Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Comparison Of Horizontal Ground Source (Geothermal) Heat Pump Layouts For Optimal Performance And Thermal Efficiency, Elizabeth M. Bocchino

Honors Theses

This study investigates the difference in thermal efficiencies of horizontal ground source heat pump layouts through computer simulation and experimental modeling. The main objective of this project was to determine if the shape of the layout affects the total heat exchange in a horizontal geothermal system. Geothermal energy is power extracted from the Earth and studies have been focused on increasing the efficiency of the heat transfer from the Earth to the system. Steady state and transient thermal analyses were conducted on two horizontal layout shapes, a U-loop and a coil, in ANSYS Fluent. This system was not full size, …