Experimental and numerical investigations of the behaviour of a heat exchanger pile

The geothermal use of concrete geostructures (piles, walls and slabs) is an environmentally friendly way of cooling and heating buildings. With such geothermal structures, it is possible to transfer energy from the ground to fluid‐filled pipes cast in concrete and then to building environments. To improve the knowledge in the field of geothermal structures, the behaviour of a pile subjected to thermo‐mechanical loads is studied in situ. The aim is to study the increased loads on pile due to thermal effects. The maximum thermal increment applied to the pile is on the order of 21°C and the mechanical load reached 1300 kN. Coupled multi‐physical finite element modelling is carried out to simulate the observed experimental results. It is shown that the numerical model is able to reproduce the most significant thermo‐mechanical effects. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical analysis of seasonal heat storage in an energy pile foundation

The use of concrete geostructures for energy extraction and storage in the ground is an environmentally friendly and easy way of cooling and heating buildings. With such energy geostructures, it is possible to transfer energy from the ground to buildings by means of fluid-filled pipes cast in concrete. By injecting thermal energy in summer and extracting it in winter, the ground in the area of a building’s piles can be used for seasonal energy storage, as long as the underground water flow in the storage remains low. This paper is a contribution to the improvement of the knowledge in the field of energy geostructures. The behaviour of a multi-pile seasonal storage system subjected to thermo-mechanical loading is examined numerically from both thermal and mechanical perspectives. The purpose of this paper is (i) to propose a thermo-hydro-mechanical 2D solution to the 3D problem, (ii) to explore the thermal behaviour of this type of storage and (iii) to evaluate its structural consequences. Coupled multi-physical finite element modelling is conducted. The efficiency of the storage is not dramatically affected by an increase in the annual mean temperature of the storage. It is shown that induced mechanical loads are less important when considering a wholly heated pile structure than when considering a single heated pile in a foundation. The evolution of stresses in the piles and in the soil during heating–cooling cycles also reveals possible critical phenomena.     

Analysis of pile‐raft foundations under complex loads in layered soils

Considering there is hardly any concerted effort to analyze the pile‐raft foundations under complex loads (combined with vertical loads, horizontal loads and moments), an analysis method is proposed in this paper to estimate the responses of pile‐raft foundations which are subjected to vertical loads, horizontal loads and moments in layered soils based on solutions for stresses and displacements in layered elastic half space. Pile to pile, pile to soil surface, soil surface to pile and soil surface to soil surface interactions are key ingredients for calculating the responses of pile‐raft foundations accurately. Those interactions are fully taken into account to estimate the responses of pile‐raft foundations subject to vertical loads, horizontal loads and moments in layered soils. The constraints of the raft on vertical movements, horizontal movements and rotations of the piles as well as the constraints of the raft on vertical movements and horizontal movements of the soils are considered to reflect the coupled effect on the raft. The method is verified through comparisons with the published methods and FEM. Then, the method is adopted to investigate the influence of soil stratigraphy on pile responses. The study shows that it is necessary to consider the soil non‐homogeneity when estimating the responses of pile‐raft foundations in layered soils, especially when estimating the horizontal responses of pile‐raft foundations. The horizontal loads and the moments have a significant impact on vertical responses of piles in pile‐raft foundations, while vertical loads have little influence on horizontal responses of piles in pile‐raft foundations in the cases of small deformations. The proposed method can provide a simple and useful tool for engineering design. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the understanding of cyclic interaction mechanisms in an energy pile group

Integrating ground heat exchanger elements into concrete piles is now considered as an efficient energy solution for heating/cooling of buildings. In addition to the static load of buildings, the concrete piles also undergo a cycle of thermal deformation. In the case of single energy pile, calculation methods already exist and permit to perform a proper geotechnical design. In the case of energy pile group, the thermo‐mechanical interactions within the group are more complex. Very few experimental results on the energy pile group are available so that numerical analysis can be an interesting way to provide complementary results about their behavior. This paper deals with a numerical analysis including a comparison between a single energy pile and an energy pile group with different boundary conditions at the pile head. In order to take into account the stress reversal induced by the thermal expansions and contractions, a cyclic elastoplastic constitutive model is introduced at the soil–pile interface. The analysis aims to give some insights about the long‐term cyclic interaction mechanisms in the energy pile group. Based on this qualitative study, some guidance can be brought for the design of energy piles in the case where group effects should be considered. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards a secure basis for the design of geothermal piles

