Thermal performance of a metro station in Turin equipped with energy geostructures

High pollution levels combined with the lack of green spaces are hitting many cities leading to the exploitation of the underground for transportation. Given the need to foster local energy sources with low environmental impact, energy geostructures are more and more being explored. In this context, the promising outcomes of the experimental campaign on the thermal activation of tunnel segments carried out on Turin ML1 South Extension encouraged the authors to investigate applicability of energy geostructures for Turin ML2 project. This paper is intended to focus on the understanding of the thermo-hydraulic behaviour of a metro station equipped with energy diaphragm walls. A 3D FE numerical model reproducing the layout of the planned Mole-Giardini Reali station is used to study the energy exchange potential of the thermoactive walls. The quantification of the exploitable energy to meet the user demands of the station and of buildings above will be discussed on the basis of the results obtained.