The thermal conductivity of oils sands

Measurements have been made of the effective thermal conductivity of some samples of Athabasca oil sands using a steady state method over the temperature range 20°C – 120°C. The bitumen content of the samples was altered from its natural value by mixing with additional sand and the resulting values of the thermal conductivity were found to increase with increasing the oil content. Moreover, the effective thermal conductivity values were found to decrease with increasing temperature.