Energy geostructures: analysis and design

Professionals – such as civil and energy engineers, architects, urban project managers or geologists – and scientists who want to acquire knowledge on the energy, geotechnical and structural performance of energy geostructures.

The course will be given in English.

Requirements

• No specific experience with energy geostructures is needed.
• Basic knowledge of soil and structural mechanics.

Participants should bring their own laptop (for use during the practical application exercises)

The application of environmentally friendly technologies that exploit renewable energy sources is key to follow international agreements for the development of low-carbon buildings and infrastructures.

Energy geostructures are an innovative, multifunctional technology that can be used to address the aforementioned challenge. By coupling the role of the ground structures with that of the geothermal heat exchangers, energy geostructures can serve as structural supports as well as heating and cooling elements for buildings and infrastructures.

How can energy geostructures be analysed and designed from a geotechnical and structural point of view? What will be the energy performance of energy geostructures over time?

• Understand the thermal and mechanical behaviour of energy geostructures, with reference to the latest scientific achievements
• Be able to perform the energy, geotechnical and structural design of energy geostructures
• Learn how to exploit current standards available at the European level (e.g., the so-called “Eurocodes”) for the design of energy geostructures
• Experiment with practical exercises all the key steps involved in the analysis and design process of energy geostructures
• Learn on some practical examples of recent projects worldwide

FEATURES AND PERFORMANCE OF ENERGY GEOSTRUCTURES (Day 1)

• Geothermal and waste thermal energy: principles and opportunities
• Energy geostructures in new and existing constructions
• Installation and performance of energy geostructures worldwide – part I

FOUNDATIONAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN ASPECTS (Day 2)

• Installation and performance of energy geostructures worldwide – part II
• Thermal potential of sites and design parameters
• Visit to an energy foundation at EPFL and its laboratory of Soil Mechanics

DEVELOPMENT OF ANALYSIS AND DESIGN (Day 3)

• Heat transfer, mass transfer, and deformation in the context of energy geostructures
• Analysis and design (e.g., energy, geotechnical, and structural) of energy piles
• Analysis and design (e.g., energy, geotechnical, and structural) of other energy geostructures
• Practical design sessions

Teaching approach

• Optimum balance between theory and practice (application sessions including analytical and numerical simulation exercises)
• Teaching based on cutting-edge scientific achievements
• Case studies based on real energy geostructure projects, for which the Programme Directors worked as expert consultants

A certificate of attendance will be delivered at the end of the course.

Laboratory of Soil Mechanics (LMS), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)

Programme Directors

• Prof. Lyesse Laloui, Ph.D.
  Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
• Prof. Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, Ph.D., P.E.
  Northwestern University, Chicago, U.S.A.

Invited speakers

• Ms. Antonia Cornaro
  Underground construction expert, Amberg Engineering, Switzerland
• Mr. Tony Amis
  Energy expert, GI-Energy, U.S.A.
  
• Mr. Didier Mülhauser
  Contractor expert, Marti SA, Switzerland
  
• Mr. Luis de Pereda Fernández
  Architect, ENERES, Spain

Dates and schedule

• Monday November 6, 2023
• Tuesday November 7, 2023
• Wednesday November 8, 2023

From 9 am to 5 pm (UTC+2)

Course venue

Face-to-face (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland) or online

Course fee

1900.- Swiss Francs , including:

• Course material
• Three-month license of academic version of the Thermo-Pile software

10% special discount for contributing members of EPFL Alumni

Registration deadline

October 15, 2023
Number of participants is limited.

• EPFL News, 01.11.2019