Computational methods for ground thermal response of multiple borehole heat exchangers: A review

Since ground-coupled heat pump system (GCHPs) has been more and more widely applied, it is vital to build an accurate method for sizing borehole heat exchangers (BHEs), and the methods for determining the heat transfer between the boreholes and surrounding ground under time-varying loads in different time scales are the kernel of optimizing design of BHEs, which is helpful to obtain accurate results and significantly decrease computation time consuming. This paper summarizes computational methods for the ground thermal response of BHE under time-varying loads and thermal interaction of multiple BHEs, compares the representative design tools in terms of their performance characteristics, and analyzes the direct applications of computational methods in thermal response test (TRT) and operating performance simulation of GCHPs. Finally, some recommendations for future development of computational methods are proposed.