A theoretical thermal conductivity model for soils treated with microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP)

•A theoretical prediction model was developed based on a highly simplified geometrical idealization of microstructure in soils.•Soil thermal conductivity increases nonlinearly with the cementation parameters (β), which will be more obvious when β is higher.•The influence of soil particle spacing (ξ) on soil thermal conductivity is more obvious when soil is saturated.