario (I), an up 450% heat flow enhancement during the sessile drop evaporation stage has been observed. In scenario (II), a 80% heat flow enhancement at this stage has been registered.

Modeling of laser-assisted micro-milling Inconel718

Nickel-based superalloy Inconel718 is a typical difficult-to-machine material with the characteristic of high strength and hardness. Demands for micro parts of nickel-based superalloy Inconel718 are growing in aerospace, biomedical and other fields. Laser-assisted micro-milling (LAMM) can realize precision machining of the workpiece because of its lower cutting force. However, the machining mechanism and the change law of cutting force during LAMM of nickel-based superalloy Inconel718 are still unclear. There is a crucial need for modeling of LAMM Inconel718. This paper explores LAMM of nickel-based superalloy Inconel718 and realizes the simulation of LAMM process. A three-dimensional transient heat transfer finite element (FE) model is established to predict the temperature distribution of a Gaussian heat source in LAMM. Multiple sets of simulations of laser pre-heating with various laser power are conducted to analyze the temperature fields of workpiece and determine the appropriate laser parameters. A novel 3D model of the full machining process of LAMM Inconel 718 is constructed by ABAQUS with multi-subroutine, a fully coupled thermal-mechanical process is achieved. A modified Johnson-Cook constitutive model is used to reflect the size effect and flow stress of LAMM Inconel 718. Finally, the validity of the models is verified by experiments. Based on the verified model, the appropriate laser pre-heating parameters are obtained, and the prediction of cutting forces of LAMM Inconel718 is achieved.

Experimental and numerical assessments of thermal transport in phase change material embedding additively manufactured triply periodic minimal surfaces: A comparative evaluation

Phase change materials (PCMs), due to their inherent low conductivity, are presently restricted in their potential applications for thermal energy storage (TES) systems. Extensive effort has been made over the past few years to investigate the potential of porous materials, such as metal foams, as effective thermal conductivity enhancers (TCEs) for PCMs. Porous materials have superior specific surface area over conventional honeycomb structures and fins, providing great potential in thermal storage systems. In this study, taking advantage of the implicit function of triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS), new varieties of lattices with continuous surface structures were developed and then manufactured by using AlSi10Mg powder via selective laser melting (SLM). A three-dimensional transient phase-change heat storage model of TPMS (Primitive and I-WP) structure-paraffin composite PCMs was adopted to study both the phase-change heat transfer performance and heat storage capability of TPMS-PCMs during the phase transition. Meanwhile, the evolution of the solid–liquid interface and temperature–time history were investigated by utilizing the visualized thermal storage experiments. The findings revealed that embedding TPMS lattice decreased the natural convection effect, resulting in a maximum flow velocity of liquid paraffin wax (PX) within TPMS-PCMs that was only 0.1 times that of pure PX. The melting onset time of TPMS-PCMs was advanced by 82.2 %-91.1 %, and the duration of phase change was shortened by 68.3 %-75.9 %, respectively. In addition, the total heat storage of TPMS-PCMs fell from 4464.0 J to 4217.2 J compared to pure PX, but their average heat storage rate rose from 1.04 to 4.58 J/s. Primitive rod (PS)-type TPMS-PCM was the most potential among the three types of TPMS lattices as the TCE for PCM because it achieved the highest heat storage rate with the most negligible overall heat storage loss.

Continuum modeling of high-temperature (>1000 °C) heat extraction from a moving-bed oxidation reactor for thermochemical energy storage

There is a growing need for efficient and reliable energy storage technologies to expand renewable energy adoption and transit to a decarbonized clean energy future. Thermochemical energy storage (TCES) through reversible gas-solid reactions has exhibited considerable potential. Up to now, TCES has primarily been studied at the material level and within lab-scale reactors. As such, accurate numerical models are needed for further reactor design and scale-up. In this work, a transient three-dimensional heat and mass transfer continuum model was developed to simulate the transport phenomena coupled with exothermic oxidation of magnesium‑manganese-oxide particles in a high-temperature moving-bed reactor for TCES. The reactor included direct heat extraction at temperatures >1000 °C. The predicted temperature distributions, oxygen concentration profiles, and steady-state reactor energy extraction efficiency were in good agreement with measured values from a corresponding experimental setup. The performance of the reactor was further investigated through two parametric studies (varied particle flow rates and gas extraction ratios), which demonstrated a strong dependence of reactor efficiency (varied between 15 %–40 %) on both operating parameters. The present heat and mass transfer model will be valuable in further reactor design and scale-up studies, as well as for selection of operating conditions to maximize efficiency.

