ABSTRACT
Thermal variation in soils has a great influence over several engineering fields. A few examples of the phenomenon are (1) the loss and recovery of bearing capacity under the effect of freezingthawing; (2) the prediction of pavement temperatures that affects the stabilization of bituminous surface curing, curing of concrete slabs, moisture movements in any type of pavement components, embankments and earth dams, clay liners; (3) the dissipation of heat from buried electric cables or steam pipes, and the thermal exchange in heat pump systems; and (4) thermal conductivity in hazardous and toxic storage controlling facilities.
