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A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contact. They are widely used in space heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, power stations, chemical plants, petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries, natural-gas processing, and sewage treatment.
Geotechnical engineering, also known as geotechnics, is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics to solve its engineering problems. It also relies on knowledge of geology, hydrology, geophysics, and other related sciences. Geotechnical engineering has applications in military engineering, mining engineering, petroleum engineering, coastal engineering, and offshore construction.
Geothermal energy is thermal energy in the Earth's crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for millennia. Geothermal heating, using water from hot springs, for example, has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for space heating since Roman times. Geothermal power, (generation of electricity from geothermal energy), has been used since the 20th century.
Using pile foundations as heat exchangers with the ground provides an efficient and reliable energy source for the heating and cooling of buildings. However, thermal expansion or contraction of the co
The development of ground source heat pumps has facilitated the use of geothermal power at shallow depths. Initially, ground heat exchangers were buried in trenches or boreholes, but recent investigat
A full-scale experimental site with four energy test piles was built on the campus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. This site was used to investigate interaction
Canadian Science Publishing, Nrc Research Press2015