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a) Finite element mesh; b) Energy pile foundation layout; c) Energy pile geometry and pipe positions.
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The main purpose behind the use of energy piles is to enable the exploitation of geothermal energy for meeting the heating/cooling demands of buildings in an efficient and environment-friendly manner. However, the long-term performance of energy piles in different climatic conditions, along with their actual environmental impacts, has not been full...
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Context 1
... 3D finite element modelling of an energy pile group A 3D time-dependent finite element model (Fig. 2a) was built using the COMSOL Multiphysics Software [25] to investigate the long-term performance of energy piles, thus allowing the intermittent operation of the heat pump. In other words, in the presented model, the heat pump operates until the daily heating/ cooling demand of the building is met, following which the operation is ...
Context 2
... reference to the foundation of the reference building, 32 piles that were 0.5 m in diameter and 20 m in length were employed. The piles had a 4.75-m and 5.25-m centre-to-centre spacing in the x-and y-directions, corresponding to pile spacing ratios of 9.5 and 10.5, respectively (Fig. 2b). Each pile was equipped with a single U-loop pipe, with a central distance of 0.3 m between the entering and exiting ...
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Citations
... Environmental impacts can occur during production, installation, operation and demolition stage, as shown in Fig. 12 [133]. Sutman et al. [134] employed the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate the environmental performance of energy piles and compared it with that of conventional heating and cooling systems. The results demonstrated significant advantages of energy piles over conventional systems in four dimensions: equivalent CO 2 emissions, human health, resource consumption, and ecosystem quality. ...
... There is a need for the development of specific guidelines and a compilation of typical case references for energy pile design applicable to different regions. In Ref. [24,134], it is evident that the energy, environmental, and economic benefits of energy pile systems are significantly influenced by the climate zone. For instance, applying energy piles in Harbin, located in severe cold zone, will contribute to 45 % energy saving, 40 % utility cost-saving, and 36 % CO 2 emission reduction. ...
Energy piles, a technology integrating the heat exchange component within building pile foundations for shallow geothermal energy utilization, have proven economically efficient. They outperform conventional ground source heat pumps by mitigating additional borehole costs and space requirements. This paper systematically examines low-carbon considerations and optimization measures throughout the planning, design, construction, and operation stages of energy piles, considering the entire lifecycle. Furthermore, this paper discusses potential challenges associated with decarbonizing energy piles, offering solutions based on case studies and environmental impact assessments. Through a comprehensive critical review and analysis of existing knowledge, this paper presents a systematic theory and methodology for optimal decarbonization of energy piles, serving as a valuable resource for building practitioners and researchers in this field. The findings not only contribute to a solid theoretical foundation but also provide technical support for the advancement and application of energy pile systems.
... A part of this created energy is also used to power pumps of the system which extract leachate from the landfill (Kabak and Dagdeviren 2014). The condensed leachate at lower temperatures is pumped back into the landfill in the form of uniform scattered droplets back onto the organic waste, thereby providing necessary nutrients to waste where moisture level might have dropped (Sutman et al., 2020). The following study can achieve a combined action of thermal energy extraction and energy supplementation for effective high-temperature management in landfills. ...
... The FU used in this study is the total annual energy demand for the heating and cooling of the case study, which is equal to 22.3 MWh/year. Similar functional units have been adopted in past studies [29,30,34,36,37]. ...
This paper investigates the total environmental impacts of a thermal caisson (TC) system by implementing a life cycle assessment methodology. The total environmental impacts consider the comprehensive effect on the environment across two life cycle stages: manufacturing and operation. A comparison between the TC results and two different HVAC systems, including air-conditioning/furnace and conventional ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems, was made by adopting the ReCiPe 2016 methodology. This study reveals that the operation phase is the predominant contributor to environmental impacts across systems, mainly due to its extended duration. Specifically, the operational impacts of GSHPs are substantial, accounting for approximately 87% of total environmental impacts. A TC GSHP system demonstrates a notable environmental advantage, achieving a 79% reduction in total environmental impact when compared to traditional AC/furnace systems. This represents a 21% improvement over conventional GSHP systems. Despite this substantial reduction in total environmental impact, the TC GSHP system shows an almost 5% increase in the resource availability damage category relative to the conventional GSHP, which is attributed to its higher material consumption. These results highlight the TC GSHP system’s superior efficiency in reducing environmental impacts and its potential as a more sustainable alternative in residential heating and cooling applications.
