Prof. D. N. Singh

A. DALINAIDU

M.Tech.
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, India naidu@ce.queensu.ca

INVESTIGATIONS ON SOIL THERMAL RESISTIVITY FOR FIELD APPLICATIONS

Soil thermal properties are of great importance in many engineering problems where heat transfer takes place through the soil mass. Some of these problems are; the design and laying of high voltage buried power cables, ground modification techniques etc. For such situations, it is essential to estimate the resistance offered by the soil mass in dissipating the heat generated through it. A field thermal probe, which works on the principle of transient method has been fabricated, and calibrated, to evaluate the soil thermal resistivity.
To estimate soil thermal resistivity, empirical relationships developed earlier by Singh and Devid (2001) have been modified by incorporating the effect of gravels on thermal resistivity of the soil. Based on this, generalized relationships have been developed for estimating the soil thermal resistivity knowing its dry density, moisture content and percentage fraction of various particle sizes present in it. Efficiency of these relationships has been established with the help of experimental results obtained with the help of the probe and results available in the literature.