Category: Datasets

Dataset supporting publication: “The Problem of Geothermal Power Installation on Buildings: Structural Building Monitoring and Assessment During Drilling Activities” (publication available in GEOFIT website)

Datasets resultant from structural health monitoring activities (accelerometer data).

The current European Union (EU) policy aims to increase the use of “green” energies, and within this strategy the exploitation of the geothermal energy is a well promising approach. The European Horizon2020 project GEOFIT (Deployment of novel GEOthermal systems, technologies and tools for energy efficient building retroFITting) aims among the others to deploy and to integrate advanced methods of worksite inspection, ground research, and building structural monitoring, drilling and worksite characterization into advanced geothermal based retrofitting methods.

When dealing with “plants of power production”, one needs to develop a Life Cycle Analysis and to apply a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for evaluating any environmental aspects and potential influences throughout the whole life cycle of a product or process or service. The paper first provides a preliminary discussion on this aspect. Then it focuses attention on a pilot site made available within the GEOFIT Consortium. The results from a structural monitoring campaign in this pilot site before and during the drilling operations associated to the implementation of the geothermal power system are presented discussed.

Dataset supporting publication: “On Site Monitoring During Nearby Drilling Operations Toward a Geothermal Power System Installation” (publication available in GEOFIT website)

Datasets resultant from structural health monitoring activities (accelerometer data).

Among the approaches to the production of “green” energy, geothermal power systems are becoming quite popular in Europe. Their installation in existing buildings requires an extended, external pipes appendix whose laying operation needs a drilling activities nearby structural skeletons often designed to support static loads only, especially when ancient buildings are targeted. This contribution reports and discusses the experimental results achieved within a specific case study within the European project GEOFIT. In particular, standard accelerometric measurements in and nearby a single-story reinforced concrete building are collected and analysed in the absence of drilling (pre-drilling) and during drilling activities (drilling phase) to monitor the structure response to the external source of vibrations related to the excavations phase. The target is to outline automatic guidelines toward installations preventing from any sort of structural damage.

Dataset supporting publication: “Experimental Characterization of a Smart Material via DIC” (publication available in GEOFIT website)

When no extensometer is available in a generic tensile-compression test carried out by a universal testing machine (for instance the model BIONIX from Material Testing Systems (MTS), the test results only provide the relative displacement between the machine grips. The test does not provide any information on the local behaviour of the material. This contribution presents the potential of an application of Digital Image Correlation (DIC) toward the reconstruction of the behaviour along the specimen. In particular, the authors test a Ni-Ti shape memory alloys (SMA) specimen with emphasis on the coupling of the two measurement techniques. The activity reported in this work have been founded by European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 792210 (GEOFIT).

Dataset available for download in Zenodo

Dataset supporting publication: “Geofit: Experimental Investigations and Numerical Validation of Shallow Spiral Collectors as a Basis for Development of a Design Tool for Geothermal Retrofitting of Existing Buildings” (publication available in GEOFIT website)

The H2020 GEOFIT (grant no. 792210) project will implement and demonstrate easy-to-install and economical geothermal systems in combination with heat pumps for energy-efficient building retrofits at five pilot sites across Europe – a historic building (ITA), a school (ESP), an indoor swimming pool (IRL), an office building (FRA) and a single-family house (IRL) (GEOFIT,2018). Heat pump tests and experimental laboratory tests with shallow geothermal heat collector types are carried out in climate chambers at the AIT. Material data of different soil types are determined in the thermophysics laboratory. Furthermore, CFD simulations of the conducted experiments are calculated with ANSYS Fluent. All this provides data and know-how for the development of a design tool for ground collector configurations such as helices and slinky loops, which are particularly relevant for building retrofits in GEOFIT. Experimental work focused on near-surface spiral geothermal heat exchanger configurations that can be installed at a maximum depth of five metres. Real-scale experiments were carried out for vertically oriented spiral collectors (helix) in real soil. One objective was to develop a measurement concept in the laboratory environment to create the framework for a reliable database. This database is used as a basis for the further development or new development of engineering design tools. Distributed resistance temperature sensors and a fibre-optic temperature measurement system (DTS) were used. The moisture content of the soil was recorded using soil moisture sensors. A heat flow was conditioned by means of a helix shaped electric heating cable in a 1m³ cuboid soil container. The measurements were carried out in a climate chamber at a defined constant temperature of 10 °C. The evaluation of the transient response behaviour is spatially resolved. This results in coordinate-related temperature points, which describe temperature gradients in all axes of the container over time. Three different types of soil were investigated. The temperature behaviour of humus soil, sand and a mixture of these was investigated experimentally in smaller experiments and the material data such as heat capacity, thermal conductivity and density were determined thermophysically in the laboratory. Based on this data, a CFD model was developed which can be used to modify the geometry parameters of the helix.

