Variation Of Soil Resistivity Research Articles

Two‐Dimensional Spatial and Temporal Variation of Soil Physical Properties in Tillage Systems Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography

The objective of this research was to assess the effects of different tillage systems on the spatial and temporal variation of soil resistivity and soil features related to resistance to penetration and porosity using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). Two‐dimensional (vertical and horizontal) ERT was performed on long‐term conventional deep tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), no‐tillage (NT), and by tilling a no‐till plot (freshly tilled no‐till [FTNT]). The tillage treatments were compared in two different studies with measurements taken at different scale and with two different sampling configurations. The first study consisted of ERT measured on a 5.75 m linear transect with horizontal and vertical high resolution measurements and a second study performed at the field scale using an on‐the‐go automatic resistivity profile. The on‐the‐go equipment collected data simultaneously at three different depths (50, 100, 200 cm) and data were referenced by differential global positioning systems (DGPS). Total variation in soil resistivity was significantly explained by tillage treatment and soil depth and by their interaction. The response of soil resistivity to tillage was able to significantly discern between tilled and untilled soil, and between FTNT and the old tillage. Soil resistance to penetration also allowed to detect highly significant differences between the untilled and other treatments at 5 cm, but did not discriminate between FTNT and the other tilled treatments, due to high variability. The automatic resistivity profiling (ARP) measurements were affected by fresh tillage, given the strong response of resistivity to soil bulk density for the first layer.

Chronostratigraphic study of the Grottaperfetta alluvial valley in the city of Rome (Italy): investigating possible interaction between sedimentary and tectonic processes

We carried out geomorphologic and geological investigations in a south-eastern tributary valley of the Tiber River in Rome, the Grottaperfetta valley, aimed to reconstruct its buried geometry. Since results of the geomorphologic study evidenced anomalies of the stream beds, we performed geoelectric and boreholes prospecting to check whether recent faulting, rather than an inherited structural control, possibly contributed to the evolution of the alluvial valley. Vertical offsets of the stratigraphic horizons across adjacent boreholes were evidenced within the Late Pleistocene-Holocene alluvium and its substratum. In order to rule out the effects of irregular geometry of the alluvial deposits, we focussed on sectors where vertical offsets affected all the stratigraphic horizons (alluvium and pre-Holocene substratum), showing an increasing displacement with depth. We identified a site where repeated displacements occur coupled with a lateral variation of soil resistivity, and we drilled an oblique borehole aimed to cross and sample the possible fault zone affecting the terrain. A 7 cm thick granular layer, inclined 50°÷70° on the horizontal, was recovered 5 m b.g., and it was interpreted as the filling material of a fracture. The convergence of the reported features with independent evidence from geoelectric and geomorphologic investigations leads to hypothesize the presence of a faulting zone within the Holocene alluvial terrains and to propose the excavation of a trench to verify this hypothesis.

A review of soil strength measurement techniques for prediction of terrain vehicle performance

This paper reviews techniques for measurement of soil strength and makes recommendationsfor suitable methods for off-road vehicle performance prediction. The cone penetrometer and bevameter were found to be the most appropriate largely because they enable measurements to be made in situ. However, even though the penetrometer is the only technique that can assess variation of soil resistance with depth, neither the cone index nor its gradient with respect to depth is uniquely related to soil cohesion or density, but varies with moisture content and structural state. Furthermore, the formation of soil bodies and compaction zones ahead of the cone effectively changes its geometry and the penetration no longer reflects the original properties of the soil. On the other hand, the bevameter technique only characterizes surface soil properties. Nevertheless, the bevameter provides the closest simulation of vehicle-terrain interaction among all the currently available techniques. The main criticism of the bevameter and also of the penetrometer is that the sizes of the penetration and grouser plates and the cones, respectively, are too small.

Lateral Load Behavior of Pile Group in Sand

A large‐scale group of steel pipe piles and an isolated single pile were subjected to two‐way cyclic lateral loading. The tests were conducted in a submerged firm to dense sand that was placed and compacted around the piles. All of the piles were extensively instrumented so that the variation in soil resistance within the group could be determined. The response of the piles in the group was also compared with the response of the isolated single pile. The loss of efficiency of the piles in the group was related principally to “shadowing” (i.e., the loss of soil resistance of piles in the trailing rows). Piles in the leading row supported a large proportion of the group load and behaved similarly to the isolated single pile. Two‐way cyclic loading had little effect on the distribution of load to the piles in the group, but tended to densify the sand around both the single pile and the group piles.