Scientific articles
WP9 – Papers published in the timeframe May-October 2017
URL: http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/6/801
Abstract: The current study examined the interpretation of thermal response testing measurements used to evaluate the equivalent ground thermal conductivity and thus to design the system.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217336755
Abstract: The Molinella test site (Italy) is the open-air laboratory of the UE project “Cheap-GSHPs.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217337931
Abstract: Direct measurements of gravel thermal properties are usually quite challenging to be performed in laboratory, due to the very coarse sediments size. As a consequence, the reference thermal values provided by literature for gravels are quite limited and dispersed.
URL: http://www.acquesotterranee.online/index.php/acque/article/view/296
Abstract: The Cheap-GSHPs EU project is shortly presented in the Italian Journal of Groundwater.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217344740
Abstract: The aim of this work is to analyze the thermal behavior of two historical buildings located in Italy, in Venice and Florence respectively. Detailed computer simulations of the buildings have been carried out by means of a transient calculation tool TRNSYS. Energy simulations of GSHP systems have been performed and a comparison with a common plant system using a gas boiler for heating and air-to-water chiller for cooling has been carried out.
URL: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6739-2235
Abstract: The relatively high installation costs for different types of shallow geothermal energy systems are obstacles that have lowered the impact of geothermal solutions in the renewable energy market. In order to reduce planning costs and obtain a lithological overview of geothermal potentials and drilling conditions, a pan-European geological overview map was created using freely accessible JRC (Joint Research Centre) data and ArcGIS software. JRC data were interpreted and merged together in order to collect information about the expenditure of installing geothermal systems in specific geological set-ups, and thereby select the most economic drilling technique. Within the four-year project of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, which is known as “Cheap-GSHPs” (the Cheap and efficient application of reliable Ground Source Heat exchangers and Pumps), the most diffused lithologies and corresponding drilling costs were analyzed to provide a 1 km 1 km raster with the required underground information. The final outline map should be valid throughout Europe
Abstract: Shallow geothermal energy can be exploited in any location by ground heat exchangers (GHE), which consist of pipes placed either horizontally in trenches or vertically in boreholes in the ground. The cost of the GHE is primarily determined by the pipe cost per unit length and the total required length. For a given type of ground and completion conditions, the main parameter that affects the required length of a GHE is the thermal conductivity of the pipe material. The preferred pipe construction materials are usually high density polyethylene (HDPE) as the plastic with the highest thermal
conductivity, in a much lesser extent cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) for relatively higher temperature applications, and even stainless or galvanized steel in some other installations. In this paper, alternative metallic materials with higher thermal conductivity as well as thermoplastics available in market were evaluated for shallow geothermal use. The evaluation was made in terms of expected GHE service life based on literature review of buried piping systems, estimation of the required GHE length per unit energy output by computer simulations and cost estimation using current market prices.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7343-4
Abstract: Nowadays, the energy price fluctuations and the economic crisis are jeopardizing the development and diffusion of renewable technologies and sources. With the aim of both reducing the overall costs of shallow geothermal systems and improving their installation safety, an European project has took place recently, under the Horizon 2020 EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The acronym of the mentioned project is Cheap-GSHPs, meaning “cheap and efficient application of reliable ground source heat exchangers and pumps”;
URL: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6739-2235
Abstract: The relatively high installation costs for different types of shallow geothermal energy systems are obstacles that have lowered the impact of geothermal solutions in the renewable energy market. In order to reduce planning costs and obtain a lithological overview of geothermal potentials and drilling conditions, a pan-European geological overview map was created using freely accessible JRC (Joint Research Centre) data and ArcGIS software. JRC data were interpreted and merged together in order to collect information about the expenditure of installing geothermal systems in specific geological set-ups, and thereby select the most economic drilling technique. Within the four-year project of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, which is known as “Cheap-GSHPs” (the Cheap and efficient application of reliable Ground Source Heat exchangers and Pumps), the most diffused lithologies and corresponding drilling costs were analyzed to provide a 1 km 1 km raster with the required underground information. The final outline map should be valid throughout Europe
Abstract: Shallow geothermal energy can be exploited in any location by ground heat exchangers (GHE), which consist of pipes placed either horizontally in trenches or vertically in boreholes in the ground. The cost of the GHE is primarily determined by the pipe cost per unit length and the total required length. For a given type of ground and completion conditions, the main parameter that affects the required length of a GHE is the thermal conductivity of the pipe material. The preferred pipe construction materials are usually high density polyethylene (HDPE) as the plastic with the highest thermal
conductivity, in a much lesser extent cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) for relatively higher temperature applications, and even stainless or galvanized steel in some other installations. In this paper, alternative metallic materials with higher thermal conductivity as well as thermoplastics available in market were evaluated for shallow geothermal use. The evaluation was made in terms of expected GHE service life based on literature review of buried piping systems, estimation of the required GHE length per unit energy output by computer simulations and cost estimation using current market prices.
