Influence of the Moisture Content and Temperature on the Thermal Properties of Soils: Laboratory Investigation and Theoretical Analysis

The paper presents the results of the laboratory investigation of thermal conductivity of clayey soils subjected to different moisture contents. The conductivities of soil specimens are evaluated at two extreme cases: fully saturated and dried state. The latter state is achieved by drying the soil specimens in the temperature 105 °C. The needle probe test is used for laboratory measurements. Theoretical analyses, with the use of two different homogenization approximation schemes, namely the Mori-Tanaka and the Self-consistent are performed. Using laboratory results and treating them as effective conductivities the conductivity of solid as well as the geometry of pores are found. Calibrated model gives the possibility of calculating the effective conductivity of the soil in two considered cases: fully saturated and dried state.