Increasing use of the ground as a thermal reservoir is expected in the near future. Shallow geothermal energy (SGE) systems have proved to be sustainable alternative solutions for buildings and infrastructure conditioning in many areas across the globe in the past decades. Recently novel solutions, including energy geostructures, where SGE systems are coupled with foundation heat exchangers, have also been developed. The performance of these systems is dependent on a series of factors, among which the thermal properties of the soil play a major role. The purpose of this paper is to present, in an integrated manner, the main methods and procedures to assess ground thermal properties for SGE systems and to carry out a critical review of the methods. In particular, laboratory testing through either steady-state or transient methods are discussed and a new synthesis comparing results for different techniques is presented. In situ testing including all variations of the thermal response test is presented in detail, including a first comparison between new and traditional approaches. The issue of different scales between laboratory and in situ measurements is then analysed in detail. Finally, the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of soil is introduced and discussed. These coupled processes are important for confirming the structural integrity of energy geostructures, but routine methods for parameter determination are still lacking.

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This paper investigates the applicability of currently available analytical, empirical and numerical heat flow models for interpreting thermal response tests (TRT) of quadratic cross section precast pile heat exchangers. A 3D finite element model (FEM) is utilised for interpreting five TRTs by inverse modelling. The calibrated estimates of soil and concrete thermal conductivity are consistent with independent laboratory measurements. Due to the computational cost of inverting the 3D model, simpler models are utilised in additional calibrations. Interpretations based on semi-empirical pile Gfunctions yield soil thermal conductivity estimates statistically similar to those obtained from the 3D FEM inverse modelling, given minimum testing times of 60 hours. Reliable estimates of pile thermal resistance can only be obtained from type curves computed with 3D FEM models. This study highlights the potential of applying TRTs for sizing quadratic, precast pile heat exchanger foundations.

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