A New Estimate of Sand and Grout Thermal Properties in the Sandbox Experiment for Accurate Validations of Borehole Simulation Codes

Claudia Naldi, Aminhossein Jahanbin and Enzo Zanchini
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Claudia Naldi: Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Aminhossein Jahanbin: Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Enzo Zanchini: Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-25

Abstract: Ground-coupled heat pumps usually employ fields of borehole heat exchangers (BHEs), which must be designed by suitable models. In order to validate a BHE model, it is advisable to compare the computation results with experimental data. A well-known data set was provided by Beier et al. (Geothermics 2011, 40) through a laboratory model usually called “sandbox”. Several authors proposed estimates of the thermal properties of the sandbox grout and sand. In this paper, we present a new estimate of those properties, obtained by means of 2D finite-element simulations that consider all the details of the experimental setup, including the thin aluminum pipe at the BHE boundary. Our results show that the measured temperatures in the fluid and in the sand can be reproduced very accurately by considering thermal conductivities 0.863 W/(mK) for the grout and 3.22 W/(mK) for the sand, volumetric heat capacities 4.6 MJ/(m 3 K) for the grout and 3.07 MJ/(m 3 K) for the sand, and a slightly enhanced heat capacity of the water contained in the BHE. The 2D simulations are validated by comparison with an analytical solution and by 3D simulations.

Keywords: ground-coupled heat pumps; borehole heat exchangers; sandbox experiment; finite-element simulations; estimation of thermal properties (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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