5. Pile justification

5.1 Types of justification

In Austria, where the energy pile technique seems to be widely used, geothermal structures do not appear to be subject to any particular checks. In France, a position similar to that of Austria could have been adopted. Nevertheless, as a first step, it seemed reasonable to develop justification principles compatible with the calculation standards in application (Eurocode 7 and standard NF P 94-262) based on the knowledge acquired to date in various research programs and in particular the ANR GECKO Project carried out between 2011 and 2014.

A geothermal pile is not a pile with a different technology from other piles. Any pile can be geothermal: bored pile, hollow auger pile, driven pile, etc. As temperature seems to have little effect...