Thermodynamic optimization and parametric analysis of ground source heat pumps with imposed heat transfer rates

Yerdesh Y. Belyayev Y. Feidt M. Botella O.
February 2026 Elsevier Ltd

International Journal of Refrigeration
2026 #182 253 - 264 pp.

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems are increasingly adopted for sustainable building heating and cooling. Yet, their real-world performance is significantly affected by internal irreversibilities and suboptimal resource allocation. This study addresses the limited understanding of how thermodynamic irreversibilities and heat exchanger configurations jointly influence system efficiency under imposed heat extraction or production conditions. The objective of this work is to identify optimal distributions of thermal and geometric resources across four heat exchangers in a GSHP system to minimize compressor power consumption or maximize the coefficient of performance (COP). For capturing energy losses, we developed a non-dimensional thermodynamic model that incorporates both reversible and irreversible formulations using irreversibility ratio and entropy production rate. Numerical optimization and parametric analysis reveal that the system irreversibility can reduce the maximum COP by up to 62 %, and increases the minimum power consumption by over 3.4 times compared to the reversible case. Enhancing heat exchanger effectiveness and capacity rate in the delivery loop most effectively offsets irreversibility, with power savings of 27.5 % observed when the capacity rate is increased from 0.4 to 0.8. Additionally, narrowing the ground-to-user temperature gap (increasing the temperature ratio from 0.8 to 0.9) reduces the required power by up to 49 %. These findings suggest that minimizing internal dissipation and prioritizing high-performance delivery-side heat exchangers are both critical for maximizing GSHP efficiency. The proposed optimization framework provides practical design guidance and supports the development of next-generation geothermal heat pump systems.

COP maximization , Entropy production rate , Ground source heat pump , Irreversibility ratio , Optimal heat exchangers allocation , Power consumption minimization , Thermodynamic optimization

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Department of Mechanics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Satbayev University, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan
Université de Lorraine, CNRS, LEMTA, Nancy, F-54000, France

Department of Mechanics
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Université de Lorraine

10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель

Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026