EARTH AIR TUNNEL HEAT EXCHANGER

A Report submitted

in partial fulfillment for the Degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
[MECHANICAL ENGINEERING]

Under the Supervision of

VINEET RANJAN

by

SNEHA (19102159038)
ANIMESH KUMAR (20102159901)
DIGAMBAR KUMAR (19102159046)
PRADYUMN KUMAR (19102159043)
RAVI RANJAN KUMAR (19102159040)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE SAMASTIPUR
BIHAR ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY, PATNA
AUGUST 2023

1
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled Earth Air Tunnel Heat
Exchanger submitted by SNEHA, ANIMESH KUMAR, DIGAMBAR
KUMAR, PRADYUMN KUMAR, RAVI RANJAN KUMAR to the
Government Engineering College Samastipur, in partial fulfillment for the award
of the degree of B.Tech in (Mechanical Engineering) is a bonafide record of
project work carried out by them under my/our supervision. The contents of this
report, in full or in parts, have not been submitted to any other Institution or
University for the award of any degree or diploma.

Vineet Ranjan
Supervisor
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Samastipur Signature of HOD with seal

August 2023

2
 DECLARATION

I declare that this project report titled Earth Air Tunnel Heat Exchanger
submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of B. Tech in (Mechanical
Engineering) is a record of original work carried out by me under the supervision
of Vineet Ranjan, and has not formed the basis for the award of any other degree
or diploma, in this or any other Institution or University. In keeping with the
ethical practice in reporting scientific information, due acknowledgements have
been made wherever the findings of others have been cited.

Sneha 19102159038

Animesh kumar 20102159901

Digambar kumar 19102159046

Pradyumn Kumar 19102159043

Ravi Ranjan Kumar 19102159040

Samastipur - 848127

29-08-2023

3
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I take this opportunity to thank asst. prof. Vineet Ranjan, HOD – asst. prof.
Mukesh Kumar, Principal – Dr. R.M. Tugnayat, and other faculty members who
helped in preparing the project.

I extend my sincere thanks to one and all of G.E.C. Samastipur

for the completion of this project .

Sneha

Animesh Kumar

Digambar Kumar

Pradyumn Kumar

Ravi Ranjan Kumar

4
 ABSTRACT

The demands of cooling energy & the thermal comfort requirements are rapidly
increasing day by day due to global warming effect. Due to limited sources of energy, it is
very essential to find out the other alternative sources of energy to save the conventional
fuels available in nature. An Earth Air Tunnel Heat Exchanger system can be used
effectively to reduce the cooling energy demand of buildings in hot & dry climate. An
Earth Air Tunnel Heat Exchanger is a device/system used to produce heating effects in
winter and cooling effects in summer using the ground or soil as a source or sink. When
ambient air is drawn through buried pipes, the air is cooled in summer and heated in
winter, before it is used for ventilation. The earth air heat exchanger can fulfill both
purposes- heating in winter and cooling in summer.

The Earth–Air Tunnel Heat Exchanger (EATHE) is a promising technique which

can effectively be used to reduce the heating/cooling load of a building by preheating the
air in winter and vice versa in summer. In the last two decades, a lot of research has been
done to develop analytical and numerical models for the analysis of EAHE systems. A
longer pipe of smaller diameter buried at a greater depth and having lower air flow velocity
results in increase in performance of the EAHE system.

5
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

DESCRIPTION PAGE NUMBER

CERTIFICATE 2
DECLARATION 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4
ABSTRACT 5
LIST OF FIGURES 7
LIST OF TABLES
8
ABBREVIATIONS/ NOTATIONS/ NOMENCLATURE
1. TITLE OF CHAPTER 1 1
1.1 Section heading name 1
1.2 Section heading name 1
1.2.1 Second level section heading 3
1.3 Section heading name 4
1.4 Section heading name 5
1.4.1 Second level section heading 8
1.4.2 Second level section heading 11
1.4.2.1 Third level section heading 20
2. TITLE OF CHAPTER 2 23
2.1 Section heading name 23
2.2 Section heading name 24
2.2.1 Second level section heading 25
2.3 Section heading name 26
2.4 Section heading name 28
2.4.1 Second level section heading 30
2.4.2 Second level section heading 35

