Indirect methods to assess the solid particle thermal conductivity of Quebec marine clays

Abstract

Thermal and frost action analyses in soils require the knowledge of the thermal conductivity of soil solid particles. This parameter was obtained using reverse modeling applied to thermal conductivity data of Quebec marine clays. Values ranged from 2.2 to 3.2 W/mK mostly due to variation of the quartz fraction. The mean thermal conductivity of forming minerals other than quartz was equal to 2.15 W/mK. A modified geometric mean model was thus proposed to estimate the thermal conductivity of clay solid particles based on the thermal conductivity of quartz and the mean thermal conductivity of the other minerals. Several data for soils in the literature were also analyzed to confirm the experimental results of this study and to further clarify the quartz fraction influence on the thermal conductivity of clay particles. Finally, analyses of basic geotechnical data from the literature helped establish empirical relationships for the estimation of the quartz fraction of a soil as a function of either the clay-size particle fraction or the liquid limit.