IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v202y2023icp442-452.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating scalability of deep borehole heat exchangers: Numerical modelling of arrays with varied modes of operation

Author

Listed:
  • Brown, Christopher S.
  • Kolo, Isa
  • Falcone, Gioia
  • Banks, David

Abstract

Deep Borehole Heat Exchangers (DBHEs) are a potentially important method of developing geothermal resources through closed-loop systems for carbon neutral, spatial heating. Past research has primarily focused on single-well systems, with few investigating arrays of multiple DBHEs as a method of extracting more thermal energy. In this study, a series of arrays were modelled using OpenGeoSys software, with the aim of understanding the influence of array geometry, inter-borehole spacing and the mode of operation on the thermal performance and system efficiency. OpenGeoSys software is a finite-element model which solves thermal fluxes through the wellbore and surrounding rock using the dual-continuum method. Simulations were undertaken for the lifetime of an array (20 years) with modes of operation testing 1) long-term constant heat load application and 2) intermittent operation with 6 months of extraction followed by a recovery period. Results indicate geometry and mode of operation had a significant impact on inter-borehole spacing and system performance. For long term constant heat load application of 50 kW per DBHE, the minimal spacing required for line and square arrays should be 40 and 30 m. When considering intermittent operation, recovery periods allow replenishment of heat around the borehole, meaning smaller spacing can be utilised.

