Abstract
Shallow geothermal energy systems, e.g. borehole heat exchangers or thermo-active structures, provide sustainable space heating and cooling by exchanging heat with the ground. When installed within densely built urban environments, the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) interactions occurring due to changes in ground temperature, such as soil deformation and development of excess pore water pressures, may affect the mechanical behaviour of adjacent underground structures. This paper investigates the effects of vertical heat exchangers installed near a deep basement by performing fully coupled THM finite element analyses using the Imperial College Finite Element Program. Different heat exchanger configurations are considered and their influence on the response of the basement wall is assessed in two-dimensional plane strain analyses, where different methods of modelling the heat sources in this type of analysis are employed to evaluate their effect on the temperature field and the non-isothermal soil response.
Highlights
Ground Source Energy Systems (GSESs), such as borehole heat exchangers or thermo-active structures, are able to provide sustainable and low-cost heating and cooling and their use has noticeably increased in the last decades [1]
The contours of temperature changes and excess pore water pressures after 6 months of heat injection for both borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) and thermo-active piles (THPs) are depicted in Fig. 2, for the cases with TT∗ only
The thermo-mechanical behaviour of a retaining wall installed in the proximity of two different fields of vertical heat exchangers (VHEs) was investigated by performing fully coupled thermo-hydromechanical 2D plane strain finite element analyses
Summary
Ground Source Energy Systems (GSESs), such as borehole heat exchangers or thermo-active structures, are able to provide sustainable and low-cost heating and cooling and their use has noticeably increased in the last decades [1]. The installation of GSESs in densely built environments may affect the structural response of existing or new underground structures built in their vicinity. Little attention has been given to the response of underground structures built in the vicinity of GSESs. limited literature exists on monitoring data of ground temperatures around GSESs. it is considered important to evaluate the possible implications of the use of ground heat exchangers to the stability and serviceability of nearby underground structures
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