Transient simulation of oscillatory gas-liquid Taylor flow and its effects on heat transfer

Microchannel-based gas-liquid Taylor flow has been increasingly used in various cutting-edge applications due to its outstanding flow mixing and heat transfer performance. Previous simulations have been limited to the discussions of flow characteristics under stable flow regimes although several experimental studies have observed the occurrence of fluctuated Taylor bubble tails at relatively higher Reynolds numbers. This study has developed a numerical approach to simulate three-dimensional transient Taylor flow and heat transfer with large bubble tail oscillations. A two-stage modelling procedure combining both fixed and moving frame of reference systems has been adopted to ensure a fully-developed flow is obtained. Simulation results of a water-nitrogen system have been compared with experiments and correlation-predicted results, and good agreements have been achieved. A transient oscillation of the bubble tail has been found to occur as the Reynolds number is greater than 700, approximately, and the fluctuation has been more pronounced as the Reynolds number increases further. The above transient effect has been found to be closely related to the enhanced jet flow which originates from the thin liquid film and later merges into the downstream liquid slug, promoting both small and large-scales flow mixing, enhancing heat transfer up to four times of that for a pure liquid flow.

A LOCALIZED MESHLESS METHOD FOR TRANSIENT HEAT CONDUCTION WITH APPLICATIONS

The localized radial basis function (RBF) meshless approach is well suited for modeling transient heat conduction. The advantages of meshless methods, such as ease of discretization, are well known. However, there are still few examples of the method extended to three-dimensional (3D) transient heat conduction for geometries of practical engineering importance; in particular, with respect to graphics processing units (GPUs). In this study, we investigated the localized RBF meshless method in 3D transient heat conduction and explored its application for GPUs. Numerical examples are provided with an application to modeling chip cooling and friction welding.

Research on the energy efficiency improvement of closed loop wastewater source heat pump with direct-expansion heat exchanger

The closed-loop wastewater source heat exchanger (WSHE) has advantages such as being non-clogging and resistant to corrosion, but their heat transfer efficiency is relatively low, therefore it is still not the mainstream form of heat exchanger of wastewater source heat pump (WSHP). A novel CO2 direct-expansion wastewater source heat exchanger (DX-WSHE) is proposed in this paper, aiming to significantly improve the heat transfer rate of the heat exchanger and the energy efficiency of the heat pump system. The direct-expansion heat transfer process is complex, large grid number and long calculation time will be required if calculated by conventional numerical simulation software. Therefore, a three-dimensional transient heat transfer model was developed based on the thermal resistance and capacity model, which offers the advantages of fast computation speed and strong flexibility. The heat transfer and energy efficiency characteristics under different parameters were studied. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the direct-expansion wastewater source heat pump (DX-WSHP) can be increased by 31.0% compared to conventional design, and the heat flux of the direct-expansion wastewater source heat exchanger can be up to 250 W/m for the standard group. Compared with conventional designs, the direct-expansion wastewater source heat pump has excellent heat transfer and energy efficiency capabilities, which is a promising building energy saving and emission reduction technology.

Detection of surface moving heat source using experimental temperature measurements on the opposite surface and inverse techniques

The identification of mobile sources is a widely researched area in multiple scientific and technical domains. Detecting mobile heat sources is an essential task in different fields, including fire safety, environmental monitoring, material science, and energy systems. In this investigation, we present an innovative solution to solve the inverse problem of detecting mobile heat sources, utilizing a three-dimensional transient inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP) formulation. The goal is to identify a moving heat source from thermographic infrared measurements of the rear face. The proposed method includes a finite volume approach with model reduction techniques to improve computational efficiency. Additionally, we use the conjugate gradient method to solve the inverse problem. We verified the proposed approach by conducting experiments on a metal plate with a moving heat source from a laser and comparing recalculated temperature of the front face with thermocouple measurements. Our results indicate that our method can detect the location and trajectory of the mobile heat source with high accuracy and efficiency. This study also highlighted the limits of source speed that can be detected by this method. This technique could be considered as an excellent option for real-time monitoring of mobile heat sources in practical applications.

