Application of fiberglass pipes in geothermal circulation systems

The results of calculating the coefficient of thermal conductivity of the developed construction of the pipeline from multilayer composite spatially oriented fiberglass are given. A method of calculating the coefficient of thermal conductivity of a pipe wall with a complex structure of reinforcement has been developed. The fiberglass pipe is made by the continuous method of oblique-layer longitudinal-transverse winding on a self-feeding frame of reinforcing pseudo-tape moistened with a binder in the form of a rarefied mesh. With each rotation of the mandrel, it shifts by the amount of hardening of the obtained two-component material under the influence of temperature. A comparison of calculated and experimental data was made. When comparing various known calculated dependencies and experimental values, the accepted physical model and the real structure of the material are determined. The known dependences obtained for a medium with infinite long parallel cylindrical inclusions for unidirectional and orthogonally reinforced materials and therefore for materials with a complex structure and scheme of reinforcements give errors and deviations. The work assumes that fiberglass consists of two components - a reinforcing filler and a binder with pores, the reinforcing fibers are endless and have a circular cross-section, the reinforcing fibers are evenly distributed in the matrix of the binder, there is an ideal thermal contact at the boundaries of the distribution between the reinforcement and the binder. Experimental data on determining the transverse thermal conductivity of unidirectional fiberglass rods with reinforcement based on aluminoborosilicate or magnesium-aluminosilicate glass and epoxy binders showed the smallest error in comparison with the calculated ones (8-10%). They investigated the fact that the coefficient of thermal conductivity of a fiberglass pipe is 100 times lower than that of a steel pipe. It was determined that it is possible to replace a steel pipe with a diameter of 219 mm with a fiberglass pipe with a diameter of 146 mm.