• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.45-54
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• 2009

The electrical characteristics of soils have been used for investigating soil properties. The purpose of this study is the development and application of the electrical resistivity cone probe (ERCP) for the evelation of the porosity in the field with high precision. The shape of the probe tip is a cone shape to minimize the disturbance during penetration. In addition, the four terminal pair configuration is adopted to minimize the electrical interference. The electrical resistances are continuously measured during penetration of the ERCP using penetration rigs with 0.33 mm/sec penetration rate at Incheon and Busan sites. With the measured resistance profile and electrical resisivity of electrolyte of undisturbed samples, soil porosity profiles are obtained by using Archie's law. The empirical coefficients for the Archie's law are obtained based on the electrolyte extracted from the undisturbed samples. The estimated porosity profiles show similar trends to those of in-situ penetration tests such as SPT, CPT, and DMT. This study suggests that the ERCP may be an effective tool for the porosity estimation in the field with minimum disturbance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.127-133
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• 2008

The electrical resistivity methods have been commonly used for figuring out the ground layers. The purpose of this paper, differently from previous methods, is not only to figure out the layers but also to develope a equipment and a method to analyze ground porosity. Equipment has a shape of cone, which can be coupled with drilling rods. A field penetration test was performed to test application in Incheon Chungla area. Through the field test soil resistances were measured. To calculate soil porosity along the depth, Archie's law is applied. The results show that a new equipment and porosity analysis method using Archie's law can distinguish soil layers and precisely measure soil porosity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.03a
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• pp.464-475
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• 2009

Electrical resistivity can be used for porosity estimation. In order to improve previously developed ERCP(Electrical Resistivity Cone Probe), 4ERP(4 Electrical Resistivity Probe), which has Wenner array at the tip of probes, has been developed. In properties of current flow Wenner array measures electrical properties of undisturbed area during penetration and relatively correct measurements are guaranteed without polarization. Furthermore, Wenner array equation can estimate electrical resistivity without extra calibration. 4ERP is developed into 2 types, penetration and fixation. Penetration type has wedge-shaped tip. Considering disturbance minimization, fixed type has plane tip. Fixed type 4ERP in consolidation cell measure electrical resistivity increment along porosity decrease, and penetration type 4ERP measured resistivity profile along the depth in chamber. Applying Archie's law, porosity profile was estimated with electrical resistivity. The tests result suggests that 4ERP can be new site investigation equipment with little disturbance.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.3C
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• pp.127-136
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• 2009

The objective of this study is the development and verification of the 4-electrode resistivity probe (4ERP) for the estimation of electrical properties of the saturated soils. The 4ERPs with wedge and plane types are manufactured to obtain the electrical resistivity without polarization at the electrodes by using Wenner array. The wedge type is for the penetration into the soil samples and the plane type is for the installation into the cells used for the laboratory tests. The consolidation tests are carried out by using 6 types of glass beads and 3 types of sands in size. The test results show that the electrical resistivity increases with a decrease in the porosity, and the constant m used in Archie's law is dependent on the particle shape rather particle size. The one dimensional liquefaction tests show that the porosity obtained by the 4ERP is similar to that determined by the volume fraction. The penetration of the 4ERP into the large scale calibration chamber produces the resistivity profiles. This study demonstrates that the 4ERP may effectively estimate the porosity of the saturated soils.