Evaluation of Ground Effective Thermal Properties and Effect of Borehole Thermal Resistance on Performance of Ground Heat Exchanger

Geothermal heat pump(GHP) systems use vertical borehole heat exchangers to transfer heat to and from the surrounding ground via a heat carrier fluid that circulates between the borehole and the heat pump. An Important feature associated with design parameters and system performance is the local thermal resistances between the heat carrier flow channels in the borehole and the surrounding ground. This paper deals with the in-situ experimental determination of the effective thermal properties of the ground. The recorded thermal responses together with the line-source theory are used to determine the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity, and the steady-state borehole thermal resistance. In addition, this paper compares the experimental borehole resistance with the results from the different empirical and theoretical relations to evaluate this resistance. Further, the performance simulation of a GHP system with vertical borehole heat exchangers was conducted to analyze the effect of the borehole thermal resistance on the system performance.