Heat Flow in Soils

Abstract

Ground temperatures have a significant effect on soil engineering behavior and must be considered in the design of frozen ground support systems and other constructed facilities in cold regions. In these problems, temperatures within, under, and around the structure depend on the ground surface temperatures together with the geothermal gradient for the area. In addition to dependence on variable surface factors, ground temperatures may also depend on construction activity: for example, the controlled freezing of an earth support system. Where freezing occurs in the ground, the soil latent heat, soil thermal conductivity, and heat capacity will play a part when time dependence is involved. These topics are addressed in this chapter.