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Method to Estimate Thermal Conductivity of Subsurface Media
Author(s) -
Karimi Askarani Kayvan,
Gallo Sam,
Kirkman Andrew J.,
Sale Tom C.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
groundwater monitoring and remediation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-6592
pISSN - 1069-3629
DOI - 10.1111/gwmr.12419
Subject(s) - thermal conductivity , thermal conductivity measurement , thermal , heat transfer , groundwater , line source , environmental science , soil thermal properties , range (aeronautics) , soil science , materials science , geotechnical engineering , geology , thermodynamics , hydraulic conductivity , soil water , optics , composite material , physics
Thermal conductivity is an essential parameter in heat transfer models including soil‐water systems. Herein, an Internet of Things (IoT) tool and a computational method are advanced for vertically resolving in situ thermal conductivity values in soil‐groundwater systems. A demonstrative application of this approach at a former petroleum refinery is presented. A line heat source is co‐located with a vertical string of in situ temperature sensors. Five‐minute multiple level temperature data were collected before, during, and after a 100‐min long heating period. Vertically distributed temperature data are transformed into vertically discretized thermal conductivity values using an analytical solution. Results fall in the range of thermal conductivity values reported in the literature. Specifically, estimated thermal conductivity values from 0.3 to 7.3 m below ground surface range between 0.7 and 5.4 (W/m/C) with the highest values occurring in media with greater water content. Overall, the advanced method in this study provides a pragmatic approach for vertically resolving subsurface thermal conductivity values applicable for many scientific disciplines.