The effect of electrode contact resistance and capacitive coupling on complex resistivity measurements

Abstract

Summary The effect of electrode contact resistance and capacitive coupling on complex resistivity (CR) measurements is studied in this paper. An equivalent circuit model for the receiver is developed to describe the effects. The model shows that CR measurements are severely affected even at relatively low contact resistances. The model suggests proportionality between the error in the phase measurements and the product of the wire-to-ground capacitance, the contact resistance, the dipole size and the frequency of the measurement. The model behavior is illustrated and confirmed by field data collected with the contact resistance artificially increased by resistors. The results emphasize the importance of keeping contact resistance low in CR measurements.