generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

11
Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity Devendra Narain Singh * , Konchenapalli Devid Department of Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering Division, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India Received 20 April 2000; received in revised form 8 July 2000; accepted 21 July 2000 Abstract Thermal properties of soils are of great importance in view of the subsurface transmission of either heated fluids or high power currents. For these situations, it is essential to estimate the resistance oered by the soil mass in dissipating the heat generated through it. Thermal resistivity of soils is a complex phenomenon that depends upon various parameters, viz., type of the soil, particle size distribution, its compaction characteristics, etc. A laboratory probe has been developed based upon the principle of transient method to measure thermal resistivity of dierent soils for a state of compaction. Based on these results, generalised relationships have been developed, for predicting soil thermal resistivity, and their eciency has been established by comparing the obtained results with those available in literature. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Estimation of thermal properties of geomaterials is very important for civil engineering projects where thermal insulation of several man-made materials and natural geomaterials (viz., soils and rocks) are required. Some of the other applications involving estimation of thermal properties of the geomaterials are: design and laying of high voltage buried power cables [1,2], oil and gas pipe lines [3], nuclear waste disposal facilities [4], ground modification techniques employing heating and freezing [3,5], and soil shrinkage [6], etc. For these sit- uations, it is essential to estimate the resistance oered by the geomaterial in dissipating the heat generated. Soil thermal resistivity is a measure of the resistance oered by the soil to the passage of heat through it. Since the conduction through soil is largely electrolytic, the amount of water present plays an important role in determining its resistivity [7]. If the moisture content of the soil increases, then the resistivity drops [8] because water (resistivity equal to 165°C cm/W) is a good con- ductor. As such, a saturated soil has lower resistivity than dry soil. Various investigators have tried to develop relationships to estimate thermal resistivity of soils in dry and moist states. It has been noticed that, in general, these relationships are either empirical [7–9] or theoret- ical equations [10–12]. As such, it is important to detect and estimate the thermal resistivity of dierent geomaterials. This paper deals with details of the investigations carried out on various soils to estimate their thermal resistivity using a ‘‘laboratory thermal needle’’ referred to as ‘‘laboratory thermal probe’’. Based on the experimental observa- tions, generalized relationships have been developed for estimating thermal resistivity of dierent soils. 2. Factors aecting soil thermal resistivity The thermal resistance of the soil depends on the following factors. 2.1. Type of the soil Type of the soil is an important factor to determine its resistivity. It has been noticed that the soil resistivity gets aected easily by the conditions in which it is formed and its location [13]. 2.2. Moisture content Since the conduction through soil is largely electro- lytic, the amount of water present plays an important role in determining the resistivity. Normally, dry soils exhibit high resisitivity because air, a poor conductor (resistivity equal to 4000°C cm/W), separates the solid grains (resistivity equal to 4°C cm/W) of the soil. If the moisture content of the soil increases, then the resistivity Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133–143 www.elsevier.nl/locate/etfs * Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-22-576-7340; fax: +91-22-576- 7302. E-mail address: [email protected] (D.N. Singh). 0894-1777/00/$ - see front matter Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 8 9 4 - 1 7 7 7 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 2 0 - 0

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Page 1: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

Devendra Narain Singh *, Konchenapalli Devid

Department of Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering Division, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India

Received 20 April 2000; received in revised form 8 July 2000; accepted 21 July 2000

Abstract

Thermal properties of soils are of great importance in view of the subsurface transmission of either heated ¯uids or high power

currents. For these situations, it is essential to estimate the resistance o�ered by the soil mass in dissipating the heat generated

through it. Thermal resistivity of soils is a complex phenomenon that depends upon various parameters, viz., type of the soil, particle

size distribution, its compaction characteristics, etc. A laboratory probe has been developed based upon the principle of transient

method to measure thermal resistivity of di�erent soils for a state of compaction. Based on these results, generalised relationships

have been developed, for predicting soil thermal resistivity, and their e�ciency has been established by comparing the obtained