Suggested Citation

  • Brown, Christopher S. & Kolo, Isa & Falcone, Gioia & Banks, David, 2023. "Investigating scalability of deep borehole heat exchangers: Numerical modelling of arrays with varied modes of operation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 442-452.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:202:y:2023:i:c:p:442-452
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2022.11.100
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148122017402
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2022.11.100?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kim, Seong-Kyun & Bae, Gwang-Ok & Lee, Kang-Kun & Song, Yoonho, 2010. "Field-scale evaluation of the design of borehole heat exchangers for the use of shallow geothermal energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 491-500.
    2. Cai, Wanlong & Wang, Fenghao & Chen, Shuang & Chen, Chaofan & Liu, Jun & Deng, Jiewen & Kolditz, Olaf & Shao, Haibing, 2021. "Analysis of heat extraction performance and long-term sustainability for multiple deep borehole heat exchanger array: A project-based study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    3. Falcone, Gioia & Liu, Xiaolei & Okech, Roy Radido & Seyidov, Ferid & Teodoriu, Catalin, 2018. "Assessment of deep geothermal energy exploitation methods: The need for novel single-well solutions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 54-63.
    4. Hu, Xincheng & Banks, Jonathan & Wu, Linping & Liu, Wei Victor, 2020. "Numerical modeling of a coaxial borehole heat exchanger to exploit geothermal energy from abandoned petroleum wells in Hinton, Alberta," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1110-1123.
    5. Galgaro, Antonio & Farina, Zeno & Emmi, Giuseppe & De Carli, Michele, 2015. "Feasibility analysis of a Borehole Heat Exchanger (BHE) array to be installed in high geothermal flux area: The case of the Euganean Thermal Basin, Italy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 93-104.
    6. Ruifeng Wang & Fenghao Wang & Yuze Xue & Jinghua Jiang & Yuping Zhang & Wanlong Cai & Chaofan Chen, 2022. "Numerical Study on the Long-Term Performance and Load Imbalance Ratio for Medium-Shallow Borehole Heat Exchanger System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, May.
    7. Theo Renaud & Patrick G. Verdin & Gioia Falcone, 2020. "Conjugated Numerical Approach for Modelling DBHE in High Geothermal Gradient Environments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    8. Ingen Perser & Ian Alistair Frigaard, 2022. "A Comprehensive Study on Intermittent Operation of Horizontal Deep Borehole Heat Exchangers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-27, January.
    9. Cai, Wanlong & Wang, Fenghao & Chen, Chaofan & Chen, Shuang & Liu, Jun & Ren, Zhanli & Shao, Haibing, 2022. "Long-term performance evaluation for deep borehole heat exchanger array under different soil thermal properties and system layouts," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Christopher S. Brown & Hannah Doran & Isa Kolo & David Banks & Gioia Falcone, 2023. "Investigating the Influence of Groundwater Flow and Charge Cycle Duration on Deep Borehole Heat Exchangers for Heat Extraction and Borehole Thermal Energy Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Li, Chao & Jiang, Chao & Guan, Yanling & Chen, Kai & Wu, Jiale & Xu, Jiamin & Wang, Jiachen, 2024. "Simplified method and numerical simulation analysis of pipe-group long-term heat transfer in deep-ground heat exchangers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    3. Christopher Simon Brown, 2023. "Revisiting the Deep Geothermal Potential of the Cheshire Basin, UK," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Zhendi Ma & Siyu Qin & Yuping Zhang & Wei-Hsin Chen & Guosheng Jia & Chonghua Cheng & Liwen Jin, 2023. "Effects of Boundary Conditions on Performance Prediction of Deep-Buried Ground Heat Exchangers for Geothermal Energy Utilization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-27, June.
    5. Zhang, Sheng & Liu, Jun & Zhang, Xia & Wang, Fenghao, 2024. "Properly shortening design time scale of medium-deep borehole heat exchanger for high building heating performances with high computational efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    6. Brown, C.S. & Kolo, I. & Lyden, A. & Franken, L. & Kerr, N. & Marshall-Cross, D. & Watson, S. & Falcone, G. & Friedrich, D. & Diamond, J., 2024. "Assessing the technical potential for underground thermal energy storage in the UK," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    7. Jun Liu & Yuping Zhang & Zeyuan Wang & Cong Zhou & Boyang Liu & Fenghao Wang, 2023. "Medium Rock-Soil Temperature Distribution Characteristics at Different Time Scales and New Layout Forms in the Application of Medium-Deep Borehole Heat Exchangers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-22, October.
    8. Chen, Wen & Zhou, Chaohui & Huang, Xinyu & Luo, Hanbin & Luo, Yongqiang & Cheng, Nan & Tian, Zhiyong & Zhang, Shicong & Fan, Jianhua & Zhang, Ling, 2024. "Study on thermal radius and capacity of multiple deep borehole heat exchangers: Analytical solution, algorithm and application based on Response Factor Matrix method (RFM)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christopher S. Brown & Hannah Doran & Isa Kolo & David Banks & Gioia Falcone, 2023. "Investigating the Influence of Groundwater Flow and Charge Cycle Duration on Deep Borehole Heat Exchangers for Heat Extraction and Borehole Thermal Energy Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Isa Kolo & Christopher S. Brown & Gioia Falcone & David Banks, 2023. "Repurposing a Geothermal Exploration Well as a Deep Borehole Heat Exchanger: Understanding Long-Term Effects of Lithological Layering, Flow Direction, and Circulation Flow Rate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, February.
