• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.599-612
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• 2015

The development of renewable energy technologies that can replace fossil fuels is environmentally important; however, such technologies must be economically feasible. Economic analyses are important for assessing new projects such as geothermal heating-cooling systems, given their large initial costs. This study analyzed the economics and carbon dioxide emissions of: a SCW (standing column well), a vertical closed loop boiler, a gas boiler, and an oil boiler. Life cycle cost analysis showed that the SCW geothermal heating-cooling system had the highest economic feasibility, as it had the highest cost saving and also the lowest carbon dioxide emissions. Overall, it appears that geothermal systems can save money when applied to large-scale controlled agriculture complexes and reclaimed land.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.579-582
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• 2009

The thermal conductivity and viscosity(or workability) of graphite-added bentonite grouts and cementitious grouts have been evaluated and compared to determine the suitability of these materials for backfilling vertical boreholes of ground heat exchangers. Seven bentonite grouts from different product sources and a portland cement grout with various mixture ratios were considered in this paper. As a new additive for grout, we choose graphite which has high thermal conductivity. The bentonite grouts indicate that the thermal conductivity and viscosity increase with the content of bentonite or with an addition of Graphite compared with that of silica sand. In case of cementitious grout also increase the thermal conductivity and decrease the workability dramatically though an addition of Graphite. Therefore, we cautiously select the amount of graphite and mixture ratio of bentonite and cement considering not only thermal conductivity but also viscosity for the optimum condition of backfilling material.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.533-544
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• 2008

To obtain the physical properties of grout materials, that is the thermal conductivity and viscosity, which are used for backfilling ground heat exchangers, nine bentonite grouts and cement grouts being adapted in the United State have been considered in this study. The bentonite grouts show that the thermal conductivity and viscosity increase with the content of bentonite or filler (silica sand). The saturated cement grouts appear to possess much higher thermal conductivity than the saturated bentonite grouts, and the reduction of thermal conductivity in the cement grouts after drying specimens is less than the case of the bentonite grouts. To investigate the performance of cement grouts, fifteen samples were prepared by varying the water/cement ratio and the amount of sand and bentonite added into the cement mortar. Maintaining the moisture content of grouts is a crucial factor in enhancing the efficiency of ground heat exchangers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.615-624
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• 2010

In this paper, the applicability of cement grout has been studied as an alternative to bentontite grout to backfill ground heat exchangers. To provide an optimal mixture design, the groutabilty and thermal conductivity of cement grouts with various mixture ratios were experimentally evaluated and compared. The unconfined compression strength of cement grout specimen was measured, which are exposed to cyclic temperature variation ranging from $50^{\circ}C$ to $-5^{\circ}C$. In addition, the integrity of the interface between circulating HDPE pipes and cement grout by performing equivalent hydraulic conductivity tests, in which a pipe locates at the center of the specimen.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.229-239
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• 2010

Performing a series of in-situ thermal response tests, the effective thermal conductivity of six vertical closed-loop ground heat exchangers was experimentally evaluated and compared each other, which were constructed in a test bed in Wonju. To compare thermal efficiency of the ground heat exchangers in field, the six boreholes were constructed with different construction conditions: grouting materials (cement vs. bentonite), different additives (silica sand vs. graphite) and the shape of pipe-sections (general U-loop type vs. 3 pipe-type). From the test results, it can be concluded that cement grouting has a higher effective thermal conductivity than that of bentonite grouting, and the efficiency of graphite better performs over silica sand as a thermally-enhancing addictive. In addition, a new 3 pipe-type heat exchanger provides less thermal interference between the inlet and outlet pipe than the conventional U-loop type heat exchanger, which results in superior thermal performance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.03a
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• pp.179-187
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• 2009

