Abstract
Current geophysical techniques used in the assessment of the interior of earthen embankments include: acoustic/seismic, electro‐magnetic and resistivity, gravity, and radar. The tradeoff associated with using geophysical techniques is that the measurements are sensitive to the distribution of the bulk “geophysical” properties (elasticity, electrical resistivity, dielectric constant, etc) in the subsurface. Relationships between these physical properties and the more “basic” properties (bulk density, moisture content, porosity, mineralogy, etc) used by engineers must be determined. The Proctor Compaction Test is a common engineering approach for determining the compaction behavior of embankment dam materials. This laboratory test consists of determining the optimal moisture content at which a given material will achieve its maximum dry density when subjected to a fixed compaction effort. The submerged jet erosion test (JET) and the hole erosion test have been developed to determine the erodibility of cohesive soils typically encountered in embankment dams. In this presentation, laboratory measurements of seismic velocity, complex electrical resistivity, erodibility (JET), during a standard Proctor test are discussed. It is anticipated that relationships based upon these measurements will provide the bridge for practitioners to fully utilize the information in geophysical maps. (This research is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security‐sponsored Southeast Region Research Initiative (SERRI) at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Published Version
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