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Title: Suction and thermal conductivity of unsaturated loess from Northern France
Loess covers large areas around the earth. Loess deposits are typically composed of silt with clay and fine sand particles and it is usually distributed with a few meters thick. Literature review shows that, the thermal conductivity of loess varies in a relatively large range from 0.2 to 2 W/(mK), depending on the particle composition, texture and moisture content of soil. In this study, loess samples were taken at shallow depth from the Northern France. Suction, volumetric moisture content and thermal conductivity of soil were measured simultaneously while wetting/drying cycles were applied to the sample. The results show that, the degree of saturation significantly affects the thermal conductivity of the soil. The relationship between these two parameters is reversible under wetting/drying cycles while hysteresis can be observed while plotting the thermal conductivity versus suction.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1634493
PAR ID:
10090170
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Date Published:
Journal Name:
UNSAT 2018
Volume:
1
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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