MLS-based numerical manifold method based on IPIM for 3D transient heat conduction of FGMs

In this study, the moving least squares based numerical manifold method (MLS-NMM) is presented to solve three-dimensional (3D) transient heat conduction problems of functionally graded materials (FGMs), where the increment dimensional precise integration method (IPIM) is applied to integrate the ordinary differential equations derived from the semi-discrete form. In the 3D MLS-NMM, the influence domains of the MLS-nodes are taken as the mathematical patches which are used to construct the mathematical cover (MC), and the shape functions of the MLS-nodes are employed as the weight functions subordinate to the MC. MLS-NMM is utilized for spatial discretization of the weak form of the problem. The IPIM overcomes the shortcomings of traditional backward difference scheme dependent on the time step and greatly improves the computing efficiency. Meanwhile, a mass lumping technique is proposed for the 3D MLS-NMM. Furthermore, a number of numerical experiments on transient thermal conduction are conducted, suggesting that the 3D MLS-NMM based on IPIM and the proposed mass lumping has excellent accuracy, absolutely stable and high computing efficiency.

Enhancing the cooling efficiency of the air cooling system for electric vehicle battery modules through liquid spray integration

To achieve the desired voltage and power capacity to serve as the primary power source in electric vehicles (EVs), the battery cells are densely interconnected in both series and parallel configurations, forming modules. These modules are further assembled to create the pack. Excessive heat generated by chemical reactions and internal resistance can lead to reduced capacity, instability, and thermal runaway. Hence, the implementation of a battery thermal management system is crucial to maintain the batteries operating within the optimal temperature range. In this study, a novel cooling system was proposed that combines an integrated non-electrically conductive liquid spray called hydrofluoroether (HFE) with forced air as the cooling fluids. A three-dimensional transient heat transfer model for the cylindrical lithium-ion battery module was developed by using ANSYS Fluent. Numerical investigations were conducted to evaluate the impact of liquid injection rate and injector arrangement on the cooling performance of the battery module. The findings demonstrate that the proposed technique effectively decreases the maximum temperature and the unbalanced temperature difference within the battery module compared to the traditional method of dry air cooling. The optimized system, which entails placing the nozzles between rows 1 and 2 of the battery module and maintaining a consistent mass flow rate of 20 g/s, leads to a decrease in the maximum temperature and temperature nonuniformity by about 6 °C and 4 °C, respectively. These insights provide valuable guidance for the design of spray-assisted forced-air cooling systems and contribute to the development of efficient thermal management solutions for EVs.

Experimental Study of Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Confined Porous Media Heated From Side

Transient three-dimensional natural convection heat transfer due to the influences of heating from one side of an enclosure filled with a saturated porous media, whereas the opposite side is maintained at a constant cold temperature, and the other four sides are adiabatic, were investigated in the present work experimentally. Silica sand was used as a porous media saturated with distilled water filled in a cubic enclosure heated from the side,using six electrical controlled heaters, at constant temperatures of (60, 70, 80, 90, and 100oC). The inverse side cooled at a constant temperature of (24oC) using an aluminum heat exchanger, consisted of 15 channels feeded with constant temperature water. Eighty thermocouples were used to control the heated and cooled sides, and to measure the temperature in the entire enclosure. Experimental results showed that the heat transfer regime was mainly conduction for all Rayleigh numbers with small influence of convection for Ra=42 and greater for Ra=55. This effect increased with the angle of inclination of the enclosure. Numerical and experimental results showed a good agreement. There was a rapid increase in the temperature at the entire media at the early time, reduced gradually until the steady state condition reached. This temperature and heat transfer to and from the porous media, were increased as the Rayleigh number and/or inclination angle increased. The Nusselt number increased directly with the angle of inclination up to o θ = 45 and then decreased. Correlation equations are obtained from the experimental investigation, showed the change of the average and local Nusselt number with time, distance, Rayleigh number, and the inclination angle.

