• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.19-30
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• 2010

Bentonite-based grout has been widely used to seal a borehole constructed for a closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger in a geothermal heat pump system (GHP) because of its high swelling potential and low hydraulic conductivity. Three types of bentonites were compared one another in terms of viscosity and thermal conductivity in this paper. The viscosity and thermal conductivity of the grouts with bentonite contents of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% by weight were examined to take into account a variable water content of bentonite grout depending on field conditions. To evaluate the effect of salinity (i.e., concentration of NaCl : 0.1M, 0.25M, and 0.5M) on swelling potential of the bentonite-based grouts, a series of volume reduction tests were performed. In addition, if the viscosity of bentonite-water mixture is relatively low, particle segregation can occur. To examine the segregation phenomenon, the degree of segregation has been evaluated for the bentonite grouts especially in case of relatively low viscosity. From the experimental results, it is found that (1) the viscosity of the bentonite mixture increased with time and/or with increasing the mixing ratio. However, the thermal conductivity of the bentonite mixture did not increase with time but increased with increasing the mixing ratio; (2) If bentonite grout has a relatively high swelling index, the volume reduction ratio in the saline condition will be low; (3) The additive, such as a silica sand, can settle down on the bottom of the borehole if the bentonite has a very low viscosity. Consequently, the thermal conductivity of the upper portion of the ground heat exchanger will be much smaller than that of the lower portion.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09a
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• pp.800-807
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• 2010

In this study, a series of numerical analyses has been performed in order to evaluate the performance of a full-scale closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger constructed in Wonju. The circulation pipe HDPE, borehole and surrounding ground were modeled using FLUENT, a finite-volume method (FVM) program, for analyzing the heat transfer process of the system. Two user-defined functions (UDFs) accounting for the difference in the temperatures of the circulating inflow and outflow water and the change of the surrounding ground temperature with depth were adopted in the FLUENT model. The thermal properties of materials estimated in laboratory were used in the numerical analyses to compare the thermal efficiency of the cement grout with that of the bentonite grout used in the construction. The results of the simulation provide a verification of the in situ thermal response test data. The numerical model with the ground thermal conductivity of 4W/mK yielded the simulation result closer to the in-situ thermal response test than with the ground thermal conductivity of 3W/mK. From the results of the numerical analyses, the effective thermal conductivities of the cement and bentonite grouts were obtained to be 3.32W/mK and 2.99 W/mK, respectively.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.90-95
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• 2008

It has become a big matter of concerns that the skill and measures against reduction of energy and cost for heating a protected horticultural greenhouse were prepared. But in these days necessity of cooling a protected horticultural greenhouse is on the rise from partial high value added farm products. In this study, therefore, a horizontal type geothermal heat pump system with 10 RT scale to heat and cool a protected horticultural greenhouse and be considered to be cheaper than a vertical type geothermal heat pump system was installed in greenhouse with area of $240\;m^2$. And cooling performances of this system were analysed. As condenser outlet temperature of heat transfer medium fluid rose from $40^{\circ}C$ to $58^{\circ}C$, power consumption of the heat pump was an upturn from 11.5 kW to 15 kW and high pressure rose from 1,617 kPa to 2,450 kPa. Cooling COP had the trend that the higher the ground temperature at 1.75 m went, the lower the COP went. The COP was 2.7 at ground temperature at 1.75 m depth of $25.5^{\circ}C$ and 2.0 at the temperature of $33.5^{\circ}C$ and the heat extraction rate from the greenhouse were 28.8 kW, 26.5 kW respectively at the same ground temperature range. 8 hours after the heat pump was operated, the temperature of ground at 60 cm and 150 cm depth buried a geothermal heat exchanger rose $14.3^{\circ}C$, $15.3^{\circ}C$ respectively, but the temperature of ground at the same depth not buried rose $2.4^{\circ}C$, $4.3^{\circ}C$ respectively. The temperature of heat transfer medium fluid fell $7.5^{\circ}C$ after the fluid passed through geothermal heat exchanger and the fluid rejected average 46 kW to the 1.5 m depth ground. It analyzed the geothermal heat exchanger rejected average 36.8 W/m of the geothermal heat exchanger. Fan coil units in the greenhouse extracted average 28.2 kW from the greenhouse air and the temperature of heat transfer medium fluid rose $4.2^{\circ}C$after the fluid passing through fan coil units. It was analyzed the accumulation energy of thermal storage thank was 321 MJ in 3 hours and the rejection energy of the tank was 313 MJ in 4 hours.