... A typical ground source heat pump system (GSHPS) consists of three components: (i) an underground heat exchanger, (ii) a heat pump, and (iii) a ventilation system [18]. The performance of the GSHPS is affected by many factors, e.g., technological issues, installation constraints, climate, laws, policies, and grants [19], and typical cases of GSHPSs for energy geo-structures are summarized in Table 1, including energy piles, boreholes, and energy rafts. ...
... Energy pile is a kind of building emission-reduction technology using geothermal energy. It provides energy to meet most of the heating and cooling needs of buildings and has a smaller environmental impact [1]. Phase-change material (PCM) refers to the material that changes the state of the material and can provide latent heat when the temperature is constant. ...
Based on the research status of phase-change material (PCM) energy piles, this paper proposes a new type of PCM energy pile-spiral tube-encapsulated PCM energy pile. In order to study the related properties of the energy pile, this study designed and processed the relevant test equipment and built an indoor scale model experimental system. The thermodynamic performance of the spiral tube-encapsulated phase-change energy pile under summer conditions was studied by the test system. Through the indoor scale model test, it is found that compared with the traditional energy pile, the spiral tube-encapsulated PCM energy pile improves the heat exchange capacity of the unit pile body in the early and middle stages of operation, and reduces the surface temperature of the pile body and the heating rate of the surface temperature of the pile body. The upward displacement of the energy pile top is reduced. The heat exchange capacity of the unit pile depth is increased by 6.52 W/m, the maximum pile surface temperature difference is 0.62 °C, and the maximum pile top displacement difference is 0.005 mm. In addition, the total heat transfer of the spiral tube-encapsulated PCM energy pile during the whole operation period is 3.38% higher than that of the traditional energy pile. However, during the whole operation period, the surface stress value of the spiral tube encapsulated PCM energy pile is higher than that of the traditional energy pile. The maximum difference between the two is 9.84 kPa and the maximum difference is 10.8%. The difference between the two is finally stabilized at 1.4 kPa with an increase in time, and the final difference is only 8.8%.
... The first two decades (23 years until 2006) of research in the field are scarce, representing only 7.21% of the total scientific production. However, between 2007 and 2023, 92.79% of the investigations had an exponential growth trend with R2 equal to 0.8455, in which 2023 represents a decrease in production since it is the year in the course ( Figure 2). The initial period highlights research oriented toward planning and evaluating low-enthalpy geothermal energy projects [44] and their potential for electricity generation [45] and alternative uses [46,47]. ...
... According to Parisi and Basosi [91], developing technological equipment for deep geothermal exploitation will allow this energy to be a cleaner and safer source with greater social acceptability, considering that these technologies are intended for the reinjection of geothermal fluids. This progress will make it possible to strengthen decision-making in the planning and promotion processes of technologies, considering control in the manufacture of geothermal equipment [92,93]. ...
... In addition to meeting the design requirements for conventional piles, the thermal loading should be taken into account when designing energy piles. Various analysis methods, such as the empirical method [44], load-transfer method [45][46][47], and Full numerical method [48,49], have been developed to investigate the thermo mechanical behavior of energy piles. It is still challenging to predict pile performance during the geotechnical design of energy piles because to uncertainties in soil properties, applied load, design model, etc. ...
