COMPOSITIONAL DEPENDENCE OF THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY AND THERMAL-DIFFUSIVITY OF CARBONATE AND SILICATE BASED ROCKS

The thermal properties of some rocks, with particular reference to the ir chemical composition were measured. Measurements were made using Tr ansient Plane Source (TPS) method. The results show that the rate of d ecrease of both thermal conductivity (lambda) and diffusivity (chi) wi th temperature depends upon the nature of the material which varies wi th chemical composition. Further, the rate of decrease in thermal cond uctivity is slow in the case of silicate based rock i.e. granite as co mpared to carbonate based rocks i.e. dolomite and calcite, while it is higher in calcite than the other two. Temperature dependence of both thermal conductivity and diffusivity has also been predicted using the relationships reported in the literature.