Modeling of the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Consolidated Porous Media with Different Saturants: A Test Case of Gabbro Rocks

The thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of porous consolidated gabbro rocks have been measured simultaneously by the transient plane source technique at normal temperature and pressure using air and water as saturants. The density and porosity are measured using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards under ambient conditions. The mineral composition is obtained using a petrography technique. Data are preseInted for 12 specimens of gabbro, taken from Warsik near Peshawar, Pakistan. A recently proposed empirical model for the prediction of the thermal conductivity of porous consolidated igneous rocks is established using different fluids in pore spaces, under ambient conditions. An exponential decay formula is also proposed for the prediction of the thermal conductivity at room temperature and normal pressure. The results are compared with different existing empirical models. A simple correlation between density and porosity is also reported.