Experimental Investigation on Thermal and Electrical Properties of Binary Soil Mixtures
Publication: Geo-Congress 2023
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the effect of the percentage (f) of finer particles on thermal and electrical properties of binary soil mixtures via well-controlled laboratory tests. Binary mixtures of a fine silica sand (Ottawa F-55 sand) and a medium-coarse sand (ASTM 20/30 sand) were deposited at eight different mixing ratios in a custom-built soil box via air pluviation. After deposition, a thermal needle was inserted into the dry mixture sample to measure thermal conductivity. The thermal needle was then removed, and the mixture sample was saturated with a 0.1% NaCl solution. After completion of the saturation process, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of the saturated mixture sample were measured using a Nilsson meter and a thermal needle, respectively. Results from a series of laboratory tests showed that the void ratios of the binary soil mixtures initially decreased with the increasing percentage of finer particles and achieved the densest condition at f = 30%, but further increase in f led to an increase of void ratio. Both thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity increased as f increased, peaked at about f = 30%–50%, and then decreased. Also, the thermal conductivity in the saturated condition was about 8.3 times that in the dry condition.
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Geo-Congress 2023
Pages: 533 - 540
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Published online: Mar 23, 2023
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