The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region boasts rich geothermal resources and new achievements have been made in the exploration and development of geothermal resources in this region based on previous regional investigation. In detail, geothermal reservoirs of Gaoyuzhuang Formation of Jixian System and Changcheng System in Xiongan New Area have been recently discovered, opening up the second space of geothermal resources; the calculation method of the recoverable resources of geothermal fluid with reinjection being considered has been improved in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and uniform comprehensive assessment of shallow geothermal energy, hydrothermal geothermal resources, and hot dry rocks (HDR) geothermal resources in the whole Beijing-Tianjin-Shijiazhuang region has been completed. The scientific research base for cascade development and utilization of geothermal resources in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has applied hydraulic fracturing technology to the geothermal reservoirs in Gaoyuzhuang Formation. As a result, the production capacity doubled and two-stage cascade utilization composed of geothermal power generation and geothermal heating were realized, with the first-phase installed capacity of 280 kW and the geothermal heating is 30000 m². In this way, a model of the exploration, development, and utilization of geothermal resources formed. Large-scale utilization has become the future trend of geothermal resource development in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and great efforts shall be made to achieve breakthroughs in reinjection technology, geothermal reservoir reconstruction technology, thermoelectric technology and underground heat exchange technology.

Borehole Heat Exchanger (BHE) can be installed in different infrastructures to store or extract energy, such as pavement cooling in summer and de-icing in winter. Although there are approaches to estimating the performance of a BHE based on analytical, semi-analytical or numerical simulation methods, predicting the performance of a BHE in the perspective of Machine Learning (ML) is still necessary. In this investigation, four ML algorithms including Linear Regression (LR), Polynomial Regression (PR), Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Random Forest (RF) were used to explore the underlying relationship between the Heat Extraction Rate (HER) and the influencing factors. In total, the annual HERs of 400 Thermal Performance Tests (TPTs) covering 12 major factors were computed in a validated numerical simulation framework. After providing necessary database, the 4 ML approaches were trained and evaluated. The results showed that the trained PR approach had the best performance. Specifically, the trained PR approach had a Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) lower than 1.74 W · m⁻¹, with the Coefficient of Determination (R²) higher than 0.99. Additionally, the trained approach was compared to an in-situ TPT in Shijiazhuang (China) and two numerical simulated scenarios in Alsace (France). The results showed that the trained PR approach predicted well the in-situ TPT by having 3 W · m⁻¹ of RMSE, and it predicted correctly the numerical simulated HER of a BHE with 0.09 and 0.72 W · m⁻¹ of RMSEs for two scenarios with 5 and 1 °C of inlet fluid temperatures. The proposed prediction model can be applied to estimate the performance of a BHE, providing another option to fast evaluate the BHE performance.

In this study, the operation of a ground source heat pump system was investigated over a 25-year period with careful attention paid to the effects of groundwater flow and intermittent operation strategies. First, geological and hydrogeological investigations were conducted, after which ground thermal properties were determined by thermal response tests. In order to predict the heat transfer within borehole heat exchangers under a specific operating system, a numerical model was developed using finite element subsurface flow & transport simulation system (FEFLOW). The numerical model was validated with thermal response test measurements. Three operation conditions including continuous system operation without groundwater flow, continuous system operation with groundwater flow, and intermittent operation with groundwater flow were examined. Results indicate that ground temperature disturbance was effectively reduced during groundwater flow and the intermittent operation of the system. Compared with continuous system operation without groundwater flow, the borehole heat exchanger heat transfer rate increases by 10% with groundwater flow conditions and increases by 16% with further implementation of the intermittent operation strategy. Intermittent operation with groundwater flow is highly recommended for the sustainable operation of ground source heat pump system.

The central North China Plain (NCP) is one of the rapidly developing regions in China which has a great potential for ground source heat pump (GSHP) system applications. However, the ground thermal property, which is a prerequisite for GSHP system design, has been insufficiently investigated. In this paper, the ground thermal conditions including ground temperature and thermal conductivity are characterized in three representative hydrogeological regions in the NCP area: the piedmont alluvial plain, the central alluvial plain, and the coastal plain. Results show that the geothermal gradient below 40 m in depth in this area ranges from 0.018 °C/m to 0.029 °C/m. Although the thermal conductivity measured by soil samples differs slightly among the three regions, parameters in the piedmont plain have a larger variability than in the central and coastal plain due to the significant heterogeneity of the lithology. Thermal conductivity measured by the thermal response test (TRT) ranges between 2.37 and 2.68 W/(m·K) in the piedmont plain and varies between 1.35 and 1.94 W/(m·K) in the central and coastal plain, indicating that the piedmont plain has a higher potential for shallow geothermal exploitation than other two sub-areas. Comparing the TRT with laboratory measurements, the thermal conductivity obtained by the TRT is greater than that of the lab measurements in the piedmont plain due to the TRT outputs including the effects of groundwater flow. Therefore, the TRT is highly recommended to estimate the effective thermal conductivity of the ground in the piedmont plain, while laboratory and field tests are both suitable methods for the determination of thermal conductivity in the central and coastal plains.