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U.S. Department of Energy
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Refined computer program for the transient simulation of ground coupled heat pump systems

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7028006

Since 1978 a research program at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has investigated the use of the earth as a heat source/sink or storage medium for various heat pump-based space conditioning systems. As part of this research program, a computer program GROCS (GROund Coupled Systems) has been developed to model the behavior of ground coupling devices. GROCS has been integrated with TRNSYS, the solar system simulation program, to permit the simulation of complete ground coupled heat pump systems. Experimental results have been compared to GROCS simulation results for model validation. The model was found to have considerable validity. This paper describes a recently refined version of the GROCS-TRNSYS program developed to model vertical or horizontal earth coil systems, taking into account system cycling. The design of the program and its interaction with TRNSYS are discussed. GROCS-TRNSYS results are compared to exact analytical results for program validation.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76CH00016
OSTI ID:
7028006
Report Number(s):
BNL-34818; CONF-840402-7; ON: DE84014098
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English