results with those available in literature. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Estimation of thermal properties of geomaterials isvery important for civil engineering projects wherethermal insulation of several man-made materials andnatural geomaterials (viz., soils and rocks) are required.Some of the other applications involving estimation ofthermal properties of the geomaterials are: design andlaying of high voltage buried power cables [1,2], oil andgas pipe lines [3], nuclear waste disposal facilities [4],ground modi®cation techniques employing heating andfreezing [3,5], and soil shrinkage [6], etc. For these sit-uations, it is essential to estimate the resistance o�eredby the geomaterial in dissipating the heat generated. Soilthermal resistivity is a measure of the resistance o�eredby the soil to the passage of heat through it. Since theconduction through soil is largely electrolytic, theamount of water present plays an important role indetermining its resistivity [7]. If the moisture content ofthe soil increases, then the resistivity drops [8] becausewater (resistivity equal to 165°C cm/W) is a good con-ductor. As such, a saturated soil has lower resistivitythan dry soil. Various investigators have tried to developrelationships to estimate thermal resistivity of soils indry and moist states. It has been noticed that, in general,these relationships are either empirical [7±9] or theoret-ical equations [10±12].

As such, it is important to detect and estimate thethermal resistivity of di�erent geomaterials. This paperdeals with details of the investigations carried out onvarious soils to estimate their thermal resistivity using a``laboratory thermal needle'' referred to as ``laboratorythermal probe''. Based on the experimental observa-tions, generalized relationships have been developed forestimating thermal resistivity of di�erent soils.

2. Factors a�ecting soil thermal resistivity

The thermal resistance of the soil depends on thefollowing factors.

2.1. Type of the soil

Type of the soil is an important factor to determineits resistivity. It has been noticed that the soil resistivitygets a�ected easily by the conditions in which it isformed and its location [13].

2.2. Moisture content

Since the conduction through soil is largely electro-lytic, the amount of water present plays an importantrole in determining the resistivity. Normally, dry soilsexhibit high resisitivity because air, a poor conductor(resistivity equal to 4000°C cm/W), separates the solidgrains (resistivity equal to 4°C cm/W) of the soil. If themoisture content of the soil increases, then the resistivity

Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143

www.elsevier.nl/locate/etfs

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-22-576-7340; fax: +91-22-576-

7302.

E-mail address: [email protected] (D.N. Singh).

0894-1777/00/$ - see front matter Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

PII: S 0 8 9 4 - 1 7 7 7 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 2 0 - 0

Page 2: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

drops because water (resistivity equal to 165°C cm/W) isa good conductor. As such, a saturated soil has lowerresistivity than dry soil. The resistivity at ®rst falls rap-idly as the moisture content is increased, but beyondcertain moisture content, the rate of decrease becomesmuch less.

2.3. Particle size, distribution and closeness of packing ofthe grains

The particle size and its distribution have an e�ect onthe manner in which the moisture is held. With largesized grains, the pore space available will be higher (dueto the presence of air) resulting in higher resistivity orlower conductance. Hence, the dry soils have high re-sistivity values. However, for well-graded soil, highersoil density can be achieved by compaction (the spacebetween the large grains gets occupied by the smallerones and hence resistivity reduces). Also, if the size andshape of grains is such that they form a compact densestructure, then the resistivity of the soil decreases.

3. Measurement of thermal resistivity

Soil resistivity for di�erent soils has been obtainedwith the help of a laboratory thermal needle which isdeveloped based on ``transient needle method'' [14]. Forthe sake of completeness, the principle of operation isbeing presented herein.

A thermal needle (or a probe) approximates a linesource of heat input of Q per unit length, of constantstrength, in an in®nite homogeneous soil mediummaintained at uniform temperature, initially. Tempera-ture at any point in the soil medium mainly depends onthe duration of heating (time) and the soil thermalconductivity. In the mathematical form, the same can bepresented as

ohot� a

o2hor2

�� 1

rohor

�; �1�

where h is temperature of the soil mass, t the time ofheating, a the thermal di�usivity constant (� k=cCp), kcorresponds to the thermal conductivity of the soil, Cp

the speci®c heat of the soil, c the unit weight of the soil,and r is the radial distance from the heat source.

