Simulation of Lakes and Surface Water Heat Exchangers for Design of Surface Water Heat Pump Systems

Abstract

Surface Water Heat Pump (SWHP) system utilize surface water bodies, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and the sea, as heat sources and/or sinks. These systems may be open-loop, circulating water between the surface water body and a heat exchanger on dry land, or closed-loop, utilizing a submerged surface water heat exchanger (SWHE). Both types of SWHP systems have been widely used, but little in the way of design data, design procedures, or energy calculation procedures is available to aid engineers in the design and analysis of these systems. For either type of SWHP system, the ability to predict the evolution of lake temperature with time is an important aspect of needed design and energy analysis procedures. This thesis describes the development and validation of a lake model that is coupled with a surface water heat exchanger model to predict both the lake dynamics (temperature, stratification, ice/snow cover) and the heat transfer performance of different types of SWHE. This one-dimensional model utilizes a detailed surface heat balance model at the upper boundary, a sediment conduction heat transfer model at the lower boundary, and an eddy diffusion model to predict transport within the lake. The lake model is implemented as part of the developed software design tool, which can be used as an aid in the sizing of SWHE used in closed loop SWHP systems.