The proper design of heat pump systems that use deep boreholes to extract heat from the ground requires a precise model of the thermal processes in the ground. One problem is the interaction between the connective heat flow in the channels in the borehole and the conductive process in the ground. Another important problem is the thermal interaction between boreholes. A computer model for these thermal processes is presented. The three-dimensional problem with its complex geometry is, by a rather intricate superposition, reduced to cylindrically symmetric ones, one for each borehole or symmetry group of boreholes. Recipes for the choice of meshes are given. The accuracy of the model is shown to be very good.
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Eskilson et al. (1988) studied this question.