ZHONG Jiahao, WANG Weiliang. Evaluation of comprehensive performance and power generation economy of constructive super-long gravity heat pipe[J]. 2026, 59(7): 236-248.
ZHONG Jiahao, WANG Weiliang. Evaluation of comprehensive performance and power generation economy of constructive super-long gravity heat pipe[J]. 2026, 59(7): 236-248.DOI: 10.11930/j.issn.1004-9649.202604091.
Evaluation of comprehensive performance and power generation economy of constructive super-long gravity heat pipe
Geothermal resources are mostly stored underground in the form of hot dry rock. Their large-scale development and utilization are of great significance for constructing new-type power systems and promoting the transformation of the energy structure. Super-long gravity heat pipe (SLGHP) possess promising application potential in the exploitation of hot dry rock geothermal resources. Firstly
to address the challenge of high equipment cost of conventional SLGHP
a low-cost constructive super-long gravity heat pipe (CSLGHP) scheme is introduced. This scheme consists of a top steam power generation unit
a pipe body partially penetrating into the rock formation
and a heat-extraction borehole drilled in the rock strata
which substantially cuts the pipe material cost of conventional SLGHP. Then
a coupled numerical model combining one-dimensional heat pipe two-dimensional rock zone
together with an economic evaluation method for power generation of heat pipe systems
is adopted to investigate the comprehensive performance and power generation economy of the CSLGHP system. Finally
the results of the examples show that
compared with the SLGHP
the maximum heat extraction power of the CSLGHP is increased by approximately 7%
with a peak power generation capacity of 21 kW; moreover
its heat extraction advantage is more pronounced at low condensation temperatures. Within the given condensation temperature range
the power generation economy of the CSLGHP outperforms that of the SLGHP
with a maximum improvement rate of around 35%. The research results can provide a theoretical basis and technical references for the further optimization and engineering application of the CSLGHP.