The standing column well for ground source heat pump systems is a promising technology with high efficiency and environmental benefit, where groundwater is drawn from the bottom of a well and then re-injected to its top after transferring heat with heat pumps. Heat transfer analysis of the ground and aquifer involves complex problems in such a case. Determining the groundwater seepage flow is a precondition to solve the energy equation describing the heat transfer of the system. Only when piezometric head is obtained, the seepage velocity can be determined according to Darcy's law. This paper studies the groundwater seepage flow in an axial symmetrical geometry with the assumption that gross groundwater flow is neglected. An analytical solution of the groundwater seepage flow for a confined aquifer has been acquired by the integral transform method, which may provide a foundation for heat transfer analysis of the standing column well system.
Mikler, V. A., Theoretical and Experimental Study of the “Energy Well” Performance. Masters Thesis, The Pennsylvania State University. 1993.
Orio, C. D., Geothermal heat pumps and standing column wells. Geothermal Resources Council Transactions. 18: 375~379. 1994.
Orio, C. D., Geothermal Heat Pump Applications Industrial/Commercial., Association of Energy Engineers Power Conference, Somerset, NJ, August 7, 1997.
Rees, S. J., Spitler, J. D., A Study of geothermal heat pump and standing column well performance. ASHRAE Trans，2004
Xue Y. Q., Dynamics of groundwater (2nd ED). Beijing: Geological Publishing House, 1997
Zhang, W. Z., Computation of groundwater unsteady flow and evaluation about water resource. Beijing: Science Press，1983
Bear, J., Dynamics of fluids in porous media. New York: Dover Publishing, Inc., 1972
How to cite this article
Li, M., Diao, N. and Fang, Z. (2005). 'Analytical Solution of Seepage Flow in a Confined Aquifer with a Standing Column Well'. SET Proceedings, 4(1), pp. 226-230. https://doi.org/10.65582/set.2005.051
