Effect of Heat From Buried Metallic Object On Different Soil Textures

Abstract

We investigated the effect of heat from buried steel, on clay, loamy and sandy soil using thermography technique. The experiment was performed in a laboratory at Abeokuta, South Western Nigeria, with the objects buried at a depth of 2cm and heated to a temperature of 40⁰C . A plot of the variation of the temperature (as the heated object and soil samples cool) with time was done and the thermal signatures recorded. The data from the experiment was used, with the aid of the least square approximation method, to develop a predictive model for some thermal characteristics of the three soil textures. The result also revealed that loamy soil retains the least amount of heat and is therefore recommended as the friendliest for crops and plants.

Journal of the Nigerian Association of Mathematical Physics, Volume 19 (November, 2011), pp 321 – 328