VISUALIZATION OF HEAT TRANSFER TO CHARACTERIZE ENERGY FOUNDATIONS

Jonathan Black, Alireza Tatari, Manouchehr Hakhamaneshi

In the proceedings of: GeoQuébec 2015: 68th Canadian Geotechnical Conference & 7th Canadian Permafrost Conference

Session: Laboratory Testing III / Essais en laboratoire III

ABSTRACT: Limited information exists about the thermo-dynamic interactions of geothermal structures and soil owing to practical constraints of placing measurement sensors in proximity to foundations. An alternative experimental method is explored using transparent soil to enable internal visualisation of heat flow in soil. Advocating the loss of optical clarity as a beneficial attribute of transparent soil, this paper explores the hypothesis that temperature change will alter its refractive index and therefore progressively reduce its transparency becoming more opaque. The development of the experimental methodology is discussed and a relationship between pixel intensity and soil temperature is defined and verified. This relationship is applied to an energy pile example to demonstrate heat flow in soil. The heating zone of influence is observed to extend to a radial distance of 1.5 pile diameters and is differentiated by a visual thermal gradient propagating from the pile.

RÉSUMÉ: entre les structures géothermiques et le sol à cause des de remplacement est explorée à l'aide de sol transparent pour permettre la visualisation interne du flux de chaleur dans le sol. Prônant la perte de clarté optique comme un attribut bénéfique du sol transparent, cet article explore l'hypothèse que le changement de température modifie son indice de réfraction et donc réduit progressivement sa transparence le rendant de plus en plus opaque. Le développement de la méthode expérimentale est discuté et une relation entre l'intensité des pixels et la température du sol est définie et vérifiée. Cette relation est appliquée à un exemple de pieu propageant à partir du pieu.

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