3. TITLE OF CHAPTER 3 41
3.1 Section heading name 41

6
 3.2 Section heading name 44
3.3 Section heading name 50
3.4 Section heading name 52
3.4.1 Second level section heading 59
3.4.2 Second level section heading 65
3.4.2.1 Third level section heading 70
4. TITLE OF CHAPTER 4 75
4.1 Section heading name 75
4.2 Section heading name 79
4.2.1 Second level section heading 89
4.3 Section heading name
93
4.4 Section heading name
101
4.4.1
Second level section heading 126
4.4.2
Second level section heading 150
4.4.2.1 Third level section 190
heading
5. TITLE OF CHAPTER 5 207
5.1 Section heading name 211
5.2 Section heading name 290
5.3 Section heading name 311
5.3.1 Second level section heading 329
5.3.2 Second level section heading 330
5.3.2.1 Third level section heading 340
REFERENCES 349
Appendix 1 Title of the appendix 1 361
Appendix 2 Title of the appendix 2 369
Non-paper material
1. CD [Label] back cover of the report
2. CD [Label] “

7
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE TITLE PAGE NUMBER

1.1. Schematic diagram showing the 5

proposed mechanism

1.2. Next figure alpha 9

2.1. Next figure beta 35

2.2. Next figure gamma 39

3.1. Next figure alpha, alpha 46

4.1. Plot of concentration vs time 120

5.1. Next figure beta, beta 310

7
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE TITLE PAGE NUMBER

1.1. Percentage composition of 11

fuel components

1.2. Name of Table delta 12

2.1. Name of Table gradient 35

4.2. Name of Table alpha 100

5.1. Kinetic parameters calculated for the system 310

8
ABBREVIATIONS/ NOTATIONS/ NOMENCLATURE

EAT Earth Air Tunnel

EUT Earth’s Undisturbed Temperature

EATHE Earth Air Tunnel Heat Exchanger

9
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Earth Air Tunnel (EAT) Systems

The Earth Air Tunnel (EAT) systems utilizes the heat-storing capacity of earth.
The fact that the year-round temperature four meter below the surface remains almost
constant throughout the year. That makes it potentially useful in providing buildings with
air-conditioning. It depends on the ambient temperature of the location, the EAT system
can be used to provide both cooling during the summer and heating during winter. The
tunnels would be especially useful for large buildings with ample surrounding ground. The
EAT system cannot be cost effective for small individual residential buildings. The ground
temperature remains constant and air if pumped in appropriate amount that allows
sufficient contact time for the heat transfer to the medium attains the same temperature as
the ground temperature

Table 1.1 Predicted and measured soil temperature at 2 m depth.(Reference-1)

1.1.1 Motivation of the study

The demands of cooling energy & the thermal comfort requirements are
rapidly increasing day by day due to global warming effect. Due to limited
sources of energy, it is very essential to find out the other alternative sources of
energy to save the conventional fuels available in nature.

10
 CHAPTER 2
BACKGROUND
In the last two decades, a lot of research has been done to develop
analytical and numerical models for analysis of the EAHE systems (Mihalakakou et
al. 1994; Bojic et al. 1997; Gauthier et al. 1997; Hollmuller and Lachal 2001; Su et
al. 2012; Sehli et al. 2012; Ozgener et al. 2013). The performance analysis of EAHE
involved either the calculation of conductive heat transfer from the pipe to the
ground mass or the calculation of convective heat transfer from the circulating air
to the pipe and changes in the air temperature and humidity. A number of
computer modeling tools are commercially available. EnergyPlus and TRNSYS
have EATHE modules that work well; however, these are analysis tools and are not
quickly used for design.

Presently, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is very popular among

researchers for modeling and performance analysis of the EAHE systems. The CFD
employs a very simple rule of discretization of whole system in small grids. Then,
governing equations were applied on these discrete elements to get numerical
solutions concerning flow parameters, pressure distribution, and temperature
gradients in less time and at reasonable cost because of reduced required
experimental work (Kanaris et al. 2006; Wang et al. 2007). For complete analysis
of an EAHE system, the use of CFD is recommended, but it is limited to those who
have a good command over it. For the initial design of an EAHE system, the use of
basic heat transfer equations is more suitable to determine the geometrical
dimensions of the system. Many researchers like De Paepe and Janssens (2003),
Badescu and Isvoranu (2011), and T’Joen et al. (2012) have developed EAHE
design equations and procedures.