Thus the temperature rise, Dh, between the times t1

and t2 may be represented as

Dh � Q4pk

� �loge

t2

t1

� �: �2�

As such, a plot of temperature against log of time showsa straight portion of slope �Q=4pk�. It will be noted thatthe average property of the body entering this expres-sion is the thermal conductivity, and that the otherterms in Eq. (2) are quantities readily measurable, withthe thermal probe fabricated. Such an arrangement hasbeen shown in Fig. 1. This method can be employed forestimation of thermal resistivity values of wet or dry soilsamples with equal precision. Also, the probe is compactand portable. It is relatively inexpensive to fabricate andoperate. Another advantage is that the tests can beconducted in a short time, and the operator requireslittle skill or training. And last but not least the requiredcalculations are not complicated.

The probe consists of insulated nichrome heater wireinserted in a copper tube of 14 cm length and externaldiameter equal to 2.5 mm. A thermocouple is attachedon the surface of the tube (Fig. 1). The calibration ofthis probe has been done using a standard liquid glyc-erol with thermal resistivity equal to 349°C cm/W. Thethermal resistivity value of the glycerol as measured bythis probe is observed to be 357:52°C cm/W, with asmall deviation of only 2.4%.

A metal container (12.6 cm long and 10.1 cm diam-eter) is used to prepare the samples of soils corre-sponding to a particular dry-density. A 3 mm diameter

Nomenclaturea; b; c parameters having dependence on type of the

soilCp speci®c heat of the soilDx particle size ®ner than x%G speci®c gravity of the soilk thermal conductivity of the soilM soil mixPI plasticity index of the soilQ heat input per unit length

R soil thermal resistivityr radial distance from the heat sourcet time of heatingw moisture contentwl liquid limit of the soilwp plastic limit of the soilh temperature of the soil massa thermal di�usivity constant (� k=cCp)c unit weight of the soil

Fig. 1. Laboratory thermal needle probe.

134 D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143

Page 3: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

hole is drilled in the soil sample and the thermal probe istightly ®t into it. The probe is allowed to achieve ther-mal equilibrium in the soil mass (which takes approxi-mately 5 min) then the power supply to the probe isswitched on. The temperature of the probe is recordedas a function of time to compute the soil thermal resis-tivity.

4. Soil properties

Thermal resistivities of clay (black cotton soil), silt(¯y ash), silty-sand, ®ne-sand, coarse-sand have beenobtained. Black cotton soil, ¯y ash and the ®ne-sandhave been mixed (by their weight %) and ®ve mixes (M1,M2, M3, M4 and M5) have also been tested for theirthermal resistivity. The soil properties of these soils andmixes are presented in Table 1 and their gradationcharacteristics are depicted in Figs. 2 and 3.

5. Experimental results and discussions

Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture contentfor black cotton soil, ¯y ash, silty-sand, ®ne-sand,coarse-sand and mixes (M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5) arepresented in Figs. 4±13, respectively [15,16].

From the resistivity vs moisture content trends(curves), it can be observed, in general, that resistivitydecreases as the moisture content of the soil increases,for a given compaction state of the soil. As water isadded to the soil, it forms a thin ®lm on the soilparticles which eases the ¯ow of heat. This may beattributed to the fact that the thermal resistivity ofair (� 4000°C cm/W) is higher than that of water(� 165°C cm/W).

Figs. 4±13 also exhibit a reduction in the thermalresistivity of the soil with increasing density. This is dueto the improvement in contact between soil particles,

which leads to better conduction of heat. This indicatesthat for given moisture content, an increase in density(of the soil) indicates an increase in its degree of satu-ration, which indicates less air to resist heat ¯ow. Fur-ther, when the dry-density of the soil is increased, someof the air is replaced with additional water. With less airin the voids, the soil conducts heat better due to thefollowing reasons:1. More heat is conducted through the individual soil

grains because there are more of them to conductheat.

2. More heat is conducted through the water alone be-cause both the volume and the continuity of the waterincrease.

3. More heat is conducted between the soil grainsthrough the interstitial water because there is lessair and more water between the particles.

