Factors Influencing Thermal Resistivity of Sands
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 115, Issue 12
Abstract
Although many engineering projects require assessment of the thermal properties of soils for use in heat transfer calculations, geotechnical engineers are often unfamiliar with procedures for measuring these properties. A simple test for measuring the thermal properties of soils, called the “thermal needle” test is described. The apparatus and procedure have been refined to allow measurement of the thermal resistivity of sands for conditions of elevated temperature, water content reduction by stage, drying, and long‐term saturation. Laboratory thermal needle tests were conducted using surge sand, silica sand, and Monterey 60 Sand; it was found that the thermal resistivity decreased with increasing temperature and increasing compaction water content. Also, the thermal resistivity of silica sand decreased with time of saturation. The test results are not only useful for study of thermal geotechnical problems, but could be used to interpret other structural and mechanical property characteristics of sands.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Abdel‐Hadi, O. N. (1979). “Flow of heat and water around underground power cables,” thesis presented to the University of California, at Berkeley, Calif., in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
2.
Blackwell, J. H. (1954). “A transient flow method for determination of thermal constants of insulating materials in bulk,” J. Appl. Phys., 25(2), 137–144.
3.
Brandon, T. L. (1985). “Thermal conductivity and thermal instability of sand,” thesis presented to the University of California, at Berkeley, Calif., in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
4.
Brookes, A. S., and McGrath, M. H. (1960). “Practical application: Trench design and construction.” Part V, AIEE Committee Report, Soil thermal characteristics in relation to underground power cables, AIEE Trans., PAS‐79.
5.
Debye, P. (1914). Vortrange uber die Kinetische Theorie der Materie und Elektriztat. Leibzig und Berlin (in German).
6.
DeVries, D. A. (1952). “A nonstationary method for determining thermal conductivity of soil in situ.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 73(2), 83–89.
7.
Falvey, D. M. (1968). “Increase accuracy of soil measurements.” Electrical World, Nov.
8.
Farouki, O. T. (1966). “Physical properties of granular materials with reference to thermal resistivity.” Proc., 45th Annual Meeting of the Committee of Physico‐Chemical Phenomena in Soils, 25–44.
9.
Farouki, O. T. (1981). “Measurement of thermal properties of soils.” CRREL Monograph 81‐1, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
10.
Farouki, O. T. (1982). “Evaluation of methods for calculating soil thermal conductivity.” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CRREL Report 82‐8.
11.
Flynn, D. R., and Watson, T. W. (1969). “Measurement of the thermal conductivity of soils to high temperatures.” Sandia Laboratories, SC‐CR‐69‐3059.
12.
Hartley, J. G., and Black, W. Z. (1976). “Minimization of measurement errors involved in the probe method of determining soil thermal conductivity.” J. Heat Transfer, 98, Aug., 530–531.
13.
Hooper, F. C., and Lepper, F. R. (1950). “Transient heat flow apparatus for the determination of heating piping and air conditioning.” Trans., American Society of Heating and Ventilation Engineers, 56, 309–324.
14.
Kao, T. C. (1977). “Low thermal resistivity backfills for buried power cable,” thesis presented to the University of California, at Berkeley, Calif., in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
15.
McMillan, J. C. (1985). “A study of heat and moisture flow around hot buried pipes,” thesis presented to the University of California, at Berkeley, Calif., in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
16.
Mitchell, J. K., and Kao, T. C. (1978). “Measurement of soil thermal resistivity.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 104(5), 1307–1320.
17.
Mitchell, J. K., and Solymar, Z. V. (1984). “Time‐dependent strength gain in freshly deposited or densified sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 104(11), 1559–1576.
18.
Mitchell, J. K., Kao, T. C., and Abdel‐Hadi, O. N. (1977). “Backfill materials for underground power cables—Phase I.” EPRI EL‐506, Department of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.
19.
Moench, A. F., and Evans, D. D. (1970). “Thermal conductivity and diffusivity of soil using cylindrical heating source.” Proc., Soil Science Society of America, 34(3), 377–381.
20.
Polivka, M. (1962). “Effect of type of aggregate on shrinkage and cracking characteristics of concrete.” Series 100, Issue 17, Institute of Engineering Research, University of California, Berkeley.
21.
Radhakrishna, H. S., and Steinmanis, J. E. (1981). “Thermal resistivity survey of Lake Erie sediments for the Ontario Hydro‐GPU Interconnection.” Proc. Symp. on Underground Cable Thermal Backfills, Toronto, Canada, Sept. 17–18, 1981, 96–109.
22.
Sepashka, A. R., and Boersma, L. (1979). “Thermal conductivity of soils as a function of temperature and water content.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 43, 434–444.
23.
Smith, W. O. (1942). “The thermal conductivity of dry soil.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 53, 435–459.
24.
Snijders, A. L., et al. (1981). “Moisture migration and drying‐out in sand around heat dissipating cables and ducts.” KEMA/HEIDEMU Report, Arnheim, The Netherlands.
25.
Stalhane, B., and Pyk, S. (1931). “New method for determining the coefficients of thermal conductivity.” Teknisk Tidskift, 61(28), 389–393.
26.
Taylor, R. L. (1975). “HEAT—A finite element computer program for heat conduction analysis.” Report 75‐1, Civ. Engrg. Lab., Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, Calif.
27.
Van Rooyen, M., and Winterkorn, H. F. (1957). “Theoretical and practical aspects of the thermal conductivity of soils and similar granular systems.” Highway Research Board Bulletin, 168.
28.
Wechsler, A. E. (1966). “Development of thermal conductivity probes for soils and insulations.” CRREL Technical Report 182, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
29.
Winterkorn, H. F. (1960). “Behavior of moist soils in a thermal energy field.” Proc., 9th National Conference of Clay and Minerals, Vol. 9, 85–103.
30.
Woodside, W. (1958). “Probe for thermal conductivity measurement of dry and moist materials.” Heat. Piping Air Cond., Sept., 163–170.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1989 ASCE.
History
Published online: Dec 1, 1989
Published in print: Dec 1989
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.