Modeling and validation of thermal conductivity of scrap tire rubber-sand composite based on heat conduction similarity

Scrap tire rubber with excellent thermal insulation performance has been used in combination with soils in various thermo-active structures. Thermal conductivity of this shredded rubber-soil composite was one of the key parameters for engineering design. Existing empirical models were not always acc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tao Zhang, Yu-Ling Yang, Yang Chen, Chong Ma, Guo-Jun Cai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-10-01
Series:Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25010846
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Summary:Scrap tire rubber with excellent thermal insulation performance has been used in combination with soils in various thermo-active structures. Thermal conductivity of this shredded rubber-soil composite was one of the key parameters for engineering design. Existing empirical models were not always acceptable for the different rubber-soil composites due to their poor applicability. Based on the Wiener bounds, a new theoretical model of thermal conductivity for rubber-sand composite was developed in the presented study, in which a transition from ‘three-phase and four-type’ to ‘three-phase and three-type’ was achieved within the framework of thermal conduction similarity. The coupled effects of rubber content, porosity, degree of saturation, and solid particle size were comprehensively integrated into the constitutive framework. The established model underwent rigorous validation against experimental thermal conductivity datasets, successfully reproducing characteristic dependencies of thermal conductivity on rubber content and particle size scaling ratios. Future investigations should prioritize quantifying the roles of stress level and temperature variations in governing thermal conductivity evolution within such ‘rigid-soft’ particulate composites.
ISSN:2214-157X