3.

1 Aquarium Set-up
After careful research, the researchers decided to conduct an experiment to determine the
thermal properties of three (3) different soils according to texture: sandy soil, clay soil and sandy clay
soil. The researchers put up a simulation of a part of the geothermal heat exchanger through an
aquarium set-up. The aquarium used has __mm thick glass panels with a length of ___mm, a width of
___mm and a height of __mm. A HDPE (high density polyethylene) pipe is used, along with a heater with
thermostat and a centrifugal pump is used for the laboratory set-up.
3.1.1 Sandy Soil
The researchers distributed along the base of the aquarium, ordinary silty soil found in
most topsoils around the Philippines. A layer of sandy soil is then put on top of the base silty
soil with a thickness of __mm. The moisture sensors are put in place with the thermocouples.
The HDPE pipe is placed on top of the sandy layer then another layer of sandy soil is placed. The
sandy soil has a dimension of __mm length, __mm width and __mm height.
After the sandy soil has covered the pipe and evenly placed throughout the tank,
another layer of silty soil is carefully placed on top and the pipe filled with water. The pump was
then placed along with the sump and water container. The pump was then turned on along with
the heater. After the water has obtained a constant temperature of 35 degrees Celsius, the
temperature and moisture of the sandy soil were obtained for time = 0. After __, the
parameters are obtained and input into the data tables. The same step was done until ___.
3.1.2 Clay Soil
After experimenting on the sandy soil and obtaining valuable data, the researchers then
used the same tank and sensors for the experiment on the clay soil. The procedure done for the
sandy soil was then repeated for the clay soil, obtaining the temperatures and moisture content
of the clay soil for time = 0,__,__,__.
3.1.3 Sandy Clay
After experimenting on the sandy soil, the researchers used the same tank and sensors
again. The researchers carefully cleaned the tank and dried the tank to prevent any
contaminants from being left behind that may affect the data output obtained. The researchers
used the same procedure again that was done for the sandy soil and the clay soil. The soil that is
used to cover the HDPE pipe is fifty percent clay soil and fifty percent sandy soil by ______(vol?
wt?). The temperature and moisture content of the sandy clay soil was obtained for time = 0,
__,__,__.

After the experiments on the three soils, the researchers compared the data obtained from the
three soils. Analyzing the results of the laboratory set-up, the researchers used the soil with the best
results from the three to be used in the actual set-up.

3.2 Actual Set-up

The researchers excavated a 6by 6 lot of land with a depth of 6 feet. The researchers used
wood panels to prevent collapse of the excavation. The researchers then layered out a layer of the