Thermal performance of heat drain under the road embankment near Hudson Strait Coast, Canada

Abstract

Climate warming has affected the transportation infrastructure in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. Heat drain is an innovative heat extraction technique using density-driven convection of the pore air in the geocomposite of the heat drain to cool the ground during winter. This paper examines the thermal conditions of the road embankment including a heat drain installed in the shoulder at Salluit, Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. Following the installation of the heat drain, a decrease of the soil temperatures was observed. A 2-D finite element geothermal model was developed to reproduce the thermal regime underneath the heat drain, based on the site condition at Salluit. Field measurement of ground temperature for the four year monitoring period from 2012 to 2016, were used to calibrate the model. After the calibration, the long-term climate warming effects on the ground thermal regime was investigated using the model developed.