Paper contribution

Development and application of experimental systems for the measurement of thermal properties in rocks using representative-size specimens

Miguel Herbón-Penabad; Yan Li; Andrea Muñoz-Ibáñez; Jordi Delgado-Martín; Ricardo Juncosa-Rivera; Adrià Perez-Carreras; Enric Ibañez-Martinez; Jose María Segura-Serra; Jacobo Canal-Vila; Jose Alvarellos-Iglesias

Proceedings
EUROCK 2026
Pages
451-458
Submitted
28 January 2026
Accepted
15 June 2026
Published
12 August 2026

Summary

Abstract

The thermal behaviour of rocks is crucial in the design, operation, and safety of numerous geotechnical and energy engineering applications. Processes such as geological storage of fluids (CO₂, H₂, CH₄, LN₂, air), heat storage, or evaluating the stability of structures exposed to thermal gradients depend directly on rock thermal properties. Determining key parameters such as thermal conductivity (k), specific heat capacity (CP), and the thermal expansion coefficient (CTLE) is therefore essential. However, conventional methods often rely on milligram-size samples or miniature specimens that may not realistically represent medium- to coarse-grained rocks or important features such as porosity. This study presents three experimental devices designed for core-plug rock specimens and applied to characterize the thermal properties of diverse igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Each device was validated using calibration materials with known thermal behaviour. Thermal conductivity is measured using a transient heat-flow divided-bar system optimised for conditions above and below ambient temperature, reaching thermal gradients of ~520 °C. Specific heat capacity is obtained via drop calorimetry, employing glycerol as the heat-exchange medium. For CTLE, a high-precision (~1 µm) push-rod dilatometer has been developed. The CP and CTLE devices operate from ambient temperature to ~800 °C, while the k system accommodates gradients up to ~520 °C, enabling analysis under a wide range of thermal conditions. Results show the strong influence of mineralogy, density, and porosity on rock thermal response, with significant correlations between k and internal structure. CTLE values also reveal varying behaviours linked to foliation and quartz content, demonstrating thermal anisotropy in certain rocks. Overall, the data confirm the reliability of the developed systems and contribute to improved understanding and modelling of thermomechanical behaviour in rock masses for engineering applications.

Contributors

Authors

  1. Miguel Herbón-Penabad Universidade da Coruña, Spain ORCID 0000-0002-4818-3964
  2. Yan Li Universidade da Coruña, Spain ORCID 0000-0001-8986-3387
  3. Andrea Muñoz-Ibáñez Universidade da Coruña, Spain
  4. Jordi Delgado-Martín Universidade da Coruña, Spain
  5. Ricardo Juncosa-Rivera Universidade da Coruña, Spain
  6. Adrià Perez-Carreras Repsol Technology Lab
  7. Enric Ibañez-Martinez Repsol Technology Lab
  8. Jose María Segura-Serra Repsol Technology Lab
  9. Jacobo Canal-Vila Repsol Technology Lab
  10. Jose Alvarellos-Iglesias Repsol Technology Lab

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