Abstract
We present new measurements on the thermal properties of granitic rocks collected from a nearly 1000-m deep well in Central Portugal, using a transient plane source technique with a hot disk sensor. At room-temperature, the granite has, on average, a thermal conductivity of 3.1 W m−1 K−1, a thermal diffusivity of 1.6 × 10−6 m2 s−1, a heat capacity of 1.9 × 106 J m−3 K−1 and a specific heat of 720.7 J kg−1 K−1. A nearly uniform distribution of thermal conductivity values was obtained across the well. We found that as temperature increases from 20 to 120 °C, the thermal conductivity decreases from 9 to 16%. Linear, exponential, power and logarithmic functions were used to fit the dataset and their validity studied by error analyses. This made it possible to obtain empirical relationships to extrapolate thermal conductivity from room temperature to higher temperatures. The application of these relationships to our dataset leads to a decrease in thermal conductivity of 17 to 19% within the temperature range of 20 to 200 °C. These temperature corrections for thermal conductivity will be used in future studies to calculate geotherms and to assess the deep geothermal potential in central Portugal.
Resumen
Este trabajo presenta nuevas mediciones de las propiedades térmicas de rocas graníticas recolectadas en un pozo de aproximadamente 1000 m de profundidad en el centro de Portugal. Las mediciones se realizaron utilizando una técnica transitoria (transient plane source) con un sensor hot disk. A temperatura ambiente, las muestras graníticas tienen, en promedio, una conductividad térmica de 3.1 W m−1 K−1, una difusividad térmica de 1.6 × 10−6 m2 s−1, una capacidad de calor de 1.9 × 106 J m−3 K−1 y un calor específico de 720.7 J kg−1 K−1. En todo el pozo se obtuvo una distribución casi uniforme de los valores de conductividad térmica. Medidas de conductividad térmica en función de la temperatura, mostraron que a medida que la temperatura aumenta de 20 a 120 ºC, la conductividad térmica disminuye de 9 a 16%. Se utilizaron funciones lineales, exponenciales, potenciales y logarítmicas para ajustar el conjunto de datos y su validez estudiada por el análisis de errores. Esto posibilitó la obtención de relaciones empíricas para extrapolar la conductividad térmica de la temperatura ambiente a temperaturas más altas. La aplicación de estas relaciones a nuestro conjunto de datos conduce a una disminución de la conductividad térmica de 17 a 19% dentro de la gama de temperatura de 20 a 200 ºC. Estas correcciones de temperatura para la conductividad térmica serán utilizadas en estudios futuros para calcular el campo de temperatura en profundidad y para evaluar el potencial geotérmico profundo en el centro de Portugal.
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Acknowledgements
This work has been framed under the Initiative Energy for Sustainability of the University of Coimbra and supported by the Energy and Mobility for Sustainable Regions Project (CENTRO/07-0224-FEDER-002004), co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the « Programa Operacional Regional do Centro 2007–2013 (PORC) » , in the framework of the « Sistema de Apoio a Entidades do Sistema Científico e Tecnológico Nacional » , and by the « Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia » . The authors would like to acknowledge Prof. José António Simões Cortez and Municipality of Almeida for allowing the study of the borehole core and Telma Matias for the technical support during thermal properties measurements. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for providing constructive suggestions that helped in improvement this manuscript.
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Miranda, M.M., Matos, C.R., Rodrigues, N.V. et al. Effect of temperature on the thermal conductivity of a granite with high heat production from Central Portugal. J Iber Geol 45, 147–161 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41513-018-0096-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41513-018-0096-9