A ground heat exchanger (GHE) is devised for extraction or injection of thermal energy from/into the ground. Bearing strong impact on GHE performance, the borehole thermal resistance is defined by the thermal properties of the construction materials and the arrangement of flow channels of the GHEs. Taking the fluid axial convective heat transfer and thermal "short-circuiting" among U-tube legs into account, a new quasi-three-dimensional model for vertical GHEs is established in this paper, which provides a better understanding of the heat transfer processes in the GHEs. Analytical solutions of the fluid temperature profiles along the borehole depth have been obtained. On this basis analytical expressions of the borehole resistance have been derived for different configurations of single and double U-tube boreholes. Then, different borehole configurations and flow circuit arrangements are assessed in regard to their borehole resistance. Calculations show that the double U-tubes boreholes are superior to those of the single U-tube with reduction in borehole resistance of 30-90%. And double U-tubes in parallel demonstrate better performance than those in series. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.