Accurate and continuous measurements of soil thermal and hydraulic propertiesare required for environmental, Earth and planetary science, and engineering applications, but they are not practicallyobtained by steady-state methods. The heat pulse (HP) method is a transient method for determinationof soil thermal properties and a wide range of other physical properties in laboratory and field conditions. The HP method is based on the line-heat source solution of the radial heat flow equation. This literature review begins with a discussion of the evolution of the HP method and related applications, followed by the principal theories, data interpretation methods and their differences. Important factors for HP probe construction are presented. The properties determined in unfrozen and frozen soilsare discussed, followed by a discussion of limitations and perspectives for the application of this method. The paper closes with a brief overview of future needs and opportunities for further development and application of the HP method.Keywords thermal properties, thermal conductivity, thermal resistivity, heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, thermal inertia, dual probe heat pulse, thermal probe, hot-wire method, fiber optics, distributed temperature sensing (DTS), thermo-time/frequency domain reflectometry (thermo-TDR, thermo-FDR), soilwater content, ice content, frozen soils, instrumentation
DisciplinesAgricultural Science | Agriculture | Hydrology | Soil Science Comments This is a manuscript of an article published as He, Hailong, Miles F. Dyck, Robert Horton, Tusheng Ren, Keith L. Bristow, Jialong Lv, and Bingcheng Si. "Development and application of the heat pulse method for soil physical measurements." Reviews of Geophysics (2018) This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1029/2017RG000584 © 2018 American Geophysical Union. All rights reserved.Development and application of the heat pulse method for soil physical properties in laboratory and field conditions. The HP method is based on the line-heat source solution of the radial heat flow equation. This literature review begins with a discussion of the evolution of the HP method and related applications, followed by the principal theories, data interpretation methods and their differences. Important factors for HP probe construction are presented. The properties determined in unfrozen and frozen soilsare discussed, followed by a discussion of limitations and perspectives for the application of this method. The paper closes with a brief overview of future needs and opportunities for further development and application of the HP method.