Implications of Thermal Cyclic Loading on Pile Group Behavior
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 11
Abstract
This study investigated the thermomechanical behavior of thermal pile groups in sand. To analyze the influence of cyclic thermal loading on the stress–strain behavior of piles in a group, pile groups containing four thermal piles installed in dense Toyoura sand were numerically investigated. A concrete pile cap was considered on the piles. Axial mechanical load was applied instantaneously on the pile cap and thermal load was applied along the pile length for six thermal cycles consisting of alternate heating and cooling of the piles. The concrete piles and pile cap were considered to behave in a linear-elastic manner under the mechanical load and thermal load. The soil was assumed to possess elastoplastic behavior and was simulated using the Mohr–Coulomb plasticity model. The effect of mechanical and cyclic thermal load on the pile groups was studied by varying the pile group parameters such as pile spacing (), pile diameter (), and thickness of the pile cap (). In all the analyses, the effect of cyclic thermal load was compared in terms of development of axial displacement, axial strains, and axial stresses in the piles. Thermomechanically loaded piles exhibited higher displacements, strains and stresses than did mechanically loaded piles. The results also indicate that the axial load on the piles under cyclic thermal loading was larger for the piles with higher aspect ratio than for the piles with lower aspect ratio. The effect of pile spacing was more pronounced in case of piles with higher aspect ratio. An increased thickness of the pile cap resulted in higher axial load and displacement in the piles. The cyclic thermal load resulted in residual or plastic strains in the piles. The thermomechanical behavior of a pile group is influenced by parameters such as pile spacing, aspect ratio, and pile cap thickness, which should be considered in thermal pile group design for structural stability performance of the pile group.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support [Sanction No. TMD/CERI/BEE/2016/072 (G)] provided by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, to accomplish objectives of the research work presented in this paper.
References
Abdelaziz, S., and Y. T. Ozudogru. 2016. “Non-uniform thermal strains and stresses in energy piles.” Energy Geotech. 3 (4): 237–252. https://doi.org/10.1680/jenge.15.00032.
Adinolfi, M., R. M. S. Maiorano, A. Mauro, N. Massarotti, and S. Aversa. 2018. “On the influence of thermal cycles on the yearly performance of an energy pile.” Geomech. Energy Environ. 16 (Dec): 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gete.2018.03.004.
Akrouch, A. G., M. Sanchez, and J. Briaud. 2014. “Thermo-mechanical behavior of energy piles in high plasticity clay.” Acta Geotech. 9 (3): 399–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-014-0312-5.
Banks, D. 2009. “An introduction to thermogeology and the exploitation of ground source heat.” Eng. Geol. Hydrogeol. 42 (3): 283–293. https://doi.org/10.1144/1470-9236/08-077.
Batini, N., A. F. Rotta Loria, P. Conti, D. Testi, W. Grassi, and L. Laloui. 2015. “Energy and geotechnical behaviour of energy piles for different design solutions.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 86 (1): 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.04.050.
Boënnec, O. 2009. “Piling on the energy.” Geodrilling Int. 2009: 25–28.
Bouazza, A., and D. Adam. 2012. “Turning geostructures into sources of renewable energy.” In Proc., ANZ 2012 Conf., 1051–1056. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Geomechanics Society.
Bourne-Webb, P. J., B. Amatya, K. Soga, T. Amis, C. Davidson, and P. Payne. 2009. “Energy pile test at Lambeth College, London: Geotechnical and thermodynamic aspects of pile response to heat cycles.” Géotechnique 59 (3): 237–248. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2009.59.3.237.
Bourne-Webb, P. J., T. M. Bodas Freitas, and R. M. Freitas Assunção. 2016. “Soil–pile thermal interactions in energy foundations.” Géotechnique 66 (2): 167–171. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.15.T.017.
Brettmann, T., and T. Amis. 2011. “Thermal conductivity evaluation of a pile group using geothermal energy piles.” In Proc., Geo-Frontiers 2011: Advances in Geotechnical Engineering, 499–508. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Cekerevac, C., and L. Laloui. 2004. “Experimental study of thermal effects on the mechanical behavior of a clay.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 28 (3): 209–228. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.332.
De Moel, M., P. M. Bach, A. Bouazza, R. M. Rao, and J. O. Sun. 2010. “Technological advances and applications of geothermal energy pile foundations and their feasibility in Australia.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 14 (9): 2683–2696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2010.07.027.
