Thermal conductivity of soils and rocks from the Melbourne (Australia) region

The thermal conductivity of soils and rocks is an important property for the design of thermally active ground structures such as geothermal energy foundations and borehole heat exchange systems. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study of the thermal conductivity of soils and rocks from around Melbourne, Australia. The thermal conductivity of six soils and three rock types was experimentally measured using both a thermal needle probe and a divided bar apparatus. Soil samples were tested at a wide range of moisture contents and densities. The results demonstrated that the thermal conductivity varied with soil moisture content, density, mineralogical composition and particle size. Coarse grained soils were observed to have a larger thermal conductivity than fine grained soils. In addition, the thermal conductivity of soils increased with an increase in dry density and moisture content. Siltstone, sandstone and basalt rock samples were tested dry and water saturated. They demonstrated an increase in thermal conductivity with an increase in density when dry. However, when water saturated, siltstone and sandstone showed no significant correlation between density and thermal conductivity; whereas a linear increase in thermal conductivity with density was observed for the saturated basalt samples. These differences were attributed to both variations in mineralogy and anisotropy of each sample. The thermal conductivity data obtained from this study provides an initial database for soils and rocks from the Melbourne (Australia) region which can serve for the design of thermo-active structures installed locally and in locations with similar ground conditions. •Moisture content, density, mineralogy, particle size affect thermal conductivity.•Thermal conductivity of dry rocks was observed to increase with increasing density.•Saturated basalt rocks showed correlation between density and thermal conductivity.•No correlation between density and thermal conductivity in Siltstone and sandstone.•Mineralogy and anisotropy affect thermal conductivity of siltstone and sandstone.