IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v11y2018i4p919-d140902.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Numerical Simulation of Nanofluid Suspensions in a Geothermal Heat Exchanger

Author

Listed:
  • Xiao-Hui Sun

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China)

  • Hongbin Yan

    (School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China)

  • Mehrdad Massoudi

    (U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940, USA)

  • Zhi-Hua Chen

    (Key Laboratory of Transient Physics, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China)

  • Wei-Tao Wu

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China)

Abstract

It has been shown that using nanofluids as heat carrier fluids enhances the conductive and convective heat transfer of geothermal heat exchangers. In this paper, we study the stability of nanofluids in a geothermal exchanger by numerically simulating nanoparticle sedimentation during a shut-down process. The nanofluid suspension is modeled as a non-linear complex fluid; the nanoparticle migration is modeled by a particle flux model, which includes the effects of Brownian motion, gravity, turbulent eddy diffusivity, etc. The numerical results indicate that when the fluid is static, the nanoparticle accumulation appears to be near the bottom borehole after many hours of sedimentation. The accumulated particles can be removed by the fluid flow at a relatively high velocity. These observations indicate good suspension stability of the nanofluids, ensuring the operational reliability of the heat exchanger. The numerical results also indicate that a pulsed flow and optimized geometry of the bottom borehole can potentially improve the suspension stability of the nanofluids further.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiao-Hui Sun & Hongbin Yan & Mehrdad Massoudi & Zhi-Hua Chen & Wei-Tao Wu, 2018. "Numerical Simulation of Nanofluid Suspensions in a Geothermal Heat Exchanger," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:4:p:919-:d:140902
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/4/919/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/4/919/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lomascolo, Mauro & Colangelo, Gianpiero & Milanese, Marco & de Risi, Arturo, 2015. "Review of heat transfer in nanofluids: Conductive, convective and radiative experimental results," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1182-1198.
    2. Yubai Li & Hongbin Yan & Mehrdad Massoudi & Wei-Tao Wu, 2017. "Effects of Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity and Lorentz Force on the Flow and Heat Transfer of a Ferro-Nanofluid in a Magnetic Field," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Faizal, Mohammed & Bouazza, Abdelmalek & Singh, Rao M., 2016. "Heat transfer enhancement of geothermal energy piles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 16-33.
    4. Jing, Dengwei & Song, Dongxing, 2017. "Optical properties of nanofluids considering particle size distribution: Experimental and theoretical investigations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 452-465.
    5. Hu, Jinzhong, 2017. "An improved analytical model for vertical borehole ground heat exchanger with multiple-layer substrates and groundwater flow," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 537-549.
    6. Zhou, Zhifu & Wu, Wei-Tao & Massoudi, Mehrdad, 2016. "Fully developed flow of a drilling fluid between two rotating cylinders," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 281(C), pages 266-277.
    7. Wei-Tao Wu & Mehrdad Massoudi & Hongbin Yan, 2017. "Heat Transfer and Flow of Nanofluids in a Y-Type Intersection Channel with Multiple Pulsations: A Numerical Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    8. Fan, Rui & Jiang, Yiqiang & Yao, Yang & Shiming, Deng & Ma, Zuiliang, 2007. "A study on the performance of a geothermal heat exchanger under coupled heat conduction and groundwater advection," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 2199-2209.
    9. Wei-Tao Wu & Nadine Aubry & James F. Antaki & Mark L. McKoy & Mehrdad Massoudi, 2017. "Heat Transfer in a Drilling Fluid with Geothermal Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.
    10. John W. Lund, 2010. "Direct Utilization of Geothermal Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 3(8), pages 1-29, August.
    11. Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Lund, Henrik, 2011. "A renewable energy system in Frederikshavn using low-temperature geothermal energy for district heating," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 479-487, February.
    12. Ghasemi-Fare, Omid & Basu, Prasenjit, 2016. "Predictive assessment of heat exchange performance of geothermal piles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1178-1196.
    13. Marcotte, D. & Pasquier, P., 2008. "On the estimation of thermal resistance in borehole thermal conductivity test," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2407-2415.
    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. Zhe Wang & Fenghui Han & Yulong Ji & Wenhua Li, 2020. "Performance and Exergy Transfer Analysis of Heat Exchangers with Graphene Nanofluids in Seawater Source Marine Heat Pump System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, April.
    2. Ciro Aprea & Adriana Greco & Angelo Maiorino & Claudia Masselli, 2019. "Enhancing the Heat Transfer in an Active Barocaloric Cooling System Using Ethylene-Glycol Based Nanofluids as Secondary Medium," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Hossein Javadi & Javier F. Urchueguia & Seyed Soheil Mousavi Ajarostaghi & Borja Badenes, 2021. "Impact of Employing Hybrid Nanofluids as Heat Carrier Fluid on the Thermal Performance of a Borehole Heat Exchanger," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-26, May.
    4. José Pereira & Ana Moita & António Moreira, 2023. "An Overview of the Molten Salt Nanofluids as Thermal Energy Storage Media," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-51, February.
    5. Gianpiero Colangelo & Brenda Raho & Marco Milanese & Arturo de Risi, 2021. "Numerical Evaluation of a HVAC System Based on a High-Performance Heat Transfer Fluid," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, June.
