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Accurate information on thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of materials is of central importance in relation to geoscience and engineering problems involving the transfer of heat. Several methods, including the classical divided bar technique, are available for laboratory measurements of thermal conductivity, but much fewer for thermal diffusivity. We have generalized the divided bar technique to the transient case in which thermal conductivity, volumetric heat capacity and thereby also thermal diffusivity are measured simultaneously. As the density of samples is easily determined independently, specific heat capacity can also be determined. The finite element formulation provides a flexible forward solution for heat transfer across the bar, and thermal properties are estimated by inverse Monte Carlo modelling. This methodology enables a proper quantification of experimental uncertainties on measured thermal properties and information on their origin. The developed methodology was applied to various materials, including a standard ceramic material and different rock samples, and measuring results were compared with results applying traditional steady-state divided bar and an independent line-source method. All measurements show highly consistent results and with excellent reproducibility and high accuracy. For conductivity the obtained uncertainty is typically 1-3 per cent, and for diffusivity uncertainty may be reduced to about 3-5 per cent. The main uncertainty originates from the presence of thermal contact resistance associated with the internal interfaces in the bar. These are not resolved during inversion and it is imperative that they are minimized. The proposed procedure is simple and may quite easily be implemented to the many steady-state divided bar systems in operation. A thermally controlled bath, as applied here, may not be needed. Simpler systems, such as applying temperature-controlled water directly from a tap, may also be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of thermal property measurements on cores from the scientific well Yaxcopoil-1 (1511 m in depth) drilled in the Chicxulub impact structure (Mexico) are described. The thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, volumetric heat capacity, thermal anisotropy coefficient, thermal heterogeneity factor, and, in addition, porosity and density were measured on 451 dry and water-saturated cores from the depth interval of 404-1511 m. The acoustic velocities were determined on a subgroup of representative samples. Significant vertical short- and long-scale variations of physical properties related to the grade of shock-thermal metamorphism and correlations between thermal and other physical properties are established. Rocks of the post-impact and impact complexes differ significantly in heterogeneity demonstrating that the impact complex has larger micro- heterogeneity on sample scale. The pre-impact rocks differ essentially from the impact and post-impact rocks in the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, density and porosity. The thermal anisotropy of rocks of all structural-lithological complexes is very low ( K = 1.02 ... 1.08), which is similar to the situation in the Puchezh-Katunk and Ries impact structures. Correlations are established between the thermal conductivity and elastic wave velocities measured in laboratory. For limestone-calcarenites, the thermal conductivity (λ) can be calculated from the compressional wave velocity ( V) using the formula λ= 0.346 V + 0.844, and for dolomite-anhydrites this relation has the form λ= 0.998 V + 1.163 [for λ in W (m K) and V in km s]. These correlations are used for downscaling of the sonic velocities to the decimetre scale. The effective medium theory is applied to invert the matrix thermal conductivity and pore/crack geometry from the thermal conductivity measured on the studied samples. Representative experimental data on the thermal properties for all lithological groups encountered by the Yaxcopoil-1 well essentially extend an existing database on the thermal properties of rocks of impact structures and can be used for determination of the heat flow density, interpretation of temperature logging data, theoretical modelling of heat and mass transfer processes and constructing thermal models of the Chicxulub impact structure as well as for the lithological interpretation. The research results confirm the necessity of dense sampling for the thermal property measurements to obtain reliable results in petrophysical and geothermal investigations of impact structure formations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]