Evaluation the effect of soil moisture on the performance and the efficiency of an open or closed loop geothermal system in a sample greenhouse

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Biosystems Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

10.22034/saps.2024.61526.3217

Abstract

Background & Objectives: One of the accessible renewable energy sources in all parts of the world is surface geothermal energy. The objective of this experiment was evaluation the effect of the type of air circulation and soil moisture around the air transmission pipe on the output air temperature, efficiency and coefficient of performance (COP) of a shallow geothermal system in the cooling of greenhouse.
 
Materials and Methods: A split plot experiment in the form of randomized complete blocks was conducted in a experimental greenhouses located in Arak region in four replications, from July to August 2022. The main plots were the soil moisture contents around the air transmission pipe at two levels of 25% and 10%, and sub plots were two types of air circulation, including open loop and closed loop. A centrifugal fan with a power of 760 watts was used for air circulation. Air circulation was open one day and closed the next. Using a single-channel data logger, the ambient temperature and air temperature entering and exiting the system were recorded and stored at 10-minute intervals. Efficiency and coefficient of performance were calculated during the hottest hours of the day. Finally, analysis of variance of the effect of experimental factors on dependent factors, and comparison of means were performed using MSTAT-C software.
 
Results: According to the results, the effect of soil moisture content on the variables of system outlet air temperature, COP and efficiency was significant. Also, although the effect of the air circulation method (closed or open circuit) on the outlet air temperature was not significant, it significantly affected the coefficient of performance and efficiency. The interaction effect of these two independent variables was not significant on any of the dependent variables. The temperature of the fan inlet air (ambient air) during hot hours of the day had no effect on the fan outlet air temperature. Therefore, the use of the system is recommended both in temperate regions (central regions of the country) and in very hot regions (southern regions of the country). In the closed-loop method, with an increase in the difference between the inlet and outlet air temperatures of the system, the amount of power produced and the coefficient of performance of the system are greater compared to the open-loop method.
 
