Numerical study on heat transfer characteristics in branch tube type ground heat exchanger

A ground heat exchanger is an essential component of ground source heat pumps, which saves cooling and heating energy effectively. In this study, a branch tube type heat exchanger is suggested for a ground heat exchanger instead of commonly using the U-tube type for increasing heat transfer efficiency. The branch tube type heat exchanger has conjugate heat transfer including convective heat transfer between the walls of primary- and branch-tubes and internally circulating fluid, and conduction in the tube walls and grout. This conjugate heat transfer phenomenon is analyzed by steady 3-D numerical analysis using the finite volume method. In the analysis, temperature distribution, rate of heat transfer and pressure drop are compared for the branch tube type ground heat exchanger with 2, 4, 6, and 8 branch tubes together with a single U-tube type ground heat exchanger. Generally, the branch tube type shows better heat transfer performance compared to the U-tube type and the higher number of branch tubes give better heat transfer performance. Also, the branch tube type yields higher pressure drop than the U-tube type for the same mass flow rate of circulating fluid in the heat exchanger.