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Thermodynamic optimization and parametric analysis of ground source heat pumps with imposed heat transfer rates.

Author(s) : YERDESH Y., BELYAYEV Y., FEIDT M., BOTELLA O.

Type of article: IJR article

Summary

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems are increasingly adopted for sustainable building heating and cooling. Yet, their real-world performance is significantly affected by internal irreversibilities and suboptimal resource allocation. This study addresses the limited understanding of how thermodynamic irreversibilities and heat exchanger configurations jointly influence system efficiency under imposed heat extraction or production conditions. The objective of this work is to identify optimal distributions of thermal and geometric resources across four heat exchangers in a GSHP system to minimize compressor power consumption or maximize the coefficient of performance (COP). For capturing energy losses, we developed a non-dimensional thermodynamic model that incorporates both reversible and irreversible formulations using irreversibility ratio and entropy production rate. Numerical optimization and parametric analysis reveal that the system irreversibility can reduce the maximum COP by up to 62 %, and increases the minimum power consumption by over 3.4 times compared to the reversible case. Enhancing heat exchanger effectiveness and capacity rate in the delivery loop most effectively offsets irreversibility, with power savings of 27.5 % observed when the capacity rate is increased from 0.4 to 0.8. Additionally, narrowing the ground-to-user temperature gap (increasing the temperature ratio from 0.8 to 0.9) reduces the required power by up to 49 %. These findings suggest that minimizing internal dissipation and prioritizing high-performance delivery-side heat exchangers are both critical for maximizing GSHP efficiency. The proposed optimization framework provides practical design guidance and supports the development of nextgeneration geothermal heat pump systems.

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Pages: 12 p.

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Details

  • Original title: Thermodynamic optimization and parametric analysis of ground source heat pumps with imposed heat transfer rates.
  • Record ID : 30034556
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 182
  • Publication date: 2026/02
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2025.11.033

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