This paper presents the design process of a 4x4 Laboratory Borehole Storage (LABS) model through analytical and numerical analyses. This LABS isintended to generate reference Thermal Response Functions (TRFs) as well as to be a validation tool for borehole heat transfer models. The objective of thisdesign process is to determine suitable geometrical and physical parameters for the LABS. An analytical scaling analysis is first performed and importantscaling constraints are derived. In particular, it is shown that the downscaling process leads to significantly higher values for Neumann and convectiveboundary conditions whereas the Fourier number is invariant. A numerical model is then used to verify the scaling laws, determine the size of the LABS,as well as to evaluate the influence of top surface convection and borehole radius on generated TRFs. An adequate shape for the LABS is found to be aquarter cylinder of radius and height 1.0 m, weighing around 1.2 tonnes. Natural convection on the top boundary proves to have a significant effect on thegenerated TRF with deviations of at least 15%. This convection effect is proposed as an explanation for the difference observed between experimental andanalytical results in Cimmino and Bernier (2015). A numerical reproduction of their test leads to a relative difference of 1.1% at the last reported time.As small borehole radii are challenging to reproduce in a LABS, the effect of the borehole radius on TRFs is investigated. It is found that Eskilson’sradius correction (1987) is not fully satisfactory and a new correction method must be undertaken.

With bore fields for energy extraction and injection, it is often necessary to predict the temperature response to heat loads for many years ahead. Mathematical methods, both analytical and numerical, with different degrees of sophistication, are employed. Often the g-function concept is used, in which the borehole wall is assumed to have a uniform temperature and the heat injected is constant over time. Due to the unavoidable thermal resistance between the borehole wall and the circulating fluid and with varying heat flux along the boreholes, the concept of uniform borehole wall temperature is violated, which distorts heat flow distribution between boreholes. This aspect has often been disregarded. This paper describes improvements applied to a previous numerical model approach. Improvements aim at taking into account the effect of thermal resistance between the fluid and the borehole wall. The model employs a highly conductive material (HCM) embedded in the boreholes and connected to an HCM bar above the ground surface. The small temperature difference occurring within the HCM allows the ground to naturally control the conditions at the wall of all boreholes and the heat flow distribution to the boreholes. The thermal resistance between the fluid and the borehole wall is taken into account in the model by inserting a thermally resistive layer at the borehole wall. Also, the borehole ends are given a hemispherical shape to reduce the fluctuations in the temperature gradients there. The improvements to the HCM model are reflected in a changed distribution of the heat flow to the different boreholes. Changes increase with the number of boreholes. The improvements to the HCM model are further illustrated by predicting fluid temperatures for measured variable daily loads of two monitored GCHP installations. Predictions deviate from measured values with a mean absolute error within 1.1 and 1.6 K

Performance of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) systems depends on the temperature of the secondary fluid, circulating through the ground-loop heat exchangers. Borehole systems are therefore designed in order to ensure that inlet and outlet temperatures of the secondary fluid are within given operational limits during the whole life-time of the system. Monitoring the operation of the bore fields is crucial for the validation of existing models utilized for their design. Measured data provides valuable information for researchers and practitioners working in the field. A first data-set from an ongoing monitoring project is presented in this article. The monitoring system comprises temperature sensors and power meters placed at strategic locations within the bore field. A distributed temperature sensing rig that employs fiber optic cables as linear sensors is utilized to measure temperature every meter along the depth of nine monitored boreholes, yielding data regarding both temporal and spatial variation of the temperature in the ground. The heat exchanged with the ground is also measured via power meters in all nine monitored boreholes as well as at the manifold level. The BTES system is located at the Stockholm University Campus, Sweden, and consists of 130 boreholes, 230 meters deep. After more than a year of planning and installation work, some selected measurements recorded in the BTES during the first months of operation are reported in this article.

The required length of vertical ground heat exchangers(GHX) used in ground-coupled heat pump (GCHP) systems isdetermined so that the outlet temperature from the GHXremains within certain limits for the worst ground load condi-tions. These conditions may not necessarily occur after 10 or20 years of operation, as is usually assumed, but often occurduring the first year of operation.The primary objective of this paper is to develop a generalmethodology for the calculation of the total required bore fieldlength on a monthly basis during the first year of operationusing the framework of the ASHRAE bore field sizing method.Itisathreephaseprocess.Thefirstphaseconsistsofanalyzingandorderinggroundloadsaccordingtothefirstmonthofoper-ation.Next,afirstsetofrequiredlengthsisdeterminedbyusingthe analyzed ground load components and assuming atemperaturepenaltyTp=0.Then,aniterativeprocesstocalcu-latethetemperaturepenaltyattheendofeachmonthiscarriedout to obtain the final required length for the worst conditions.The methodology is exemplified in a particular case witha slight annual cooling thermal imbalance and with a highinfluence of the hourly peak in heating. For this particularcase, it is shown that the required bore field length occursduring the first year and that the starting month of operationhas a strong influence on the results.Finally,itisshownthatitispossibletoreducetheboreholespacing when the annual ground load is quasibalanced. In thecase studied here, the minimum length occurs for a borehole-to-borehole spacing of about 3.2 m (10.50 ft)

This paper presents a study on the thermal simulationof a large existing borehole thermal energy storage(BTES) system located in Stockholm, Sweden. Thebore field investigated presents an uneven pattern,which comprises vertical and inclined boreholes, for atotal of 130 units. Such complex bore field geometrycannot be modeled with the current availablecommercial design tools. The test case presented isutilized to explore the influence of boundaryconditions and level of detail utilized for representingthe model geometry on the output of the simulation.Two boundary conditions and three geometricalconfigurations were studied. The results show that, inthe considered case, the results obtained with thetested models give a marginal difference, hence alsothe greatest level of simplification can be utilizedwithout loosing accuracy in the analysis.

Ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems represent one of the most promising techniques for heating and cooling in buildings. These systems use the ground as a heat source/sink, allowing a better efficiency thanks to the low variations of the ground temperature along the seasons. The ground-source heat exchanger (GSHE) then becomes a key component for optimizing the overall performance of the system. Moreover, the short-term response related to the dynamic behaviour of the GSHE is a crucial aspect, especially from a regulation criteria perspective in on/off controlled GSHP systems. In this context, a novel numerical GSHE model has been developed at the Instituto de Ingeniería Energética, Universitat Politècnica de València. Based on the decoupling of the short-term and the long-term response of the GSHE, the novel model allows the use of faster and more precise models on both sides. In particular, the short-term model considered is the B2G model, developed and validated in previous research works conducted at the Instituto de Ingeniería Energética. For the long-term, the g-function model was selected, since it is a previously validated and widely used model, and presents some interesting features that are useful for its combination with the B2G model. The aim of the present paper is to describe the procedure of combining these two models in order to obtain a unique complete GSHE model for both short- and long-term simulation. The resulting model is then validated against experimental data from a real GSHP installation.

In the mathematical simulation of bore fields for ground coupled heat pump (GCHP) systems, it has become a common practice to consider the boreholes as having a uniform temperature. As a rule the boreholes are hydraulically connected in parallel and the small temperature difference between incoming and outgoing heat carrier fluid justifies the assumption that all boreholes have the same uniform temperature in operation. Two simultaneous boundary conditions usually apply: All borehole walls should have a uniform temperature and the heat flow from the bore field should equal the energy needed by the heat pump. This paper describes improvements applied to a previous numerical approach that employs the concept of a highly conductive material (HCM) embedded in the boreholes and connected to a HCM bar above the ground surface to impose a uniform temperature boundary condition at the borehole wall. The original boundary condition with the uniform fluid temperature comes in conflict with the concept of the uniform borehole wall temperature. Between the fluid and the borehole wall there is a thermal borehole resistance. The heat flux increases at the borehole ends and thus also the temperature changes between borehole wall and the fluid. The borehole wall temperature deviates from the uniform assumption and will cause an error in the simulations. This paper presents a correction to that error. Firstly, the improvements to the HCM model are validated for g-function generation, which presents a good agreement with reference solutions. Secondly, the improvements to the HCM model are illustrated to predict fluid temperatures for measured variable daily loads of a monitored GCHP installation. The predicted fluid temperatures are compared with monitored data for about four years. The predicted fluid temperatures deviate from the measured data by less than 1 K during the last monitored year. 

This paper presents the description of the first stage of a project consisting on the monitoring of a newly installed borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) system that started to operate during the autumn of 2015. The BTES system is designed for approximately 4 GWh per year of heat injection and 3 GWh per year of heat extraction and will provide heating and cooling to a set of institutional facilities at Stockholm University, Sweden. The energy storage system consists of a set of 130 borehole heat exchangers, 230 meters deep. Strategic locations within the bore field have been selected to carry out the measurements. The monitoring system comprises temperature and energy flow meters. The temperature measurements are performed using a distributed temperature sensing set-up which allows to measure temperature along the depth of the boreholes, providing a large amount of data for the characterization of the thermal processes in the ground. During the upcoming years, the measured data will be utilized to evaluate and optimize the actual operational condition of the system, and to test the validity of assumptions made during the design phase. Moreover, the measured data will be utilized for validation of current bore field design methods and to have a better understanding of the thermal interaction between neighboring boreholes.

The design of a borehole field should be based on a long-term simulation of its thermal response for the intended energy loads. A well-known method to evaluate the response is based on a pre-calculated dimensionless function, the g-function. When calculating g-functions, there are two commonly used approaches for treating the boundary condition at the borehole wall: a constant heat flux at every instant of time, or a uniform temperature at a constant total heat flow to the borehole field. This paper is focused on a new approach to model the thermal process of borehole fields; in particular with a precise representation of a uniform temperature boundary condition at the borehole wall. The main purpose of this model is to be used as a research tool to either generate g-functions for particular cases or handle situations that cannot be addressed by others methods. First, the almost constant temperature along the borehole heat exchanger in operation requires a boundary condition of essentially isothermal boreholes along the depth. In a common case, the borehole heat exchangers are connected in parallel, thus all boreholes should have the same temperature. Also, the total heat flow to the borehole field should be constant over time. For this purpose, a numerical model in which the boreholes are filled with a hypothetical highly conductive material has been built, reproducing the isothermal condition. By thermally interconnecting the boreholes, the equal temperature condition is satisfied. Finally, the specified total heat flow is fed into one spot at the highly conductive material. The model is validated by generating g-functions of some simple borehole field configurations. The g-functions present, in general, a good agreement with the existing solutions for a similar boundary condition. Moreover, the model is also tested against real experimental data from a 2. ×. 3 borehole field at an office building. The simulated daily fluid temperatures are compared with measured daily fluid temperatures for the sixth year of operation. The simulated values present, in general, a good agreement with the measured data. The results show that there are no significant differences with regard to the boundary conditions at the borehole wall, which for this specific case is due to the fact that the system is thermally balanced.