Heat Transfer for Slab-on-Grade Floors With Prescribed Heat Flux

Abstract

The general solution of soil temperature distribution is developed for a slab-on-grade floor with a known heat flux distribution at the slab surface. The Interzone Temperature Profile Estimation (ITPE) technique is applied to determine the steady-state variation of temperature within the ground. A water table at constant temperature is assumed to exist at a given depth below the soil surface. As a first application of the general solution, the optimum thermal insulation distribution is obtained for a slabon-grade floor. A second application of the solution developed in this paper consists of a diagnostic method to determine the configuration and the R-value for the thermal insulation of the slabon-grade floor based on measured data for the heat flux at the slab surface. A parametric analysis is conducted to determine the effects of heat flux profiles and water table depths on the required insulation distribution at the slab surface.