Heat transfer in phase change materials for integrated batteries and power electronics systems

An integrated batteries and power electronics system has great potential in improving the compactness, flexibility and multifunctionality in electrical vehicles. However, it needs to overcome thermal management challenges due to different operation temperatures of batteries and power electronics. To tackle this issue, this paper presents the first systematic study on the heat transfer characteristics in phase change materials (PCMs) based thermal management system sandwiched between two significantly different constant heat sources, through an experimentally validated transient three-dimensional heat transfer model. All key parameters of PCMs affecting the system are identified through a new dimensionless formulation, including the ratio of horizontal and vertical thermal conductivity kxy and kz, the aspect ratio (ratio of thickness and length), and Jakob number Ja (ratio of sensible heat and latent heat). Modelling results show that the system operation duration τd increases monotonically with the increase of kxy. However, increasing kz is not always benificial for τd and there is an optimal value for kz when keeping kxy unchanged. In addition, the increase of PCMs thickness can prolong τd monotonically. The reduction of Ja, e.g. increasing latent heat, is always beneficial for τd.

A new general analytical PBEM for solving three-dimensional transient nonlinear heat conduction problems with spatially-varying heat generation

In this paper, a polygonal boundary element method (PBEM) is presented, to solve the transient nonlinear heat conduction problems with spatially variable heat generation and temperature-dependent thermal physical properties. A new general method is developed to analytically compute the domain integrals regarding arbitrary nonlinearly-varying thermal conductivity, specific heat, and density, by which the computations of numerous Gaussian points in the numerical method can be circumvented and the efficiency of the PBEM can be significantly improved. The finite difference scheme is employed to evaluate the transient term, and the Newton iterative method is used to search the exact solution of the nonlinear system equation. Four numerical examples are designed to examine the property of the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed analytical PBEM can accurately solve the three-dimensional transient nonlinear heat conduction problems with heat generation.

Physics-informed deep learning for three-dimensional transient heat transfer analysis of functionally graded materials

We present a physics-informed deep learning model for the transient heat transfer analysis of three-dimensional functionally graded materials (FGMs) employing a Runge–Kutta discrete time scheme. Firstly, the governing equation, associated boundary conditions and the initial condition for transient heat transfer analysis of FGMs with exponential material variations are presented. Then, the deep collocation method with the Runge–Kutta integration scheme for transient analysis is introduced. The prior physics that helps to generalize the physics-informed deep learning model is introduced by constraining the temperature variable with discrete time schemes and initial/boundary conditions. Further the fitted activation functions suitable for dynamic analysis are presented. Finally, we validate our approach through several numerical examples on FGMs with irregular shapes and a variety of boundary conditions. From numerical experiments, the predicted results with PIDL demonstrate well agreement with analytical solutions and other numerical methods in predicting of both temperature and flux distributions and can be adaptive to transient analysis of FGMs with different shapes, which can be the promising surrogate model in transient dynamic analysis.

Liquid film and heat transfer characteristics during superheated wall cooling via pulsed injection of a liquid jet

Pulse firing is one of the major operation modes of bipropellant thrusters for the attitude control of small-scale spacecrafts. In the pulse-firing mode, the operational range of the thruster depends on the deterioration of liquid film cooling performance. Because cooling performance is determined by the balance of heat removed by the liquid film and transferred to the manifold, the behavior and heat transfer characteristics of liquid films under the intermittent injection of liquid jets must be understood to enable a wider range of operational patterns. We conducted cooling tests on a superheated metal plate via the pulsed injection of a liquid jet for better understanding of the pulsed cooling process. Different injection patterns, including continuous injection, with the same injection quantity were examined on two types of metal plates (aluminum alloy and copper), because the thermal properties of metal plates affect both the heat transfer characteristics of the liquid film and temperature rise of the plate during the inter-pulse duration. The cooling process was evaluated based on the evolution of the liquid film on the metal plate and rear-side temperature of the metal plate. The evolution and temperature were simultaneously visualized using a high-speed camera and infrared camera, respectively. To link the liquid film state to the heat transfer process, the temperature and heat flux on the cooled surface were estimated by solving the inverse problem of three-dimensional transient heat conduction. The results indicate that the wetting front position corresponds to the position of the maximum temperature gradient. Additionally, the residual liquid film is consumed through the evaporation and the droplet dispersion related to the nucleate boiling. The effects of thermal inertia and diffusivity of the metal plate highlight the differences in the amount of heat removed by the liquid film. The heat removed by the liquid film during pulsed cooling exhibited a peak and was higher than that removed by continuous injection on the aluminum alloy plate. Less heat was removed under low-duty-cycle conditions, and the amount of heat removed by the liquid film was lower than that removed by continuous injection on the copper plate.