Di Donna, A., A. F. Rotta Loria, and L. Laloui. 2016. “Numerical study on the response of a group of energy piles under different combinations of thermo-mechanical loads.” Comput. Geotech. 72 (1): 126–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2015.11.010.
Dupray, F., L. Laloui, and A. Kazangba. 2014. “Numerical analysis of seasonal heat storage in an energy pile foundation.” Comput. Geotech. 55 (Jan): 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2013.08.004.
Goode, J. C., III, and J. S. McCartney. 2015. “Centrifuge modelling of boundary restraint effects in energy foundations.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 141 (8): 04015034. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001333.
Goode, J. C., III, M. Zhang and J. S. McCartney, 2014. “Centrifuge modelling of energy foundations in sand.” In Physical Modelling in Geotechnics: Proc., 8th Int. Conf. on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics, edited by C. Gaudin and D. White, 729–736. Perth, Australia and London: Taylor and Francis.
Jeong, S., H. Lim, K. J. Lee, and J. Kim. 2014. “Thermally induced mechanical response of energy piles an axially loaded pile groups.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 71 (1): 608–615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2014.07.007.
Kalantidou, A., A. M. Tang, J. Pereira, and G. Hassen. 2012. “Preliminary study on the mechanical behaviour of heat exchanger pile in physical model.” Géotechnique 62 (11): 1047–1051. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.11.T.013.
Kim, D., J. Kim, and S. Jeong. 2019. “Estimation of axial stiffness on existing and reinforcing piles in vertical extension remodeled buildings.” Eng. Struct. 199 (Nov): 109466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.109466.
Kramer, C. A., and P. Basu. 2014. “Performance of a model geothermal pile in sand.” In Physical Modelling in Geotechnics: Proc., 8th Int. Conf. on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics, edited by C. Gaudin and D. White, 771–777. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Laloui, L., M. Nuth, and L. Vulliet. 2006. “Experimental and numerical investigations of the behavior of a heat exchanger pile.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 30 (8): 763–781. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.499.
Liu, H., C. Wang, G. Kong, and A. Bouazza. 2019. “Ultimate bearing capacity of energy piles in dry and saturated sand.” Acta Geotech. 14 (3): 869–879. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-018-0661-6.
McCartney, J. S. 2011. “Engineering performance of energy foundations.” In Proc., Pan-Am CGS Geotechnical Conf. Toronto: Pan-AM CGS Geotechnical Conference.
McCartney, J. S., and K. D. Murphy. 2012. “Strain distribution in full-scale energy foundations.” DFI J. 6 (2): 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1179/dfi.2012.008.
McCartney, J. S., and J. E. Rosenberg. 2011. “Impact of heat exchange on the axial capacity of thermo-active foundations.” In Proc., GeoFrontiers, 488–498. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Mimouni, T., and L. Laloui. 2015. “Behaviour of group of energy piles.” Can. Geotech. J. 52 (12): 1913–1929. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2014-0403.
Murphy, K. D., J. S. McCartney, and K. S. Henry. 2014. “Thermo-mechanical characterization of a full-scale energy foundation.” In Proc., From Soil Behavior Fundamentals to Innovations in Geotechnical Engineering, Geo-Congress 2014, Atlanta, 617–628. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Murphy, K. D., J. S. McCartney, and K. S. Henry. 2015. “Evaluation of thermo-mechanical and thermal behavior of full-scale energy foundations.” Acta Geotech. 10 (2): 179–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-013-0298-4.
Murthy, T. G., D. Loukidis, J. A. H. Carraro, M. Prezzi, and R. Salgado. 2006. “Undrained monotonic response of clean and silty sands.” Géotechnique 57 (3): 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2007.57.3.273.
Ng, C. W. W., Q. Ma, and A. Gunawan. 2016. “Horizontal stress change of energy piles subjected to thermal cycles in sand.” Comput. Geotech. 78 (Sep): 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2016.05.003.
Ng, C. W. W., C. Shi, A. Gunawan, L. Laloui, and H. Liu. 2015. “Centrifuge modelling of heating effects on energy pile performance in saturated sand.” Can. Geotech. J. 52 (8): 1045–1057. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2014-0301.
