hdpe pipe with increased thermal

conductivity for geothermal applications

Jasmin Raymond, M.Sc., P.GEO.
In collaboration with Centre spécialisé de technologie physique du Québec (CSTPQ),
Laval University and Golder Associates

For decades, geothermal exchange technology has been used

for residential and commercial heating and cooling applications.
In recent years, geothermal energy has come to the forefront
as an environmentally friendly and energy efficient alternative to
traditional heating and cooling systems.
Over the years, Versaprofiles, formerly know as IPL Extrusion, has
remained a key stakeholder in goethermal exchange technology
and is continuing to develop new ans innovative piping products for
geothermal applications.
HDPE Pipe with Increased Thermal Conductivity
for Geothermal Applications
Geothermal Technology
Geothermal exchange technology requires
• a geothermal heat pump;
• a heat exchange medium; and
• a heat exchanger.
Geothermal systems use the earth as a stable sink or
source of energy. The heat exchanger consists of piping,
buried ­beneath the ground (horizontally or vertically), in
which a heat exchange fluid can flow. The heat exchange
fluid is used by the heat pump as a heat source (in the
winter) or as a heat sink (in the summer). This is a highly
energy-efficient process because the temperature of the
ground remains stable t­ hroughout the year.
Why New HDPE Pipes
Of the three main components in geothermal exchange
­technology, Versaprofiles has chosen to improve the
heat exchanger. It is only natural that a pipe manufac-
turer would innovate in their specific field of expertise.
The standard HDPE pipe used in heat exchangers was
originally intended for water supply use and it is actually
an insulator. Therefore it has the lowest thermal con-
ductivity in the entire system. By increasing the thermal
conductivity of the pipe, the length of ground source ex-
changers could be reduced as well as the initial start-up
costs for geothermal systems.
An underground heat exchanger
is composed of materials having
thermal conductivity (k) ranging
from:
• 0.7 to 3.8 W/m°C for soils
• 1.0 to 4.5 W/m°C for bedrock
• 0.75 to 2.0 W/m°C for infill materials
• 0.39 to 0.41 W/m°C for 3608 HDPE
HDPE thermal conductivity restrains
heat transfer between heat carrier
fluid and ground.
Innovation with Versaprofiles
Versaprofiles is a leading manufacturer of HDPE pipe
and has been ­innovating geothermal applications for
the last 10 years, with the introduction of the Titan
Reel, the Verticaloop and other products that provide
solutions specially intended for system designers and
well drillers. Recently Versaprofiles has developed
nanoparticles that, when dispersed in the polyethylene
matrix, increase the thermal conductivity of the resin
from which the pipes are extruded. This new pipe re-
duces the thermal resistance of the well and it ­reduces
the length needed for geothermal heat exchangers,
therefore reducing system costs.
economic performance
The heat exchanger portion of a geothermal system ac-
counts for most of the total installation cost. Therefore,
this cost greatly influences the payback period of the
system. ­Shortening the length of the exchangers can
dramatically ­reduce the cost of this type of system, es-
pecially for large commercial applications.
Considering the fact that a designer can reduce the well
depth at least 10%, Geoperformx TM can bring major sav-
ings to the ­stakeholders. The average savings factor is
1.35:1, which means you can save $1.35 per foot of drill-
ing. A 100,000 foot project with Geoperformx TM will rep-
resent $135,000 of ­savings compared to a 112,400 foot
project with regular HDPE pipe. A designer that bids
1,500,000 feet of geothermal well in a year could bring
up to $2 025,000 of savings to the s­ takeholders.
The Geoperformx TM well average cost will be 20$ per
foot while the average foot cost would be 19$ with regu-
lar HDPE pipe; however with the decreased length, the
total Geoperformx TM project will save 135 600$ for 100
000 feet of Geoperformx TM.
$300,000
Savings with
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
13,500 67,500 121,500 175,500 229,500
Borehole Field (Feet)
Proven Technology That Works
The material science group at Versaprofiles has taken
thermal ­conductivity to new heights. The innovative patent
pending resin with dispersed nanoparticles has a ther-
mal conductivity which is 75% higher than that of regular
HDPE1. The material science team had to carefully adjust
the proportions of nanoparticles to have a good balance
between thermal conductivity and pipe cost to make the
overall system economically advantageous. The thermally
enhanced resin led to a full-scale pilot project to test the
improved pipe. Then simulations were ­performed to sup-
port and extend the pilot project findings.
A full-scale pilot project to test the real performance
of Geoperformx TM. A solid methodology with concrete
results.
1. Based on third party test results from Centre spécialisé de technologie physique du Québec, 2008
2. Raymond, Jasmin. 2010. Numerical Modeling of Thermally Enhanced Pipe Performances in Vertical Ground Heat Exchangers. Doctoral Thesis Research, Laval University.
3. Golder Associates. 2009 GeoExchange. Thermal Performance Evaluation of a GeoExchange Well Installed with GEOperform HDPE pipes.
Numerical Simulations
With COMSOL AB 2008 software, two- and three-dimen-
sional numerical simulations were done to evaluate the
performance of the thermally enhanced pipe in vertical
ground heat ­exchangers used with ground-coupled heat
pumps. The­­thermal resistance of the well and the water
temperature ­inside the pipes during heat exchange were
evaluated ­numerically. Simulations show that the ther-
mally enhanced pipe reduces the thermal resistance of
the well by up to 25% for ground heat exchangers made
with a single U-bend, which can in turn shorten the re-
quired well length2.The water ­temperatures for equiva-
lent heat injection or extraction are also decreased and
increased, respectively, with the thermally enhanced
pipe, which therefore enhances heat pump ­performance.
Full-Scale Pilot Project
In collaboration with Golder Associates, the thermal
conductivity of standard HDPE pipe was tested against
that of the thermally enhanced Geoperformx TM from
Versaprofiles. In this test, two identical boreholes were
drilled and outfitted with heat ­exchangers. The results of
the thermal reponse test show that the heat dissipated
by well built with the Geoperformx TM is 25% higher
than the heat dissipation results obtained for the con-
ventional PE3608 loop 3. This indicates that ground loop
­exchangers constructed with Geoperformx TM pipes could
­reduce their length by up to 11%.
Why choose
Unlike conventional HDPE pipe, Geoperformx TM was de-
signed specifically for high thermal conductivity in geo-
thermal ­applications. Its nanotechnology resin increases
the thermal conductivity enough to reduce the length of
the exchanger by 11% thus enhancing the water temper-
ature making the heat pump more efficient. The overall
cost of a geothermal ­application is also reduced, making
geothermal systems more accessible to the market.
www.versaprofiles.com
 Technology True to the Environment
Geothermal technology has long been recognized for its low envi-
ronmental impact. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has called ground source heat pumps the most energy-efficient, en-
vironmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems
available 4. Geothermal heat pumps have very high thermal efficien-
cies and no local ­emissions. ­Depending on the source of electricity,
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for geothermal applications can be
­significantly ­reduced when compared to high-efficiency ­furnaces that
use natural gas, oil or coal.
4. Environmental Protection Agency (1993). Space Conditioning: The Next Frontier - Report 430-R-93-004. EPA.

