Engineering, Sustainability, and the Geosciences Course-level Examples of Geoscience in “Mechanical” Engineering Kevin Amende, P.E. March 7 th, 2013

End User Consumption DOE Building Energy Data Book 2011

What are Building Energy Systems? Systems used to provide –HVAC Heating Cooling Indoor Air Quality (Ventilation) –Electricity –Lighting –Water Management

What are Building Energy Systems? Building Envelope Location & Orientation Energy Distribution (what is available) Energy Generation Power management (Control systems)

What is Geothermal Energy? Energy generated in the Earth (Core) –Big “G” has high temperatures –Used for district heating –Used for electricity generation Energy stored in the Earth (Solar) –Little “g” typically lower than 70 o F –Used for heating and cooling, district and non-district

How is it Transferred? Open Loop –Gas (steam) driven by pressure to surface and used to rotate turbine impellers –Hydro (water) driven by pressure to surface and piped into a heat exchanger (HEX) Closed Loop –Glycol or water pumped through a continuous pipe (down and up the bore)

Bore Field Types Open Loop (pump and dump) –Underground water-source –Lake –River –Etc…

Bore Field Types Closed Loop –Buried ground-heat exchanger (GHEX) Vertical bore field Horizontal field (bore or excavate) –Lake –Pond –Municipal water supply

Lake/Pond HEX

Vertical Closed Loop GHEX

Horizontal Closed Loop HEX

Horizontal Earth-Air HEX

Geothermal GHEX Installation

Ecosmart House Project

Ecosmart House Project

Vertical GHEX Installation

Geothermal as a Utility? OG&E Ground Source Heat Exchange Study –Utility company project coordinator –Hope Crossing (Habitat for Humanity) site in Oklahoma City, OK –OSU performing thermal response tests (TRT) on various geothermal HEX

Fly Ash Grout Development of new grout mixtures for geothermal applications –Thermal performance (conductivity) –Fluidity Collaboration between Civil and Mechanical Engineering

Where are doing this in the curriculum? ETME 423 – Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning II (HVAC II) ETME 424 – Thermal Processes Lab ETME 489/499 – Senior Capstone I & II

Questions?