Experimental validation of horizontal air-ground heat exchangers (HAGHE) for ventilation systems

• Published in: Geothermics Vol. 80; pp. 78 - 85
• Main Authors: Congedo, Paolo Maria, Lorusso, Caterina, Baglivo, Cristina, Milanese, Marco, Raimondo, Luca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Air-ground; Buildings; CFD; Computer simulation; Cooling; Cooling effects; Energy; Experimental data; Exploitation; Geothermal energy; Geothermal power; Geothermal source; Heat conductivity; Heat exchange; Heat exchanger; Heat exchangers; Heat pumps; Heat transfer; Heating; Renewable resources; Sustainability; Sustainable yield; Thermal conductivity; Ventilation; CFD; Geothermal source; Ventilation; Air-ground; Experimental data; Heat exchanger
• ISSN: 0375-6505; 1879-3576
• DOI: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2019.02.010

•A comparison between the experimental and numerical results has been done.•CFD analysis of a Horizontal air-ground heat exchangers (HAGHE).•Experimental data of a real HAGHE application.•HAGHE behaviour shows a low dependence from the ground thermal conductivity.•Burial depth influences the HAGHE behaviour in the first ground layers. A large part of primary energy is used for heating and cooling the buildings. The exploitation of renewable resources in the building sector is still critical to ensure a high level of energy and environmental sustainability. Nowadays, a great attention is focused on geothermal energy, which reduces heating and cooling in buildings, allowing natural pre-heating and pre-cooling of the inlet air. The effect of different burial depth and thermal conductivity of ground on thermal performance of HAGHE under transient conditions has been analyzed. The results show that the transient thermal performance of HAGHE is independent from the thermal conductivity of the ground but is dependent on burial depth. In this work, it is presented the experimental validation of a mathematical model implemented by the CFD Fluent for the simulation of heat exchange that takes place within a HAGHE for geothermal heat pumps. The validation of the model is based on a comparison between the experimental data, obtained from the software, and real data, for a HAGHE located in the town of Rubiana (Turin-Italy).