Time Domain Reflectometry Surface Reflections for Dielectric Constant in Highly Conductive Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 133, Issue 12
Abstract
This paper presents a model-based approach to determine dielectric constants from time domain reflectometry (TDR) measurement in highly conductive soils. It makes use of information contained in the TDR signal from the reflection at the surface of the soil rather than the reflection from the end of the probe. The TDR method is widely used to determine the volumetric water content of soils. Commonly used information from the TDR signals includes the apparent dielectric constant and the electrical conductivity. The apparent dielectric constant is generally measured by analyzing the travel time of electromagnetic waves reflected from the end of the soil probe. In soils with high electrical conductivities, the attenuation of the signal can eliminate the reflection from the end of the probe, which limits the application of TDR to these materials. A simplified frequency-independent dielectric model is utilized to invert the dielectric constant from the reflected signals at the soil surface. Results indicate that the dielectric constant can be determined with reasonable accuracy by the proposed approach for soils with high electrical conductivity, where the conventional travel time analysis fails due to significant signal attenuation.
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Acknowledgments
The first writer gratefully acknowledges research funding from the Board of Pao’s Scholarship for Chinese Students to Study Abroad, and all the writers appreciate the support of the Chinese Natural Science Foundation, Project No. 50308026, and the U.S. National Science Foundation, Project No. CMS-0244704. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Chinese Natural Science Foundation or the U.S. National Science Foundation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 133 • Issue 12 • December 2007
Pages: 1597 - 1608
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 14, 2005
Accepted: Oct 31, 2006
Published online: Dec 1, 2007
Published in print: Dec 2007
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