Publication Date:
1988-11-01
Description:
A simple model has been developed that can be used to calculate the soil thermal conductivity and diffusivity on the basis of the following factors: soil porosity; soil water content; conductivity, specific heat, and density of the constituents of soil, i.e., solid matter, water, and air. The model assumes that the void space in soil can be presented by a combination of plane fissures, whose direction is either parallel to the heat flow or perpendicular to it. A coefficient introduced to account for this combination in the two directions can be estimated from measured data as a function of the soil water content. Moreover, it is assumed that air and moisture conduct heat across the fissures in parallel. It is found that soil conductivity and diffusivity increase relatively rapidly with a few percent addition of moisture to entirely dry soil. For instance, assuming a typical soil porosity of 40 percent we conclude that the ratio of soil diffusivities of saturated to dry soil is about four, while that of soild with 2.5 percent moisture content to dry soil is a little over two. That is to say, a small moisture addition to dry soil brings the diffusivity half way to its saturation value. Since soil always contains small amounts of moisture, this finding explains the fact that measured seasonal temperature damping factors in extreme humid and extreme arid climates differ by less than a factor of two even though the moisture content of the respective soils may differ by more than an order of magnitude.
Print ISSN:
0199-6231
Electronic ISSN:
1528-8986
Topics:
Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
