Thermophysical Analysis of Gioia Marble in Dry and Water-Saturated States by the Pulse Transient Method

Abstract

Measurements of the thermophysical properties of Gioia marble in the temperature range from −20 to 60 ◦ C are presented. Thermophysical properties, namely, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and specific heat, were measured by the pulse transient technique. The data were compared for dry and water-saturated states. Despite the very low porosity of marble of about 0.6 vol%, an increase of the transport property parameters (thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity) up to 20% after water saturation was found. To verify the differences in the transport parameters, the ultrasonic pulse velocity method was employed. A detailed analysis of thermophysical property data during the freeze/thaw process for dry and water-saturated marble was carried out in the temperature range from − 8t o 1 ◦ C, where an anomaly in the water freezing process was observed. In order to study artificial aging of Gioia marble, up to 60 freeze/thaw cycles were performed. No significant changes in the thermophysical properties of Gioia marble were observed during the artificial aging process.