Earth Heat Sinks for Underground Power Sources,
Abstract
The cost effectiveness of earth heat sinks for underground power plants operating in a closed cycle over limited durations in time was determined through a transient heat conduction analysis. A comparison of heat absorption capacity of earth heat sinks per cubic foot volume with the capacities of stored water and stored ice heat sinks was carried out for a specific set of operating conditions. The comparison has shown that the cost of an earth heat sink using select backfill is approximately 6 and 14% of the cost of a stored ice heat sink, and approximately 10 and 23% of the cost of a stored water heat sink at sites with full and zero water tables, respectively. The overall volume of the earth heat sink was estimated to be 0.8 and 1.5 times the volumes of stored water and stored ice heat sinks, respectively. It is recommended that earth should be considered as an alternative waste heat sink for limited duration, closed cycle underground power systems because of its simplicity and lower cost. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1973
- Accession Number
- AD0768292
Entities
People
- Shivam Garg
Organizations
- Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center