Abstract:
Thermal energy storage has received a great interest by researchers and industrials as part of designing new
systems able to store and deliver thermal energy efficiently for long periods. The aim of this preliminary work is
to simulate the performance of a novel seasonal heat storage system dedicated to store heat in the ground during
hot period then to recover it during cold period. The system investigated herein is a ground heat exchanger
buried at only 8 m below the underground. Comsol Multiphysics was used to model heat exchange between a
fluid carrier flowing through a GHX, and a partially saturated porous medium. Performance of the system was
evaluated for a one-year period and results showed that the use of water as a fluid carrier allowed for the storage
and recovery of bigger heat energy than gasoline or glycol do. However, moisture content of the porous medium
was found to not exert any influence on the whole process
