1178results about "Geothermal collectors" patented technology

In a system where the thermal energy of a geothermal fluid is applied to an ORC system, the energy is enhanced by the use of solar energy to thereby increase the temperature of the fluid being applied by the ORC system. A single heat exchanger version provides for direct heat exchange relationship with the geothermal and solar fluids, whereas a two heat exchanger version provides for each of the geothermal and solar fluids to be in heat exchange relationship with the working medium of the ORC system. Control features are provided to selectively balance the various fluid flows in the system.

An earth wellbore heat loop system has been developed which has, in certain aspects, a heat loop wellbore in the earth extending from an earth surface down into the earth to a bottom of the wellbore, a heat loop disposed in the heat loop wellbore and extending down to a position near the bottom thereof, the heat loop including a heat loop comprising pipe and a bottom member, the pipe extending down to the bottom member on one side thereof and up from the bottom member on another side thereof, the bottom member comprising a body, a first bore through the body extending from a first opening of the body to a second opening of the body, the first opening and the second opening each sized and configured for receipt therein of an end of a heat loop pipe, a second bore having at least a one opening on the body, the second bore sized and configured for securement thereat of an end of coil tubing. Filler material has been developed for use in a heat loop wellbore that has, in certain aspects an amount of water, and an amount of a gel material, such as a polymer. An amount of thermally conductive solids may be used with the polymer and the water.

In this disclosure, we have the following examples and teachings: A geothermal heating and or cooling system is introduced here which is deriving cooled or heated liquid via existing infrastructure of water pipe system in use for the houses and buildings, e.g. from the city water system or pipe network, or from the well water (or lake or river or sea or ocean or the like), piped or channeled to the buildings, through pipes or conduits or channels or closed enclosures. The system derives cooled liquid from existing underground infrastructure, including or for example, below-ground water pipes. The system gains a temperature advantage from the geothermal ground temperature, which remains roughly constant throughout the year in most regions. The system uses (e.g.) a storage tank to contain a working fluid and store thermal energy. In one example, multiple chambers and / or tanks are used for water heaters or coolers, with different connection and flow mechanisms. Other examples and designs are also discussed and shown here.

A building air conditioning system using geothermal energy comprising an underground pipe being buried underground for transmitting geothermal energy from the underground to air from the outdoors and for controlling humidity of said air and cleaning said air, a cobble stone layer constituted by filling numerous cobble stones in a space under the floor of a building for introducing air from said underground pipe to heat-exchange this introduced air with geothermal energy stored therein and to control humidity of said air and to clean said air, and air supply means for supply air from said cobble stone layer to an inside of a room of the building.

Invented is a method of making combustion air for a fossil fuel burner, as a coal burning power plant, oil refinery or gas fired household appliance. Combustion air is made from solar, wind, biomass, hydropower or geothermal. A staged progression using lower cost greenhouses, or flatplates, or solarponds, feed warm air to higher cost concentrator solar collectors. Wind energy, biomass, geothermal energy heat and compress combustion air. Hydropower also heats and compresses combustion air. Solar evaporation from salt or impure water creates water or local rain for the hydropower system. Combustion air thus is made economically hot, compressed and high velocity, and placed into a heavily insulated pipes for long distance transmission to a distant power plant.

A heat exchanger and a method for fabricating the heat exchanger are disclosed. The heat exchanger comprises a heat exchanger core that is formed from a plurality of stacked aluminum panels that are joined together via friction stir welding. Each panel in the core is formed from at least two aluminum extrusions that are joined to one another via friction stir welding.

The invention discloses a pile-embedding spiral pipe typed ground source heat pump system and a heat transmission model of a geothermal heat exchanger thereof. A solid cylindrical surface heat source model is put forward for the first time and two analytic solution expressions of the heat transmission model is worked out by the Green function method. The system can sufficiently utilizes the underground area of a building, saves a great amount of expenses for boring and pipe embedding, reduces the initial investment of the ground source heat pump system, improves the construction efficiency and has convenient and quick construction. Furthermore, the heat transmission model of the pile-embedding spiral pipe geothermal heat exchanger can quantitatively analyze the effects of all parameters of the pile-embedding spiral pipe geothermal heat exchanger on the heat transmission capability and provides a basis for the engineering design. The structure of the pile-embedding spiral pipe typed ground source heat pump system comprises the geothermal heat exchanger which is connected with an air conditioning heat pump system by pipelines; the air conditioning heat pump system is connected with a conveying and end system in the building; the geothermal heat exchangers have the quantity of more than one; and each geothermal heat exchanger forms the pile-embedding spiral pipe-typed geothermal heat exchanger by building pile foundations and spiral pipes which are embedded in the pipe foundations.

