Engineering Applications in Permafrost Areas 535 Application of heat pipes to design of shallow foundations on permafrost

• Main Author: D. W. Hayley
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Satis; Yukon; permafrost; Ross River
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.513.7444; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/cpc/cpc4-535.pdf

This paper describes two structures where heat pipes have been successfully used to provide thermal protection for permafrost soils supporting surface foundations. The heat pipes are two different models of “Cryo-Anchors”, manufactured by the McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company. A school constructed at Ross River, Yukon Territory, in 1975, included heat pipes as an integral.part of the foundation design. The site conditions are described in the paper and considerations that led to selection of heat pipes are stated. The heat pipe evaporator sections were installed in aluminum access tubes that extend into a gravel pad supporting a slab-on-grade foundation. Insulation thickness and heat pipe spacing were determined by predicting the maximum extent of seasonal thaw beneath the foundation using two-dimensional geothermal analyses. Performance of the system has been satis-factory over a five-year observational period. The second heat pipe system described in the paper was installed to stabilize a tramway tower foun-dation also in the Yukon Territory. Exposed footing foundations were experiencing settlement that could be related to thaw of underlying permafrost gravel. Vertical heat pipes were installed adjacent to the foundation elements to arrest permafrost degradation. Ground temperature records and survey data have shown that the installation has elevated the permafrost table. Le present document decrit deux structures pour lesquelles on a rtussi a utiliser des caloducs pour