Feasibility study of snow melting system using geothermal energy piles in Canadian Prairies

Hongwei Liu, Pooneh Maghoul, Ako Bahari, Miroslava Kavgic

In the proceedings of: GeoEdmonton 2018: 71st Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 13th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: Shallow Geothermal Energy Exchange

ABSTRACT: Snow accumulation on bridge decks during winter causes tremendous inconvenience for drivers and traffic accidents. A traditional approach for snow melting and de-icing of bridge decks is to use salt which can lower the freezing point of water to prevent the formation of ice. Unfortunately, this method can induce some problems. Salt will not only be ineffective for snow melting or de-icing if temperature falls below -3.9 °C, but also penetrate down to the slab and accelerate the corrosion of concrete and steel used in a bridge deck. The pile foundations designed to support the loads of bridge structures can also be used to provide renewable energy heat source for hydronic heating system used for snow melting. In this paper, the feasibility study of snow melting system using geothermal energy pile is performed for Edmonton and Winnipeg based on the typical weather conditions during snowfall and their underground conditions.

RÉSUMÉ: L'accumulation de neige sur les ponts en hiver cause d'énormes inconvénients aux conducteurs. Une approche traditionnelle pour le dégivrage des tabliers de ponts consiste à utiliser du sel qui peut abaisser le point de congélation de l'eau pour empêcher la formation de glace. Le sel ne sera pas seulement inefficace pour le dégivrage si la température tombe en dessous de -3,9 °C, mais aussi pour pénétrer jusqu'à la dalle et accélérer la corrosion de l'acier utilisée dans le tablier. Les pieux conçus pour supporter les charges des structures de ponts peuvent également être utilisées pour fournir une source de chaleur pour un système de chauffage hydronique. Dans cet article, une étude de faisabilité dun système de fonte des neiges en utilisant des pieux géothermiques est réalisée pour Edmonton et Winnipeg en fonction des conditions météorologiques typiques pendant les chutes de neige et de leurs conditions géologiques.

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Cite this article:
Hongwei Liu; Pooneh Maghoul; Ako Bahari; Miroslava Kavgic (2018) Feasibility study of snow melting system using geothermal energy piles in Canadian Prairies in GEO2018. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{geo2018Paper282,author = Hongwei Liu; Pooneh Maghoul; Ako Bahari; Miroslava Kavgic,title = Feasibility study of snow melting system using geothermal energy piles in Canadian Prairies ,year = 2018}