This paper focuses on experimental investigation of the effect of temperature on coupled thermo-hydraulic properties of glacial tills. During operation of a geothermal system, geomaterials are subjected to thermal gradients that may significantly affect the hydraulic properties. An accurate characterization of these properties under representative field conditions is essential to provide input parameters for an efficient design. Therefore, this study focuses on the effect of temperature on hydraulic properties of glacial tills. Core samples at different depths were collected from a borehole for a planned geothermal site on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. A core flooding apparatus was used to perform experiments on saturated samples to characterize hydraulic properties of glacial tills at different temperatures and representative in situ stresses. The results revealed that the intrinsic permeability and hydraulic conductivity significantly increased with increasing temperatures. The increase was more pronounced at lower lateral stresses. An accurate characterization of coupled thermo-hydraulic properties of glacial tills will allow to the development of constitutive relationships for saturated geomaterials.
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