抄録
This study aims to develop a heating assist system for liquid tanks by using shallow geothermal energy via a new type of heat pipe named Bubble-Actuated Circulating Heat pipe (BACH). In this system, BACH transports heat from shallow underground (temperature remains constant at around 15 °C in Fukui) to the liquid of caustic soda solution (49 wt%, freezing point is about 5 °C) preserved in the tank. From a previous simplified small-scale experiment, we concluded that BACH could warm the liquid to some extent in winter. In this report, experimental results of field tests are demonstrated where 10 m3 tank equipped with an electric heater as an auxiliary heater was tested and five sets of BACH were installed. As a result, this system could warm the liquid at about 7 °C only by BACH without electricity under the experimental conditions tested.
