Periodic heat flow in a stratified medium with application to permafrost problems
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Abstract
Solutions to the Fourier heat equation for quasi-steady periodic flow in a stratified semi-infinite medium can be obtained readily by standard methods. The results have wide application to studies of earth-temperature variations induced by diurnal, annual, and other periodic variations in ground surface temperature. Much of the previous work on this subject has been interpreted with reference to the solution for the homogeneous case; and this can be seriously in error when applied to stratified earth materials.
One application of the theory is to the important problem of determining the minimum thickness of gravel fill required to maintain the material on which it rests (the subgrade) in a perennially frozen state in permafrost areas. The results indicate that the required fill thickness is quite sensitive to the thermal properties of the subgrade. If a thin layer of material with low thermal contact coefficient, such as spruce logs, is placed between the fill and subgrade, the thickness of fill required to maintain undisturbed permafrost can be greatly reduced.
The thermal properties of the soil beneath the layer supporting plant growth can exercise an important influence on the temperature in that layer. This effect, which cannot be explained by studies of the ground surface and the surficial layer, is likely to have important application to plant ecology in the Arctic.
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Periodic heat flow in a stratified medium with application to permafrost problems |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 58-57 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr5857 |
| Year Published | 1958 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Description | 67 p. |
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