Experimental study on thermal performance of quicklime (CaO) energy pile aimed to thaw the warm permafrost ground

•Quicklime (CaO) energy pile was used to thaw the warm permafrost ground.•The same quicklime pile has different thawing effects according to the soil types.•Soil water content remains almost at the same value before and after the experiments.•Distinct energy pile expansions were observed at the end of the experiments.