In this paper, we have developed a one-dimensional model of the EATHE system

and have simulated the model on ANSYS and have also prepared a working model.

Figure 1: Earth air tunnel heat exchanger

11
 CHAPTER 3
PRINCIPLE
Earth acts a source or sink. It is a technique that is used to generate cool air in the
summer and hot air in the winter. The process involves moving the outside air through a
duct system that is installed deep inside the earth’s surface.(Because of the earth’s constant
temperature throughout the year, it exchanges heat while passing through the pipe)

During summer, when the outside temperature reaches 35 degrees during the summer, the
air that is passed through the earth’s surface (which is 10 degrees cooler than the outside
temperature) absorbs the heat and transfers the cool air inside the building.

During winter, when the outside air reaches 6 degrees, the process continues and converts
the outside air from 6 degrees to 16 degrees. The temperature change provides comfort to
the user, and this temperature can be further brought down by other engineering controls."

CHAPTER 4
INSTALLATION AND SETUP

The size of earth air tunnels varies depending on the site’s needs. In general, a 100–120 m
earth air tunnel requires a depth of 6–8 m. The pipe material can be HDPE or concrete, and
the diameter of the pipe should be 450 to 500 mm.

The pipework should be airtight so that it doesn’t have air leakage and other issues. One
end of the pipe is exposed to the wind catchers, and the other end is fixed to the AHU,

12
which humidifies and dehumidifies the air as needed. From here, the air is disturbed in the
room. A solar chimney is also installed inside the building, which evacuates the hot air
from the building. (This is the best process for Indian conditions)

Figure 2: Pipe Assembly

13
Figure 3: Blower

14
 CHAPTER 5
WORKING

A wind tower/windcatcher is installed outside the main building in the direction of

the flow of air around the area. It is then connected to an underground duct or tunnel to
force it to move in the direction of the main building. The depth of the tunnel should be
more than 2 m or between 3 m and 4 m. Through the duct, it reaches an area where it is
treated for temperature, humidity, and to remove dust particles. From here, it reaches inside
the building, and the air is circulated throughout the building

15
 CHAPTER 5
ANALYSIS AND MODELLING

The development of the model of the EAHE system involves the use of basic heat
transfer equations. The geometrical dimensions of the EAHE system are decided by taking
into account the amount of heating or cooling load to be met for space conditioning of the
building. The design procedure includes identifying the input parameters which are known
to the user and the parameters affecting desired design output. Once the design output is
fixed, the heat transfer equations are manipulated to meet the desired output in terms of
input parameters.
Therefore, depending on the nature of the design problem the mass flow rate of air, ṁ; inlet
air temperature, T in; desired outlet air temperature from EAHE, T out; and EUT are
considered as parameters of the sizing problem. Furthermore, it is considered that the
location of installation of the EAHE system is known. So, ambient air temperature and soil
properties are known. The EUT temperature is estimated as the annual average ambient air
temperature of a particular location; therefore, it is also assumed as a known parameter.
The mass flow rate of air and the outlet air temperature are set by the design requirements.
The geometric sizing parameters of an EAHE include the diameter of the pipe, D; length of
the pipe, L; and number of pipes in parallel, N p, in the heat exchanger.

16
 REFERENCES

1. (Investigation
of the underground temperature using neural network)
(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4372826_Investigation_of_the_
underground_temperature_using_neural_network)

2. (Bisoniya et al.  2013)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265249334_Experimental_and_anal
ytical_studies_of_earth-
air_heat_exchanger_EATHE_systems_in_India_A_review

17
 APPENDIX 1

LIST OF RESPONDENTS TO THE SURVEY

1. IIST
1. NIT
2. JNU
3. MKU
4. KU
5. JNTU
6. Vizag University
7. IIT, Delhi
8. IIT, Mumby
9. IIT Chennai

18