• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.1638-1646
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• 2008

This paper presents a series of numerical simulations on the thermal performance and sectional efficiency of a closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger (U-loop) equipped in a geothermal heat pump system (GHP). A 2-D finite element analysis, ANSYS, was employed to evaluate the temperature distribution on the borehole cross section involving HDPE pipe/grout/soil formation to compare the sectional efficiency between the conventional U-loop and a new latticed HDPE pipe system which is equipped with a thermally insulating latice in order to reduce thermal interference between the inflow and outflow pipes. In addition, a 3-D finite volume analysis (Fluent) was used to simulate the operating process of the closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger by considering the effect of grout's thermal properties, rate of circulation pump, distance between the inflow and outflow pipes, and the effectiveness of the latticed HDPE pipe system. It was observed that the thermal interference between the two strands of U-loop is of importance in determining the efficiency of the ground heat exchanger, and thus it is highly recommendable to modify the cross section configuration of the conventional U-loop system by including a thermally insulating latice between the two strands.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 1996

The purpose of this study is to construct the main system of simulator for the environment control of agricultural production facilities. The model describing the system was based on the energy and mass balance in an unsteady - state situation. The model consist of the three major parts : the main model, the light model, and the environmental control model, and each part was separated to be developed individually. The main model which is the core of this system includes the thermal model, the soil model, the ventilation model, the cultivation model, and the carbon dioxide model. And also the environmental control model includes the thermal curtain model, the heater/cooler model and the underground heat exchanger model. The equations used in this model were written in analog programming methods using PCSMP The simulator was evaluated through comparison between simulated and measured temperatures controlled during daytime and night. The results showed good agreements between the predicted and measured temperatures.