Heat Flow Analysis for Unsaturated Soils - Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice - page 514

1.6

3 ° C

1.4

2 ° C

1.2

-2 ° C

1

1.5 ° C

-1 ° C

0.8

1 ° C

0 ° C 0.5 ° C

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
− 0.2

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Distance (m)

1 1.2 1.4 1.6

Temperature contours, ◦ C, around pipe after 730 days. Figure 10.30

Separation wall

4 ° C − 5 ° C

= 1.0 W/m/K

λ

250 m

Thermally insulated

500 m

Figure 10.31 Partition separating above and below freezing conditions at ground surface,
Harlan and Nixon (1978) heat flow problem.

steady-state conditions under the applied boundary condi-
tions. The computer-generated finite element mesh is shown
in Fig. 10.32.
The analytical solution and the finite element simulation
are in close agreement (Fig. 10.33). Both solutions showed
the same location for the freezing front as well as the

temperature contours in both the frozen and thawed

soil.

10.10.2 Placement of Warm Building on Soil
Let us consider a variation of the above example problem
where the effect of a building maintained at a temperature