Geomechanics and Engineering

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Application of electrical resistivity for assessing characterizations of frozen and unfrozen soils

  • Dae-Hong Min (Department of Construction and Disaster Prevention Engineering, Daejeon University) ;
  • Hyung-Koo Yoon (Department of Construction and Disaster Prevention Engineering, Daejeon University)
  • Received : 2024.04.15
  • Accepted : 2024.07.16
  • Published : 2024.07.25
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Abstract

Permafrost refers to the condition where the ground is frozen. It is crucial to review and evaluate the ground's characteristics before construction. In this study, electrical resistivity surveying is chosen as the investigative technique to apply and illustrate the results on the state of permafrost ground and to summarize its applicability. Field experiments are conducted in the Yeoncheon area of South Korea, which has a freezing index of 522.6°C·days. The target area is categorized into two ground conditions: the first where the original ground freezes, and the second involves excavating the original ground up to a depth of 3 meters, backfilling it, and then artificially injecting fluid. Thus, frozen ground conditions are simulated under both natural and artificial circumstances. Electrical resistivity surveys are performed under both above-freezing and sub-zero temperature conditions, with the experiments conducted at sub-zero temperatures revealing relatively more high-resistivity zones due to the temperature conditions. In this area, the distribution of soil moisture content is also investigated using the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique. It is observed that the ground into which water is artificially injected had a relatively higher moisture content, although the difference is minor. Finally, a 3D map of the target ground is constructed based on the measured electrical resistivity values, and through this, the distribution of porosity, a crucial design parameter, is also depicted. This research demonstrates that the electrical resistivity technique can effectively evaluate the state of frozen and unfrozen ground and further suggests that it can detailed extract the characteristics of the target ground.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2020R1A2C2012113).

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