Dataset available for download in Zenodo

Dataset supporting publication: “Geofit Project Creating the Opportunity of Geographical – BIM (GEOBIM) Platform to Manage Geothermal Systems” (publication available in GEOFIT website)

Within the GEOFIT project (Smart Geothermal Systems1), BIM environment has been defined as GeoBIM platform. This term refers to those specific geothermal applications which are included in a tailormade BIM platform to manage the geothermal systems, building, site and assets information from models, sensors installed and simulations. In GEOFIT project, the demo-sites location is enriched up to the holistic view of the retrofitted buildings with all the geothermal facilities designed, simulated, installed, commissioned, and monitored, from inception onward, during the
lifecycle of a facility and includes all stakeholders who need facility information – from the designers to the occupants with the building in operation. This holistic view includes the execution control and the permanent geographical reference because the simulation, monitoring and design processes happen in a specific geographical context. The definition and implementation of a GEOBIM platform is paramount for the project and it is one of the main outcomes of
GEOFIT project. While BIM implementation is ubiquitous in the architectural issues of the project, relying mostly on CAD designs, geographical information has a limited role particularly in construction projects, it is often restricted to some specific tasks or seen as a potential redundancy to BIM. Considering the geographical dependent tasks in GEOFIT, GIS can bring a valuable complementary contribution to the BIM process by providing spatial input and geospatial visualization, adding information on the retrofitting demo-site’s surrounding environment and underground thermal information that is essential for design decisions and the approval processes regarding building integrity and geothermal
energy availability. In this paper, an interdisciplinary cooperation, data exchange, and data transfer occurs among the different professionals and disciplines involved for the successful retrofitting project planning and energy efficiency demonstration throughout the GEOBIM platform. This is implemented to assemble this set of powerful assessment, inspection and ground research, testing, and real time monitoring tools.

Dataset available for download in Zenodo

Dataset supporting publications: Paper – “Discrete Element Modelling of Rock Drilling” and Thesis – “Towards Discrete Element Modelling of Rock Drilling” (both publications available in the GEOFIT website: paper, thesis)

Dataset used: Wear test datasets as described in T2.3.1 for the improvement of drilling efficiency via the selection of optimal drill bits (D5), Mechanical properties rock/soil (D29), Datasets resultant from numerical simulations of the drilling operation in T7.2-5 (D33)

Percussive rotary drilling is recognized as the most efficient method for hard rock drilling. Despite clear advantages over conventional rotary methods, there are still some uncertainties associated with percussive drilling. For geothermal applications, drilling accounts for a large portion of the total cost. Specifically, the wear of drill bits when drilling in hard rock is a predominant cost factor and drilling parameters are often based on the experience of the field operator. Within the framework of the H2020 project GEOFIT, numerical simulations of percussive drilling are performed in order to evaluate the rock drilling process and gain insight about the trade-off between wear and Rate of Penetration (ROP). In the simulations, the rock material was represented by the Bonded Discrete Element Method (BDEM), the drill bit by the Finite Element Method (FEM), the drilling fluid by the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) and the abrasive wear on the surface of the drill bit was represented by Archard’s wear law. The drilling simulations were conducted for two rock materials; a sedimentary rock material corresponding to what was found when drilling at the GEOFIT pilot site in Aran Islands, Ireland, and a harder reference rock similar to granite. The results show that, at a drill bit impact force of 10 kN, the ROP in the sedimentary rock was 6.3 times faster than for granite. When increasing the impact force to 40 and 50 kN, however, the ROP for the sedimentary rock is only 1.9 and 1.6 times faster, respectively. Furthermore, the wear rate decreased with increased impact force when drilling in the granite rock. For the sedimentary rock, however, the loading resulting in the best trade-off between abrasive wear and ROP was the second highest loading of 40 kN, which suggests that an increase in impact energy may increase the rate of penetration but may not be economically motivated.

Dataset available for download in Zenodo

Dataset supporting publication: “Development and Validation of Analytical Solutions for Earth Basket (Spiral) Heat Exchangers” (publication available for download in GEOFIT website)

This paper presents an analytical solution and its validation for earth basket (vertical spiral) ground heat
exchangers. The model, based on the well known Finite Line Source Equation, accounts for the heat exchanger pipe diameter and seasonally varying near surface temperature. For computational efficiency the standard approach of using G-functions has been implemented as well. The analytical model is validated based on laboratory experiments and extensive CFD analysis.

