Thermal Conductivity of Foam Glass Gravels: A Comparison between Experimental Data and Numerical Results

AbstractIn this study the equivalent thermal conductivity of foam glass gravels is investigated by means of measurements with guarded hot plate devices. Firstly the thermal conductivity of the foam glass corns is determined. Following experiments are performed on random generated gravel beds varying the mean temperature, the temperature difference between hot and cold plate, the gravel compression degree and the heat flux direction. The influence of these parameters on the effective thermal conductivity is investigated. An empirical model based on the Krischer approach for determination of thermal conductivity in porous media is proposed and validated against the experimental data. In addition, results from numerical simulations are presented