Quantitative evaluation of improper backfilling in vertical borehole

Abstract

Vertical ground heat exchanger (GHE) is widely being used to exchange heat into the ground by using the system of ground source heat pump (GSHP). The stability and thermal performance of GHE mainly relate to the grout, the advantages of GHE can be negated if the grout is not backfilled properly. In order to study the influence of grout backfilling in a vertical GHE, this study established a 2D steady-state heat conduction model, which simulated 4 cases as follows: (1) fine backfilling, (2) porous backfilling, (3) hole-wall delaminating and (4) pipe-wall delaminating. The thermal resistances inside borehole in 4 cases were estimated by using numerical and analytical methods. It has been observed that improper backfilling generates heat barriers, prolongs the time required for heat transfer and reduces heat exchange capacity. The pipe-wall delaminating greatly increases the thermal resistance and brings the worst impact to a GHE.