Dataset available for download in GEOFIT Zenodo

Dataset supporting publication: Design Framework and Laboratory Experiments for Helix and Slinky Type Ground Source Heat Exchangers for Retrofitting Projects (publication available for download in GEOFIT website)

The article presents the data collected through an extensive research work conducted in a historic hilly town in central Italy during the period 2016-2017. Data concern two different datasets: long-term hygrothermal histories collected in two specific positions of the town object of the research, and three environmental transects collected following on foot the same designed path at three different time of the same day, i.e. during a heat wave event in summer. The short-term monitoring campaign is carried out by means of an innovative wearable weather station specifically developed by the authors and settled upon a bike helmet. Data provided within the short-term monitoring campaign are analysed by computing the apparent temperature, a direct indicator of human thermal comfort in the outdoors. All provided environmental data are geo-referenced. These data are used in order to examine the intra-urban microclimate variability. Outcomes from both long- and short-term monitoring campaigns allow to confirm the existing correlation between the urban forms and functionalities and the corresponding local microclimate conditions, also generated by anthropogenic actions. In detail, higher fractions of built surfaces are associated to generally higher temperatures as emerges by comparing the two long-term air temperature data series, i.e. temperature collected at point 1 is higher than temperature collated at point 2 for the 75% of the monitored period with an average of þ2.8 [1]C. Furthermore, gathered environmental transects demonstrate the high variability of the main environmental parameters below the Urban Canopy. Diversification of the urban thermal behaviour leads to a computed apparent temperature range in between 33.2 [1]C and 46.7 [1]C at 2 p.m. along the monitoring path. Reuse of these data may be helpful for further investigating interesting correlations among urban configuration, anthropogenic actions and microclimate variables affecting outdoor comfort. Additionally, the proposed dataset may be compared to other similar datasets collected in other urban contexts around the world. Finally, it can be compared to other monitoring methodologies such as weather stations and satellite measurements available in the location at the same time.

Dataset available for download in GEOFIT Zenodo

Dataset supporting publication: “Data collected by coupling fix and wearable sensors for addressing urban microclimate variability in an historical Italian city” (publication available for download in GEOFIT website)

Datasets resulting from monitoring activities of Sant’Apollinare systems and climatic parameters inside and outside the building (post-intervention monitoring).

The article presents the data collected through an extensive research work conducted in a historic hilly town in central Italy during the period 2016-2017. Data concern two different datasets: long-term hygrothermal histories collected in two specific positions of the town object of the research, and three environmental transects collected following on foot the same designed path at three different time of the same day, i.e. during a heat wave event in summer. The short-term monitoring campaign is carried out by means of an innovative wearable weather station specifically developed by the authors and settled upon a bike helmet. Data provided within the short-term monitoring campaign are analysed by computing the apparent temperature, a direct indicator of human thermal comfort in the outdoors. All provided environmental data are geo-referenced. These data are used in order to examine the intra-urban microclimate variability. Outcomes from both long- and short-term monitoring campaigns allow to confirm the existing correlation between the urban forms and functionalities and the corresponding local microclimate conditions, also generated by anthropogenic actions. In detail, higher fractions of built surfaces are associated to generally higher temperatures as emerges by comparing the two long-term air temperature data series, i.e. temperature collected at point 1 is higher than temperature collated at point 2 for the 75% of the monitored period with an average of þ2.8 [1]C. Furthermore, gathered environmental transects demonstrate the high variability of the main environmental parameters below the Urban Canopy. Diversification of the urban thermal behaviour leads to a computed apparent temperature range in between 33.2 [1]C and 46.7 [1]C at 2 p.m. along the monitoring path. Reuse of these data may be helpful for further investigating interesting correlations among urban configuration, anthropogenic actions and microclimate variables affecting outdoor comfort. Additionally, the proposed dataset may be compared to other similar datasets collected in other urban contexts around the world. Finally, it can be compared to other monitoring methodologies such as weather stations and satellite measurements available in the location at the same time.

Dataset available for download in GEOFIT Zenodo

Dataset supporting publication: “A novel ROM methodology to support the estimation of the energy savings under the Measurement and Verification protocol” (publication available for download in GEOFIT website)

Datasets resultant from simulation of the integrated system into buildings.

This paper presents a novel Reduced Order grey box Model (ROM) methodology, based on a Resistor-Capacitor (RC) network, which supports the creation of the baseline energy consumption and the estimation of energy savings due to Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) under the Measurement and Verification protocol. Within this scope, a description of the RC network, including a calculation of the parameters’ needed to execute the ROM, are presented. This ROM methodology is demonstrated on an educational building located in Sant Cugat, Spain as part of the H2020 GEOFIT project. The results presented in this paper demonstrate that the ROM is sufficiently accurate for the creation of the baseline energy consumption and for estimating the energy savings of different ECMs.