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Measurement of Soil Thermal Properties with a Dual‐Probe Heat‐Pulse Technique
Author(s) -
Bristow Keith L.,
Kluitenberg Gerard J.,
Horton Robert
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1994.03615995005800050002x
Subject(s) - thermal diffusivity , soil thermal properties , thermal conduction , thermal conductivity , line source , volumetric heat capacity , thermal , materials science , pulse (music) , instrumentation (computer programming) , pulse duration , environmental science , soil science , heat transfer , soil water , mechanics , thermodynamics , optics , heat flux , composite material , physics , detector , computer science , laser , field capacity , operating system
Although soil thermal properties are required in many areas of engineering, micrometeorology, agronomy, and soil science, they are seldom measured on a routine basis. Reasons for this are unclear, but may be related to a lack of suitable instrumentation and appropriate theory. We developed a theory for the radial conduction of a short‐duration heat pulse away from an infinite line source, and compared it with the theory for an instantaneously heated line source. By measuring the temperature response at a short distance from the line source, and applying short‐duration heat‐pulse theory, we can extract all the soil thermal properties, the thermal diffusivity, heat capacity, and conductivity, from a single heat‐pulse measurement. Results of initial experiments carried out on air‐dry sand and clay materials indicate that this heat‐pulse method yields soil thermal properties that compare well with thermal properties measured by independent methods.