Energy piles are gaining popularity worldwide as both pile foundations and ground source heat producers. While considerable research has been conducted on energy pile design and evaluation, implementing these approaches effectively remains challenging for engineers. This study presents a novel approach based on Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) with First-Order Second-Moment (FOSM) reliability analysis and target reliability (\(\beta_{T}\)) for energy pile design. Additionally, three soft computing techniques, namely 1D-CNN, LSTM, and Bi-LSTM, were employed to enhance the design process. To conduct this research, datasets from each model were analyzed using various statistical indices, including R2, RMSE, RMSLE, MAPE, BF, AARD, NSE,\(U_{95}\), t-stat, TIC, and PI. The results indicated that the Bi-LSTM model demonstrated superior performance for heating operations, with R2, RMSE, and RMSLE values of 0.975, 0.021, and 0.007 for training and 0.984, 0.019, and 0.006 for testing datasets, respectively. For cooling operations, the LSTM model exhibited the most suitable predictive capabilities, achieving R2, RMSE, and RMSLE values of 0.969, 0.022, and 0.008 for training and 0.982, 0.019, and 0.007 for testing datasets, respectively. Comparative analyses, including rank analysis, Williams plot, accuracy matrix, and Taylor's diagram, were performed to assess the accuracy of the proposed models. The results demonstrated that the Bi-LSTM model for heating and the LSTM model for cooling outperformed other soft computing models within the reliability-based LRFD approach for energy pile design. This research contributes to the advancement of energy pile design methodologies, providing engineers with a more efficient and reliable LRFD-based framework. The successful application of soft computing techniques further enhances the accuracy of predictions for both heating and cooling operations. Overall, the findings of this study hold significant implications for the design and evaluation of energy piles, contributing to sustainable and energy-efficient construction practices.
... On the other hand, the heat demand of the building sector accounts for 30% of the entire CO2 emissions [1]. Therefore, clean, sustainable energy, including solar and geothermal energy, should be used to provide the space heating demands of the building instead of using HVAC systems based on fossil fuels [2]. ...
... With continued operation of the system beyond the end of the active heat extraction lifetime, the extraction system is effectively converted to a geothermal system (Fig. 13). Over the operational lifetime of the system, the landfill heat extraction will provide greater total energy than ground source heat pumps used for soil [e.g., 29] as well as energy piles used in geotechnical applications [43,44]. For the long-term operation as a geothermal system, wastes will provide similar thermal energy compared to an equivalent system installed in subgrade. ...
Heat generation in municipal solid waste landfills is reviewed with a focus on extraction heat management strategy. Numerical analysis was conducted to investigate the feasibility of a vertical heat extraction system and effects of system configuration on overall performance. The modeling indicated that the influence of the extraction system on landfill temperatures is greatest near central depths of the landfill with less influence at the cover and liner locations. Temperature-depth profiles exhibited concave shapes demonstrating preferential heat extraction from central depths and return of the waste temperatures to reference conditions at great radial distance. For extraction system parameters, fluid velocity affected heat extraction more than pipe diameter; for landfill operational conditions, waste height affected heat extraction more than waste placement rate. For a fluid velocity of 0.3 m/s (threshold for turbulent flow), pipe diameter of 25.4 mm, waste height of 30 m, and waste placement rate of 20 m/year, the heat extraction rate was 59.5 MJ/m³ and the total amount of heat extracted was 561 GJ with 10 m radius of influence of the extraction well. Thermally coupled gas generation analysis indicated that regulating temperatures at 35 °C resulted in significant increases in landfill gas energy (on the order of twofold) and decreasing the time to reach biological stabilization by 70–77%. Due to the transition of operation to a geothermal system at the end of heat production lifetime of landfills, heat extraction systems provide long-term sustainable alternative energy sources with appreciable energy production in comparison to other renewable technologies.
... These systems aim to use the heat potential with energy transfer pipes placed on the ground horizontally or vertically. The heat systems called energy piles have emerged as a variation of the mentioned heat recovery systems [2]. A conceptual sketch showing the geothermal pile system is depicted in Figure 1. ...
Nowadays, the exploration for new energy sources has accelerated because of the
increase in the world population and the decrease in current fossil fuel-based energy
sources. Interest in geothermal energy is increasing day by day in terms of being both
environmentally friendly and economical. Another application that has become common
in recent years, especially in European countries, is thermal energy recovery systems
that take advantage of the heat energy potential that is already included in shallow soils.
As a multi-purpose engineering solution, energy piles can be applied as a variation of the
mentioned heat exchanger systems. In this study, comparison of the performance of
single energy pile and group energy piles in summer season mode (heat storage mode)
was investigated using GeoStudio TEMP/W and SEEP/W Finite Element Method
Software.
