Measurements of temperature distribution in ground

Temperature distributions in ground are important, for example, for calculations of heat losses of buildings to the ground, for design of thermal energy storage equipment and ground heat exchangers, and for analysis of biodegradation processes of organic substances and processes of nitrification. In this communication, the temperature distributions measured in ground since the summer of 1999 to the spring 2001 are presented. The investigation has been done in Poznan for two different ground surface covered locations (car park and lawn). Temperatures were measured with thermocouples distributed in ground at a depth from 0 to 7 in (car park) and. from 0 to 17 in (lawn). It was found that the short-period temperature variations reached a depth of approximately I in. From July to the end of September from the surface region at ground depth (below about 1.5 in) a heat flux of density q = 3.6 W/m(2) was transferred. The measurements show also that during the summer period the temperature of ground under the bare surface (car park) below I in was about 4degrees higher in comparison with the temperature of ground covered with short grass (lawn). However, in winter, the temperature distributions were almost the same. A comparison of the Buggs's formula for the ground temperature distribution adopted to the European region of the Poznan city shows a good agreement with the experimental data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.