Using pile foundations as heat exchangers with the ground provides an efficient and reliable energy source for the heating and cooling of buildings. However, thermal expansion or contraction of the concrete brings new challenges to the design of such structures. The present study investigates the impact of temperature variation on the mobilised bearing capacities of geothermal piles. The mechanisms driving the variations and redistribution of mobilised bearing forces along geothermal piles are identified using Thermo-Pile software. The EPFL and Lambeth College test piles are modelled and analysed as real-scale experiments. Three simple representative cases are used to investigate the impact of over-sizing geothermal piles on their serviceability. It is found that the mechanisms responsible for the variations and redistribution of mobilised bearing forces along the piles are unlikely to cause geotechnical failure, even if the ultimate bearing force of a pile is reached. Furthermore, over-sizing geothermal piles compared to conventional piles can have a negative impact on their serviceability.     

Thermo-hydro-mechanical response of a large piled raft equipped with energy piles: a parametric study

This paper presents the results of a parametric study in which a series of fully coupled, 3-dimensional thermo-hydro-mechanical Finite Element (FE) analyses has been conducted to investigate the effects of the thermal changes imposed by the regular performance of a GSHP system driven by energy piles on a very large piled raft. The FE simulation program has been focused mainly on the evaluation of the following crucial aspects of the energy system design: the assessment of the soil–pile–raft interaction effects during thermal loading conditions; the quantification of the influence of the thermal properties of the soil and of the geometrical layout of the energy piles on the soil–foundation system response, and the evaluation of the influence of the active pile spacing on the thermal performance of the GSHP–energy pile system. The results of the numerical simulations show that the soil–pile–raft interaction effects can be very important. In particular, the presence of a relatively rigid raft in direct contact with the soil is responsible for axial load variations in inactive piles of the same order of those experienced by the thermo-active piles, even when the latter are relatively far and temperature changes in inactive piles are small. As far as the effect of pile spacing is concerned, the numerical simulations show that placing a high number of energy piles in a large piled raft with relatively small pile spacings can lead to a significant reduction of the overall heat exchange from the piles to the soil, thus reducing the thermal efficiency of the system.     

Thermo-mechanical behavior of energy piles in high plasticity clays

Energy piles make use of constant and moderate ground temperature for efficient thermal control of buildings. However, this use introduces new engineering challenges because the changes of temperature in the foundation pile and ground induce additional deformations and forces in the foundation element and coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical phenomena in the soil. Several published full-scale tests investigated this aspect of energy piles and showed thermally induced deformation and forces in the foundation element. In parallel, significant progress has been made in the understanding of thermal properties of soils and on the effect of cyclic thermal load on ground and foundation behavior. However, the effect of temperature on the creep rate of energy piles has received practically no attention in the past. This paper reports the experimental results of an in situ tension thermo-mechanical test on an energy pile performed in a very stiff high plasticity clay. During the in situ test, the pile was subjected to thermal loading by circulating hot water in fitted pipes, simulating a thermal load in a cooling-dominated climate, at different levels of mechanical loading. The axial strain and temperature in the pile, and the load–displacement of the pile were monitored during the tension test at different locations along the center of the pile and at the pile head, respectively. The data showed that as the temperature increases, the observed creep rate of the energy pile in this high plasticity clay also increases, which will lead to additional time-dependent displacement of the foundation over the life time of the structure. It was also found that the use of geothermal piles causes practically insignificant thermally induced deformation and loads in the pile itself.     

