Avaliação experimental da eficiência energética de um trocador de calor geotérmico

Abstract

The refrigeration and air conditioning segment is a major energy consumer and therefore have opportunities to improve energy efficiency. In this sense, geothermal cooling systems are shown with an alternative technology, already researched and applied in the United States and Europe; but with premature development environment in Brazil. Taking into account that the viability of these systems is strongly dependent on the climatic conditions of the region applied, in this work it was sought to evaluate experimentally a specific configuration of a geothermal cooling system, which uses the soil as a heat sink, in the city of Curitiba. The work happens in two big stages: Prototype design and devlopment, analysis of simulation results. For the first one was made a theoretical modeling. planning and construction of the prototype. For the second one, data from simulations were collected, compiled and analyzed. One of the interesting results is that the ideal flow velocity to maximize the heat exchange of the chosen application is 0.17 m/s at the chosen pipe diameter (20 mm), a very important parameter for the design of these systems. Another highlight is that compared to a conventional system the proposed system obtained a 31% lower electric consumption. The project shows promise, but with a restricted universe of application, since the ideal annual average soil temperature of the applied place should be 18 ºC.