The present invention relates to a geothermal water heater system, and methods of heating water for domestic uses utilizing geothermal energy. More specifically, the present invention provides a geothermal heat pump water heater system includes a hot water tank, a cold water tank and at least one water-to-water heat pump. As contemplated, the water-to-water heat pump includes one or more heat exchangers which control heat transfer from water drawn from an outside water source. The outside water source water is supplied to both the hot water tank and the cold water tanks whereupon heat exchangers which comprise a cold water side heat exchanger and a hot water side heat exchanger, allow water entering the cold water tank to be cooled and returned to the cold water tank while water entering the hot water tank is heated and returned to the hot water tank.

A system and method for liquid-liquid free-cooling that may include a modular coolant distribution unit (CDU) is provided. CDUs can incorporate integral free-cooling or bolt on free-cooling switch modules. The free-cooling flow can be either direct or indirect. Units can interface with each other to provide scalable cooling for computer data centers. Embodiments of the system can integrate with electronics rack passive rear door liquid heat exchangers.

The invention relates to a heat source or a heat sink unit with thermal ground coupling, comprising at least one ground probe arranged in the earth, whereby each earth probe is a probe tube made from several pile tube segments. An open dip tube or a U-shaped tube loop is arranged in the probe tube at the open lower end thereof. Said unit is characterized in that each pile tub segment is made from ductile cast iron, the pile tube segments re embodied such as to plug into each other at the ends thereof and each pile tube segment comprises, at the one end thereof, a conical outer circumference and, at the other end thereof, a sleeve embodied with a shoulder stop having a matching conical internal circumference, whereby the diameter thereof and the cone angle are such that on driving in the pile tube segments a positive and sealed connection between the pile tube segments is generated.

A direct expansion refrigerant-based heating and cooling system which includes a refrigerant pumping devise calibrated to ease or eliminate the pumping requirements placed upon the system's compressor unit when one or both of significant system height differentials between the compressor unit and the condensing unit are present and significant system refrigerant fluid transport line distances are present, or are desirable, such as in a deep well direct expansion system application.

A direct expansion / direct exchange (“DX”) geothermal heating / cooling system having a plurality of pin restrictors positioned in housing units at ground accessible locations. The pin restrictors are preferably located near the compressor unit and on the field side of the distributor. Refrigerant is substantially equally distributed by a distributor to substantially equally sized line sets in the DX system with multiple wells. The distributors are place in either horizontal or vertical inclinations with the pin restrictors situated on the field side of the distributor in each individual liquid refrigerant transport line. A cut-off ball valve is located within the liquid refrigerant transport line on each side of the respective pin restrictor housing units. A filter / dryer is place within the same liquid refrigerant transport line segment as the pin restrictor(s) with a refrigerant flow shut-off valve being situated on each side of the liquid line segment containing the filter / dryer and the distributor.

A direct expansion geothermal heat exchange unit, which can be placed in sub-surface ground and / or water, consisting of at least one insulated refrigerant liquid / fluid line, with a liquid trap at the bottom of the liquid / fluid line, with at least one un-insulated refrigerant vapor / fluid line operatively connected to the insulated liquid / fluid line at a point above the liquid trap, where the un-insulated vapor / fluid line is in thermal contact with its adjacent sub-surface surrounding elements by means of a heat conductive fill material inserted as necessary to fill any void space, in any borehole or excavated area, between the vapor / fluid line and its respective adjacent sub-surface surroundings.

A system and method for simultaneously installing a pipe loop and a grout pipe in a wellbore has been invented which, in one aspect, is used to grout the wellbore by releasing the grout pipe from the pipe loop or from a bottom member connected with the pipe loop and then introducing grout through the pipe into the wellbore as the grout pipe is removed upwardly from the wellbore. In one aspect the system has a curved member or members or a ball or part thereof at the bottom of the pipes to facilitate movement of the system through a wellbore.

