The Implementation and Comparison of Conventional and Enhanced Borehole Thermal Response Tests: A Case Study

João de Sousa Figueira, Stefan Nachbaur, Stefan Wehinger and Peter Bourne-Webb ()
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João de Sousa Figueira: CERIS (Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability), Instituto Superior Técnico, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Stefan Nachbaur: ENERCRET Gmbh, 6832 Röthis, Austria
Stefan Wehinger: ENERCRET Gmbh, 6832 Röthis, Austria
Peter Bourne-Webb: CERIS (Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability), Instituto Superior Técnico, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems depend on the capacity for heat transfer between the system and the ground, and it is good practice to carry out an in situ thermal response test (TRT) to determine the undisturbed ground temperature, the thermal conductivity of the ground, and the thermal resistance of the borehole. Conventionally, a TRT is undertaken in a replica borehole heat exchanger (BHE); however, alternative methods have been developed that can provide continuous depth-resolved temperature recordings. The enhanced TRT (ETRT) uses a hybrid cable system which incorporates a resistance heating wire to provide a linear heat source and a fibre optic cable to measure the temperature along the length of the borehole. In this paper, a case study is presented in which a TRT and ETRT were carried out in the same BHE to evaluate its thermal response and estimate the thermal characteristics of the ground. After a brief introduction of both methods and their interpretation, a comparison between them is presented regarding their advantages and disadvantages using the results of the performed tests, which revealed an 8% difference in the soil thermal conductivity values, averaged over the length of the BHE.

Keywords: shallow geothermal energy; thermal conductivity; thermal response test; distributed temperature sensing (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: 2024
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