Heat transfer performance of silicon carbide high thermal conductivity concrete energy piles

In this study, we propose a concrete energy pile with improved heat transfer performance using high thermal conductivity silicon carbide. We performed a unit pile test to test the heat transfer rate, and the effects of the energy pile material, operation mode, and soil saturation around the pile were studied in detail. The results showed that silicon carbide improved the heat exchange rate of energy piles by approximately 20% compared to ordinary concrete. Intermittent operation improved the heat exchange rate of energy piles; in the continuous operation mode, the heat transfer of the silicon carbide concrete energy pile increased by 18% compared to 28% in the intermittent operation mode. The heat transfer rate of the energy pile increased with the increase in soil saturation; the heat exchange of the energy piles was approximately 82% higher in saturated Silty soil than in dry Silty soil and approximately 90% higher in saturated sandy soil than in dry sandy soil. The heat exchange rate of the silicon carbide concrete pile was approximately 20% higher than that of the ordinary concrete pile in soil with the same level of saturation.