Investigation of groundwater flow and saturated multi-layer soil on the ground temperature response of an energy pile through thermal response and recovery testing

Thermal response testing (TRT) and thermal recovery testing were conducted on a full-scale precast energy pile installed in saturated multi-layer soils to investigate the thermal response on the pile and soils. The thermal and physical properties of the soil were assessed through laboratory testing and compared to the estimated properties from the thermal response and thermal recovery tests through use of the finite cylinder source (FCS) method and the moving infinite line source (MILS) method. The MILS method was used to assess Darcy's velocity through thermal recovery testing at 13 m depth within the pile, eliminating the influence of ambient temperature and potential heat input from the TRT Unit. The ground temperature response was monitored parallel and perpendicular to groundwater flow in three locations during heating input and subsequent recovery, while the pile temperature distribution was monitored within the embedded U-loops. The results showed that thermal conductivity estimates were consistently higher from TRT results when compared to laboratory results, and application of the MILS method recorded values greater than the FCS method, particularly in thermal recovery. The MILS was shown to accurately predict Darcy's velocity through thermal recovery testing, recording a value within the range estimated through laboratory testing. Furthermore, the ground temperature response displayed significant influence of the various soil layers through a temperature curvature with depth developing over time. (C) 2019 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.