Effect of Soil Mineralogy and Pore-Water Chemistry on the Electrical Resistivity of Saturated Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 11
Abstract
The electrical characteristics of soil-water mixtures reflect the soil type, ionic concentration, surface conduction, fluid saturation, porosity, and pore connectivity of the mixtures. Archie’s law commonly is used to analyze the electrical resistivity measurement results of soil-water mixtures. This paper explores the pore-fluid effect on Archie’s law. Experimental tests were performed on sand and clay specimens to measure the variation in their electrical resistivity at different porosities and for different electrical resistivities of the pore fluid. The results demonstrate that the sand specimens (i.e., low specific surface soil) have a unique Archie’s law curve; however, the clay specimens (i.e., high specific surface soil) have an inconsistent Archie’s law curve owing to the surface conduction induced by the double layer of clay particles. In particular, Archie’s law should be applied and analyzed cautiously when high specific surface soils are subjected to pore fluids with high electrical resistivities (i.e., low electrolyte conductivity).
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Power Generation & Electricity Delivery of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Korea government Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (20131010501790) and by the Basic Research Project of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM, GP2012-001) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning of Korea.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 11 • November 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 19, 2013
Accepted: Jul 15, 2014
Published online: Jul 28, 2014
Published in print: Nov 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Dec 28, 2014
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