Optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via FLUENT numerical simulation with fluid–solid coupling

As an energy-saving and environmentally friendly technology, ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) show great potential for use in winter heating and summer cooling. However, existing systems still face the problem of insufficient heat transfer efficiency in practical applications. This study innovativel...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wei Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2025-01-01
Series:AIP Advances
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0243761
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832542736546267136
author Wei Wei
author_facet Wei Wei
author_sort Wei Wei
collection DOAJ
description As an energy-saving and environmentally friendly technology, ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) show great potential for use in winter heating and summer cooling. However, existing systems still face the problem of insufficient heat transfer efficiency in practical applications. This study innovatively considers the influence of multiple factors, including circulating water flow, U-tube geometry, and soil thermal conductivity, on the heat transfer efficiency of GSHPs. By using FLUENT software for fluid–solid coupling simulations, we evaluated the system performance under different operating conditions, covering both the winter heating and summer cooling modes. This study revealed that the heat transfer efficiency of the system can be significantly improved by optimizing the circulating water flow, U-tube geometry, and soil thermal conductivity. In particular, the heat transfer efficiency of winter heating increased from 68.3% to 79.1%, while the heat transfer efficiency of summer cooling increased from 72.1% to 80.5%. Sensitivity analysis shows that soil thermal conductivity has the greatest impact on the heat transfer efficiency, followed by the U-tube length, U-tube diameter, and finally, the circulating water flow rate. In conclusion, a comprehensive optimization scheme is proposed, including the use of additive-modified circulating water solution to increase the heat transfer capacity, optimization of the design of U-tubes to improve the heat transfer area, improvement of soil conditions to improve thermal conductivity, and adjustment of the circulating water flow rate to achieve the optimal flow state. This study lays the foundation for the further development of GSHP systems and their wider application.
format Article
id doaj-art-a4cfe850c9fd4f6fb809b96934817904
institution Kabale University
issn 2158-3226
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher AIP Publishing LLC
record_format Article
series AIP Advances
spelling doaj-art-a4cfe850c9fd4f6fb809b969348179042025-02-03T16:40:42ZengAIP Publishing LLCAIP Advances2158-32262025-01-01151015212015212-1210.1063/5.0243761Optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via FLUENT numerical simulation with fluid–solid couplingWei Wei0College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Linzhi 860000, ChinaAs an energy-saving and environmentally friendly technology, ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) show great potential for use in winter heating and summer cooling. However, existing systems still face the problem of insufficient heat transfer efficiency in practical applications. This study innovatively considers the influence of multiple factors, including circulating water flow, U-tube geometry, and soil thermal conductivity, on the heat transfer efficiency of GSHPs. By using FLUENT software for fluid–solid coupling simulations, we evaluated the system performance under different operating conditions, covering both the winter heating and summer cooling modes. This study revealed that the heat transfer efficiency of the system can be significantly improved by optimizing the circulating water flow, U-tube geometry, and soil thermal conductivity. In particular, the heat transfer efficiency of winter heating increased from 68.3% to 79.1%, while the heat transfer efficiency of summer cooling increased from 72.1% to 80.5%. Sensitivity analysis shows that soil thermal conductivity has the greatest impact on the heat transfer efficiency, followed by the U-tube length, U-tube diameter, and finally, the circulating water flow rate. In conclusion, a comprehensive optimization scheme is proposed, including the use of additive-modified circulating water solution to increase the heat transfer capacity, optimization of the design of U-tubes to improve the heat transfer area, improvement of soil conditions to improve thermal conductivity, and adjustment of the circulating water flow rate to achieve the optimal flow state. This study lays the foundation for the further development of GSHP systems and their wider application.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0243761
spellingShingle Wei Wei
Optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via FLUENT numerical simulation with fluid–solid coupling
AIP Advances
title Optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via FLUENT numerical simulation with fluid–solid coupling
title_full Optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via FLUENT numerical simulation with fluid–solid coupling
title_fullStr Optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via FLUENT numerical simulation with fluid–solid coupling
title_full_unstemmed Optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via FLUENT numerical simulation with fluid–solid coupling
title_short Optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via FLUENT numerical simulation with fluid–solid coupling
title_sort optimization of the heat transfer efficiency of a ground source heat pump heating system via fluent numerical simulation with fluid solid coupling
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0243761
work_keys_str_mv AT weiwei optimizationoftheheattransferefficiencyofagroundsourceheatpumpheatingsystemviafluentnumericalsimulationwithfluidsolidcoupling