Abstract
This paper presents the mathematical relationship of electrical resistivity and dry density in compacted soil through electrical signal for geotechnical investigations. Monitoring of the compacted soil through electrical conductivity plays an important role in the construction of highway embankments, earth dams and many other engineering structures. Conventionally, soil compaction is measured through the estimation of maximum dry density at optimum moisture contents in laboratory tests. This conventional testing method is very tedious and costly especially when a lot of samples are involved. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to estimate the soil compaction on-site through electrical resistivity corresponding to the percentage of moisture contents in the compacted soil. The practical usage of the derived mathematical model is demonstrated using several soil samples for various types of soil.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Avnimelech Y, Ritvo G, Meijer LE, Kochba M (2001) Water content, organic carbon and dry bulk density in flooded sediments. Aquacult Eng 25:25–33. doi:10.1016/S0144-8609(01)00068-1
Doolittle JA, Sudduth KA, Kitchen NR and Indorante SJ (1994) Estimating depths to claypans using electromagnetic induction methods. J Soil Water Conserv 49:572–575. http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Place/36221500/cswq-0270-doolittle.pdf
Friedman SP (2005) Soil properties influencing apparent electrical conductivity: a review. Comput Electron Agric 46:45–70. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2004.11.001
Gong Y, Cao Q, Sun Z (2003) The effects of soil bulk density, clay content and temperature on soil water content measurement using time-domain reflectometry. Hydrol Process 17:3601–3614. doi:10.1002/hyp.1358
Huang H, Fraser DC (2002) Dielectric permittivity and resistivity mapping using high-frequency, helicopter-borne EM data. Geophysics 67(3):727–738. http://www.geo-em.com/publications/Geophysics%202002%20May-Jun%20Res%20Permitt%20Mapping.pdf
Kelleners TJ, Robinson DA, Shouse PJ, Ayars JE, Skaggs TH (2005) Frequency dependence of the complex permittivity and its impact on dielectric sensor calibration in soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 69:67–76. http://soil.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/1/67
Lui W, Upadhyaya SK, Kataoka T, Shibusawa S (1996) Development of a texture/soil compaction sensor. In: Proceedings of the 3rd international conference in precision agriculture, Minneapolis, June 23–26, pp 617–630. http://www.precisionag.org/html/ch10.html
MacGregor L, Sinha M, Constable S (2001) Electrical resistivity structure of the Valu Fa Ridge, Lau Basin, from marine controlled-source electromagnetic sounding. Geophys J Int 146:217–236. doi:10.1046/j.1365246X.2001.00440.x
McNeill JD (1980) Electromagnetic terrain conductivity measurement at low induction numbers. Technical note TN-6, Geonics Limited, Mississauga. http://www.geonics.com/pdfs/technicalnotes/tn6.pdf
Mouazen AM, Dumont K, Maertens K, Ramon H (2003) Two-dimensional prediction of spatial variation in topsoil compaction of a sandy loam field-based on measured horizontal force of compaction sensor, cutting depth and moisture content. Soil Tillage Res 74:91–102. doi:10.1016/S0167-1987(03)00123-5
Nayak S, Sunil BM, Shrihari S (2007) Hydraulic and compaction characteristics of leachate-contaminated lateritic soil. Eng Geol 94:137–144. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2007.05.002
Osella A, Favetto A (2000) Effects of soil resistivity on currents induced on pipelines. J Appl Geophys 44:303–312. doi:10.1016/S0926-9851(00)00008-2
Randrup TB, Lichter JM (2001) Measuring soil compaction on Construction sites: a review of Surface nuclear gauges and penetrometers. J Arboricult 27(3):109–117. http://www.treelink.org/joa/2001/may/01_MEASURING_SOIL_COMPACTION_randrup.pdf
Saarenketo T (1998) Electrical properties of water in clay and silty soils. J Appl Geophys 40:73–88. doi:10.1016/S0926-9851(98)00017-2
Sabatier JM, Sokol DC, Frederickson CK, Rdmkensb MJM, Grissingerb EH, Shipps JC (1996) Probe microphone instrumentation for determining soil physical properties: testing in model porous materials. Soil Technol 8:259–274. doi:10.1016/0933-3630(95)00014-3
Samouelian A, Cousin I, Tabbagh A, Bruand A, Richard G (2005) Electrical resistivity survey in soil science: a review. Soil Tillage Res 83:173–193. doi:10.1016/j.still.2004.10.004
Acknowledgments
This research is sponsored by Research Project of Science Fund No. 01-01-02-SF0681 from Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Islam, T., Chik, Z., Mustafa, M.M. et al. Modeling of electrical resistivity and maximum dry density in soil compaction measurement. Environ Earth Sci 67, 1299–1305 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1573-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1573-7