The analyses of thermal-hydraulic coupling effects in geotechnical problems often present great complexity

but centrifuge test and finite element method can be of great help in these situations. This paper focuses on thermal-hydraulic coupled centrifuge tests and examines the free convection and thermal-hydraulic coupling phenomena in saturated sand via COMSOL

the finite element software of multiphysics. Besides

the scaling laws of centrifuge model test in saturated soil are summarized and the significance of free convection in heat transfer is revealed. The results show that centrifuge tests and numerical experiments which satisfy the scaling laws can properly simulate the thermal-hydraulic coupling effects in saturated soil and that the permeability coefficient has a significant effect on heat transfer in saturated soils.