The Use of Energy Piles for Sustainable Energy

利用能源堆实现可持续能源

• 批准号: 0928807
• 负责人: Guney Olgun
• 金额: $ 19.94万
• 依托单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-15 至 2013-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0928807&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Use; Energy; Piles; Sustainable

As global energy demands continue to rise, along with the production of harmful greenhouse gases, there is a critical need for research to advance innovative renewable green energy technologies. Geothermal energy, for instance, is a renewable energy source whose use in the US has been limited mainly to western regions where high ground temperatures near the surface have been exploited for residential heating and production of electricity. With the development of new technologies, we can exploit geothermal energy much more efficiently and broaden its applicability to almost any geologic and climatic condition, including areas where there is no geothermal heat source. That is, there is tremendous potential in simply utilizing the relatively constant temperature of the ground (i.e., "geothermal energy") in the upper 30 m of the soil profile, about 55F (13C) in most areas, to help regulate the temperature of buildings. This research will investigate the use of Energy Piles, a new geothermal energy concept designed to efficiently access the constant temperature of the ground for heating and cooling of buildings. In this new concept, the foundation piles that are already in place for support of the building are used conjunctively as geothermal cooling/heating elements. The piles, typically 20 to 30 m long, are installed with circulation tubes that act as heat exchangers where heat energy is circulated through the tubing with water or antifreeze. Heat energy from the building is fed into the ground for cooling in the summer and withdrawn from the ground for heating in the winter. The fluid circulation is performed via a heat pump similar to those used in conventional residential and commercial applications. Cost savings for heating and cooling could be as much as 80% for buildings outfitted with Energy Piles, especially in extreme climate regions.Pilot tests and limited applications for major buildings have been recently completed in Japan and Europe, respectively, but the Energy Piles concept is largely unknown. No major systems of this type are currently being used the US. This research will develop the data and expertise needed for wide-scale and efficient implementation of this promising new technology. The project will involve development of a full-scale field test section, advanced numerical modeling and a detailed cost-benefit feasibility analysis to study key aspect of Energy Pile systems, such as what factors affect their conjunctive performance as heat exchangers and as load bearing foundation elements, how their performance varies with differing ground and climatic conditions, and how they can be installed and operated most cost-effectively. The main intellectual merit is that the findings could lead to wide-scale implementation of a new alternative energy technology that is currently being underutilized. In terms of broader impact, the study represents an important new step toward the sustainable design of "green" buildings that use near-zero energy for heating and cooling. In addition to being an alternative renewable energy resource that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, Energy Piles offer the added advantage of being applicable in any climate or region, including those where wind and/or solar power have limited effectiveness. The findings of this study will be disseminated to a broad audience via journals, the Internet, and incorporated into academic courses and the PIs' frequent professional shortcourses for ASCE, FEMA, FERC, and USACE. Finally, there will be a diverse research team, including an ethnic minority, a disabled person, senior and junior faculty and an undergraduate student researcher.

随着全球能源需求的持续增长，沿着有害温室气体的产生，迫切需要开展研究，以推动创新的可再生绿色能源技术。 例如，地热能是一种可再生能源，其在美国的使用主要限于西部地区，在那里，地表附近的高温被用于住宅供暖和发电。 随着新技术的发展，我们可以更有效地利用地热能，并将其适用范围扩大到几乎任何地质和气候条件，包括没有地热热源的地区。 也就是说，简单地利用相对恒定的地面温度（即，在土壤剖面的上30米处，大多数地区约为55华氏度（13摄氏度），以帮助调节建筑物的温度。这项研究将调查能源桩的使用，这是一种新的地热能概念，旨在有效地利用地面的恒定温度为建筑物供暖和制冷。 在这个新的概念中，已经到位的建筑物的基础桩被结合使用作为地热冷却/加热元件。 桩，通常20至30米长，安装有循环管，作为热交换器，其中热能通过管道与水或防冻剂循环。 建筑物的热能在夏天被送入地下供冷却，在冬天从地下抽出供加热。 流体循环通过类似于传统住宅和商业应用中使用的热泵进行。 特别是在极端气候地区，安装了Energy Pile的建筑物在供暖和制冷方面可节省高达80%的成本。最近，在日本和欧洲的主要建筑物中分别完成了试点测试和有限的应用，但Energy Pile的概念在很大程度上还不为人所知。 美国目前没有使用这种类型的主要系统。这项研究将开发大规模和有效实施这项有前途的新技术所需的数据和专业知识。 该项目将涉及开发一个全尺寸的现场测试部分，先进的数值建模和详细的成本效益可行性分析，以研究能量桩系统的关键方面，例如哪些因素影响其作为热交换器和承重基础元件的联合性能，它们的性能如何随着不同的地面和气候条件而变化，以及如何以最具成本效益的方式安装和运行。 主要的知识价值是，研究结果可能导致大规模实施一种目前利用不足的新的替代能源技术。就更广泛的影响而言，这项研究代表了朝着“绿色”建筑的可持续设计迈出了重要的新一步，这些建筑的供暖和制冷能源几乎为零。 除了作为减少温室气体排放的替代可再生能源外，能源桩还具有适用于任何气候或地区的额外优势，包括风能和/或太阳能效率有限的地区。 这项研究的结果将通过期刊、互联网向广大受众传播，并纳入学术课程和专业人员经常为ASCE、FEMA、FERC和USACE举办的专业短期课程。 最后，将有一个多元化的研究团队，包括少数民族，残疾人，高级和初级教师和本科生研究员。