Conclusion: The higher the ambient air temperature, the higher the COP and efficiency of the system. As soil moisture around the air transmission pipe increases, the output temperature of the system decreases. Therefore, the efficiency and COP of the system increases.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abu-Hamdeh NH. 2003. Thermal properties of soils as affected by density and water content. Biosystems engineering,86(1): 97-102.
Agrawal KK, Misra R, Yadav T, Agrawal GD and Jamuwa DK. 2018. Experimental study to investigate the effect of water impregnation on thermal performance of earth air tunnel heat exchanger for summer cooling in hot and arid climate. , Renewable Energy, 1(120): 255-265.
Alam MR, Zain MFM, Kaish ABMA and Jamil M. 2015. Underground soil and thermal conductivity materials-based heat reduction for energy-efficient building in tropical environment. Indoor and Built Environment, 24(2): 185-200.
Aljubury IMA and Ridha HD. 2017.Enhancement of evaporative cooling system in a greenhouse using geothermal energy. Renew. Energy, 111:321–331.
Aranda-Arizmendi A, Rodríguez-Vázquez M, Jiménez-Xamán CM, Romero RJ and Montiel-González M. 2023. Parametric Study of the Ground-Air Heat Exchanger (GAHE): Effect of Burial Depth and Insulation Length. Fluids, 8(2): 40-50.
Ascione F, Bellia L and Minichiello F. 2011. Earth-to-air heat exchangers for Italian climates. Renewable Energy, 36(8): 2177-2188.
Belatrache D, Bentouba S and Bourouis M. 2017. Numerical analysis of earth air heat exchangers at operating conditions in arid climates. International journal of hydrogen energy, 42(13): 8898-8904.
Burton-Johnson A, Dziadek R. and Martin C .2020. Geothermal heat flow in Antarctica: current and future directions. The Cryosphere, 14(11): 3843-3873.
Chaturvedi AK and. Bartaria VN. 2015. Performance of earth tube heat exchanger cooling of air, a review. Int J Mech Eng Robotics Res, 4(1): 378-382.
Cuny M, Lin J, Siroux M, Magnenet V and Fond C. 2018. Influence of coating soil types on the energy of earth-air heat exchanger. Energy and Buildings, 158: 1000-1012.
Demir Z. 2019. Effects of vermicompost on soil physicochemical properties and lettuce (Lactuca sativa Var. Crispa) yield in greenhouse under different soil water regimes. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 50(17):.2151-2168.
Elminshawy NA, Siddiqui FR, Farooq QU and Addas MF. 2017. Experimental investigation on the performance of earth-air pipe heat exchanger for different soil compaction levels. , Applied Thermal Engineering, 124:1319-1327.
Faridi H, Arabhosseini A, Zarei, G. and Okos M. 2021. Degree-Day Index for Estimating the Thermal Requirements of a Greenhouse Equipped with an Air-Earth Heat Exchanger System. Journal of Agricultural Machinery, 11(1), 83-95.
Goodarzi M, Hydayatipour A and Ghadbeiklou J. 1402. The Feasibility of Underground Greenhouses Construction as an Action to Reduce Climate Change Impacts. Drought and Climate Change Research, 1(2):53-62.
Gouda A. 2010. Using of geothermal energy in heating and cooling of agricultural structures. Ms. Thesis University of Benha, India
Greco A and Masselli C. 2020. The optimization of the thermal performances of an earth to air heat exchanger for an air conditioning system: A numerical study. Energies, 13(23), 6414.
Kaushal M, Dhiman P, Singh S and Patel H. 2015. Finite volume and response surface methodology-based performance prediction and optimization of a hybrid earth to air tunnel heat exchanger. Energy and Buildings, 104, pp.25-35.
Lattieff FA, Atiya MA, Lateef RA, Dulaimi, A, Jweeg MJ, Abed AM and Talebizadehsardari P. 2022. Thermal analysis of horizontal earth-air heat exchangers in a subtropical climate: An experimental study. Frontiers in Built Environment, 8: 1-13.
Li H, Yu Y, Niu F, Shafik M and Chen B. 2014. Performance of a coupled cooling system with earth-to-air heat exchanger and solar chimney. Renewable Energy,62:468-477.
Lin J, Nowamooz H, Braymand S, Wolff P and Fond C. 2020. Impact of soil moisture on the long-term energy performance of an earth-air heat exchanger system". Renewable Energy, 147:2676-2687.
Liu Z, Yu ZJ, Yang T, Li S, ElMankibi M, Roccamena L and Zhang G. 2019. Designing and evaluating a new earth-to-air heat exchanger system in hot summer and cold winter areas.,Energy Procedia,158:6087-6092.
Mahach H and Benhamou B. 2021. Study of the design of on earth- to- air heat exchanger for low energy air cooling and climate. heating of desert.  In Aip conference proceeding, 2345(1), DOI: doi.org/10.1063/5.0049406
Morshed W, Leso L, Conti L, Rossi G, Simonini S and Barbari, M. 2018. Cooling performance of earth-to-air heat exchangers applied to a poultry barn in semi-desert areas of south Iraq.International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 11:47-53.
N’wuitcha K, Kolan Y, Nougblega Y, Banna M and Zeghmati B. 2022. Soil Nature Effect Investigation on the Ground-to-Air Heat Exchanger for the Passive Cooling of Rooms. Open Journal of Fluid Dynamics, 12(4): 321-341.
Sakhri N, Menni Y and Ameur H. 2020. Effect of the pipe material and burying depth on the thermal efficiency of earth-to-air heat exchangers. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental",Engineering, 2: 10002-100013.
Song XQ, JiangMand Qin P. 2019. Numerical investigation of the backfilling material thermal conductivity impact on the heat transfer performance of the buried pipe heat exchanger. In IOP Conference Serieson Earth and Environmental Science, 267(4): 1-8.
Williams GP and Gold LW. 1976. CBD-180 Ground Temperatures. National Research Council Canada, 100-101 National.
Journal of Agricultural Science and Sustainable Production
Volume 36, Issue 1
2026
Pages 169-181

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics