Mesh construction and optimization for the calculation of the building foundation bearing capacity in permafrost areas

This study proposes a new approach to constructing element-adaptive numerical meshes that refine around the pile foundation components. The meshes are used in numerical algorithms for the simulation of temperature fields in the soil around pile foundations in the permafrost area. Such pile foundations include multi-scale elements, such as the piles and coolers. It poses challenges with the mesh construction. The mesh quality was tested by comparing the simulation results with the temperature monitoring in a thermometric well for a specific residential building in Salekhard. The mesh was also compared with the previously used adaptive mesh with selected refinement areas. The simulation results showed the advantages of the new mesh. It improves the accuracy of simulating soil thermal fields around pile foundations while reducing the requirements for computer memory and computation time.