Nguyen, V. T., A. M. Tang, and J. M. Pereira. 2017. “Long-term thermomechanical behavior of energy pile in dry sand.” Acta Geotech. 12 (4): 729–737. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-017-0539-z.
Olgun, C. G., T. Y. Ozudogru, and C. Arson. 2014. “Thermo-mechanical radial expansion of heat exchanger piles and possible effects on contact pressures at pile–soil interface.” Géotechnique Lett. 4 (3): 170–178. https://doi.org/10.1680/geolett.14.00018.
Poulos, H. G. 1968. “Analysis of the settlement of pile groups.” Géotechnique 18 (4): 449–471. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1968.18.4.449.
Rotta Loria, A. F., and L. Laloui. 2015. “The interaction factor method for energy pile groups.” Comput. Geotech. 80 (Dec): 121–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2016.07.002.
Rotta Loria, A. F., and L. Laloui. 2017. “Thermally induced group effects among energy piles.” Géotechnique 67 (5): 374–393. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.16.P.039.
Rotta Loria, A. F., A. Vadrot, and L. Laloui. 2018. “Analysis of vertical displacement of energy pile groups.” Geomech. Energy Environ. 16 (Dec): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gete.2018.04.001.
Rui, Y., and K. Soga. 2018. “Thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling analysis of a thermal pile.” Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. Geotech. Eng. 172 (2): 155–173. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeen.16.00133.
Saggu, R. 2019. “Base displacement response of group of geothermal energy piles.” In Proc., Int. Symp. on Energy Geotechnics, 192–202. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Saggu, R., and T. Chakraborty. 2015a. “Cyclic thermo-mechanical analysis of energy piles in sand.” Geotech. Geol. Eng. 33 (2): 321–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-014-9798-8.
Saggu, R., and T. Chakraborty. 2015b. “Thermal analysis of energy piles in sand.” Geomech. Geoeng. Int. J. 10 (1): 10–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/17486025.2014.923586.
Saggu, R., and T. Chakraborty. 2016. “Thermo-mechanical response of geothermal energy pile group in sand.” Int. J. Geomech. 16 (4): 04015100. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000567.
Saggu, R., and T. Chakraborty. 2017. “Thermo-mechanical response of geothermal energy piles in sand and parametric study.” Int. J. Geomech. 17 (9): 04017076-1–04017076-17. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000962.
Salciarini, D., F. Ronchi, E. Cattoni, and C. Tamagnini. 2013. “Thermomechanical effects induced by energy piles operation in a small piled raft.” Int. J. Geomech. 15 (2): 04014042. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000375.
Salciarini, D., F. Ronchi, and C. Tamagnini. 2017. “Thermo-hydro-mechanical response of a large piled raft equipped with energy piles: A parametric study.” Acta Geotech. 12 (4): 703–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-017-0551-3.
Stewart, M. A., and J. S. McCartney. 2014. “Centrifuge modeling of soil-structure interaction in energy foundations.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 140 (4): 04013044. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001061.
Sutman, M., C. G. Olgun, and T. Brettman. 2015. “Full scale field testing of energy piles.” In IFCEE 2015, 1638–1643. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Tarnawski, V. R., T. Momose, W. H. Leong, G. Bovesecchi, and P. Coppa. 2009. “Thermal conductivity of standard sands. Part I: Dry-state conditions.” Int. J. Thermophys. 30 (3): 949–968. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-009-0596-0.
Wang, B., A. Bouazza, R. M. Singh, C. Haberfield, D. Barry-Macaulay, and S. Baycan. 2014. “Post temperature effects on shaft capacity of a full-scale geothermal energy pile.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 141 (4): 04014125. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001266.
Yavari, N., A. M. Tang, J. M. Pereira, and G. Hassen. 2014. “Experimental study on the mechanical behaviour of a heat exchanger pile using physical modeling.” Acta Geotech. 9 (3): 385–398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-014-0310-7.
You, S., X. Cheng, H. Guo, and Z. Yao. 2016. “Experimental study on structural response of CFG energy piles.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 96 (1): 640–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.11.127.
Yu, H. S. 2006. Plasticity and geotechnics. New York: Springer.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 10, 2019
Accepted: May 27, 2020
Published online: Aug 17, 2020
Published in print: Nov 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jan 17, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.