Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
com/document/13337594/Electrical-Resistivity-of-Soil
https://www.scribd.com/document/13337594/Electrical-Resistivity-of-Soil
Page 1 of 20
Electrical Resistivity of Soil-Soil Resistivity Fundamentalsand the Soil Resistivity
Meter
By Rex A. Crouch
Electrical Resistivity of SoilSoil Resistivity Fundamentals and the Soil
Resistivity MeterBy Rex A. CrouchAbstract This paper is a learning tool
addressing soil resistivity consisting of an introductionto electrical resistivity,
a brief history, the fundamentals of soil resistivity, datagraphing,
interpretation, and results. The paper then addresses the basics, buildingand
operation of a soil resistivity meter, graphing and interpreting the
datacollected.
Abstract This paper is a learning tool addressing soil resistivity consisting of
an introductionto electrical resistivity, a brief history, the fundamentals of
soil resistivity, datagraphing, interpretation, and results. The paper then
addresses the basics, buildingand operation of a soil resistivity meter,
graphing and interpreting the datacollected.
Page 4 of 20
Introduction
. Electrical resistivity of soil may be made with low frequencyalternating
current in which thecurrent is applied at two locations,and the potential
difference ismeasured between two points wherethe term potential
difference, as usedin physics, means voltage difference.Along this same
method, a direct current may be applied in lieu of analternating current thus
causing aninduced polarization in subsurfacefeatures wherein, the operator
timeshow long the potential difference lastsafter the current is removed for
thepurpose of identifying largesubsurface conductors. Theseaforementioned
means are consideredactive as the operator is inducing acurrent into the
ground for thepurpose of measuring a
potentialdifference. Passive means would bethe measurement of self-
= R (A/I)
Generalizing the Concept.
Figure 1 represents a generalized configuration of a soil resistivity
measurement figure 1In this configuration we see that thecurrent
measurement is takenthrough the voltage source where thepositive end is
considered the source,and the negative end is considered thesink. For
convenience, we label theseC1 and C2. The voltage measurement is
represented by P1 and P2, and inboth cases it does not matter which
islabeled 1 or 2. The distances r1, r2, r3,r4 represent the distances
betweenposts. The curved lines runningthrough the ground from C1 to
C2represent how the current may flowthrough a homogeneous soil. Usingthe
below formula we can solve forthe resistivity [1].
4131211112
rrrr IV
This is also known as the apparent resistivity.
413121111
2
rrrr IV
A
The apparent resistivity is a samplingof one location. Multiple samplingswill
help to discern variation in