Instrumentação para levantamento de dados do perfil geotérmico superficial visando a troca sustentável de calor

Abstract

Nowadays, the rational energy consumption is one of the main concerns of the whole modern society. Thus, this dissertation contributes to improve energy efficiency, increase the renewable energy sources and to develop cleaner and more efficient technologies as the greatest challenges of science and technology. This is reflected in today s residential energy consumption in Brazil which is about 26%, mostly produced by equipment of high energy consumption as is the case of showers and air-conditioning, according to the Energy Research Company - EPE. The main goal of this research was to develop a dedicated electronic instrumentation to determine the superficial geothermal profile, focusing at cost reduction and short installation times. With many experimental data was possible to establish the heat exchange capacity of heat exchangers buried underground. The experimental data was obtained in the Center of Studies in Energy and Power Systems Center (CEESP) at Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM). It was developed a dedicated acquisition board based on a microprocessor (PIC18f5420) and a tubular PVC probe setup with 11 digital temperature sensors model DS18B20 with 5 m long rod and half inch diameter. The temperature data were collected during 12 months recorded every 2 minutes This dissertation is mostly focused on the establishment of basic electronic instrumentation for conducting summary surveys of temperature data in shallow subsurface geothermal profile in any area, thereby reducing costs and installation times. These geothermal profile data are important for various areas in establishing the ability to exchange heat between buried materials and the homely ambient, such as construction, underground power cabling and architecture. The experimental area was the Center of Studies in Energy and Power Systems (CEESP), in the campus of UFSM in Santa Maria - RS. The data collection will serve as input for the rapid establishment of underground temperature distribution curves where is intended to utilize geothermal energy. The data collection was realized by a dedicated data logger based on the PIC18f5420 microprocessor. The entire plate is sized, constructed and programmed in CEESP along with a standard PVC tubular probe five meters long and half inch diameter fitted with 11 digital temperature sensors type DS18B20, to enable monitoring the underground temperature change from surface up to a desired depth. Collection of temperature data was made in the course of 12 months, with measurements recorded at every 2 minutes. Some interruptions occurred during the measurement period, but it did not interfere with the final outcome results. It was then possible to establish the mean thermal profile parameters during daily periods and the maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year. With the results obtained in this research is possible to prove that the thermal variation (temperature) of the soil profile decreases gradually with depth until it stabilizes at a value which is approximately the average annual temperature of that local area. During these tests, it was observed that the temperature measurements in the experimental campus CEESP for a maximum depth of five meters ranged between 18 and 22 °C. The data reduction method called Least Squares Method was used to make projections of temperatures for deeper depths. Thus it was possible to confirm the theoretical information that the soil temperature at any location a few meters deep tends to stabilize at the annual average surface temperature in that place. In Santa Maria-RS, according to the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), the annual average temperature is 19.5 °C.