IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v382y2025ics030626192402600x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thermal performance response and heat load redistribution mechanism of a deep U-type borehole heat exchanger in heating systems

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Chaofan
  • Witte, Francesco
  • Taherdangkoo, Reza
  • Cai, Wanlong
  • Chen, Shuang
  • Kong, Yanlong
  • Shao, Haibing
  • Hofmann, Mathias
  • Nagel, Thomas

Abstract

Deep closed-loop borehole heat exchanger systems have gained significant attention in recent years for extracting geothermal energy to effectively heat buildings, e.g. by integrating them into district heating systems. In this work, a 3D numerical model of the pilot Deep U-type Borehole Heat Exchanger (DUBHE) system that was recently implemented in Xi’an, China, is established based on the OpenGeoSys software. The model is fully validated by 2-months of monitoring data from the pilot project. Then, a thermodynamic heat pump model is further coupled to investigate the transient thermal response of the DUBHE to the heat pump’s off-design performance. Subsequently, dynamic operations in a district heating system are simulated to evaluate the flexibility of the DUBHE-couple heat pump system. For the first time, the mechanism of heat load distribution by the heat pump and the behavior of heat load redistribution during operation are clarified between the subsurface DUBHE and the heat pump. The maximum sustainable heating power of the whole system is found to be around 780 kW in 120-day operation with the working fluid R410A and the required feed flow temperature of 65°C in the heat pump. With increasing operation time, the heat load distributed to the DUBHE decreases by more than 21% in 120 days due to the decrease in the heat pump performance. The R600 heat pump has the best performance and efficiency among four different working fluids, but leads to a 3.4°C reduction in the outflow temperature of the DUBHE compared to the R410A heat pump. This over-extracted performance of the DUBHE poses a challenge to its sustainable operation in terms of the circulation fluid temperature of the DUBHE. In the two operation patterns of integrating into the district heating system, the subsurface DUBHE can provide both around 70% of the total heat power to the district heating system. The average annual COP is 0.2 higher with low feed flow temperature to the district heating system and more frequent shutdown operation, showing significant flexibility in integrating the DUBHE-coupled heat pump system into the district heating system.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Chaofan & Witte, Francesco & Taherdangkoo, Reza & Cai, Wanlong & Chen, Shuang & Kong, Yanlong & Shao, Haibing & Hofmann, Mathias & Nagel, Thomas, 2025. "Thermal performance response and heat load redistribution mechanism of a deep U-type borehole heat exchanger in heating systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 382(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:382:y:2025:i:c:s030626192402600x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.125216
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626192402600X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.125216?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. 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).
    2. Blázquez, Cristina Sáez & Martín, Arturo Farfán & Nieto, Ignacio Martín & García, Pedro Carrasco & Sánchez Pérez, Luis Santiago & González-Aguilera, Diego, 2017. "Analysis and study of different grouting materials in vertical geothermal closed-loop systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(PB), pages 1189-1200.
    3. Dong, Shihao & Yu, Yuelong & Wang, Hao & Yao, Yang & Ni, Long, 2023. "An economic-energetic-environmental evaluation algorithm for hybrid mid-depth geothermal heating system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    4. Li, Jianwei & Bao, Lingling & Niu, Guoqing & Miao, Zhuang & Guo, Xiaokai & Wang, Weilian, 2024. "Research on renewable energy coupling system based on medium-deep ground temperature attenuation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PB).
    5. Triebs, Merlin Sebastian & Tsatsaronis, George, 2022. "From heat demand to heat supply: How to obtain more accurate feed-in time series for district heating systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    6. Malek, Adam E. & Adams, Benjamin M. & Rossi, Edoardo & Schiegg, Hans O. & Saar, Martin O., 2022. "Techno-economic analysis of Advanced Geothermal Systems (AGS)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 927-943.
