• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.122.2-122.2
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• 2010

Knowledge of ground thermal properties is most important for the proper design of BHE(borehole heat exchanger) systems. The configure type, pipe size and thermal performance of the BHE is highly dependent on the ground source heatpump system-efficiency and instruction cost. Thermal response tests with mobile measurement devices were developed primarily for in-situ determination of design data for Standing Column Well apply. The main purpose has been to determine in-situ values of effective ground thermal conductivity and thermal resistance, including the effect of ground-water flow and natural convection in the boreholes. The test rig is set up on a some trailer, and contains a sub-circulation pump, a boiler, temperature sensors, flow meter and a data logger for recording the temperature and circulation fluid flow data. A constant heating power is injected into the SCW through the test rig and the resulting temperature change in the SCW is recorded. The recorded temperature data are analysed with a line-source model, which gives the effective in-situ values of rock thermal conductivity and thermal resistance of SCW.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Geothermal and Hydrothermal Energy
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2009

Bentonite-based grouting has been usually used for sealing 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 into the bentonite-based grout for enhancing heat transfer. 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, the viscosity of graphite-added bentonite grout was measured to evaluate the field pumpability of the grout.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.776-781
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• 2008

A ground heat exchanger in a GSHP system is an important unit that determines the thermal performance of a system and its initial cost. The Size and performance of this heat exchanger is highly dependent on the thermal properties. A proper design requires certain site-specific parameters, most importantly the ground effective thermal conductivity, the borehole thermal resistance and the undisturbed ground temperature. This paper is part of a research project aiming at constructing a database of these site-specific properties, especially ground effective thermal conductivity. The objective was to develop and evaluation method, and to provide this knowledge to design engineers. To achieve these goals, thermal response tests were conducted using a testing device at nearly 150 locations in Korea. The in-situ thermal response is the temperature development over time when a known heating load imposed, e.g. by circulating a heat carrier fluid through the test exchangers. The line-source model was then applied to the response test data because of its simplicity. From the data analysis, the range of ground effective thermal conductivity at various sites is $1.5{\sim}4.0\;W$/mK. The results also show that the ground effective thermal conductivity varies with grouting materials as well as regional geological conditions and groundwater flow.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.79-98
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• 2014

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on the evaluation of a thermal response test using a precast high-strength concrete (PHC) energy pile and a closed vertical system with W-type ground heat exchangers (GHEs). Field thermal response tests (TRTs) were conducted on a PHC energy pile and on a general vertical GHE installed in a multiple layered soil ground. The equivalent ground thermal conductivity was determined by using the results from TRTs. A simple analytical solution is suggested in this research to derive an equivalent ground thermal conductivity of the multilayered soils for vertically buried GHEs. The PHC energy pile and general vertical system were numerically modeled using a three dimensional finite element method to compare the results with TRTs'. Borehole thermal resistance values were also obtained from the numerical results, and they were compared with various analytical solutions. Additionally, the effect of ground thermal conductivity on the borehole thermal resistance was analyzed.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.739-745
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• 2008

This paper presents the measurement of ground thermal conductivity and the characteristics of ground thermal diffusion by a ground heat exchanger(GHE). A borehole is installed to a depth of 175 m with a diameter of 150 mm. To analyze the thermal diffusion property of the GHE, thermocouples are installed under the ground near the GHE. The outdoor temperature, the ground temperature, and the water temperature of the GHE are monitored for evaluating the characteristics of ground thermal diffusion. The ground thermal conductivity is evaluated by the in-situ thermal response tester and the line source model. It is found to be 3.08 W/$m^{\circ}C$ in this study. The ground temperature is greatly dependent on the outdoor temperature from the ground surface to 2.5 m in depth and is stable below 10 m in depth. The surface temperature of the GHE varies as a function of the temperature of circulating water. But the ground temperature at 1.5 m far from the GHE is not changed in accordance with the temperature of circulating water.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.392-399
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• 2011

Ground-coupled heat pump(GCHP) systems have been shown to be an environmentally-friendly, efficient alternative to traditional cooling and heating systems in both residential and commercial applications. Although some work related to performance evaluation of GCHP systems for commercial buildings has been done, relatively little has been reported on the residential applications. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cooling and heating performances of a vertical GCHP system applied to an artificial detached house($117\;m^2$) in Seoul. For this purpose, a typical design procedure was involved with a combination of design parameters such as building loads, heat pump capacity, borehole diameter, and ground thermal properties, etc. The cooling and heating performance simulation of the system was conducted with different prediction times of 8760 hours and 240 months. The performance characteristics including seasonal system COP, average annual power consumption, and temperature variations related to ground heat exchanger were calculated and compared.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.173-182
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• 2005

The Performance of U-tube ground heat exchanger for geothermal heat Pump systems depends on the thermal properties of the soil, as well as grout or backfill materials in the borehole. In-situ tests provide a means of estimating some of these properties. In this study, in-situ thermal response tests were completed on two vertical boreholes, 130 m deep with 62 mm diameter high density polyethylene U-tubes. The tests were conducted by adding a monitored amount of heat to water over a $17\~18$ hour period for each vertical boreholes. By monitoring the water temperatures entering and exiting the loop and heat load, overall thermal conductivity values of grout/soil formation were determined. Two parameter estimation models for evaluation of thermal response test data were compared when applied on the same temperature response data. One model is based on line-source theory and the other is a numerical one-dimensional finite difference model. The average thermal conductivity deviation between measured data and these models is of the magnitude $1\%$ to $5\%$.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11b
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• pp.2381-2384
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• 2008

The heat exchange between the Borehole Heat Exchanger(BHE) and the surrounding ground depends directly on ground thermal conductivity k at the certain site. The k is thus a key parameter in designing BHE and coupled geothermal heat pump systems. Currently, although a thermal hydraulic Response Test(TRT) is mostly used in practice, the thermal hydraulic TRT needs additional power and is generally time-consuming. A new, simple wireless probe for hi-speed k determination was introduced in this paper. This technique using a wireless probe is less time-consuming and requires no external source of energy for measurement and predicts local thermal properties by measuring soil temperatures along the depth. Measured temperature data along the depth was analyzed. As a result, the electronic wireless probe can replace the conventional hydraulic TRT method after carrying out the additional research on a lot of local heat flow, etc.

• 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.