Importance of Thermal Conductivity of Soil in Construction Industry

Soil is one of the three major natural resources, alongside air and water. Soils are complex mixtures of minerals, water, air, organic matter, and countless organisms that are the decaying remains of once-living things. It serves as a natural medium for the plant growth.

Soil plays a major role in determining the depth of the foundation required to keep a building safe. Soil sometimes contains water which causes troubles in construction of foundation. Soil testing is extremely important to environmentally sensitive applications in agricultural and constructional fields. In the construction industry, buried cables and pipelines pose as possible threats. When construction companies are building underground systems, they must pay close attention to the moisture density and thermal conductive properties of the surrounding soil. If a low soil thermal conductivity is noted, cables and pipelines may experience overheating and may potentially combust.

Soil Testing Equipment

Using a soil testing equipment, you can measure the thermal property of a potential back-fill materials critical for optimizing internal temperature for buried pipes and electrical lines. One of the wide selection of thermal conductivity equipment is the TLS-100 soil conductivity meter developed by Thermtest. It is used to measure thermal conductivity and thermal resistivity. Perfect for testing soils, polymers, viscous liquids, and other soft materials.

Soil Mechanics

Soil Mechanics is a discipline of Civil Engineering involving the study of soil, its behaviour and application as an engineering material. The first scientific study of soil mechanics was undertaken by French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb. He published a theory of earth pressure in 1773.


Reference:

https://thermtest.com/soil-testing-equipment
https://www.britannica.com/science/soil-mechanics