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TEMP/W

TEMP3D

TEMP/W and TEMP3D Feature List

Integrated into the GeoStudio Suite

TEMP/W is integrated into the GeoStudio suite, and therefore has access to the GeoStudio features for creating your model, analyzing it, and viewing results. The TEMP3D add-on maintains the same integration, such that the project set-up, material and boundary condition definition, and results interpretation are all the same as in TEMP/W. Three-dimensional geometry creation tools are available in GeoStudio's new 3D editor, which is also integrated into the GeoStudio suite.

Comprehensive Conduction, Convection, and Phase Change Formulation

TEMP/W and TEMP3D use a finite element-based formulation to analyze thermal changes in the ground due to environmental changes or due to the construction of facilities such as buildings or pipelines. The comprehensive formulation makes it possible to analyze both simple and highly complex geothermal problems. TEMP/W and TEMP3D can be applied to the geothermal analysis and design of geotechnical, civil, and mining engineering projects, including facilities subjected to freezing and thawing temperature changes.

The formulation includes conduction, forced-convection, and phase change, making it possible to analyze such problems as permafrost changes due to climate change, the effect of man-made structures on the geothermal regime, or ground freezing applications in groundwater flow systems.

The phase change formulation in TEMP/W and TEMP3D accounts for the latent heat associated with water turning into ice and ice turning into water. The rate at which the latent heat is absorbed or released is controlled by an unfrozen water content function. Above the phase change temperature, all the water is unfrozen. As the temperature falls below the phase change point, the portion of the water that remains unfrozen decreases. Complete flexibility in defining the unfrozen water content function makes it possible to analyze a wide variety of ground conditions. TEMP/W can be linked with SEEP/W or AIR/W to consider convective heat transfer of flowing water or moving air. Similarly, TEMP3D may be coupled with SEEP3D to analyze three-dimensional convective heat transfer, free convection of water due to thermally induced changes in density, and thermal vapour flow.

Typical Applications

TEMP/W and TEMP3D can model almost any geothermal problem, including:

  • Degradation of permafrost due to man-made structures
  • Ground freezing for soil stabilization, including use of freezing pipes around mine shafts or thermosyphons on top of earth dams
  • Freeze-thaw action beneath roadways and airport runways
  • Frost depth penetration beneath chilled structures such as a recreational ice surface or a highway during the winter 
  • Climate effects on the ground surface energy balance (TEMP/W only)
  • Development of a frost bulb around a chilled pipeline
  • Assessment of various insulation alternatives for reducing freezing and/or thawing
  • Analysis and design of frozen capillary cover barriers
  • Groundwater flow control design

Get Converged Solutions for Difficult Problems

The introduction of the latent heat of phase change into a heat transfer analysis introduces a significant amount of non-linearity into the analysis. This non-linearity is manifest in numerical oscillation during the iterative solution process. TEMP/W and TEMP3D implement a rigorous convergence criterion and under-relaxation scheme, making it possible to model demanding freeze-thaw problems, as well as models with a large spatial variability in temperatures across the domain. Graphing tools are available during run-time to help you judge if convergence has been achieved.

Estimate Material Properties from Measured Data

TEMP/W and TEMP3D provide convenient material estimation capabilities for determining the thermal conductivity, unfrozen water content, and volumetric heat capacity functions.

Use Simplified or Full Thermal Material Models

Different problems require different levels of sophistication for defining the material properties. TEMP/W and TEMP3D provide a simplified material model that considers only unfrozen and frozen conditions, while incorporating phase change at a single phase change temperature. TEMP/W and TEMP3D also include a full-thermal material model that makes thermal conductivity a function of temperature, while phase change occurs over a temperature range as defined by the unfrozen volumetric water content. The general thermal conductivity function makes it possible to consider a smooth transition in conductivity as the temperature changes from thawed to frozen conditions and vice versa. Using the full thermal material model allows you to analyze problems in which the presence of ice in the pore-space plays a role in the thermal response of the system.

Model Land-Climate Interaction

There are many problems in geotechnical engineering that involve a coupling between climatic conditions and the thermal response within the ground. These types of problems can be analyzed in TEMP/W using the Surface Energy Balance boundary condition.

TEMP/W uses climate data to determine evaporation rates, snow accumulation and snowmelt. A surface energy balance approach is used to determine the resulting energy flux over the ground surface and subsequent ground temperatures.

Model Thermosyphons

Thermosyphons are used in many cold regions to extract energy from the ground to maintain frozen ground conditions. TEMP/W implements a rigorous thermosyphon boundary condition that can accommodate either two-dimensional or pseudo-3D analysis. Thermosyphons may also be simulated in TEMP3D to analyze the true three-dimensional cooling effect of thermosyphons installation.

Convective Heat Transfer Boundary Condition

The convective heat transfer boundary condition provides a convenient approach for the simulation of artificial ground freezing or other processes involving the flow of fluid over or within a bounding surface.

Forced Convection with Water Flow

Heat transfer is often governed by forced convection in natural hydrogeological systems. TEMP/W can be fully integrated with SEEP/W to analyze heat transfer via groundwater flow. Similarly, TEMP3D and SEEP3D may also be fully integrated to assess three-dimensional heat transfer due to three-dimensional groundwater flow.

Coupled Convective Material Model

The coupled-convective material model can be used for an integrated TEMP/W and SEEP/W analysis, adjusting the thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity as the ratio of pore-water, pore-air, and pore-ice changes duration the transient seepage analysis. This material model is also available for three-dimensional groundwater and heat flow when integrating TEMP3D and SEEP3D.

Forced Convection with Air Flow

Many geotechnical engineering problems, such a heat movement in mine-site waste dumps, involve density-driven air flow. TEMP/W can be integrated with AIR/W to seamlessly model heat transfer via conduction and forced-convection with the moving air.

Convenient Initial Condition Definition

Initial conditions for transient analyses can be determined using a variety of options including a spatial temperature function, region temperature activation, or results from another GeoStudio finite element analysis.

Initial Temperature for Activated Materials

Materials can be activated with a specified temperature for transient analyses, providing a convenient way to set the initial condition for entire regions in which the starting condition is nearly constant.

Model in 1D, 2D, Axisymmetric or Plan View

TEMP/W includes analysis options for modelling pseudo three-dimensional problems such as heat extraction from a single thermosyphon. TEMP3D may be added to TEMP/W to unlock full three-dimensional modeling capabilities.

Powerful Graphing of Results

Graphing is critical for the interpretation of a heat transfer analysis. The powerful graphing options in GeoStudio make it possible to plot critical information in TEMP/W and TEMP3D such as the temperatures through time, the energy extracted or input into the system, heat rates, heat fluxes, and more. All of this data can be exported or copy/pasted directly into spreadsheet software.

Sensitivity Analysis

A sensitivity analysis can be readily conducted with TEMP/W and TEMP3D by cloning multiple analyses using the Analysis Tree, and then making slight changes to each one.

Optimization and Calibration

TEMP/W can be paired with other software to conduct optimization/calibration of material properties.

Extend TEMP/W with Add-Ins

Download and install a Add-InS to enable TEMP/W to model radiative heat transfer and exothermic reactions.