Correlation between Electrical Resistivity and Suction for Unsaturated Coastal Saline Soil

Abstract

An experimental research on joint application of engineering-geological and geophysical measurements is presented in this paper. Experimental results obtained from the filter paper method and four electrode resistivity measurements were presented to characterize unsaturated saline soil samples collected in a test area in Lian Yungang City (in Jiangsu Province), which aimed at defining both soil suction and electrical resistivity curves versus water content at different salt contents. From the matching of the experimental data, the relationships between electrical resistivity and suctions were retrieved for the investigated soil. It was concluded that suctions increase with the increase of electrical resistivity and the increase of soil salt content. The outcomes of the study would provide proper understanding about the influence of physical characteristics of unsaturated soils on their electrical responses.