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Borehole Ground Loop: Heat Exchanger Resistance

Interactive vertical ground-loop heat exchanger: watch fluid parcels flow down and up a U-tube borehole, and see how flow rate and grout conductivity set the pipe-to-ground thermal resistance, outlet temperature and heat transfer rate.

Energy & Thermodynamics3DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

A ground-source heat pump doesn't touch the ground directly — it exchanges heat through a sealed U-tube of HDPE pipe grouted into a vertical borehole, one to several hundred metres deep. This simulator renders that borehole in 3D, tracking fluid parcels as they travel down one leg of the U-tube and back up the other while a live thermal-resistance model (fluid convection, pipe wall conduction, grout conduction) computes exactly how much heat crosses from pipe to ground — or ground to pipe — for the flow rate and grout you choose. Switch between heating (pulling heat out of the earth) and cooling (rejecting heat into it) to see the outlet temperature, heat transfer rate and resistance breakdown respond in real time, the same trade-offs a geothermal loop designer balances when sizing a real installation.

⚙ Under the hood

Watch fluid parcels flow down and up a vertical U-tube borehole heat exchanger while a live thermal-resistance model shows how flow rate and grout conductivity set the outlet temperature and heat transfer rate.

geothermalheat pumpground loopheat exchangerthermal resistanceborehole

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install