A Model of a Diaphragm Wall Ground Heat Exchanger
Date
2020Keywords
Geothermal
Ground heat exchanger
Diaphragm wall
Screen wall
Model validation
Abstract
Ground thermal energy is a sustainable source that can substantially reduce our dependency on conventional fuels for heating and cooling of buildings. To exploit this source, foundation sub-structures with embedded heat exchanger pipes are employed. Diaphragm wall heat exchangers are one such form of ground heat exchangers, where part of the wall is exposed to the basement area of the building on one side, while the other side and the further depth of the wall face the surrounding ground. To assess the thermal performance of diaphragm wall heat exchangers, a model that takes the wall geometry and boundary conditions at the pipe, basement, and ground surfaces into account is required. This paper describes the development of such a model using a weighting factor approach, known as Dynamic Thermal Networks (DTN), that allows representation of the three-dimensional geometry, required boundary conditions, and heterogeneous material properties. The model is validated using data from an extended ...
Type
article