Since the soil grains are better conductors of heatthan water, the biggest gains in heat conductivity comefrom adding enough water to provide an e�cienttransmission path from one soil grain to anotherthrough a separating layer of water. That is why resis-tivity drops rapidly at low moisture contents. Figs. 4±13also indicate that as the addition of water is continued,the soil continues to gain conductivity because the soilgrains are connected to each other more completely bythe water, but the rate of gain slows down. At somepoint, the voids between particles are almost completely®lled with water and little additional drop in resistivityaccrues from squeezing out the last little bit of air. Thisis where the curve reaches an asymptote as has beentermed as the ``critical moisture content'' of a soil (aspresented in Table 2).

Table 2 indicates that for ®ne-grained soils (clay andsilts) the critical moisture contents are very high(15±30%). This indicates that more quantity of water isrequired (due to their high speci®c surface) to coat allsoil particles and hence to provide an e�cient path forheat transfer between soil grains.

Table 1

Soil properties of various soils

Soil type G Cu Cc wl wp

Clay (black cotton

Soil)

2.72 ± ± 67 34

Silt (¯y ash) 2.14 ± ± ± ±

Silty-sand 2.78 ± ± 41 28

Fine-sand 2.65 ± ± ± ±

Coarse-sand 2.63 ± ± ± ±

M1 2.53 2.65 0.78 ± ±

M2 2.55 30.69 5.92 ± ±

M3 2.61 5.40 0.39 ± ±

M4 2.55 9.53 1.35 ± ±

M5 2.47 23.24 3.90 ± ±

Sand Maximum void

ratio

Minimum void

ratio

Maximum dry-density

(g/cc)

Minimum dry-density

(g/cc)

Bulking moisture

(%)

Fine 0.782 0.54 1.72 1.48 4.0

Coarse 0.765 0.623 1.62 1.49 4.0

D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143 135

Page 4: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

Fig. 4. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for black

cotton soil.

Fig. 5. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for

¯yash.

Fig. 2. Particle size distribution curves for di�erent soils.

Fig. 3. Particle size distribution curves for soil mixes.

136 D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143

Page 5: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

Fig. 7. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for ®ne-

sand.

Fig. 8. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for

coarse-sand.

Fig. 9. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for soil

mix M1.

Fig. 6. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for silty-

sand.

D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143 137

Page 6: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

Fig. 11. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for soil

mix M3.

Fig. 12. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for soil

mix M4.Fig. 10. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for soil

mix M2.

Fig. 13. Variation of thermal resistivity with moisture content for soil

mix M5.

138 D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143

Page 7: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

6. Proposed generalized relationships for estimating soilthermal resistivity

Based on the experimental results, the followingempirical relations have been developed.

6.1. Dry (single-phase) soils

For dry soils (single-phase), the following relation-ship to estimate soil resistivity is being proposed:

1=R � a� � 10�0:6243cÿ3��: �3�

6.2. Moist (single-phase) soils

6.2.1. Clays and siltsTo obtain resistivity of moist clays and silts (single-

phase), the following relationships are being proposed:

I=R � b� � 10�0:6243cÿ3��; �4�

I=R � 1:07 log�w�� � c� 10�0:6243cÿ3�� �; �5�

where R is the soil thermal resistivity (°C cm/W), w themoisture content (%) and c is the dry-density of the soil(g/cc). Parameters a, b and c depend on the type of thesoil and its moisture content and their values are pre-sented in Tables 3±5, respectively.

6.2.2. Silts and sandsEq. (5) can also be used to predict resistivity of silts

and sands.In order to facilitate computation of thermal resis-

tivity of a multi-phase soil system, generalized rela-tionships have been developed, assuming that soilconsists of ®ve-phase system (clay silts, silty-sand, ®ne-sand and coarse-sand). For a naturally occurring soil,the resistivity of di�erent phases is calculated by usingEqs. (3)±(5). These resistivity values are multiplied bycertain weights, which can be computed on the basis oftheir phase fraction. The weights assigned to di�erentsingle-phase soils can be obtained as follows:

For clay and silt phase.

Weight � �phase %�; when 5 P w�%�P 2; �6�

Weight � minimum of the �absolute c value or phase %�;when w�%� > 5: �7�

Silty-sand, ®ne-sand and coarse-sand.