    7. Hu, Xincheng & Banks, Jonathan & Guo, Yunting & Liu, Wei Victor, 2021. "Retrofitting abandoned petroleum wells as doublet deep borehole heat exchangers for geothermal energy production—a numerical investigation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 115-134.
    8. Deng, Jiewen & Peng, Chenwei & Su, Yangyang & Qiang, Wenbo & Cai, Wanlong & Wei, Qingpeng, 2023. "Research on the heat storage characteristic of deep borehole heat exchangers under intermittent operation mode: Simulation analysis and comparative study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    9. Li, Chao & Guan, Yanling & Liu, Jianhong & Jiang, Chao & Yang, Ruitao & Hou, Xueming, 2020. "Heat transfer performance of a deep ground heat exchanger for building heating in long-term service," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 20-34.
    10. Nikitin, Andrey & Farahnak, Mehdi & Deymi-Dashtebayaz, Mahdi & Muraveinikov, Sergei & Nikitina, Veronika & Nazeri, Reza, 2022. "Effect of ice thickness and snow cover depth on performance optimization of ground source heat pump based on the energy, exergy, economic and environmental analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 1301-1317.
    11. Luo, Jin & Rohn, Joachim & Bayer, Manfred & Priess, Anna & Xiang, Wei, 2014. "Analysis on performance of borehole heat exchanger in a layered subsurface," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 55-65.
    12. Gultekin, Ahmet & Aydin, Murat & Sisman, Altug, 2019. "Effects of arrangement geometry and number of boreholes on thermal interaction coefficient of multi-borehole heat exchangers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 163-170.
    13. Schlosser, F. & Jesper, M. & Vogelsang, J. & Walmsley, T.G. & Arpagaus, C. & Hesselbach, J., 2020. "Large-scale heat pumps: Applications, performance, economic feasibility and industrial integration," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    14. Alimonti, C. & Soldo, E. & Bocchetti, D. & Berardi, D., 2018. "The wellbore heat exchangers: A technical review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 353-381.
    15. Chen, Chaofan & Cai, Wanlong & Naumov, Dmitri & Tu, Kun & Zhou, Hongwei & Zhang, Yuping & Kolditz, Olaf & Shao, Haibing, 2021. "Numerical investigation on the capacity and efficiency of a deep enhanced U-tube borehole heat exchanger system for building heating," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 557-572.
    16. Jesper, Mateo & Schlosser, Florian & Pag, Felix & Walmsley, Timothy Gordon & Schmitt, Bastian & Vajen, Klaus, 2021. "Large-scale heat pumps: Uptake and performance modelling of market-available devices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    17. Qiu, Guodong & Li, Kuangfu & Cai, Weihua & Yu, Shipeng, 2023. "Optimization of an integrated system including a photovoltaic/thermal system and a ground source heat pump system for building energy supply in cold areas," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    18. Chen, Chaofan & Witte, Francesco & Tuschy, Ilja & Kolditz, Olaf & Shao, Haibing, 2022. "Parametric optimization and comparative study of an organic Rankine cycle power plant for two-phase geothermal sources," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    19. Chen, Jingping & Feng, Shaohang, 2020. "Evaluating a large geothermal absorber’s energy extraction and storage performance in a common geological condition," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    20. Michopoulos, A. & Zachariadis, T. & Kyriakis, N., 2013. "Operation characteristics and experience of a ground source heat pump system with a vertical ground heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 349-357.
    21. Ma, Zhenjun & Xia, Lei & Gong, Xuemei & Kokogiannakis, Georgios & Wang, Shugang & Zhou, Xinlei, 2020. "Recent advances and development in optimal design and control of ground source heat pump systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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).
    2. Shen, Junhao & Luo, Yongqiang & Zhou, Chaohui & Song, Yixiao & Tian, Zhiyong & Fan, Jianhua & Zhang, Ling & Liu, Aihua, 2025. "A slightly inclined deep borehole heat exchanger array behaves better than vertical installation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    3. Esmaeilpour, Morteza & Gholami Korzani, Maziar & Kohl, Thomas, 2022. "Impact of thermosiphoning on long-term behavior of closed-loop deep geothermal systems for sustainable energy exploitation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 1247-1260.
