• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.39 no.9
• /
• pp.5-11
• /
• 2023

In analyzing geotechnical structures, the analysis fields are becoming increasingly diversified. In particular, the need for predicting the thermal behavior of ground materials has become important in fields related to soil freezing. To ensure a reliable assessment of the freezing behavior of the ground, considering the variation in the effective thermal conductivity of soil specimens under various conditions is crucial. In this study, probe experiments were conducted by varying the porosity, initial degree of saturation, and read time settings of the meter. Next, the factors influencing the effective thermal conductivity of the frozen sandy soil were evaluated. The experimental results conducted under different porosity conditions showed a tendency for the effective thermal conductivity of frozen soil to increase as the specimen's porosity decreased. However, as the degree of saturation of the specimen increased, the effective thermal conductivity also increased. The sensitivity of the meter's read time setting to the measurement of effective thermal conductivity was observed. When the read time was set to 1 min, the measured values were in a range similar to that obtained in previous studies conducted in Korea with the same soil specimen.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.68-74
• /
• 2012

Investigation of the effective soil thermal conductivity($k$) is the first step in designing the ground loop heat exchanger(borehole) of a geothermal heat pump system. Another important factor is the borehole thermal resistance($R_b$). Thermal response tests offer a good method to determine the ground thermal properties for the total heat transport in the ground. The first step is measured for initial soil temperature. This is done by supplying a only pump power into a borehole heat exchanger. They need to supply into water unload heat power more than 30 minutes. In this study, the initial soil temperature was found to analysis $14.1{\sim}16.0^{\circ}C$,the ratio was 68.7% represented. In this case of $k$, was 2.1~3.0 $W/m{\cdot}k$, $R_b$ was 0.11~0.20 $m{\cdot}K/W$. In this work, it is also shown that the distribution of a soil thermal conductivity and borehole thermal resistance were on the influence of initial soil temperature. And soil thermal conductivity was related with factors of equation by linear least square method, borehole thermal resistance was on the influence of composite factors.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.11 no.6
• /
• pp.771-785
• /
• 2016

The thermal conductivity of soils is an important property in energy-related geotechnical structures, such as underground heat pumps and underground electric power cable tunnels. This study explores the effects of geotechnical engineering properties on the thermal conductivity of soils. The thermal conductivities of quartz sands and Korean weathered silty sands were documented via a series of laboratory experiments, and its variations with effective stress, porosity, and water saturation were examined. While thermal conductivity was found to increase with an increase in the effective stress and water saturation and with a decrease in porosity, replacing air by water in pores the most predominantly enhanced the thermal conductivity by almost one order of magnitude. In addition, we have suggested an improved model for thermal conductivity prediction, based on water saturation, dry thermal conductivity, saturated thermal conductivity, and a fitting parameter that represents the curvature of the thermal conductivity-water saturation relation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.93-107
• /
• 2013

Thermal conduction of the particulate composites or granular materials can be widely used in porous materials and geotechnical engineering. And it has continued to develop "effective thermal conductivity" of medium by modeling energy relationship among particles in medium. This study focuses on the development of the effective thermal conductivity at the unsaturated conditions of soils using the modified network model approach assisted by synthetic 3D random packed systems (DEM method, Discrete Element Method) at the particle scale. To verify the network model, three kinds of glass beads and the Jumunjin sand are used to obtain experimental values at various unsaturated conditions. The PPE (Pressure Plate Extractor) test is then performed to obtain SWCC (Soil-Water Characteristic Curve) of soil samples. In the modified network model, SWCC is used to adjust the equivalent radius of thermal cylinder at contact area between particles. And cutoff range parameter to define the effective zone is also adjusted according to the SWCC at given conditions. From a series of laboratory tests and the proposed network model, the modified network model which adopts a SWCC shows a good agreement in modeling thermal conductivity of granular soils at given conditions. And an empirical correlation between the fraction of the mean radius (${\chi}$) and thermal conductivity at given saturated condition is provided, which can be used to expect thermal conductivity of the granular soils, to estimate thermal conductivity of granular soils.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.80-86
• /
• 2011

Investigation of the effective soil thermal conductivity(k) is the first step in designing the ground loop heat exchanger(borehole) of a geothermal heat pump system. Another important factor is the borehole thermal resistance($R_b$). Thermal response tests offer a good method to determine the ground thermal properties for the total heat transport in the ground. This is done by supplying a constant heat power into a borehole heat exchanger. There are two methods to supply a constant heat power. One is to employ the electricity provided by Korea Electric Power Corporation(KEPCO). The other is to use electricity generated by a generator. In this study, the power supply regulation was found to reduce when the electricity generated by the generator was used. This is because the generator evaluated with the power supply characteristically reduces the power supply regulation between an overload and a complex using. But it sometimes occurs a power supply regulation in In-situ thermal response test. In this case getting of k,$R_b$ requires delay times and restored normal state. However, the effect of the delay times and restored normal state on the soil thermal conductivity and borehole thermal resistance is very small. Therefore it is possible to use a generally accepted delay times and restored normal state in the analysis. In this work, it is also shown that an acceptable range of ${\Delta}k$, ${\Delta}R_b$ for normal state and regulation state might be approximately 0.01-0.16W/m k, and -0.004-0.007m K/W, respectively. Thus, restored normal state of power supply regulation is valuable to recommend.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.91-98
• /
• 2010