Weight � �phase%� c of the phase�� phase %; when w�%� > 1; �8�

Weight � a of the phase; when w�%� < 1 �dry soils�:�9�

However, if a certain phase is absent, the weight for thephase is assigned as zero. Sum of the resistivity values,so obtained, yields the thermal resistivity of the natu-rally occurring soil (or a soil mix).

7. Validation of proposed equations

To demonstrate the utility and e�ciency of Eqs. (3)±(9), for predicting soil thermal resistivity, the obtainedresults have been tested against the experimental ob-servations for single-phase soils [15] and multi-phasesoils [16] and the results are presented in Tables 6 and 7.These tables also present the absolute percentage

Table 3

Value of a for various soils

Soil type a

Clays 0.219

Silts

Silty-sand 0.385

Fine-sand 0.340

Coarse-sand 0.480

Table 4

Value of b for clays and silts

w �%� Type of soil b

4 > w P 2 Clays 0.243

Silts 0.254

5 P w > 4 Clays 0.276

Silts 0.302

Table 5

Value of c for various soils

Soil type c w �%�Clays ÿ0.73 > 5

Silt (¯y ash) ÿ0.54

Silty-sand 0.12 P 1

Fine-sand 0.70

Coarse-sand 0.73

Table 2

Range of critical moisture content for various soils

Soil type Critical moisture content (%)

Clay (black cotton soil) 25±30

Silt (¯y ash) 20±25

Silty-sand 15±20

Fine-sand 2±3

Coarse-sand 2±3

M1 25±30

M2 30±35

M3 12±16

M4 15±20

M5 20±25

D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143 139

Page 8: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

Table 6

Summary of resistivity values �°C cm/W) of single-phase soils

Soil type Dry-density (g/cc) Moisture content (%) Experimental results [15] Proposed equations % Di�erence

