Numerical modeling and analysis of the effect of different parameters on the efficiency and thermal performance of energy piles

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Geotechnical engineering, Civil engineering faculty, Sharif university of technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In recent years, with the growth of industrial societies, the amount of energy consumption in the world has been increasing. On the other hand, the most consumed energy sources in the world are non-renewable energy sources. For this reason, governments and industries have invested in facilitating and making renewable energy sources cheaper. One of these renewable energies is geothermal energy, which is one of the most economical ways to use this energy, using heat exchange systems in piles and foundations. Various construction methods have been used to implement energy piles, and many parameters are involved in their design. In this research, the effect of each of these parameters on the thermal performance of the energy pile is investigated using 3D numerical modeling and using the finite element method with COMSOL. Flow rate, pile length, pipe diameter and thickness, and center-to-center distance of pipes are the parameters that have been investigated in this research. Also, by using the Taguchi method, the effect of important parameters on the output power of the energy pile, in the short and long term, was compared and ranked. The obtained results have shown that reducing the flow rate, increasing the length of the pile, and reducing the diameter and thickness of the pipe improve the thermal performance of the energy pile. In addition, pipe configuration, pile length, and the distance from the center to the center of the pipes compared to other parameters, are the most important parameters affecting the output power of the energy pile.

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References

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Amirkabir Journal of Civil Engineering
Volume 57, Issue 5
2025
Pages 793-820

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