Microbially induced calcite precipitation effect on soil thermal conductivity

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Author (Corporation)
Publication date
13.04.2016
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Type
01A - Journal article
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Parent work
Géotechnique Letters
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Volume
6
Issue / Number
1
Pages / Duration
39-44
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Publisher / Publishing institution
Emerald
Place of publication / Event location
Bingley
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Abstract
Efficiency of energy piles is strongly affected by soil saturation conditions: low water contents considerably decrease their performance thus limiting the possibility to extend their application to arid environments. This paper investigates the microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) technique as a potential means of enhancing the soil–pile heat exchange rates by improving the thermal properties of soil. The study puts the focus on measuring the thermal conductivity of untreated and treaded sand at various degrees of saturation. Experimental results clearly show a significant improvement of the thermal conductivity of soil especially for low degrees of saturation. This enhancement is attributed to the mineralised calcite crystals acting as ‘thermal bridges’ between the soil grains, offering a larger surface area for heat exchange compared with the untreated material in which exchanges occur through smaller contact points.
Keywords
Soil saturation, Energy piles, Microbially induced calcite precipitation
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ISBN
ISSN
2045-2543
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
No
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Publication status
Published
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Peer review of the complete publication
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Closed
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Citation
Venuleo, S., Laloui, L., Terzis, D., Hueckel, T., & Hassan, M. M. (2016). Microbially induced calcite precipitation effect on soil thermal conductivity. Géotechnique Letters, 6(1), 39–44. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgele.15.00125