Clay (black cotton) 1.00 0.0 1157.420 1084.615 6.29

1.00 5.0 816.070 860.619 5.45

1.00 10.0 700.620 698.620 0.28

1.00 15.0 499.400 449.513 9.98

1.00 20.0 402.160 358.752 10.79

1.00 25.0 300.780 310.175 3.12

1.00 30.0 280.750 279.277 0.52

1.10 0.0 1001.880 939.394 6.24

1.10 5.0 681.00 745.388 9.45

1.10 10.0 524.060 605.080 15.46

1.10 15.0 442.650 389.327 12.04

1.10 20.0 322.280 310.718 3.58

1.10 25.0 275.810 268.645 2.59

1.10 30.0 257.810 241.884 6.17

1.20 0.0 762.270 813.616 6.73

1.20 5.0 567.500 645.587 13.75

1.20 10.0 480.620 524.064 9.04

1.20 15.0 346.180 337.199 2.59

1.20 20.0 306.870 269.115 12.30

1.20 25.0 259.460 232.675 10.32

1.20 30.0 231.200 209.497 9.38

1.30 0.0 700.620 704.679 0.57

1.30 5.0 482.380 559.148 15.91

1.30 10.0 392.350 453.896 15.68

1.30 15.0 314.500 292.050 7.13

1.30 20.0 290.000 233.083 19.62

1.30 25.0 233.810 201.522 13.80

1.30 30.0 217.190 181.447 16.45

1.40 0.0 574.510 610.328 6.23

1.40 5.0 448.330 484.28 8.01

1.40 10.0 340.500 393.123 15.45

1.40 15.0 316.670 252.947 20.12

1.40 20.0 246.620 201.875 18.14

1.40 25.0 230.410 174.540 24.24

1.40 30.0 203.180 157.153 22.65

Silty-sand 1.30 0.0 409.10 400.843 2.01

1.30 7.0 288.890 150.670 47.84

1.30 14.0 137.470 114.624 16.61

1.30 22.0 96.890 99.155 2.33

1.30 22.7 87.340 98.121 12.34

1.30 32.2 86.900 88.978 2.39

1.40 0.0 340.100 347.174 2.07

1.40 5.0 249.230 154.006 38.20

1.40 10.2 150.250 111.290 25.93

1.40 15.0 99.980 96.967 3.01

1.40 22.3 74.390 85.442 14.86

1.40 30.4 74.040 78.296 5.74

Fine-sand 1.50 0.0 332.170 340.487 2.50

1.50 2.0 93.780 113.262 20.77

1.50 4.0 63.620 86.122 35.36

1.50 6.0 70.310 75.534 7.42

1.50 8.0 63.400 69.474 9.58

1.60 0.0 265.850 294.898 10.92

1.60 2.0 85.650 98.097 14.53

1.60 4.0 58.260 74.591 28.03

1.60 6.0 55.820 65.420 17.19

1.60 8.0 48.240 60.172 24.73

1.72 0.0 264.190 248.175 6.06

1.72 2.0 76.970 82.555 7.25

1.72 4.0 41.510 62.773 51.22

1.72 7.0 37.980 52.597 38.48

140 D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143

Page 9: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

Table 6 (Continued)

Soil type Dry-density (g/cc) Moisture content (%) Experimental results [15] Proposed equations % Di�erence

1.72 9.0 34.390 49.028 42.56

1.72 11.0 38.420 46.508 21.05

Coarse-sand 1.50 0.0 263.480 241.178 8.46

1.50 1.0 156.290 158.583 1.46

1.50 2.0 149.900 110.032 26.59

1.50 3.0 99.550 93.320 6.25

1.50 4.0 82.720 84.242 1.83

1.50 5.0 86.950 78.331 9.91

1.50 6.0 79.990 74.084 7.38

1.60 0.0 182.520 208.886 14.44

1.60 1.0 138.130 137.550 0.56

1.60 2.0 111.670 95.300 14.65

1.60 3.0 81.700 80.825 1.07

1.60 4.0 79.030 72.962 7.67

1.60 5.0 80.800 67.843 16.03

1.60 6.0 77.390 64.164 17.09

Fly ash 1.00 0.0 1104.360 1089.591 1.33

1.00 5.0 749.100 786.526 4.99

1.00 10.0 448.330 448.171 0.03

1.00 15.0 412.010 330.630 19.75

1.00 20.0 340.500 278.758 18.13

1.00 25.0 254.240 248.516 2.25

1.00 30.0 268.990 228.281 15.13

1.00 35.0 242.890 213.577 12.06

1.10 0.0 925.000 943.703 2.02

1.10 5.0 610.630 681.216 11.55

1.10 10.0 363.200 388.164 6.87

1.10 15.0 326.880 286.361 12.39

1.10 20.0 265.590 241.435 9.09

1.10 25.0 246.300 215.241 12.61

1.10 30.0 241.760 197.715 18.21

Table 7

Summary of thermal resistivity values (°C cm/W) of multi-phase soils

Soil type Dry-density (g/cc) Moisture content (%) Experimental results [16] Proposed equations % Di�erence

M1 1.33 0.0 458.379 443.433 3.26

1.33 5.0 407.448 310.757 23.73

1.33 10.0 329.189 285.071 13.40

1.33 15.0 279.180 209.794 24.85

1.33 20.0 256.150 179.067 30.09

1.33 25.0 223.330 161.517 27.67

1.40 0.0 408.390 400.986 1.812

1.40 5.0 358.420 281.009 21.59

1.40 10.0 281.320 257.782 8.36

1.40 15.0 246.450 189.712 23.02

1.40 20.0 215.550 161.926 24.87

1.40 25.0 195.890 146.056 25.43

M2 1.30 0.0 484.440 462.974 4.43

1.30 5.0 365.759 306.331 16.24

1.30 10.0 303.330 315.654 4.06

1.30 20.0 212.4133 184.813 12.99

1.30 25.0 196.430 164.699 16.15

1.30 30.0 184.930 151.571 18.03

1.38 0.0 413.520 412.681 0.20

1.38 5.0 319.330 273.054 14.49

1.38 10.0 280.170 281.097 0.33

1.38 20.0 200.140 164.736 17.68

1.38 25.0 188.310 146.807 22.03

1.38 30.0 180.590 135.106 25.18

D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143 141

Page 10: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

di�erence of the obtained results with respect to theexperimental results. It can be observed from these ta-bles that the absolute percentage di�erence is less than15±20%, for most of the cases studied.