能源桩传热与承载特性研究现状及展望

能源桩是一种在传递上部结构荷载的同时获取浅层地热能源的新技术,给桩基结构的设计及安全服役提出了新的挑战。从能源桩实际应用的角度,围绕能源桩传热性能和承载性能两个关键科学问题,从4个方面综述目前的研究现状：（1）能源桩的热传递研究;（2）能源桩的结构响应特征;（3）能源桩的承载变形特性;（4）能源桩的荷载传递机制。在此基础上,对当前能源桩传热模型的适用性、热交换作用下能源单桩及群桩的承载特性以及长期运行条件下的承载性能及结构安全性进行了讨论,最后对能源桩工程下一步研究进行了展望。分析成果对于保证结构安全,合理开发浅层地能具有重要意义。     

Variational elastic solution for axially loaded piles in multilayered soil

Most analytical or semi‐analytical solutions of the problem of load‐settlement response of axially loaded piles are based on the assumption of zero radial displacement. These solutions also are only applicable to piles embedded in either a homogeneous or a Gibson soil deposit. In reality, soil deposits consist of multiple soil layers with different properties, and displacements in the radial direction within the soil deposit are not zero when the pile is loaded axially. In this paper, we present a load‐settlement analysis applicable to a pile with circular cross section installed in multilayered elastic soil that accounts for both vertical and radial soil displacements. The analysis follows from the solution of the differential equations governing the displacements of the pile–soil system obtained using variational principles. The input parameters needed for the analysis are the pile geometry and the elastic constants of the soil and pile. We compare the results from the present analysis with those of an analytical solution that considers only vertical soil displacements. The analysis presented in this paper also provides useful insights into the displacement and strain fields around axially loaded piles. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黏土地基中能量桩力学特性数值分析

能量桩是将地源热泵系统中的换热管埋置在桩体内部,桩同时起到承载和换热的作用,是一种新型的基础型式。为了合理分析黏土地基中能量桩的力学特性,需要了解能量桩运行过程中桩和地基土的温度响应,并考虑温度变化对土体力学性能的影响。基于有限元软件ABAQUS建立了能量桩传热分析三维有限元模型,把能量桩的传热简化为换热管内液体与管壁之间的对流传热、桩体中的热传导和地基中的热传导,将计算结果与常规理论和实测数据进行了对比验证。对热力耦合边界面本构模型进行了二次开发,通过算例验证了模型对土体压缩和剪切性状温度效应的模拟能力。利用所提出的能量桩传热分析方法和热边界面模型,考虑不同的桩顶工作荷载水平,对正常固结黏土地基中能量桩单桩的长期性能进行了研究,分析了温度循环对桩顶沉降、桩侧摩阻力和桩身轴力的影响。结果表明,工作荷载越高,温度循环次数越多,桩顶累积沉降越大。     

Study of thermal migration and induced mechanical effects in double U-tube energy piles

This paper investigates two geothermal energy piles using thermal response tests (TRTs). A set of parameters including pile wall temperature, ground temperature and strain are monitored at four different depths. The thermally induced mechanical behavior of the energy piles are then analyzed based on the monitoring data.The results show the following: (1) The temperature at the pile wall clearly varies throughout the heating and cooling cycle, and the ground temperature distribution shows a delay compared to the TRT stages. (2) The thermally induced mechanical effects are influenced by both the temperature and restraint conditions.     

Vertical response of pile raft foundations subjected to tunneling‐induced ground movements in layered soil

A simplified analysis method has been developed to estimate the vertical movement and load distribution of pile raft foundations subjected to ground movements induced by tunneling based on a two‐stage method. In this method, the Loganathan–Polous analytical solution is used to estimate the free soil movement induced by tunneling in the first stage. In the second stage, composing the soil movement to the pile, the governing equilibrium equations of piles are solved by the finite difference method. The interactions between structural members (such as pile–soil, pile–raft, raft–soil, and pile–pile) are modeled based on the elastic theory method of a layered half‐space. The validity of the proposed method is verified through comparisons with some published solutions for single piles, pile groups, and pile rafts subjected to ground movements induced by tunneling. Good agreements between these solutions are demonstrated. The method is also used for a parametric study to develop a better understanding of the behavior of pile rafts influenced by tunneling operation in layered soil foundations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