The effective thermal conductivity of porous materials is usually determined by porosity, water content, and the conductivity of the matrix. In addition, it is also affected by the internal structure of the materials such as the size, arrangement, and connectivity of the matrix-forming grains. Based on the structural models for multi-phase materials, thermal conductivities of soils and sands measured with varying the water content were analyzed. Thermal conductivities of dry samples were likely to fall in the region between the Maxwell-Eucken model with air as the continuous phase and the matrix as the dispersed phase ($ME_{air}$) and the co-continuous (CC) model. However, water-saturated samples moved down to the region between the $ME_{wat}$ model and the series model. The predictive inconsistency of the structural models for dry and water-saturated samples may be caused by the increase of porosity for water-saturated samples, which leads to decrease of connectivity among the grains of matrix. In cases of variably saturated samples with a uniform grain size, the thermal conductivity showed progressive changes of the structural models from the $ME_{air}$ model to the $ME_{wat}$ model depending on the water content. Especially, an abrupt increase found in 0-20% of the water content, showing transition from the $ME_{air}$ model to the CC model, can be attributed to change of water from the dispersed to continuous phase. On the contrary, the undisturbed soil samples with various sizes of grains showed a gradual increase of conductivity during the transition from the $ME_{air}$ model to the CC model.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.71-78
• /
• 2010

Investigation of the effective soil thermal conductivity(k) is the first step in designing the ground loop heat exchanger(borehole) of a geothermal heat pump system. The line source method is required by New and Renewable Energy Center of Korea Energy Management Corporation in analyzing data obtained from thermal response tests. Another important factor in designing the ground loop heat exchanger is the borehole thermal resistance($R_b$). There are two methods to evaluate $R_b$ : one is to use a line source method, and the other is to use a shape factor of the borehole. In this study, we demonstrated that the line source method produces better results than the shape factor method in evaluating $R_b$. This is because the borehole thermal resistance evaluated with the line source method characteristically reduces the temperature differences between an actual and a theoretical thermal behaviors of the borehole. Evaluation of $R_b$ requires soil volumetric heat capacity. However, the effect of the soil volumetric heat capacity on the borehole thermal resistance is very small. Therefore, it is possible to use a generally accepted average value of soil volumetric heat capacity($=2MJ/m^3{\cdot}K$) in the analysis. In this work, it is also shown that an acceptable range of the initial ignoring time should be in the range of 8~16hrs. Thus, a mean value of 12 hrs is recommended.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.97-104
• /
• 2005

A one-dimensional heat transfer model for the vertical borehole system is derived in this study to predict the thermal behavior of the system and surrounding soil. In this model the U-tube is replaced with one effective tube of effective diameter which is surrounded by concentric grout region. All thermal resistances of borehole are counted in the grout region with effective thermal conductivity of grout. Effective thermal conductivity of grout and sand are calculated through parameter estimation. The validity of this model is accomplished through comparison of the predicted temperature profiles of the model with experimental data.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.20-27
• /
• 2009

The effect of borehole thermal resistance on the borehole length is studied. In performing this work a new concept BLRR(borehole length reduction rate) is developed based on the line source model. The solution of line source model is shown to be valid through the comparison with the data of thermal response test. It is shown that BLRR is a function of soil thermal conductivity(k) and borehole thermal resistance($R_b$). The value of BLRR increases with increasing k, which means reducing $R_b$ is more effective when k is high. The reduction of borehole length with change of $R_b$ is easily estimated with BLRR. The validity of BLRR is also examined with EED analysis.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.21-27
• /
• 2012

Estimating the thermal conductivity of clayey soils is important for enhancing the performance of geoengineering structures in cold regions and clay barriers for nuclear waste repositories, but specimen disturbance, saturation, and heat boundary conditions of the test apparatus hinder reliable measurements of the thermal conductivity of saturated clayey soils. This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out using modified consolidation tests with the needle probe method to measure thermal conductivity. Experimental consolidation tests with saturated kaolinite were performed to investigate the effect of effective stress and dry density on thermal conductivity for saturated kaolinite. In addition, thermal conductivity of soil particles were thoroughly investigated and experimental results were used to evaluate the accuracy of the models to predict thermal conductivity.