    4. 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).
    5. Gola, Gianluca & Di Sipio, Eloisa & Facci, Marina & Galgaro, Antonio & Manzella, Adele, 2022. "Geothermal deep closed-loop heat exchangers: A novel technical potential evaluation to answer the power and heat demands," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 1193-1209.
    6. Huang, Shuai & Lin, Duotong & Dong, Jiankai & Li, Ji, 2025. "Effects of building load characteristics on heating performance of the medium-deep U-type borehole heat exchanger coupled heat pumps: A coupled dynamic simulation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
    7. 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).
    8. Li, Chao & Jiang, Chao & Guan, Yanling & Tan, Zijing & Zhao, Zhiqiang & Zhou, Yang, 2022. "Development and applicability of heat transfer analytical model for coaxial-type deep-buried pipes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    9. Huang, Shuai & Li, Jiqin & Gao, Hu & Dong, Jiankai & Jiang, Yiqiang, 2024. "Thermal performance of medium-deep U-type borehole heat exchanger based on a novel numerical model considering groundwater seepage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    10. Huang, Shuai & Zhu, Ke & Dong, Jiankai & Li, Ji & Kong, Weizheng & Jiang, Yiqiang & Fang, Zhaohong, 2022. "Heat transfer performance of deep borehole heat exchanger with different operation modes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 645-656.
    11. Gascuel, Violaine & Rivard, Christine & Raymond, Jasmin, 2024. "Deep geothermal doublets versus deep borehole heat exchangers: A comparative study for cold sedimentary basins," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).
    12. Luo, Yongqiang & Xu, Guozhi & Cheng, Nan, 2021. "Proposing stratified segmented finite line source (SS-FLS) method for dynamic simulation of medium-deep coaxial borehole heat exchanger in multiple ground layers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 604-624.
    13. Ekmekci, Ece & Ozturk, Z. Fatih & Sisman, Altug, 2023. "Collective behavior of boreholes and its optimization to maximize BTES performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    14. Zhao, Zilong & Lv, Guoquan & Xu, Yanwen & Lin, Yu-Feng & Wang, Pingfeng & Wang, Xinlei, 2024. "Enhancing ground source heat pump system design optimization: A stochastic model incorporating transient geological factors and decision variables," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    15. Luo, Yongqiang & Xu, Guozhi & Zhang, Shicong & Cheng, Nan & Tian, Zhiyong & Yu, Jinghua, 2022. "Heat extraction and recover of deep borehole heat exchanger: Negotiating with intermittent operation mode under complex geological conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    16. Li, Tao & Wang, Xing & Yu, Yingying & Fu, Qiang & Chen, Min & Xu, Chengliang & Gao, Jiajia & Li, Guannan & Mao, Qianjun, 2024. "Performance and PV benefits analysis of multi-source renewable energy systems for different types of buildings on university campus," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(PA).
    17. Pieper, Henrik & Krupenski, Igor & Brix Markussen, Wiebke & Ommen, Torben & Siirde, Andres & Volkova, Anna, 2021. "Method of linear approximation of COP for heat pumps and chillers based on thermodynamic modelling and off-design operation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Walmsley, Timothy Gordon & Philipp, Matthias & Picón-Núñez, Martín & Meschede, Henning & Taylor, Matthew Thomas & Schlosser, Florian & Atkins, Martin John, 2023. "Hybrid renewable energy utility systems for industrial sites: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    20. Adamson, Keri-Marie & Walmsley, Timothy Gordon & Carson, James K. & Chen, Qun & Schlosser, Florian & Kong, Lana & Cleland, Donald John, 2022. "High-temperature and transcritical heat pump cycles and advancements: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(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:appene:v:382:y:2025:i:c:s030626192402600x. 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.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    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.