A Model of a Diaphragm Wall Ground Heat Exchanger

Ida Shafagh, Simon Rees, Iñigo Urra Mardaras, Marina Curto Janó and Merche Polo Carbayo
Additional contact information
Ida Shafagh: School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Simon Rees: School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Iñigo Urra Mardaras: Tecnalia, Anardi Industrigunea, 5 E-20730 Azpeitia-Gipuzkoa, Spain
Marina Curto Janó: ARC BCN, Pau Claris 97, 08009 Barcelona, Spain
Merche Polo Carbayo: Comsa Corporación, Av. Roma 25–27, 08029 Barcelona, Spain

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-23

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 series of thermal response test measurements at two full-scale diaphragm wall heat exchanger installations in Barcelona, Spain. Validation studies are presented in terms of comparisons between the predicted and measured fluid temperatures and heat transfer rates. The model was found to predict the dynamics of thermal response over a range of operating conditions with good accuracy and using very modest computational resources.

Keywords: geothermal; ground heat exchanger; diaphragm wall; screen wall; model validation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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