    6. Joanna Piotrowska-Woroniak, 2021. "Assessment of Ground Regeneration around Borehole Heat Exchangers between Heating Seasons in Cold Climates: A Case Study in Bialystok (NE, Poland)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    7. Luka Boban & Dino Miše & Stjepan Herceg & Vladimir Soldo, 2021. "Application and Design Aspects of Ground Heat Exchangers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-31, April.
    8. Marco Milanese & Francesco Micali & Gianpiero Colangelo & Arturo de Risi, 2022. "Experimental Evaluation of a Full-Scale HVAC System Working with Nanofluid," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, April.
    9. Pisarevsky, M.I. & Struchalin, P.G. & Balakin, B.V. & Kutsenko, K.V. & Maslov, Y.A., 2024. "Experimental study of nanofluid heat transfer for geothermal applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    10. Joanna Piotrowska-Woroniak, 2021. "Determination of the Selected Wells Operational Power with Borehole Heat Exchangers Operating in Real Conditions, Based on Experimental Tests," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, April.
    11. Abdelazim Abbas Ahmed & Mohsen Assadi & Adib Kalantar & Tomasz Sliwa & Aneta Sapińska-Śliwa, 2022. "A Critical Review on the Use of Shallow Geothermal Energy Systems for Heating and Cooling Purposes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Soltani, M. & Moradi Kashkooli, Farshad & Alian Fini, Mehdi & Gharapetian, Derrick & Nathwani, Jatin & Dusseault, Maurice B., 2022. "A review of nanotechnology fluid applications in geothermal energy systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(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. Nian, Yong-Le & Cheng, Wen-Long, 2018. "Insights into geothermal utilization of abandoned oil and gas wells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 44-60.
    2. Wei-Tao Wu & Nadine Aubry & James F. Antaki & Mark L. McKoy & Mehrdad Massoudi, 2017. "Heat Transfer in a Drilling Fluid with Geothermal Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Javadi, Hossein & Mousavi Ajarostaghi, Seyed Soheil & Rosen, Marc A. & Pourfallah, Mohsen, 2019. "Performance of ground heat exchangers: A comprehensive review of recent advances," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 207-233.
    4. Cherati, Davood Yazdani & Ghasemi-Fare, Omid, 2021. "Practical approaches for implementation of energy piles in Iran based on the lessons learned from the developed countries experiences," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Yubai Li & Hongbin Yan & Mehrdad Massoudi & Wei-Tao Wu, 2017. "Effects of Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity and Lorentz Force on the Flow and Heat Transfer of a Ferro-Nanofluid in a Magnetic Field," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Cui, Yuanlong & Zhu, Jie & Twaha, Ssennoga & Riffat, Saffa, 2018. "A comprehensive review on 2D and 3D models of vertical ground heat exchangers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 84-114.
    7. Zhang, Linfeng & Zhang, Quan & Huang, Gongsheng, 2016. "A transient quasi-3D entire time scale line source model for the fluid and ground temperature prediction of vertical ground heat exchangers (GHEs)," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 65-75.
    8. Tye-Gingras, Maxime & Gosselin, Louis, 2014. "Generic ground response functions for ground exchangers in the presence of groundwater flow," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 354-366.
    9. Tsubaki, Koutaro & Mitsutake, Yuichi, 2016. "Performance of ground-source heat exchangers using short residential foundation piles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 229-236.
    10. Zhang, Xueping & Han, Zongwei & Ji, Qiang & Zhang, Hongzhi & Li, Xiuming, 2021. "Thermal response tests for the identification of soil thermal parameters: A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 1123-1135.
    11. Xu, Yanyan & Xue, Yanqin & Qi, Hong & Cai, Weihua, 2021. "An updated review on working fluids, operation mechanisms, and applications of pulsating heat pipes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    12. Qi, Zishu & Gao, Qing & Liu, Yan & Yan, Y.Y. & Spitler, Jeffrey D., 2014. "Status and development of hybrid energy systems from hybrid ground source heat pump in China and other countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 37-51.
    13. Chen, Juanwen & Li, Zhibin & Huang, Wenbo & Ma, Qingshan & Li, Ang & Wang, Bin & Sun, Hongtao & Jiang, Fangming, 2024. "Super-long gravity heat pipe geothermal space heating system: A practical case in Taiyuan, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    14. Wei-Tao Wu & Mehrdad Massoudi & Hongbin Yan, 2017. "Heat Transfer and Flow of Nanofluids in a Y-Type Intersection Channel with Multiple Pulsations: A Numerical Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    15. Zanchini, Enzo & Lazzari, Stefano & Priarone, Antonella, 2012. "Long-term performance of large borehole heat exchanger fields with unbalanced seasonal loads and groundwater flow," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 66-77.
    16. Stegnar, Gašper & Staničić, D. & Česen, M. & Čižman, J. & Pestotnik, S. & Prestor, J. & Urbančič, A. & Merše, S., 2019. "A framework for assessing the technical and economic potential of shallow geothermal energy in individual and district heating systems: A case study of Slovenia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 405-420.
    17. Carotenuto, Alberto & Ciccolella, Michela & Massarotti, Nicola & Mauro, Alessandro, 2016. "Models for thermo-fluid dynamic phenomena in low enthalpy geothermal energy systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 330-355.
    18. Linden Jensen-Page & Fleur Loveridge & Guillermo A. Narsilio, 2019. "Thermal Response Testing of Large Diameter Energy Piles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.
    19. Zhao, Zilong & Lin, Yu-Feng & Stumpf, Andrew & Wang, Xinlei, 2022. "Assessing impacts of groundwater on geothermal heat exchangers: A review of methodology and modeling," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 121-147.
    20. Hu, Jinzhong, 2017. "An improved analytical model for vertical borehole ground heat exchanger with multiple-layer substrates and groundwater flow," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 537-549.

    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:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:4:p:919-:d:140902. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.