As depicted in Table 8, the validation of the proposedequations has also been carried out by comparing theobtained results with the experimental results availablein the literature [2]. From the table, it can be noticed

Table 7 (Continued)

Soil type Dry-density (g/cc) Moisture content (%) Experimental results [16] Proposed equations % Di�erence

M3 1.43 0.0 369.570 384.061 3.92

1.43 4.0 264.010 323.518 22.54

1.43 6.0 234.197 282.100 20.45

1.43 8.0 220.180 188.693 14.30

1.43 10.0 210.310 160.174 23.83

1.43 12.0 200.310 144.840 27.69

1.43 15.0 196.526 130.949 33.36

1.48 0.0 315.180 357.426 13.40

1.48 4.0 240.110 301.082 25.39

1.48 6.0 218.340 262.536 20.24

1.48 8.0 211.330 175.607 16.90

1.48 10.0 202.430 149.065 26.36

1.48 12.0 195.310 134.795 30.98

1.48 15.0 194.210 121.867 37.24

M4 1.31 10.0 305.466 340.985 11.62

1.31 12.0 264.749 281.476 6.31

1.31 15.0 229.470 233.519 1.76

1.31 17.0 219.589 213.663 2.69

1.31 20.0 219.589 192.790 12.20

1.31 25.0 208.485 170.435 18.25

1.40 10.0 258.380 299.606 15.95

1.40 12.0 230.110 247.318 7.47

1.40 15.0 220.330 205.181 6.87

1.40 17.0 205.310 187.375 8.73

1.40 20.0 195.320 169.394 13.27

1.40 25.0 181.310 149.753 17.40

M5 1.20 8.0 402.560 454.288 12.84

1.20 10.0 369.980 345.600 6.58

1.20 12.0 321.120 292.486 8.91

1.20 15.0 250.960 247.535 1.36

1.20 20.0 194.580 208.285 7.04

1.20 25.0 184.670 186.152 0.80

1.30 8.0 344.980 393.462 14.05

1.30 10.0 308.599 299.327 3.00

1.30 12.0 277.841 253.064 8.91

1.30 15.0 205.068 214.392 4.54

1.30 20.0 184.340 180.397 2.13

1.30 25.0 182.330 161.228 11.57

Table 8

Thermal resistivity (°C cm/W) of nine soil samples

Soil Coarse-sand (%) Fine-sand (%) Silt (%) Clay (%) cd (g/cc) OMC (%) R

[2] Proposed equations

OMC Dry OMC Dry

1 39.2 47.3 7.0 6.5 1.845 13.3 41.2 194 68.9 211

2 36.8 48.7 7.0 7.5 1.746 9.3 52.5 234 91.8 243

3 26.9 58.1 7.4 7.6 1.970 9.7 37.5 155 65.6 176

4 38.0 46.5 9.0 6.5 1.778 14.0 44.8 220 75.4 232

5 27.1 62.4 5.5 5.0 1.621 16.1 54.3 290 87.9 291

6 13.9 71.6 7.0 7.5 1.951 8.8 39.6 162 70.0 181

7 13.5 70.0 8.5 8.0 1.743 9.8 51.8 235 91.6 244

8 10.9 73.1 8.5 7.5 1.570 10.0 66.1 332 116.0 314

9 28.5 62.0 5.0 4.5 1.719 11.7 51.2 246 88.2 253

142 D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143

Page 11: Generalized relationships for estimating soil thermal resistivity

that the proposed equations predict resistivity values,which are very close to the experimental results, par-ticularly when the test is conducted for the dry state ofthe soils. However, it must be noticed that the clayfraction (<0.005 mm, as speci®ed by William et al. [2])which is greater than 0.002 mm has been considered asthe silt.

8. Conclusions

Based on the results and discussions presented above,following generalized conclusions can be made:1. The laboratory probe can be used very e�ciently for

estimating thermal resistivity of di�erent soils.2. Generalized relationships have been developed to es-

timate soil thermal resistivity of single-phase soils.3. The proposed equations are found to be very e�cient

when the obtained results (for both single- and multi-phase soils) are compared with the results obtained byconducting laboratory investigations.

References

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D.N. Singh, K. Devid / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 22 (2000) 133±143 143