Numerical study on the heat and mass transfer in charging and discharging processes of a triangular honeycomb thermochemical energy storage reactor

• A triangular honeycomb reactor has been designed and experimentally investigated. • A 3-D numerical model of this reactor has been developed and validated. • Relationships between heat transfer and mass diffusion are determined. • The thermal efficiency of triangular honeycomb reactor can achieve around 20% Adsorption heat storage based on porous adsorbents attracts considerable attention for the high energy storage density and long storage duration compared to sensible and latent heat storage methods. However, one of the critical challenges is the poor heat and mass transfer performance of thermochemical reactors. This study presents a triangular honeycomb reactor using zeolite 13X-H 2 O working pair and investigates the heat and mass transfer performance. To do this, a three-dimensional transient heat and mass transfer model has been built in COMSOL to simulate the adsorption and desorption processes of the new reactor. A detailed numerical model and the corresponding modelling methods are critical to the investigation while most of the recent studies are based on one-dimensional and two-dimensional models. The model has been experimentally validated thoroughly to a close agreement in both adsorption and desorption processes (mean sum of percent errors of 0.6% to 8.91% for air temperature and relative humidity). The reactor thermal efficiency from the simulation and experiment are 19.57% and 21.93%, respectively, which are achieved by the fast and controllable charging and discharging performance along with the reduced air pressure drop benefited from the reactor design. To add value of the charging and discharging details, this study also presents the contour diagrams with detail discussions for the air velocity, temperature, water concentration, and heat and mass flux variations of the triangular honeycomb channel during desorption and adsorption processes. The results show that the side of triangle channel has larger and stronger moisture desorption in a charging process and stronger moisture adsorption in a discharging process than that of the triangle corner areas.

Comparative analysis between the laser beam welding and low current pulsed GMA assisted high-power laser welding by numerical simulation

By introducing the low current pulsed gas metal arc (GMA), the bridging ability of the laser beam welding (LBW) can be effectively improved. However, the impact mechanism of the additive GMA is hard to investigate by experimental methods. In this paper, the three-dimensional transient mass and heat transfer models of the low current pulsed GMA assisted high-power laser welding and single LBW are established. The pulsed arc and laser heat source models are optimized based on the arc morphology images, arc voltage and welding current. The drop transfer and arc pressure models are improved by comprehensively considering the effect of the molten pool surface deformation and the interaction of laser and arc on the arc heat flow distribution. Based on the established welding models, a comparative analysis is conducted to investigate the evolution characteristics of the temperature and flow fields in the molten pool. The simulated results show that the additive low current pulsed GMA in novel hybrid welding significantly increases the high temperature region of the molten pool, while allowing the liquid metal to expand transversely, thereby increasing the length and width of the molten pool. These greatly improve the bridging ability of LBW and extend its application range.

