WJ GROUNDWATER LTD

Installation and Testing of a

200m Deep Closed Loop
Borehole, Stansted Airport

Gary Holmes
WJ GROUNDWATER LIMITED
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Background
Existing planning consent limits the number of passengers
travelling through Stansted Airport to 25M per year
Stansted SG1 has applied for consent for 35M passengers a year
using the existing runway
Stansted SG2 planning application includes a 2nd runway and
terminal, and upgrades to the transport links
In order to show that ground source heating/cooling is feasible
for the site a 200m deep closed loop borehole was installed and
tested
SG2 planning application includes the installation of up to 1500
closed loop boreholes under the proposed car park areas
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Ground Conditions
0
Temporary casing to Boulder Clay
London Clay
London Clay
Open hole to Chalk 50
Thanet Sand
Hole stability possible
issue
Permanent casing 100
through overlying
strata to Chalk
Chalk
Open hole to depth 150

40mm HDPE loop

installed
200m
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Well installation
Drilled using a 35 ton
rotary rig
300mm bore to the
Chalk
178/160mm steel
casing installed
Open hole through
Chalk at 150mm bore
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Loop installation
40/33 mm HDPE loop
installed to 200m depth
Tremie pipe installed to base
of well
Thermally enhanced grout
pumped in from the bottom up
7.7:1 silica sand : bentonite
grout mix, giving a thermal
conductivity of 2.02 W/m K
Grout allowed to set and cool
for 5 days prior to testing
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Test Parameters
Power level depends on depth of hole, P = q H
Heat injection, q should be between 30 and 50 W/m
For 200m deep hole a power input of 9kW was chosen
Flowrate around the loop, Q
P = cv Q TIN-OUT
where: cv is the volumetric specific heat capacity of water
4.2 kJ/kg K
TIN-OUT is the temperature difference between the
input and output fluid, ideally 3-5 K
Flow of 26 litres/min was used
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Thermal Response Testing Unit

Electric heaters, 1 No. 6 kW
heater and 2 No. 3 kW heaters in
series
Recirculation pump
Flowmeter to monitor
recirculated flow
Sensors to monitor fluid
temperature entering and leaving
the borehole
Power meter to monitor the
energy input to the heaters
Datalogger to monitor all
sensors, complete with GSM
modem for remote access
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Thermal Response Testing Unit

Datalogger with Flowmeter
Power meter Electrical panel
GSM modem Readout

26
9 kW
l/min

Valve to control
recirculation flow

Expansion
vessel

Recirculated fluid to
borehole
Heater 3kW
Recirculating
Pump
Heater 3kW
Temperature sensors

Heater 6kW Flowmeter

Recirculated fluid from
borehole
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Test Results
35 35

Flow (l/min), Heating Power Input (kW)

30 30

25 25
Temperature ( C)
o

20 20 Temperature
into Borehole

Temperature
15 15 from Borehole

Flow
10 10
Heating Power
Input
5 5

0 0
09 Aug 07 13 Aug 07 17 Aug 07 21 Aug 07
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Test Results
35

y = 1.8729Ln(x) + 20.07

30
Temperature (oC)

25

20

15
1 10 100 1000
Elapsed Time from Start of Heat Input (Hours)
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Thermal Conductivity
Thermal conductivity, can be calculated:
q
=
4k
Where: q is the constant heat injection rate
k is the slope of the logarithmic plot of
(TIN+TOUT)/2 against time
Giving a thermal conductivity of 1.8 W/m K
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Client: BAA Ltd

Consultant: WSP Environmental Ltd
Principal Contractor: WJ Groundwater Ltd
Drilling Sub-contractor: Magpie Environmental Drilling
Services Ltd