水平循环荷载下桩基变形特性的离心模型试验研究

波浪、船舶等长期水平循环荷载作用下,桩基将不可避免地产生附加应力和变形。针对饱和黏土地层,开展离心模型试验研究了船舶系泊水平荷载作用下单桩和群桩的变形特性。发现水平循环加-卸载诱发了桩周土体的塑性变形,进而导致桩身产生了不可恢复的水平位移和弯曲变形。随着循环荷载的增加,单桩和群桩的桩顶最大水平位移和残余水平位移均同时增加,但残余水平位移明显小于最大水平位移。单桩的桩顶残余水平位移与最大位移比值介于0.17～0.22;群桩的桩顶残余水平位移与最大水平位移比值介于0.30～0.84。水平循环加-卸载作用下,桩身残余弯曲应变明显小于最大弯曲应变。单桩的残余弯曲应变与最大弯曲应变比值介于0.13～0.50;群桩的桩身残余弯曲应变与最大弯曲应变比值介于0.23～0.82。群桩前桩的残余和最大弯曲应变明显大于后桩,前桩与后桩的最大弯曲应变、残余应变比值分别高达3.2和3.1。因此,前桩要采取合理的加固和保护措施,以确保桩基长期服役的安全性。     

不同刚度约束对能量桩应力和位移的影响研究

能量桩是一种在传递上部建筑荷载的同时获取地热能源的新技术,其实际工作过程中,热荷载会引起桩体的膨胀或收缩,而桩顶建筑和桩底持力层则会对桩体变形产生约束,进一步影响桩体的应力和位移,但是目前对该问题的研究却十分有限。基于模型试验和数值模拟方法,对桩顶和桩底不同约束条件下两种埋管形式（单U和W型）的桩体位移和热应力进行了分析,并进一步探讨了位移零点随桩顶和桩底约束条件的变化规律。研究结果表明,随着桩顶上部荷载约束刚度的增大,桩体位移零点上移,桩体热应力随着深度增大而减小;随着桩端土体约束刚度的增大,桩体位移零点下移,桩体热应力随着深度增大而增大;相较于无外荷载,工作荷载作用下位移零点上移。     

A simplified analysis method for piled raft and pile group foundations with batter piles

A simplified method of numerical analysis has been developed to estimate the deformation and load distribution of piled raft foundations subjected to vertical, lateral, and moment loads, using a hybrid model in which the flexible raft is modelled as thin plates and the piles as elastic beams and the soil is treated as springs. Both the vertical and lateral resistances of the piles as well as the raft base are incorporated into the model. Pile–soil–pile, pile–soil–raft and raft–soil–raft interactions are taken into account based on Mindlin's solutions for both vertical and lateral forces. The validity of the proposed method is verified through comparisons with several existing methods for single piles, pile groups and piled rafts. Workable design charts are given for the estimation of the lateral displacement and the load distribution of piled rafts from the stiffnesses of the raft alone and the pile group alone. Additionally, parametric studies were carried out concerning batter pile foundations. It was found that the use of batter piles can efficiently improve the deformation characteristics of pile foundations subjected to lateral loads. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

循环温度场作用下PCC能量桩热力学特性模型试验研究

PCC能量桩是河海大学岩土所开发的一种新型能量桩技术。在常规桩基静载荷模型试验基础上,将PCC能量桩放置在南京典型砂土中,并通过导热管内水体的循环对模型桩体施加温度场,以模拟PCC能量桩在实际运行过程中的承载力特性与受力机制,PCC能量桩先加载至工作荷载（极限荷载的一半）,再施加热-冷循环一次,最后加载至极限荷载,测得不同温度下PCC能量桩的荷载-位移关系曲线、桩身应力-应变关系曲线等变化规律。试验结果表明,能量桩换热过程中,热量更容易从桩体传向土体（即夏季模式的热循环）;热循环及制冷循环都明显改变了桩顶位移值,且往复循环作用下产生的塑性变形不能完全恢复,其积累变形可能危害上部结构安全;桩身受温度场作用产生的热应力相对较大,且不同约束条件下其变化值有所差异;在制冷循环下,桩底部甚至可能产生较大拉应力。     

Response evaluation for horizontally loaded fixed‐head pile groups using 3‐D non‐linear analysis