Cutting performance and tool wear in laser-assisted grinding of SiCf/SiC ceramic matrix composites

Ceramic matrix composites have high hardness, so their machining requires high grinding forces that cause severe wear of the grinding head. To investigate this problem, the present study investigated the cutting performance of conventional grinding (CG) and laser-assisted grinding (LAG) of SiCf/SiC ceramic matrix composites using electroplated diamond grinding heads. Firstly, a three-dimensional transient heat transfer model based on a Gaussian heat source was developed to observe the surface and internal temperature field distributions of SiCf/SiC ceramic matrix composites subjected to laser irradiation. Secondly, the effects of laser heating temperature on the workpiece surface on the grinding forces were analysed. It was found that the axial and feed grinding forces were more than 40% lower under LAG than CG due to the removal mechanism of the SiC matrix changing from brittle fracture to ductile fracture and the oxidation reactions occurred in the SiCf/SiC ceramic matrix composites. Thirdly, the material removal mechanism was analysed by observing the morphology of machined surfaces, which showed that ductile removal from the SiC matrix occurs during LAG. Finally, it is also founded that the mean height of exposed abrasive grains from machined surface was reduced by 1.02 μm, 12.52 μm in LAG and CG respectively. The forms of wear caused by abrasive grains were studied. Under CG, the abrasive grains mainly exhibit cleavage fractures; while under LAG, micro-abrasion is the main wear form.

Simulation analysis and optimization of laser preheating SiC ceramics based on RSM

In this paper, the regression prediction models of surface reference temperature and softening layer depth are obtained through preheating simulation and experimental verification based on the surface response methodology (RSM), and the simulation predictions of surface reference temperature and softening layer depth are optimized. Firstly, a three-dimensional transient heat transfer model is established for turning SiC ceramics as the research object, and the concept of surface reference temperature is proposed. The single factor simulation and experiment are carried out by changing the laser power, and the simulation value of surface reference temperature and the experimental value are compared to verify the effectiveness of the heat transfer model. Then, the material removal mechanism is explained according to the material fracture theory, and the concept of softening layer depth is proposed. The multivariate prediction models are established to obtain the surface reference temperature and the softening layer depth based on the RSM by selecting three factors: laser power, spot diameter and rotational speed. Finally, the desirability function analysis (DFA) is used to compare the measured value of surface reference temperature with the predicted value, which proves that the regression prediction model is effective. The range of laser power for single-factor experiment of surface reference temperature is 175 W–235 W, and the error of the results is between 7.57% and 10.82%. The Box-Behnken experimental design is adopted with the following factors and levels: laser power (200 W–230 W), spot diameter (1 mm–1.4 mm) and rotational speed (1080r/miñ2160r/min); the regression models are analyzed by residual analysis, ANOVA, 3D surfaces, and contour plots to prove the reliability. Based on the DFA method to select the level of each factor: laser power of 205 W and 220 W, spot diameter of 1 mm, and rotational speed of 1620r/min, the errors between the optimal and experimental values of surface reference temperature are 9.82% and 7.72% respectively, which not only achieve the optimization of the desirability function of the heat transfer model, but also prove that the regression prediction model has good agreement with the experimental values. The regression prediction model of softening layer depth establishes the functional relationship between softening layer depth and different factors in the study range and provides direct reference for the selection of cutting depth in laser assisted machining (LAM) SiC ceramics.

A Design Tool for Solar Thermal Remediation Using Borehole Heat Exchangers.

Low temperature heating of the subsurface (increases of about 5-20 °C) can substantially increase rates of biotic and abiotic destruction of dissolved contaminants such as chlorinated solvents. Low-temperature heating can be sustainably and cost-effectively achieved using solar thermal collectors coupled with closed-loop borehole heat exchangers. This technology has been implemented at several sites in the United States and abroad with favorable results. The design of a solar thermal remediation system requires a quantitative understanding of heat transfer from the array of borehole heat exchangers. We present an easy-to-use design tool that is based on a transient three-dimensional analytical heat transfer solution and is programmed in Visual Basic in Excel. This tool can be used to quickly explore the effect of design variables on the forecast temperature field. Typical design variables would include the site-specific average and monthly solar insolation data, solar collector configuration, borehole heat exchanger geometry and spacing, and the effects of environmental variables such as groundwater velocity, background subsurface temperature, and thermal conductivity. The design tool has been verified by comparisons with the TOUGH2 multiphase heat transfer code for a three-dimensional multi-heater system with seasonally variable thermal power rates. The code has been validated by comparisons to observed temperatures measured at a solar thermal field remediation application at a site in Colorado.