Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Study, Design, and Analysis of Geothermal Cooling System and Its Possibilities in the Terai Region of Nepal

  • Original Contribution
  • Published:
Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series C Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Basic cooling systems that are available in Nepal utilize higher consumption of energy leading the cost of operation to be high. There is no study regarding the feasibility and possibility of geothermal energy in the context of Nepal. This study looks toward saving energy consumption of the cooling system focusing on the concept of renewable energy, in particular geothermal energy. The study utilizes data obtained from the Terai region of Nepal and looks toward the design and development of a more accurate and acute model of a geothermal cooling system. The cooling system is developed through the drafting of various components and the design of condenser and capillary tubes using the Kern method. The results of the design are analyzed theoretically and experimentally. Economic feasibility analysis is also conducted on the cooling system for data collected in the Terai region of Nepal. The designed geothermal cooling system is found to be much more efficient than a traditional air-cooled cooling system having a theoretical coefficient of performance (COP) around 6.77 and the experimental coefficient of performance around 4.63; variation barring due to manufacturing limitations. The geothermal cooling system is also found to produce maximum performance when the difference between the inlet and outlet of water temperature in the condenser is 9.5–10.5 °C. The cooling system is also found to be economically feasible when used higher than 5 h per day through incremental analysis. Conclusively, the wide held belief that the geothermal cooling system is energy beneficent, and environment-friendly has been confirmed by the design and testing of this system. Furthermore, it also provides a conclusive model as a base for further research in geothermal energy in Nepal—particularly concerning cooling systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. J.W. Lund, T.L. Boyd, Direct utilization of geothermal energy 2015 worldwide review. Geothermics 60, 66–93 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2015.11.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. R. Bertani, Geothermal power generation in the world 2005–2010 update report. Geothermics 41(2012), 1–29 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2011.10.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. M. Abdel Zaher, H. Saibi, M. El Nouby, E. Ghamry, S. Ehara, A preliminary regional geothermal assessment of the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. J. Afr. Earth Sci. 60(3), 117–132 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2011.02.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. SAARC, Study on geothermal resources of South Asia. Geotherm. Resour. South Asia (2011), http://www.saarcenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2010-Study-on-Geothermal-Resources-of-South-Asia.pdf. Accessed 26 Mar 2019

  5. M. Ranjit, Geothermal energy update of Nepal. In: Proc. World Geotherm. Congr., pp. 25–29, 2010

  6. O. Ozgener, A. Hepbasli, Modeling and performance evaluation of ground source (geothermal) heat pump systems. Energy Build. 39(1), 66–75 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2006.04.019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. A. Mustafa Omer, Ground-source heat pumps systems and applications. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 12(2), 344–371 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2006.10.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. M.J. O’Sullivan, K. Pruess, M.J. Lippmann, Geothermal reservoir simulation: the state-of-practice and emerging trends. Proc. World Geotherm. Congr. 2000, 4065–4070 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  9. R.G. Allis, T.M. Hunt, Analysis of exploitation-induced gravity changes at Wairakei geothermal field (New Zealand). Geophysics 51(8), 1647–1660 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1442214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. J. Kauffman, K.M. Lee, Handbook of sustainable engineering. Handb. Sustain. Eng. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8939-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. K. Pruess, C. Oldenburg, G. Moridis, TOUGH2 user’s guide. In: Rep. LBNL-43134, no. September, p. 210, 1999

  12. M.J. Zhan, L. Xia, L. Zhan, Y. Wang, Recognition of changes in air and soil temperatures at a station typical of China’s subtropical monsoon region (1961–2018). Adv. Meteorol. (2019). https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/6927045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. S.J. Self, B.V. Reddy, M.A. Rosen, Geothermal heat pump systems: Status review and comparison with other heating options. Appl. Energy 101, 341–348 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.01.048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. S. Shinde, H. Pancha, Comparative thermal performance analysis of segmental baffle heat exchanger with continuous helical baffle heat exchanger using Kern method. Int. J. Eng. Res. Appl. 2, 2264–2271 (2012). http://www.ijera.com

  15. S. Patil, Mathematical modelling for thermal and mechanical design of shell and tube type gas cooler used in transcritical CO2 refrigeration system. Int. J. Syst. Sci. Appl. Math. 2(3), 64 (2017). https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijssam.20170203.11

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  16. N.S. Chaudhary, P. Kiran, Shell & tube type water cooled condenser having spiral tube. Int J Sci Res Develop 1(12), 2601–2605 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  17. P.N. Ananthanarayanan, Basic Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  18. K.C. Sahoo, S.N. Das, Theoretical design of adiabatic capillary tube of a domestic refrigerator using refrigerant R-600a. Am. J. Eng. Res. 3(5), 306–314 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  19. T. Yilmaz, S. Unal, General equation for the design of capillary tubes. J. Fluids Eng (1996). https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2817493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. X.-T. Wang, Y.-F. Yan, A. Song, C.-L. Liu, Performance study and analysis of a 300MW high backpressure heat supply unit condenser after retrofit. In: ICSD 2016, vol. 94, pp. 221–227, 2017. https://doi.org/10.2991/icsd-16.2017.49

  21. R. Miller, M.R. Miller, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, 2nd edn. (McGraw-Hill Education, 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Y. Wang, Q. Gao, T. Zhang, G. Wang, Z. Jiang, Y. Li, Advances in integrated vehicle thermal management and numerical simulation. Energies (2017). https://doi.org/10.3390/en10101636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. A. Maier, Cooling’s dynamic duo. Contracting Business, pp. 1–4, 2010. https://www.contractingbusiness.com/home/whitepaper/20869102/coolings-dynamic-duo-pdf-download

  24. A. Hepbasli, O. Akdemir, Energy and exergy analysis of a ground source (geothermal) heat pump system. Energy Convers. Manag. 45(5), 737–753 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-8904(03)00185-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. J.K. Gupta, R.S. Khurmi, A Text Book of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioningitle, 1st edn. (Chand (S.) & Co Ltd, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  26. A. Girard, E.J. Gago, T. Muneer, G. Caceres, Higher ground source heat pump COP in a residential building through the use of solar thermal collectors. Renew. Energy 80, 26–39 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.01.063

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. M. Imal, K. Yilmaz, A. Pinarbaşi, Energy efficiency evaluation and economic feasibility analysis of a geothermal heating and cooling system with a vapor-compression chiller system. Sustainability 7(9), 12926–12946 (2015). https://doi.org/10.3390/su70912926

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. C.S. Park, Contemporary Engineering Economics, 6th edn. (Pearson, 2015).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was supported by the faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Nepal to whom the authors are grateful.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, 44600, Nepal

    M. Raj Aryal, S. Pun, A. K. Yadav & B. Basnet

Authors
  1. M. Raj Aryal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. Pun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. K. Yadav
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. B. Basnet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

No conflict of interest or patents (not-applicable).

Ethical Approval

The data which are collected is by authors who have given full consent in involving themselves in the project.

Consent for Publication

No data from individual personal sources (not-applicable).

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (XLSX 15 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Aryal, M.R., Pun, S., Yadav, A.K. et al. Study, Design, and Analysis of Geothermal Cooling System and Its Possibilities in the Terai Region of Nepal. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. C 102, 777–787 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40032-021-00669-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40032-021-00669-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation