Estimation of soil young modulus based on the electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) by using regression equation

Abstract

Shear modulus (G) is one of the most important parameters in geotechnical design to ensure adequate margin of safety is maintained in the design of constructions such as buildings. There is a direct relationship between the shear modulus and shear wave velocity (Vs) which can get easily from Seismic methods. Some of Seismic methods have shortages which make electrical method much attractive for example, there is no interfere with external factors like noise in electrical technique. This paper, shows the relationship between electrical resistivity and Young’s modulus (E) using regression equation to get shear modulus. From the latter, shear wave velocity can easy to determine. Soil density and Poisson’s ratio was taken as an exact value depending on the profile of the soil to determine shear wave velocity and shear modulus respectively. This paper illustrates a good relationship between Young’s modulus and electrical resistivity. Correlation equation between shear wave velocity and N-value was predicted to represent Malaysia’s soil and the result was strongly close to previous soil equations of several countries.