Low-Cost Distributed Thermal Response Test for the Estimation of Thermal Ground and Grout Conductivities in Geothermal Heat Pump Applications

The design process of a borehole heat exchanger (BHE) requires knowledge of building thermal loads, the expected heat pump’s COP and the ground’s thermophysical properties. The thermal response test (TRT) is a common experimental technique for estimating the ground’s thermal conductivity and borehole thermal resistance. In classic TRT, a constant heat transfer rate is provided above ground to the carrier fluid that circulates continuously inside a pilot BHE. The average fluid temperature is measured, and from its time-dependent evolution, it is possible to infer both the thermal resistance of the BHE and the thermal conductivity of the ground. The present paper investigates the possibility of a new approach for TRT with the continuous injection of heat directly into the BHE’s grouting by means of electrical resistance imparted along the entire BHE’s length, while local (along the depth) temperature measurements are acquired. This DTRT (distributed TRT) approach has seldom been applied and, in most applications, circulating hot fluid and optical fibers are used to infer depth-related temperatures. The distributed measurements allow the detection of thermal ground anomalies along the heat exchanger and even the presence of aquifer layers. The present paper investigates the new EDDTRT (electric depth-distributed TRT, under patenting) approach based on traditional instruments (e.g., RTD) or one-wire digital sensors. The accuracy of the proposed method is numerically assessed by Comsol Multiphysics simulations. The analysis of the data obtained from the “virtual” EDDTRT confirms the possibility of estimating within 10% accuracy both thermal ground and grout conductivities.