Effect of Domain Size in the Modelled Response of Thermally-Activated Piles

The application of thermally-activated pile foundations has received significant attention in the last decade with a number of large- and small-scale tests having been undertaken. Alongside these physical studies, a number of investigations utilising numerical analysis have been undertaken to examine the behaviour of single piles and pile groups. Focussing on studies examining single piles, it is apparent that a variety of differing domain dimensions have been used. The work presented in this paper had the objective of systematically examining the influence of the domain size and how it affects the predicted thermo-mechanical response of the pile. It shows that the domain size has an important impact on the initial distribution of mobilised shaft friction due to applied mechanical load which then impacts on the subsequent thermo-mechanical response.