One embodiment of a system of geothermal energy production containing a production fluid circulated entirely within a continuous subterranean pipeline (13 and 16) while below the earth's surface (11) so that the production fluid is heated, via the encasing pipe, by surrounding subterranean hot rock (12). By directing the heated production fluid through said continuous subterranean pipeline up to the earth's surface and through a power plant (19), energy can be produced from the hot production fluid.This system enables energy production from subterranean rock formations of moderate temperature at moderate depths because any production fluid, such as water, hydrocarbon, or refrigerant, can be used to optimize energy production. Furthermore, natural porosity and permeability of the subterranean rock formations at moderate depths may provide sufficient natural circulation of interstitial water to assist in heat transfer from large volumes of hot rock without the need of inducing artificial fractures.

A pipe for use in a geothermal heat exchange system is disclosed that is insertable into a bore hole having a proximal end and a distal end. The pipe has a proximal end, a distal end and an outer wall member. The outer wall member includes an external surface, and an interior surface defining an interior passageway through which a heat exchange fluid can flow. The pipe also includes a divider extending between opposed points of the interior surface for dividing the interior passageway into an inflow passageway for conducting water from the proximal end to the distal end of the pipe, and an outflow passageway for conducting water from the distal end to the proximal end of the pipe. The divider segregates the water in the outflow passageway from the water in the inflow passageway.

Grout slurries are provided that have high thermal conductivities of greater than about 1.4 Btu / hr-ft-° F. and low hydraulic conductivities ranging from about 5×10-9 cm / s to about 1×10-8 cm / s. Such grout slurries comprise water and a grout composition that is available as a one-sack product. The grout composition includes calcium bentonite present in an amount of from about 15% to about 45%, sodium bentonite present in an amount of from about 15% to about 45%, silica flour present in an amount of from about 10% to about 35%, and flaked graphite present in an amount of from about 10% to about 75%, all by weight of the grout composition. Further, methods of installing a conduit such as a heat transfer loop in a hole in the earth include placing the conduit in the hole, forming the foregoing grout slurry, and placing the grout slurry in the hole adjacent to the conduit.

A method and apparatus for heating fluids using the Earth's inner heat to generate power and desalinate water. Fluids include fresh water and sea water to be desalinized. The method involves passing a filtered fluid down a channel formed by two concentric tubes in a deep well defining inner and outer channels, to a depth at which the fluid reaches the needed temperature. Hot fluids pass into an inner channel and flow to surface with small heat loss, through an insulated pipe. The hot fluid may be vaporized to produce power, and returned to the system when condensed, forming a closed system, or it may be desalinize seawater in an integrated process that also produces electrical power.

An improved geothermal system for heating and cooling a building includes a fluid loop installed in the ground with opposite ends connected to a heat pump or other heat exchanger. The fluid loop comprises a plastic pipe embedded with heat transfer particles. The pipe is a thermoplastic or thermoset elastomer modified polymer having a modulus of elasticity less than 200,000 psi.

A geothermal fill material composed of one or more high heat conductivity materials alone or in combination to produce a fill that can be used to cover and encapsulate geothermal ground coils to improve heat transfer between the ground and the fluid inside the coils and to improve the rate of heat recovery of the fill in contact and in the vicinity of the coils. These materials can be in the form of particulates, rods or wire mesh and in any combination. Further enhancements are to cover this high conductivity material with low conductivity materials near the surface of the ground or to install the coils in a ground coil field below a structure in order to reduce ground heat loss to the atmosphere in the winter and to reduce heat gain from the atmosphere in the summer.

Recovery and conversion of geothermal energy from geologically stable, hot, dry rock is disclosed. Deep boreholes are drilled to form a system of feed and return conduits in the non-porous formation. Fluid is passed through the conduits where heat energy is transferred to the moving fluid. The return conduit brings the hot fluid to an energy conversion station located underground where the thermal energy is converted into electrical energy. Power from the generator and warm water are supplied to the community for use. To form the deep boreholes, a series of large diameter boreholes is drilled, and the rig is moved down at intervals until the environment becomes intolerable. At that depth, a final borehole is drilled to reach the optimum temperature level. The system of this invention taps an unlimited source of energy in this country and accomplishes this in a manner that is both cost efficient and environmentally friendly.