    3. Xiaoyan Zhang & Muyan Xu & Li Liu & Lang Liu & Mei Wang & Haiwei Ji & KI-IL Song, 2020. "The Concept, Technical System and Heat Transfer Analysis on Phase-Change Heat Storage Backfill for Exploitation of Geothermal Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-22, September.
    4. R.V., Rohit & R., Vipin Raj & Kiplangat, Dennis C. & R., Veena & Jose, Rajan & Pradeepkumar, A.P. & Kumar, K. Satheesh, 2023. "Tracing the evolution and charting the future of geothermal energy research and development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    5. Haijiang Zou & Siyu Guo & Ruifeng Wang & Fenghao Wang & Zhenxing Shen & Wanlong Cai, 2023. "Numerical Investigation of the Long-Term Load Shifting Behaviors within the Borehole Heat Exchanger Array System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-19, March.
    6. Cai, Wanlong & Wang, Fenghao & Chen, Chaofan & Chen, Shuang & Liu, Jun & Ren, Zhanli & Shao, Haibing, 2022. "Long-term performance evaluation for deep borehole heat exchanger array under different soil thermal properties and system layouts," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    7. Zhang, Sheng & Liu, Jun & Wang, Fenghao & Chai, Jiale, 2023. "Design optimization of medium-deep borehole heat exchanger for building heating under climate change," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    8. Yazhou Zhao & Xiangxi Qin & Xiangyu Shi, 2022. "Heat Transfer Modeling on High-Temperature Charging and Discharging of Deep Borehole Heat Exchanger with Transient Strong Heat Flux," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-34, August.
    9. Li, Chao & Jiang, Chao & Guan, Yanling & Chen, Kai & Wu, Jiale & Xu, Jiamin & Wang, Jiachen, 2024. "Simplified method and numerical simulation analysis of pipe-group long-term heat transfer in deep-ground heat exchangers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    10. Jun Liu & Yuping Zhang & Zeyuan Wang & Cong Zhou & Boyang Liu & Fenghao Wang, 2023. "Medium Rock-Soil Temperature Distribution Characteristics at Different Time Scales and New Layout Forms in the Application of Medium-Deep Borehole Heat Exchangers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-22, October.
    11. Lyden, A. & Brown, C.S. & Kolo, I. & Falcone, G. & Friedrich, D., 2022. "Seasonal thermal energy storage in smart energy systems: District-level applications and modelling approaches," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    12. Chen, Wen & Zhou, Chaohui & Huang, Xinyu & Luo, Hanbin & Luo, Yongqiang & Cheng, Nan & Tian, Zhiyong & Zhang, Shicong & Fan, Jianhua & Zhang, Ling, 2024. "Study on thermal radius and capacity of multiple deep borehole heat exchangers: Analytical solution, algorithm and application based on Response Factor Matrix method (RFM)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    13. Theo Renaud & Patrick G. Verdin & Gioia Falcone, 2020. "Conjugated Numerical Approach for Modelling DBHE in High Geothermal Gradient Environments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    14. Niu, Qinghe & Ma, Kaiyuan & Wang, Wei & Pan, Jienan & Wang, Qizhi & Du, Zhigang & Wang, Zhenzhi & Yuan, Wei & Zheng, Yongxiang & Shangguan, Shuantong & Qi, Xiaofei & Pan, Miaomiao & Ji, Zhongmin, 2023. "Multifactor analysis of heat extraction performance of coaxial heat exchanger applied to hot dry rock resources exploration: A case study in matouying uplift, Tangshan, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    15. Somogyi, Viola & Sebestyén, Viktor & Nagy, Georgina, 2017. "Scientific achievements and regulation of shallow geothermal systems in six European countries – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P2), pages 934-952.
    16. Deng, Jiewen & Su, Yangyang & Peng, Chenwei & Qiang, Wenbo & Cai, Wanlong & Wei, Qingpeng & Zhang, Hui, 2023. "How to improve the energy performance of mid-deep geothermal heat pump systems: Optimization of heat pump, system configuration and control strategy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    17. Al Saedi, A.Q. & Sharma, P. & Kabir, C.S., 2021. "A novel cyclical wellbore-fluid circulation strategy for extracting geothermal energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    18. Lin, Zi & Liu, Xiaolei & Lao, Liyun & Liu, Hengxu, 2020. "Prediction of two-phase flow patterns in upward inclined pipes via deep learning," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    19. Yu, Ruyang & Zhang, Kai & Ramasubramanian, Brindha & Jiang, Shu & Ramakrishna, Seeram & Tang, Yuhang, 2024. "Ensemble learning for predicting average thermal extraction load of a hydrothermal geothermal field: A case study in Guanzhong Basin, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    20. Cheng, Sharon W.Y. & Kurnia, Jundika C. & Ghoreishi-Madiseh, Seyed Ali & Sasmito, Agus P., 2019. "Optimization of geothermal energy extraction from abandoned oil well with a novel well bottom curvature design utilizing Taguchi method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:202:y:2023:i:c:p:442-452. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.