Analytical Model to Predict Nonhomogeneous Soil Temperature Variation

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical model to predict the temperature variation within a multilayered soil. The soil surface temperature is assumed to have a sinusoidal time variation for both daily and annual time scales. The soil thermal properties in each layer are assumed to be uniform. The model is applied to two-layered, three-layered, and to nonhomogeneous soils. In case of two-layered soil, a detailed analysis of the thermal behavior of each layer is presented. It was found that as long as the order of magnitude of the thermal diffusivity of soil surface does not exceed three times that of deep soil; the soil temperature variation with depth can be predicted accurately by a simplified model that assumes that the soil has constant thermal properties.