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In-Situ Soil Resistivity Test

This document describes an in-situ soil resistivity test conducted to measure the electrolytic conductivity and resistivity of soils. Twenty-four electrical resistivity tests were performed using four electrodes and a soil resistivity meter. The results showed that increased soil porosity, salinity, water content and compaction decrease resistivity, while resistivity increases with distance between electrodes. Soil resistivity influences corrosion rates of buried structures, with higher resistivity potentially leading to more localized corrosion. The test aimed to determine resistivity under saturated conditions for comparability regardless of moisture variations.

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Priodeep Chowdhury
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68 views

In-Situ Soil Resistivity Test

This document describes an in-situ soil resistivity test conducted to measure the electrolytic conductivity and resistivity of soils. Twenty-four electrical resistivity tests were performed using four electrodes and a soil resistivity meter. The results showed that increased soil porosity, salinity, water content and compaction decrease resistivity, while resistivity increases with distance between electrodes. Soil resistivity influences corrosion rates of buried structures, with higher resistivity potentially leading to more localized corrosion. The test aimed to determine resistivity under saturated conditions for comparability regardless of moisture variations.

Uploaded by

Priodeep Chowdhury
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

In-Situ Soil Resistivity Test.

In-Situ Soil Resistivity Test.

Table of Content
1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………. 2
2.0 Different Methods of Soil Resistivity Test………………………………….. 2
3.0 Methodology………………………………………………………………… 3
4.0 Result and Conclusion……………………………………………………... 3

Appendix-A: Test Data and Result

Page 1
In-Situ Soil Resistivity Test.

Introduction:

Soil resistivity is defined as the inverse of conductivity. Resistivity is the convention of


expressing the resistance of materials. For more practical chemical and biological usage the
scientific community uses the algebraic inverse of ohm resistance of ohm resistance for
conductivity expressed in m'hos. The current preferred international standard SI system uses the
term electrolytic conductivity expressed in units of Siemen per meter (s/m) in which dS/m is the
identical value to mhos/cm.

The electrolytic behavior of soils is an indirect measurement of the soluble salt content. The
amount of dissolved inorganic solutes (anions and cations) in water or in the soil solution is
directly proportional to the solution electrolytic conductivity. The major dissolved anions in soil
systems are chloride, sulfate, phosphate and bicarbonate, with chloride and sulfate the most
important anionic constituents in corrosion phenomena. The electrolytic conductivity (EC) of the
soil solution is the sum of the entire individual equivalent ionic conductivities times their
concentration.

Different Methods of Soil Resistivity Test:

A number of methods are in current use to measure either electrolytic conductivity or soil
resistivity directly, notably ASTM G57-78, 8E. California Test 643 or Soil Survey Laboratory
Procedure.

ASTM Method G57-78 for soil resistivity measurements in the field and laboratory employs the
use of four electrodes instead of the two required in California Test 643. The four electrode
technique is an improvement over the California Test by minimizing errors due to polarization
effects. Another difference in these two methods is that the ASTM laboratory measurement is
conducted only at a saturated paste moisture level as in the Soil Survey Lab procedures.
Conducting the analysis at the saturated paste moisture level will result in the minimum
resistivity value for the in-situ soil with the possible exception of certain clay soils not used
within the reinforced soil mass.

The Soil Survey Lab procedure for soil resistivity (8E) utilizes a portable Wheatstone bridge
with a specially designed standard soil cup. Although this old procedure is not currently used to
any great extent, it is still maintained for field mapping of saline and alkali soils.

The California Test is similar to the Soil Survey 8E method but is a much more time-consuming
procedure requiring the determination of resistivity at various levels of soil moisture in a
specially designed resistivity box. Inherent problems of this procedure such as repacking density,
uneven moisture distribution, equilibrium time, tortuous cell path length and electrode contact
variation by packing density and textural differences should lead to a low degree of intra and
inner laboratory precision, accuracy and reproducibility.

Page 2
In-Situ Soil Resistivity Test.

Methodology:
Twenty four (24) electrical resistivity tests were carried using a Chauvin-Arnoux (Model:
CA6460) Soil Resistivity Meter at ground surface with electrode spacing of 3.0m, 3.0-17.0 and
greater than 17.0m utilizing the Wenner - 4 Pin method. Steel electrode pegs of 2m length were
hammered into the ground at the required spacing and were connected to the resistance meter as
detailed in the diagram below (ASTM G57 – 95(a)).

Figure 4: Electrical Resistivity Test Setup

A low voltage 97 Hz square wave current was passed between the two (outer) current electrodes
E, H. The detector measures the voltage drop between the two (inner) potential electrodes ES, S,
and compares this with internal standard resistors and indicates the resistance reading in ohms on
a LCD display. Soil resistivity is then calculated.0.45m long electrodes were used to ensure
proper contact between ground and electrodes.

Results and Conclusion:

The results of the electrical resistivity measurements are presented in Appendix.

Soil resistivity has a strong influence on the rate of corrosion, particularly where macro-
corrosion cells are developed on larger steel members, as it governs the effectiveness of the ionic
current pathway.

Corrosion increases as resistivity decreases. However, if resistivity is high, localized rather than
general corrosion may occur. Increased soil porosity and salinity decreases soil resistivity. The
importance of and interaction between compaction, water content and resistivity, and their
influence on corrosion processes has perhaps been under emphasized in many of the available
studies.

Resistivity should be determined under the most adverse condition (saturated state) in order to
obtain a comparable resistivity independent of seasonal and other variations in soil-moisture
content.

Page 3
In-Situ Soil Resistivity Test.

Appendix-A

Page 4
In-Situ Soil Resistivity Test.

Page 5

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