Laboratory Assessment of Chemical Characteristics using Electrical Resistivity (ER) Technique in Highway Construction

Abstract

Electrical Resistivity (ER) technique was applied for simulation model constructed at University of Technology / Civil Engineering Department Laboratories, Baghdad-Iraq. The study aims to determine the relationship between changing the chemical properties of the soil and the resistivity of soil layers using 1-D VES. ER has been chosen as a nondestructive geophysical survey method to identify some soil characteristics without destructing the soil by making surface measurements using Wenner configuration. The obtained data results showed that there is a relationship between ER and some soil characteristics. The ER values change with the change of soil properties. Two models were created. In the first model, the ER was measured without changing any of the soil characteristics, and it was with optimum water content. In the second model, 5% of the sodium chloride salt was added to the soil after dissolving with water then the ER was measured. It was found that after adding the salt, the ER is decreased significantly, and thus the ER was affected by the addition of the salt.