Helical pile with heat exchanger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11982066-B2
Application number	US-201816761437-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2018
Priority date	Nov 4, 2017
Publication date	May 14, 2024
Grant date	May 14, 2024

Abstract

A helical pile including a heat exchanger is described. The pile is formed from a lead section and one or more extension sections. The interior of the lead and extension sections are hollow and form a heat exchanger cavity. At the lower end of the lead section is a helical blade. Rotation of the lead section causes the helical blade to screw into the ground, thus pulling the lead section downward. Extension sections are added to the lead section and the pile is rotated until it is installed to a desired depth. The pile includes an inflow tube extending a predetermined distance into the heat exchanger cavity and an outflow port connected with the heat exchanger cavity. In operation, a heat carrying fluid is pumped into the inflow tube from a heat source or sink, for example, a heat pump for a building heating and cooling system. The fluid exits the tube at a point near the bottom of the heat exchanger cavity. The fluid flows upward through the heat exchange cavity and exchanges heat with the surrounding soil. The fluid flows out through the outflow port and back to the heat source or sink.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A helical pile comprising:
a terminating extension shaft having a proximal end, a distal end and a cavity extending along at least a portion of an interior of the terminating extension shaft;
at least one shaft having a proximal end attachable to the distal end of the terminating extension shaft, a distal end and a cavity extending along at least a portion of an interior of the at least one shaft;
at least one helical load bearing plate secured to the distal end of the at least one shaft;
a first tube extendable through the cavity in the terminating extension shaft and into the cavity of the at least one shaft a first predetermined distance;
a second tube extendable through the cavity in the terminating extension shaft and into the cavity of the at least one shaft a second predetermined distance; and
a mounting bracket assembly having:
a pile adapter including a pile receiving flange that can be mated with the proximal end of the terminating extension shaft, and a central aperture aligned with the pile receiving flange that permits the first and second tubes to pass through the pile adapter;
a bracket assembly having a mounting bracket capable of supporting at least a portion of a structure and at least one mounting plate secured to the mounting bracket and used to secure the mounting bracket assembly to the pile adapter; and
a bracket stabilizing assembly used to fix the orientation of the bracket assembly relative to the extension shaft;

wherein the cavity in the at least one shaft can be sealed except for the first tube and the second tube, such that when the helical pile is driven into soil, fluid can be circulated between the first tube, the cavity and the second tube so that heat can be exchanged between the fluid and the soil.

2. The helical pile according to claim 1 , wherein the first predetermined distance is adjacent the distal end of the shaft, and the second predetermined distance is adjacent the proximal end of the shaft.

3. The helical pile according to claim 1 , wherein the first predetermined distance is greater than the second predetermined distance.

4. The helical pile according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more baffles positioned within the cavity and in thermal communication with the shaft so as to increase the surface area of material that can exchange heat with the fluid flowing through the cavity.

5. A geothermal exchange system comprising:
a thermal exchanging system; and
at least one helical pile in fluid communication with the thermal exchanging system, the at least one helical pile including:
a terminating extension shaft having a proximal end, a distal end and a cavity extending along at least a portion of an interior of the terminating extension shaft;
at least one shaft having a proximal end attachable to the distal end of the terminating extension shaft, a distal end and a cavity extending along at least a portion of an interior of the at least one shaft;
at least one helical load bearing plate secured to the at least one shaft;
a first tube extendable through the cavity in the terminating extension shaft and into the cavity of the at least one shaft a first predetermined distance; and
a second tube extendable through the cavity in the terminating extension shaft and into the cavity of the at least one shaft a second predetermined distance; and

a mounting bracket assembly including:
a pile adapter having a pile receiving flange that can be mated with the proximal end of the terminating extension shaft, and a central aperture aligned with the pile receiving flange that permits the first and second tubes to pass through the pile adapter;
a bracket assembly having a mounting bracket capable of supporting at least a portion of a structure and at least one mounting plate secured to the mounting bracket and used to secure the mounting bracket assembly to the pile adapter; and
a bracket stabilizing assembly used to fix the orientation of the bracket assembly relative to the terminating shaft;

wherein a second end of the first tube and a second end of the second tube are connected to the thermal exchanging system; and
wherein the cavity in the at least one shaft can be sealed except for the first tube and the second tube, such that when the helical pile is driven into soil, fluid can be circulated from the thermal exchanging system through the first tube, the cavity and the second tube so that heat can be exchanged between the fluid and the soil, and the fluid can be returned to the thermal exchanging system through the second tube.

6. The geothermal exchange system according to claim 5 , wherein the first predetermined distance is adjacent the distal end of the shaft, and the second predetermined distance is adjacent the proximal end of the shaft.

7. The geothermal exchange system according to claim 5 , wherein the first predetermined distance is greater than the second predetermined distance.

8. The geothermal exchange system according to claim 5 , further comprising one or more baffles positioned within the cavity and in thermal communication with the shaft so as to increase the surface area of material that can exchange heat with the fluid flowing through the cavity.

9. A helical pile comprising:
at least one shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, a cavity extending along at least a portion of an interior of the shaft, and at least one helical load bearing plate secured to the shaft;
a first tube extendable into the proximal end of the at least one shaft and into the cavity a first predetermined distance;
a second tube extendable into the proximal end of the at least one shaft and into the cavity a second predetermined distance; and
a mounting bracket assembly adapted to be mated to the proximal end of the at least one shaft, the mounting bracket assembly includes:
a pile adapter having a pile receiving flange that can be mated with the proximal end of the at least one shaft;
a bracket assembly having a mounting bracket capable of supporting at least a portion of a structure and at least one mounting plate secured to the mounting bracket and used to secure the mounting bracket assembly to the pile adapter; and
a bracket stabilizing assembly used to fix the orientation of the bracket assembly relative to the at least one shaft.

10. The helical pile according to claim 9 , wherein the first predetermined distance is adjacent the distal end of the shaft, and the second predetermined distance is adjacent the proximal end of the shaft.

11. The helical pile according to claim 9 , wherein the first predetermined distance is greater than the second predetermined distance.

12. The helical pile according to claim 9 , further comprising one or more baffles positioned within the cavity and in thermal communication with the shaft so as to increase the surface area of material that can exchange heat with the fluid flowing through the cavity.

13. The helical pile according to claim 9 , wherein the pile adapter includes a central aperture that is aligned with the pile receiving flange that permits the first and second tubes to pass through the pile adapter.

14. The helical pile according to claim 9 , wherein the bracket stabilizing assembly includes a pair of bracket support arms coupled to the mounting bracket.

15. A geothermal exchange system comprising:
a thermal exchanging system; and
at least one helical pile in fluid communication with the thermal exchanging system, the at least one helical pile including:
at least one shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, a cavity extending along at least a portion of an interior of the

Assignees

• Hubbell Inc

Inventors

• Kemp Timothy Michael

Classifications

• E02D5/56 Primary

  Screw piles {(placing piles by screwing down E02D7/22)} · CPC title

• E21B7/205

  without earth removal (E21B7/30 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E21B10/44

  Bits with helical conveying portion, e.g. screw type bits; Augers with leading portion or with detachable parts (E21B10/42 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F24T10/17

  using tubes closed at one end, i.e. return-type tubes · CPC title

• F24T50/00

  Geothermal systems  (for producing mechanical power from geothermal energy F03G4/00) · CPC title