Steady-state temperature fields in overlying multilayer strata above concealed coal fires: similarity experiments and 3D simulation

Steady-state temperature fields in overlying multilayer strata above concealed coal fires: similarity experiments and 3D simulation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Steady-state temperature fields in overlying multilayer strata above concealed coal fires: similarity experiments and 3D simulation Jun Ge, Xiaokun Zhao, Wencai Wang, An Zhang, Anyu Song, Yafei Tian, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9470470/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Concealed coal fires are difficult to identify because heat must propagate through complex overlying strata before detectable thermal anomalies appear near the surface. Here, we combine similarity experiments and three-dimensional numerical simulation to investigate steady-state temperature fields in multilayer overburden under constant wall temperature conditions. A 10:1 scaled physical model containing fine sandstone, siltstone, sandy mudstone, mudstone, and carbonaceous mudstone was tested at wall temperatures of 500°C and 700°C. A steady-state heat conduction model with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity was then established in ANSYS Fluent and validated by point-by-point comparison with experimental data. The results show clear stratified attenuation of temperature during vertical heat transfer. Carbonaceous mudstone acts as a strong thermal resistance layer, whereas relatively high-conductivity strata promote lateral heat spreading. The maximum temperature in the overlying soil reached 628.8 K at 500°C and 966 K at 700°C. The numerical and experimental results agreed well, with root mean square errors of 4.17 K and 5.78 K, respectively. These results show that the proposed model can capture the quasi-steady spatial temperature response of multilayer strata and may support thermal anomaly identification in concealed coal fire zones. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences concealed coal fire constant wall temperature steady-state temperature field multilayer strata heat conduction thermal anomaly detection Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 18 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 15 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 06 May, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 05 May, 2026 Editor invited by journal 04 May, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 27 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 27 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9470470","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":638778175,"identity":"141366be-f15e-4d5f-929e-8e4cae7fbfbf","order_by":0,"name":"Jun Ge","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi Datong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jun","middleName":"","lastName":"Ge","suffix":""},{"id":638778176,"identity":"f2c41667-72e2-485e-ba5d-9854d94eb52a","order_by":1,"name":"Xiaokun 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Here, we combine similarity experiments and three-dimensional numerical simulation to investigate steady-state temperature fields in multilayer overburden under constant wall temperature conditions. A 10:1 scaled physical model containing fine sandstone, siltstone, sandy mudstone, mudstone, and carbonaceous mudstone was tested at wall temperatures of 500\u0026deg;C and 700\u0026deg;C. A steady-state heat conduction model with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity was then established in ANSYS Fluent and validated by point-by-point comparison with experimental data. The results show clear stratified attenuation of temperature during vertical heat transfer. Carbonaceous mudstone acts as a strong thermal resistance layer, whereas relatively high-conductivity strata promote lateral heat spreading. The maximum temperature in the overlying soil reached 628.8 K at 500\u0026deg;C and 966 K at 700\u0026deg;C. The numerical and experimental results agreed well, with root mean square errors of 4.17 K and 5.78 K, respectively. 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