Numerical Investigation On Thermo-mechanical Behavior Of A Single Energy Pile

High energy demands to provide heating and cooling for building needs have made geothermal energy foundations increasingly popular.High energy prices and climate change crisis are mainly concerned.Geothermal energy pile foundation is considered as a favorable alternative technology for renewable environmentally friendly energy supply systems and saving.Energy piles can work as foundations,which support the building as well as a ground energy resource to supply energy for the building needs.Temperature variations in the pile shaft and surrounding soil can affect the thermo-mechanical of pile shaft and surrounding soil for both structural and geotechnical terms.This thesis addressed the comparison results between numerical analysis and full-scale test to observe the thermal response of energy pile foundations in a summer season.Numerical simulations of the energy piles with different pipe configurations,different pipe diameters and different fluid velocities inside the pipe are conducted to investigate the thermo-mechanical behavior of the energy pile foundations.The model results to compare the experimental full-scale in-situ test results are acceptable.Double U-shaped tube systems provide the best thermal performance,comparing to single U-shaped and W-shaped tube systems.The thermal performance of the W-shaped tube systems is better than the single U-shaped tube systems with the same fluid flow rate.