Category

EV

P19

The Impact of Soil Thermal Diffusivity Fluctuation on Geothermal

Heating

Abstract

The prices of fossil fuels are running rampant, the adverse effects and

damage on and to the global environment are compounding, and a solution

is needed. Geothermal heating could be a major step in the right direction,

yet it is hobbled by a substantial installation fee and large quantity of

requisite space. If the buried piping grid were to be bedded in a thermally

diffusive soil, the “hobbles” on this infinite energy source could be

removed. And to make this concept into a marketable, viable, variable plan

of action, a model and accompanying computer program will be developed,

incorporating the thermal diffusivity of a spectrum of soils with varying

percentages of mineral composition, humidity, grain size, and crystal lattice

structure and totality. A Dual-Probe-Heat-Pulse utilizing high-resistance

wire and a thermocouple will be used to measure the thermal diffusivity

and volumetric heat capacity, from which the thermal conductivity can be

calculated. This data will be formed into a differential equation that can be

refined into a model depicting the aforementioned variables’ effect on a

soil’s thermal diffusivity. Homeowners will have a graded scale of various

soils, describing their thermal diffusivity and the accompanying price tag.

The more thermally diffusive the soil bed, the smaller the system size, and

the greater its power and efficiency. These soil bed options will be easily

compared to the local soil, and its thermal properties, allowing for simple

cost-benefit-analysis up front. A final result of this all will be a

supercharged, miniaturized system that will be now available to countless

homeowners with either too little room for the previously large systems or

whose residences are in an environment not diffusive enough to be

feasible.

Bibliography

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