An Earth Heat Sink Concept for Underground Power Sources

: The possibility of using an earth heat sink to absorb the waste heat from an underground power plant operating in a closed cycle was investigated. Preliminary calculations based upon a transient heat conduction analysis were carried out to determine the order of magnitude of dimensions of the required heat sink. The calculations have shown that earth heat sinks may be practical and that they should be considered along with other methods of heat dissipation for underground power plants operating on a closed cycle basis over limited durations in time.