Ground thermal regime simulation by approximating temperature readings on the pile foundation surfaces

This study analyzes various approaches to approximating non-uniform thermal fields on the surface of a ventilated crawl space in buildings with pile foundations built in the permafrost region. Temperature readings show that non-uniform thermal fields are created by possible climatic effects (snow ingress into the ventilated crawl space), or may be artificial (utility accidents resulting in icing in winter and surface temperature changes). The melting of such ice in spring and summer also changes the surface temperature pattern. Correct determination of this surface temperature is important for the simulation of long-term ground temperature variations in the area around a pile foundation, which affects the bearing capacity of the ground. We considered three temperature reading approximation methods: inverse distance weighting, triangulated irregular network, and five radial basis functions. We concluded that using a multiquadric radial basis function for approximation gives the best results, which is confirmed by simulations for a specific residential building in Salekhard.