Validity of Local Thermal Equilibrium Assumption for Heat Transfer in a Saturated Soil Layer
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 5
Abstract
The assumption of local thermal equilibrium (LTE) between solid and fluid phases commonly is used for studies of heat transfer in saturated soil and is valid for a wide range of conditions. However, for certain conditions, the heat transfer process may give rise to local thermal nonequilibrium (LTNE) in which adjacent solid and fluid phases have different temperatures. This note presents the results of a numerical study of the validity of the LTE assumption for one-dimensional heat transfer in a saturated soil layer with fluid flow. For the conditions investigated, the LTE assumption holds for soil with particle sizes smaller than the gravel range. For soil with particles sizes in the gravel range and larger, the LTE assumption may be valid or invalid, depending primarily on fluid discharge velocity, with higher fluid velocity values more likely to produce LTNE conditions.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
Acknowledgments
Financial support for this investigation was provided by Grant No. CMMI-1622781 from the US National Science Foundation and is gratefully acknowledged.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 5 • May 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 2, 2022
Accepted: Jan 4, 2023
Published online: Mar 2, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Aug 2, 2023
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