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An Evaluation on the Thermal Conductivity of Soil: Effect of Density, Water Content and Calcium Concentration

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Abstract

Population expansion is one of the factors that contribute to an increase in the demand for basic necessities including water, food, and energy. These primary requirements have a significant impact on the environment and energy production. With the changes in technology and living conditions, the importance of the thermal conductivity of the soil has increased day by day. This study focuses on discussing the parameters that can affect the thermal conductivity properties of soils using the data obtained from a series of thermal conductivity tests on poorly graded sand from the Tripoli University campus (Libya). In this context, the effect of bulk density, moisture content, and calcium concentration, on the thermal conductivity of soils was investigated through laboratory studies in this study. The thermal conductivity of soil, using a single probe and the Steady-State Heat Flux was determined on three series of soil samples. The test series consists of samples with different water content (W Series), samples with lime added at different rates keeping the water content constant at 10% (L Series), and samples prepared at different densities by keeping the water content constant at 10% (D Series). The series showing the best results regarding the thermal conductivity of the soil is listed as the W series, D series, and L series. The maximum thermal conductivity was obtained with 3.41 W/m.°C in the WTS20 batch in the W series.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

%:

Percent sign

A:

Area

M:

Mass

V:

Volume

N:

Newton

m:

Meter

cm:

Centimeter

mm:

Millimeter

ρ:

Density

ρb :

Wet density

ρd :

Dry density

s:

Seconds

kg:

Kilogram

g:

Gram

\(\mathrm{w}\) :

Water content

oC:

Degrees Celsius

K:

Kelvin

\({q}_{x}\) :

Heat transfer rate in the positive × direction

\(\Delta T\) :

The temperature difference

\(\Delta X\) :

The heat transfer length

k :

Effective thermal conductivity

α:

Thermal diffusivity

Q :

Power

T :

Temperature

Δ:

The change in

W:

Watts

J:

Joule

\({K}_{e}\) :

The thermal conductivity of the soil

GHG:

Green House Gases

CO2 :

Carbon Dioxide

TRT:

Thermal Response Test

ASTM:

American Society for Testing and Materials

ISO:

International Organization for Standardization

BS:

British Standards

DIN:

Deutsches Institut für Normung

GHP:

Guarded Hot Plate

Ca(OH)2 :

Calcium Hydroxide

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Acknowledgements

The author is also very grateful for the significant and constructive comments of the anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Karabük University, 78050, Karabük, Turkey

    İnan Keskin & Ali Mohamed K. Handar

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tripoli University, Tripoli, Libya

    Salah S. Hamuda

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  1. İnan Keskin
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Correspondence to İnan Keskin.

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Keskin, İ., Handar, A.M.K. & Hamuda, S.S. An Evaluation on the Thermal Conductivity of Soil: Effect of Density, Water Content and Calcium Concentration. Int J Civ Eng 21, 665–678 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40999-022-00795-0

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