In situ investigation of the impact of cyclic thermal variations impact on the mechanical properties of sandy soil.

The incorporation of heat exchangers into geostructures leads to changes in the temperature of the adjacent soil, which may affect its hydro-mechanical properties. In this study, mini-pressiometer tests were carried out in the vicinity of three experimental energy piles of 12 meters length and 0.52-meter diameter installed in saturated sandy soil. Tests were carried out in three locations and in two different depths (namely 3 and 4 meters in depth) before and after cyclic variations of their temperature. The pressuremeter parameters are the pressuremeter modulus EM, the limit pressure PL and the creep-pressure Pf. These parameters characterize the properties of the soils; some measurements were done close to the energy piles (1.25 meters from the center of the pile) using a mini-pressuremeter cell (380 mm in height and 28 mm in diameter). The comparison of the results before and after the four warming-cooling cycles (8° to 19° C) showed a thin thickening of the material at 3 meters depth. These results are coherent with in-lab measurements and with the results of the pile loading tests carried out later on the same site.