VERSAPROFILES specializes in value added thermoplastic extru-

sion manufacturing. Our company is a spin off of IPL, the largest
manufacturer of thermoplastic in Canada, managers of IPL Extru-
sion bought back all the assets of this business unit from IPL Inc
in July 2011. All staff and production personnel followed in the
transaction.
Our team is dedicated to finding solutions that increase the efficiency
of ground source heat pump systems, thus reducing their installa-
tion and operation costs. We manufacture the GeoperformxTM pipe, a
unique geothermal loop system specifically developed to enhance
the thermal transfer between the bedrock and the antifreeze
circulating inside the system. This product provides a proven in-
crease of at least 25% in heat pump efficiency.
Versaprofiles also offers a complete solution for your conventional
HDPE geothermal pipe requirements. We manufacture 3/4” to 6”
diameter, PE80 (PE3608) and PE100 (PE4710) type pipes, with the
GEO printline. They are certified by a third party and meet the geo-
thermal industry standards of reference - CSA C448, CSA B137.1
and NSF 14/61.”

MEMBER OF

CUSTOMER SERVICE
printed in CANADA

1-877-335-PIPE (7473)
130 rue Aubé
info@versaprofiles.com
Saint-Lazare-de-Bellechasse (Québec)
G0R 3J0 Canada geoperformx.com versaprofiles.com