A geothermal heat exchanger includes a water injection pipe installed underground and receiving water supplied from above ground and a steam extraction pipe installed underground and contiguous to the water injection pipe. The steam extraction pipe has a plurality of gushing ports at its lower part, and pressure in the steam extraction pipe is decreased approximately to pressure required by a turbine. The steam extraction pipe is formed such that the diameter of the steam extraction pipe becomes smaller from the lower side of the geothermal region toward the upper side of a ground surface. Water supplied to the water injection pipe becomes high-temperature pressurized water by heat supplied from the geothermal region, and gushes from the gushing ports into the steam extraction pipe in an atomized state, and is then converted into a steam single-phase flow, and allows a power generator to conduct power generation.

An apparatus is provided having a heat generation device such as a boiler. A hypersonic energy harvester is provided having a first input and a second input. The first input and the second input are fluidly coupled to the heat generation device. A variable speed pump is fluidly coupled to supply liquid from the heat generation device to the hypersonic energy harvester. A deaerator is fluidly coupled to receive condensate from the hypersonic energy harvester.

According to an aspect of the invention, a method for ventilating a turbine compartment is provided, the method comprising directing an air flow from an air intake to a first air conduit, transferring a first heat between the air flow and a first fluid within a heat exchange apparatus and pumping the first fluid through a fluid circuit in fluid communication with the heat exchange apparatus, wherein a portion of the fluid circuit is located underground. The method further includes transferring a second heat between the first fluid and a surrounding ground and directing a conditioned air flow from the heat exchange apparatus to a turbine compartment via a second air conduit.

A sub-surface direct expansion geothermal heat exchange unit, which can be placed in sub-surface ground and / or water, consisting of at least one smaller interior diameter refrigerant liquid / fluid transport line with an optional vertically oriented U bend at the bottom, operatively connected to at least one larger interior diameter refrigerant liquid / fluid transport line, with at least one refrigerant flow metering device, designed to the system's compressor's BTU design capacity, which is optionally accessible, installed in the liquid / fluid line at one of an above-surface location and at the sub-surface point near to where the liquid / fluid line connects with the vapor / fluid line, for use when the system is operating in the heating mode, together with a refrigerant flow metering device by-pass means so as to enable additional refrigerant fluid flow at least one of around and past the refrigerant metering device when the system is operating in the cooling mode.

The invention relates to a reinforced concrete square post prefabricated by low temperature and terrestrial heat. It embeds post heat exchangers in variable shapes into the prefabricated reinforced concrete square post to support, baffle sand and reinforce the groundsill; processes the lower-layer lower temperature terrestrial heat exchanger to directly embed the post heat exchanger with pile and heat pump. It binds U-shape pipe heat exchanger, screw coiler heat exchanger or the pipe heat exchanger in other shape on the inner edge of prefabricated reinforced concrete square post with welding method or flange method to be embedded into sand; the pipe heat exchangers inside the prefabricated reinforced concrete square post are connected to the ground pipeline while the pipeline of heat exchanger is filled by fluid via which the heat exchange between steel cage, post concrete and around sand-water system can be processed to form a closed underground low-temperature terrestrial heat exchange.

Geothermal ground coils are installed and embedded in fill at the bottom of excavations, made for drainage fields associated with septic and other effluent systems, prior to the addition of the drainage field sanitary fill. This configuration eliminates the need for expensive bore holes and provides a ground heat source that is at a higher temperature than natural ground formations due to the supplemental heat imparted to the ground by the drain field effluent Fouling of the outside heat transfer surfaces of the ground coils is also avoided because of the clarifying and filtering action of the drain field fill. This provides an improved ground source heat pump system wherein the installation costs are reduced arid the capacity and efficiency of the system are improved.

A temperature equalization system comprised of heat equalizer and fluid transmission duct disposed in a heat carrier existing in solid or liquid state in the nature where presents comparatively larger and more reliable heat carrying capacity; the fluid passes through the installation to regulate for temperature equalization, and flows back to the installation disposed in the natural carrier of heat for the installation providing good heat conduction with the natural heat carrier to provide the function of temperature equalization regulating on the backflow.