Team 13—GeoMELT

1. Team 13—GeoMELT 03.05.2010

2. The Team

3. Outline • Project Overview • Background • Goals • Major Accomplishments • Major Design Decisions • Design Process • Future Work • Obstacles • Significant Changes • Design Norms • Decision Validity • Acknowledgements • Questions

4. Project Overview Michigan receives ≈ 72 inches of snow annually Lake-effect snow can lead to severe storms, but Calvin never cancels class! http://www.duluthstreams.org/understanding/lake_effect.html

5. Project Overview • Problems with the Burton St. Entrance to Calvin • Intersection is dangerous to plow during the daytime • Safety for Pedestrians and Vehicles • Maybe a snowmelt system would be a good solution • What kind of snowmelt system? • Conventional Snowmelt systems typically near buildings • Conventional systems also rely on fossil fuels. • Why not use Geothermal energy? • Some electric energy is used to move energy from the earth to the desired surface. • This would mean a green solution to the problem with really low operating costs. Let’s check it out!

6. Project Overview • Primary Goal: To design and give a recommendation for a geothermal snowmelt system at Calvin’s Burton Street Entrance (learn) • Secondary Goal: To design and construct a small model to demonstrate the operation of a geothermal snowmelt system

7. Major Accomplishments

8. Major Accomplishments • Soil Boring • 10 feet down • Noticed stratification of soils • Installed Thermocouples • Still gathering temperatures

9. Major Accomplishments Sample A Sample B • 5 ft down • Clayey Sand • 7.5 ft down • Fine sand w/ some Clay

10. Major Accomplishments

11. Major Accomplishments

12. Major Accomplishments http://www.bing.com/maps • Decisions about site layout • Where to place the field of horizontal pipes? • How much pavement should we melt? • What obstacles do we have to work around? • Large trees? • Pipes? • Fiber Optic Lines?

13. Major Accomplishments • AutoCAD Drawings of Site Layout • Area of horizontal field • 10,000 ft2 • Area of pavement to melt • 4000 ft2 • Size of pump house is • Approx 15ft x 15 ft

14. Major Accomplishments

15. Major Accomplishments • Cost Estimates

16. Major Design Decisions • Pump house location • Pipe Selection • Pipe spacing: 9” • Pipe diameter: 3/4” • Ground Source Heat Pump definitely needed

17. Design Process • Why a heat pump is needed • Horizontal advantages • Unbalanced Load • Cost • Loop design and limitations

18. Future Work • Model preparation and assembly • System specifications (pump models, pipe from supplier, heat exchanger specifics) • Alternative comparison(s)

19. Obstacles We Overcame • Our Major Accomplishments • EES equations • Battling the elements while taking data

20. Obstacles Yet to Overcome • Horizontal loop details • Alternative options • Detailed Cost Estimates

21. Changes in Project Direction • Initial outlook: this could be great possibility • Current outlook: this is outrageous

22. Design Norms • Stewardship • Save on energy and reduce fossil fuel use • Balance needs and wants with cost and necessity • Caring • Increase safety for pedestrians and vehicles • Transparency • Operational clarity and explanation • Our recommendation: The bare truth

23. Validation of Decisions • Experienced Engineers • Uponor tables • ASHRAE calculations and examples

24. Acknowledgements • Trent DeBoer, GMB Engineering • Steve Schultz, GMB Engineering • Charles Huizinga, Calvin College Physical Plant • Marc Huizinga, Calvin College Physical Plant • Professor Nielsen, Team Advisor • Gary Slykhouse, City of GR Engineering Dept. • Bob Bruggink, of Moore & Bruggink

25. Questions • Now is the time, here is the place. Carpe Diem