The temperature distribution in the ground on the two types of pipes of underground heating network

Authors

  • Dariusz Jakubek Energy Department, Cracow University of Technology, al. Jana Pawła II 37, Cracow, 31-864, Poland
  • Marzena Nowak-Ocłoń Energy Department, Cracow University of Technology, al. Jana Pawła II 37, Cracow, 31-864, Poland
  • Petar Sabev Varbanov Sustainable Process Integration Lab, NETME Centre, Brno Univ. of Technology, Technická 2896/2, Brno, 616 69, Czech Republic
  • Maciej Sułowicz Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, Cracow, 31–155, Poland; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6436-1110 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6436-1110

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24425/ather.2025.154904

Abstract

District heating systems commonly utilize pre-insulated pipes arranged in either a parallel or TwinPipe configuration. This study compares the temperature distribution in the ground, as determined by a numerical 3D model, with experimental measurements conducted on a dedicated test setup. The analysis includes several district heating pipe variants (DN40, DN50 and DN65), and their counterparts in a single parallel pre-insulated system. The results obtained from laboratory experiments and numerical simulations show strong agreement, confirming the reliability of the proposed approach. The novelty of this work lies in the integration of experimental data and numerical simulations to improve the accuracy of heat loss estimations. The relative error between the computational and experimental models remains below 10%, ensuring high precision in the findings. The presented results provide valuable design insights for optimizing insulation thickness and pipe layout configurations in district heating networks. These findings contribute to the development of more efficient and sustainable thermal energy distribution systems.

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Published

2025-06-30

How to Cite

Jakubek, Dariusz, et al. “The Temperature Distribution in the Ground on the Two Types of Pipes of Underground Heating Network”. Archives of Thermodynamics, vol. 46, no. 2, June 2025, pp. 38-47, doi:10.24425/ather.2025.154904.

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