Bentonite-based grouting has been popularly used to seal a borehole installed for a closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger in a geothermal heat pump system (GHP) because of its high swelling potential and low hydraulic conductivity. The bentonite-based grout, however, has relatively lower thermal conductivity than that of ground formation. Accordingly, it is common to add some additives such as silica sand to the bentonite-based grout for enhancing thermal performance. In this study, graphite is adapted to substitute silica sand as an addictive because graphite has very high thermal conductivity. The effect of graphite on the thermal conductivity of bentonite-based grouts has been quantitatively evaluated for seven bentonite grouts from different product sources. In addition, comparisons of viscosity between applications of graphite and silica sand as additives has been carried out. In conclusion, using graphite has thermal conductivity about three times higher than that of silica sand.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.49-56
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• 2013

The use of geothermal energy has been increased for economic and environmental friendly utilization. Ground thermal conductivity and borehole thermal resistance are very important parameters in the design of geothermal heat pump system. This paper presents an experimental study of heat exchange rate of U and W type ground heat exchangers (GHEs) measured by thermal performance tests (TPTs). U and W type GHEs were installed in a partially saturated dredged soil deposit, and TPTs were conducted to evaluate heat exchange rates under 100-hr continuous operation condition. The heat exchange rates were also calculated by analytical models to estimate borehole thermal resistances and were compared with experimental results. It comes out that multi-pole and equivalent diameter (EQD) models resulted in more accurate agreement than shape factor (SF) model which is currently more often used.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.68-74
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• 2012

Investigation of the effective soil thermal conductivity($k$) is the first step in designing the ground loop heat exchanger(borehole) of a geothermal heat pump system. Another important factor is the borehole thermal resistance($R_b$). Thermal response tests offer a good method to determine the ground thermal properties for the total heat transport in the ground. The first step is measured for initial soil temperature. This is done by supplying a only pump power into a borehole heat exchanger. They need to supply into water unload heat power more than 30 minutes. In this study, the initial soil temperature was found to analysis $14.1{\sim}16.0^{\circ}C$,the ratio was 68.7% represented. In this case of $k$, was 2.1~3.0 $W/m{\cdot}k$, $R_b$ was 0.11~0.20 $m{\cdot}K/W$. In this work, it is also shown that the distribution of a soil thermal conductivity and borehole thermal resistance were on the influence of initial soil temperature. And soil thermal conductivity was related with factors of equation by linear least square method, borehole thermal resistance was on the influence of composite factors.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.71-78
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• 2010

Investigation of the effective soil thermal conductivity(k) is the first step in designing the ground loop heat exchanger(borehole) of a geothermal heat pump system. The line source method is required by New and Renewable Energy Center of Korea Energy Management Corporation in analyzing data obtained from thermal response tests. Another important factor in designing the ground loop heat exchanger is the borehole thermal resistance($R_b$). There are two methods to evaluate $R_b$ : one is to use a line source method, and the other is to use a shape factor of the borehole. In this study, we demonstrated that the line source method produces better results than the shape factor method in evaluating $R_b$. This is because the borehole thermal resistance evaluated with the line source method characteristically reduces the temperature differences between an actual and a theoretical thermal behaviors of the borehole. Evaluation of $R_b$ requires soil volumetric heat capacity. However, the effect of the soil volumetric heat capacity on the borehole thermal resistance is very small. Therefore, it is possible to use a generally accepted average value of soil volumetric heat capacity($=2MJ/m^3{\cdot}K$) in the analysis. In this work, it is also shown that an acceptable range of the initial ignoring time should be in the range of 8~16hrs. Thus, a mean value of 12 hrs is recommended.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2011

Time series analysis was applied to groundwater level, water temperature, and electrical conductivity data obtained from monitoring wells around ground-source heat pumps at Sangji University of Wonju (standing column well type) and at Jungwon University of Goesan (closed loop type), from 21 May to 12 October 2010. We found large temporal variations in the characteristics of groundwater at Wonju, but only minor variations at Goesan. These results may improve our understanding of the effects of ground-source heat pumps on the characteristics of surrounding groundwater, according to the installation method for the pumps.