Effects of diurnal temperature rhythm on the geothermal regimeunder the embankment in qinghai–tibet plateau

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-23-2010

Department

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate theeffects of diurnal temperature fluctuation amplitude (DTFA)on the geothermal regime of the embankment on theQinghai–Tibet plateau. The investigation was simulatedby respectively denoting the diurnal temperatures at theembankment surface, embankment slope, and naturalground surface with sinusoidal waves. The amplitudes ofthe waves were denoted by 0°C, 5°C, 8°C, and 12°C,respectively. The numerical result shows that the DTFAcannot vary the frequency of the seasonal temperaturefluctuation of the underlying soil, but can significantlychange the magnitude of the soil’s temperature. Thechanges include: (1) The high DTFA, such as 12°C, cansignificantly lead to the warming of the soil under theembankment. (2) Interestingly, when the DTFA at groundsurface is 5°C, the underlying soil is in a cooler stagecompared to when such DTFA is 0°C, 8°C, or12°C. Thisinteresting result means that the documented model whichignores the diurnal temperature rhythm overestimates thewarming of the underlying soil at the low DTFA region andunderestimates such warming at the high DTFA region. Thisresult also suggests that the soil under the embankment canbe cooled down if the DTFA on the ground surface wasmaintained at or approximately at 5°C.

Publication Title

Arabian Journal of Geosciences

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