A method to evaluate thermal response tests on groundwater-filled boreholes

Paper in proceeding, 2012

The design of borehole heat exchangers for ground source heat pump system applications requires thermal properties, like ground thermal conductivity and borehole thermal resistance, as inputs. These properties are often determined from an in-situ thermal response test of a pilot borehole. For groundwater-filled boreholes, the ground thermal conductivity and borehole resistance estimations are affected by the heat-injection rates used during the test. Most existing methods for evaluating thermal response tests were not originally developed to analyze tests on groundwater-filled boreholes, and these methods can sometimes give erroneous results in such situations. This paper presents a new method for the evaluation of thermal response tests on grouted and groundwater-filled boreholes. The method is based on an analytical solution, which considers the thermal capacities, thermal resistances, and thermal properties of all borehole elements. The proposed method simplifies the evaluation of thermal response tests on groundwater-filled boreholes and provides accurate estimations of ground thermal conductivity and borehole thermal resistance.