Investigating the impact of various parameters on the thermal performance of helical earth air heat exchanger using computational fluid dynamics

Geothermal energy has gained significant interest as a potential source for cooling and heating applications. The Earth Air Heat Exchanger (EAHX) system has been identified as a cost-effective way to harness geothermal energy. This research paper presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study analyzing the thermal performance (TP) of the helical shape EAHX system under different parameters. The research highlights that reducing the intake air velocity can improve the TP of the EAHX system. The study found that the pipes with smaller diameters perform better thermally due to increased turbulence in the airflow inside the helical shape pipe and less mass flow rate of inlet air due to the smaller cross-section. The study also found that extending the pipe length can improve thermal performance, but it is not advantageous to use a system with a pipe length longer than the optimal limit. The findings of this study shed light on the influence of various parameters on the TP of the EAHX system, and provide valuable information for designing efficient geothermal systems for residential cooling and heating applications.