A Thermoelectric Device for Measuring Thermal Conductivity of Rock

Thermal conductivities of rock are commonly measured in the laboratory by establishing a known steady-state heat flux across the sample and noting the temperature drop. The measurements are usually made in a device known as a conduction pile. As used by Zierfuss and van der Vliet [1956] and by Somerton [1958], a linear heat flux is established through a conduction pile consisting of the rock sample and a standard material of known thermal conductivity in series. The thermal conductivity of the sample is calculated from the ratio of the temperature drop across sample and standard and the known thermal conductivity of the standard.