The response of laterally loaded pile foundations may be significantly important in the design of structures for such loads. A static horizontal pile load test is able to provide a load–deflection curve for a single free‐head pile, which significantly differs from that of a free‐ or fixed‐head pile group, depending on the particular group configuration. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the influence of the interaction between the piles of a group fixed in a rigid pile cap on both the lateral load capacity and the stiffness of the group. For this purpose, a parametric three‐dimensional non‐linear numerical analysis was carried out for different arrangements of pile groups. The response of the pile groups is compared to that of the single pile. The influence of the number of piles, the spacing and the deflection level to the group response is discussed. Furthermore, the contribution of the piles constituting the group to the total group resistance is examined. Finally, a relationship is proposed allowing a reasonable prediction of the response of fixed‐head pile groups at least for similar soil profile conditions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The P-y Response of Laterally Loaded Flexible Piles in Residual Soil

This paper describes the main features related to lateral displacements with depth after successive lateral loading–unloading cycles applied to the top of reinforced-concrete flexible bored piles embedded in naturally bonded residual soil. The bored piles under study have a cylindrical shape, with 0.40-m in diameter and 8.0-m in length. Both bored piles types (P1 and P2) include an embedded steel pipe section in their center as longitudinal steel reinforcements: pile type P1 has another 16 steel rods as steel reinforcement to concrete while pile type P2 has no further steel reinforcement. Pile type P1 has three times as much stiffness (EI) and four and a half times the plastic moment (M_y) than pile type P2. A similar load–displacement performance was observed at initial loads as for small displacements of both piles. At this initial loading stage, the response of the reinforced concrete piles is a function of the soil characteristics and of a linear elastic pile deformation. During this stage, piles can even be understood as probes for evaluating soil reactions. For larger horizontal displacements, after the concrete section starts undergoing large deformations, approaching the ultimate bending moment, pile behavior and consequently the load–displacement relation starts to diverge for both piles. For pile P1 the values of relevant lateral displacements are extended to about 2.5-m in depth, while for pile P2 lateral displacements are mostly constrained to about 2.0-m in depth. Measurements of horizontal displacements of pile P1 against depth recorded with a slope indicator show that, after unloading, lateral loads at distinct stages (small and near failure loads), exhibits a much higher elastic phase of the system response. An analytical fitting model of soil reaction is proposed based on the measured displacements from slope indicator. The integration of a continuous model proposed for the soil reaction agrees fairly well with the measured displacements up to moments close to plastic limit. Results of load–displacement show that the stiffer pile (P1) was able to mobilize twice as much lateral load compared to pile P2 for a service limit displacement of about 20 mm. The paper shows results that enable the isolation of the structural variable through real scale pile load tests, thus granting understanding of its importance and enabling its quantitative visualization in examples of piles embedded in residual soil sites.

     

静钻根植能源桩承载特性模型试验研究

为了研究静钻根植能源桩在热?力耦合作用下的承载特性,采用自行设计模型试验系统,测试模型桩在黏?砂双层地基中的热力响应。试验结果表明：桩体温度沿深度变化并不均匀,对桩周土的温度影响半径为3倍桩径;3次冷热循环后桩顶和桩周土表面均产生累积沉降,在桩顶荷载达到单桩极限承载力的25%时,桩顶累积沉降达到桩径的3.12‰,是桩顶无荷载情况下的1.77倍;模型桩附加温度应力沿深度分布均表现为中间大两端小,位移变化零点（附加温度应力最大处）随着桩顶荷载增大（约束增强）而上移,桩顶荷载较小时降温引起桩身局部产生拉应力。因此,静钻根植能源桩的承载特性与温度变化条件、桩顶荷载大小和桩端约束条件密切相关,在工程设计中需要综合考虑以确保运行安全性。     

Vertical harmonic vibration of piled raft foundations in layered soils

This paper develops a method to analyze the piled raft foundation under vertical harmonic load. This method takes into account the interactions among the piles, soil, and raft. The responses of the piles and raft are formulated as a series of equations in a suitable way and that of layered soils is simulated with the use of the analytical layer‐element method. Then, according to the equilibrium and continuity conditions at the piles–soil–raft interface, solutions for the piled raft systems are obtained and further demonstrated to be correct through comparing with the existing results. Finally, some examples are given to investigate the influence of the raft, pile length‐diameter ratio, and layering on the response of the piled raft foundations. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.