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Long-Term Thermal Performance of Group of Energy Piles in Unsaturated Soils under Cyclic Thermal Loading

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  • Abubakar Kawuwa Sani

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK)

  • Rao Martand Singh

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science & Technology, (NTNU), 7034 Trondheim, Norway)

Abstract

Geothermal energy piles (GEPs) are an environmentally friendly heat exchange technology that dualizes the role of the structural foundation pile for load support and in meeting the building heating/cooling need. Energy loops made from high-density polyethylene, which allow heat carrier fluid circulation, are fitted into the pile foundation elements to extract or inject and store heat energy in the soil surrounding the pile. This paper reports the results of a numerical study investigating the long-term behaviour of a group of energy piles embedded in unsaturated soils (sand and clay) under continuous cyclic heating and cooling load. Additionally, two scenarios were investigated where: (1) the whole GEPs were heated and cooled collectively; (2) alternate piles were heated and cooled. It was found that the trend of temperature magnitude at all the observed locations decreases with time as a result of the continuous heating and cooling cycles. Furthermore, subjecting alternate GEPs to the heating and cooling cycles result in lower temperature development in comparison to thermally activating all the GEPs in the group. This is attributed to the applied thermal load, which is 0.5 times that considered in the first case. However, this might not be the case where equal thermal load is applied on the GEPs in the two cases investigated.

Suggested Citation

  • Abubakar Kawuwa Sani & Rao Martand Singh, 2021. "Long-Term Thermal Performance of Group of Energy Piles in Unsaturated Soils under Cyclic Thermal Loading," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-28, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:14:p:4122-:d:590719
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hesaraki, Arefeh & Holmberg, Sture & Haghighat, Fariborz, 2015. "Seasonal thermal energy storage with heat pumps and low temperatures in building projects—A comparative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1199-1213.
    2. Andrea Ferrantelli & Jevgeni Fadejev & Jarek Kurnitski, 2019. "Energy Pile Field Simulation in Large Buildings: Validation of Surface Boundary Assumptions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, February.
    3. Sutman, Melis & Speranza, Gianluca & Ferrari, Alessio & Larrey-Lassalle, Pyrène & Laloui, Lyesse, 2020. "Long-term performance and life cycle assessment of energy piles in three different climatic conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 1177-1191.
    4. Sani, Abubakar Kawuwa & Singh, Rao Martand, 2020. "Response of unsaturated soils to heating of geothermal energy pile," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P2), pages 2618-2632.
    5. Sani, Abubakar Kawuwa & Singh, Rao Martand & Amis, Tony & Cavarretta, Ignazio, 2019. "A review on the performance of geothermal energy pile foundation, its design process and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 54-78.
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