Seismic Risk Assessment For Geothermal Projects: With The Creation Of A Physical Screening Model

Geothermal energy can be a great solution for the downscaling fossil fuel society, but it can potentially lead to seismic hazards. A doublet system, with a cold water injection well and a hot water production well, alters the stress situation in the subsurface, which can result in (micro)fracturing and fault reactivation. Even in water filled...

The influence of freezing-thawing cycles on the geotechnical performance of an end-bearing energy pile

Energy piles are getting more attention for their sustainable and economic potential. The fluid pipes are integrated in the foundation piles, which makes it cost-attractive, but also relatively new to the Dutch geotechnical industry. By lowering the temperature limit of the anti-freeze fluid in the pipes the heat extraction and thereby also the...

Analysis of undrained soil behaviour of Dutch organic clay in K0-consolidated triaxial tests

In 2017 new guidelines concerning macro stability calculations were implemented by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment. These guidelines are formulated in “Wettelijk Beoordelingsinstrumentarium” (WBI). The largest difference with the previous version of the guidelines concerns the material model that is prescribed to determine...

Improving identification of HT-ATES performance drivers and -barriers

High temperature aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES) can potentially solve the mismatch between heat supply and demand. It can provide a large scale seasonal heat storage solution. Thereby it enables an increase in full load hours of the base heat source, which can benefit project performance on both costs and emissions. However, the...

Modelling the Installation of a Cone: Using a 2D-Axisymmetric Material Point Method Model

In this work the installation process of a cone penetrating into a sand system is modelled using a 2D-axisymmetric material point method (MPM) model in order to investigate the installation processes and to predict the plastic radius. One meter of cone penetration is modelled under a surcharge of 50 kPa. The used constitutive model is Mohr...

The Thermal Cone Penetration Test Potentials in Soil Investigation

The widely used cone penetration test (CPT) allows in-situ measurements of soil behaviour during continuous penetration. The traditional sensors incorporated in a cone penetrometer are for measuring cone resistance, sleeve friction, pore pressure, and inclination. Many supplementary sensors have been studied and tried in research settings and in...

Aquifer thermal energy storage following up on the tu delft geothermal well: A study on how a low-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage system can cool and heat the campus in accordance with its climate goals by 2050

In 2020 TU Delft will build a geothermal well producing enough energy to power all its faculties and a number of buildings surrounding the campus. This is done to meet the climate goals the TU set itself: an energy neutral campus by 2040. Geothermal plants are designed to produce for 30 years. After this period, by 2050, the TU has to be energy...

The influence of man-made structures on spatial variability of soft soils: A case study at the Leendert de Boerspolder

The subsurface is often modelled as multiple homogeneous soil layers. In reality, the soil properties of these layers are heterogeneous and spatially variable, making it difficult to properly deduct the engineering properties that are required in the design of geotechnical structures. This leads to uncertainty in the design. The probabilistic...

The suitability of High Temperature – Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage in Holland-Rijnland

High Temperature – Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (HT-ATES) is a way to efficiently store heat with use of the subsurface. Region Holland-Rijnland has the vision to be free of the use of natural gas in 2050. A proposed high temperature heating network from the port of Rotterdam to the households of Leiden, combined with the use of an HT-ATES...

Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the Main Features of the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) for Solid Mechanics

The Particle Finite Element Method is a numerical tool that has been introduced more than a decade ago for the solution of engineering problems involving large deformations. <br/>The method falls under the category of mesh-based particle methods, meaning that all information is stored on moving particles that represent the domain under analysis...

Soil Constitutive Modelling Using Neural Networks

Constitutive models are one of the main building blocks of the Finite Element Analysis that nowadays is used in almost every geotechnical engineering project. Thus, finding realistic stress-strain behaviour models has been one of the main fields of research in Geotechnical Engineering. However, constitutive equations have become increasingly...

Dike Pins: A Parametric Study in Plaxis to assess the Current Design Approach and Future Applicability

One of the main challenges in dike design in the Netherlands is to guarantee a sufficient safety level against the development of macro-instabilities in a dike. A case study was performed on a dike section at Herrewijnen-Opijnen, which is part of the Heesseltse Uiterwaarden in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The dike located at this site no...

Soil Interpretation in Groningen: Verification and Improvement of CPT-based correlations

In the northern part of the Netherlands, the exploitation of gas fields has been inducing small earthquakes, causing damage to existing buildings. <br/>With the aim of preventing consequences to people and structures, the VIIA Groningen project deals with CC2 and CC3 buildings retrofit and provides reinforcement measures when necessary.<br/>As...

Wind Turbines near Flood Defences: Study on the impact craters of falling nacelles hitting a dike

Building wind turbines near flood defences has numerous advantages over other locations on land. The water authorities, which own the land of the flood defence, will only permit the turbines if the flood protection assessment satisfies the safety standard after the wind turbines have been constructed. There are three types of failure of a wind...

Numerical modelling of an experimental energy pile

Geothermal energy is a way of reducing the cost of energy. Deep geothermal energy systems extract heat from very deep soil layers where the temperatures are very high. Shallow geothermal energy systems are about 150 metres deep and they are used to store heat in the soil, to extract it later and use it for space heating. These shallow geothermal...

An Uncertainty Framework for Improbable Slope Failure

Soil properties used to determine the stability of soil structures are variable in nature. Uncertainty in soil can be attributed to its inherent variability, as well as sources of error encountered while estimating the magnitude of its properties. The modelling of these uncertainties will produce more meaningful solutions when evaluating...

Development and implementation of moving boundary conditions in the Material Point Method

A new technique is developed in this thesis, which applies boundary conditions to moving boundaries in the Material Point Method (MPM). While MPM has been proven to be useful in slope stability, foundation and seabed ploughing modelling, the application of boundary conditions is still a challenge,<br/>because the location of the boundary is...

Desiccation, Crust Formation & Consolidation of Soft, Cohesive Soil due to Atmospheric Conditions: A case study of the Marker Wadden

Deterioration of the ecological quality within the Markermeer, due to the elimination of natural flushing and a resulting increase in turbidity, has created a need to revitalize the region for the benefit of the local wildlife. One major way in which this is being achieved is through the Marker Wadden, designed as a wetland area featuring a...