Theoretical Analysis of the Influence of the Thermal Diffusivity of Clay Soil on the Thermal Energy Distribution in Clay Soil of Abakaliki, Nigeria

The influence of the thermal diffusivity of clay soil on thermal energy distribution in clay soil was studied using one and two dimensioned heat equation, which was solved, by using separation of variables method. In the analysis, heat was assumed to be propagated along rectangular moldedclaywithlength(L)with the width being considered negligible in the case of one dimension with different temperature ranging from 350 to 1290oC within zero to one minute chosen where some parameters such as thermal diffusivity In the second case, a steady state heat flow was considered in two dimensions w ith the assumption that temperature distribution is constant. Different temperature ranging from 350 to 1290oC within zero to one minute were chosen with some parameters such as thermal diffusivity, specific heat and m ass per unit length of the clay are specified. The variation of the thermal conductivity and diffusivity with temperature was analyzed while that of the energy flux, u(x,t) variation with time for different chosen length were plotted Two dimensional thermal energy distribution viewed at different points was also considered using different values of therm al diffusivity respectively.