scholarly journals Detection of Cracks in Clay Soil Using Quasi-3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography Method: Numerical and Experimental Study

2022 ◽  
Vol 961 (1) ◽  
pp. 012006
Author(s):  
Asem A Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Clay Soil ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Clay Soils ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Geotechnical Characteristics ◽  
Soil Cracks

Abstract Soil cracks affect the geotechnical characteristics of clay soils frequently used in engineered earth structures. In this work, numerical simulation and laboratory tests using Wenner- Schlumberger array of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) method are adopted to detect soil cracks in compacted clay soil. 3D numerical simulation showed that air-filled cracks have an anomalous high resistivity signature that can be differentiated from the background due to the high resistivity contrast between cracks and the surrounding soil. Depth, geometry, and extension of the simulated cracks are reasonably indicated. At the laboratory scale, quasi-3D ERT experiment was conducted. The results showed that soil resistivity is significantly affected by an artificially introduced crack as the crack forms a barrier that disturbs the flow of electricity in the soil. Similarly, depth, geometry, and extension of the crack are detected. Both numerical and experimental findings demonstrated that ERT method can effectively be used to identify cracking in clay soils. It is suggested that ERT, as a non invasive method, can be adopted with other traditional geotechnical methods for detecting cracks in clay soils.

scholarly journals Electrical resistivity tomography applied to geologic, hydrogeologic, and engineering investigations at a former waste-disposal site

Geophysics ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. B231-B239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Chambers ◽  
Oliver Kuras ◽  
Philip I. Meldrum ◽  
Richard D. Ogilvy ◽  
Jonathan Hollands
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Site Investigation ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Potential Zone ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
L2 Norm ◽  
Resistivity Model ◽  
2D And 3D ◽  
2D Resistivity

A former dolerite quarry and landfill site was investigated using 2D and 3D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), with the aims of determining buried quarry geometry, mapping bedrock contamination arising from the landfill, and characterizing site geology. Resistivity data were collected from a network of intersecting survey lines using a Wenner-based array configuration. Inversion of the data was carried out using 2D and 3D regularized least-squares optimization methods with robust (L1-norm) model constraints. For this site, where high resistivity contrasts were present, robust model constraints produced a more accurate recovery of subsurface structures when compared to the use of smooth (L2-norm) constraints. Integrated 3D spatial analysis of the ERT and conventional site investigation data proved in this case a highly effective means of characterizing the landfill and its environs. The 3D resistivity model was successfully used to confirm the position of the landfill boundaries, which appeared as electrically well-defined features that corresponded extremely closely to both historic maps and intrusive site investigation data. A potential zone of leachate migration from the landfill was identified from the electrical models; the location of this zone was consistent with the predicted direction of groundwater flow across the site. Unquarried areas of a dolerite sill were imaged as a resistive sheet-like feature, while the fault zone appeared in the 2D resistivity model as a dipping structure defined by contrasting bedrock resistivities.

scholarly journals Exploring the regolith with electrical resistivity tomography in largescale surveys: electrode spacing related issues and possibility

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Gourdol ◽  
Rémi Clément ◽  
Jérôme Juilleret ◽  
Laurent Pfister ◽  
Christophe Hissler
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Apparent Resistivity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Subsurface Layer ◽  
Electrode Spacing ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Constant Thickness ◽  
Resistivity Tomography

Abstract. Within the Critical Zone, regolith plays a key role in the fundamental hydrological functions of water collection, storage, mixing and release. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is recognized as a remarkable tool for characterizing the geometry and properties of the regolith, overcoming limitations inherent to conventional borehole-based investigations. For exploring shallow layers, a small electrode spacing (ES) will provide a denser set of apparent resistivity measurements of the subsurface. As this option is cumbersome and time-consuming, smaller ES – albeit offering poorer shallow apparent resistivity data – are often preferred for large horizontal ERT surveys. To investigate the negative trade-off between larger ES and reduced accuracy of the inverted ERT images for shallow layers, we use a set of synthetic conductive/resistive/conductive three-layered soil–saprock/saprolite–bedrock models in combination with a reference field dataset. Our results suggest that an increase in ES causes a deterioration of the accuracy of the inverted ERT images in terms of both resistivity distribution and interface delineation and, most importantly, that this degradation increases sharply when the ES exceeds the thickness of the top subsurface layer. This finding, which is obvious for the characterization of shallow layers, is also relevant even when solely aiming for the characterization of deeper layers. We show that an oversized ES leads to overestimations of depth to bedrock and that this overestimation is even more important for subsurface structures with high resistivity contrast. To overcome this limitation, we propose adding interpolated levels of surficial apparent resistivity relying on a limited number of ERT profiles with a smaller ES. We demonstrate that our protocol significantly improves the accuracy of ERT profiles when using large ES, provided that the top layer has a rather constant thickness and resistivity. For the specific case of large-scale ERT surveys the proposed upgrading procedure is cost-effective in comparison to protocols based on small ES.

scholarly journals Stabilization Methodology in Foundation Soils by ERT-3D Application in Estepona, South Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4455
Author(s):  
Alfonso Gutiérrez-Martín ◽  
José I. Yenes ◽  
Marta Fernández-Hernández ◽  
Ricardo Castedo
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Shallow Foundations ◽  
Simplified Model ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Combined System ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Field Campaign ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Dipole Configuration

The paper proposes a novel methodology for the stabilization of shallow foundations, with a simplified model combined with 3D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT-3D and consolidation injections. To determine its usefulness, the method has been applied in a case located in Estepona (southern Spain). The chosen tomography model is the dipole–dipole configuration, with an optimized distance between electrodes of 0.80 m for a better visualization of the foundation subsoil; with this parameterization, a total of 72 electrodes were installed in the analyzed case. In this work, the depth of the anomaly in the building’s supporting subsoil was detected ranging from 2.00 m to 3.90 m deep. The study also delineates areas of high resistivity variations (50–1000 Ω m) in the middle and eastern end of the field. These data have been validated and corroborated with a field campaign. The results of the ERT-3D monitoring are presented, once the investment data has been processed with the RES3DINV software, from the beginning to the end of the stabilization intervention. The novelty occurs with the interaction between the tomography and the foundation consolidation injections, until the final stabilization. This is a very useful methodology in case of emergency consolidation, where there is a need to minimize damage to the building. Thus, people using this combined system will be able to practically solve the initial anomalies of the subsoil that caused the damages, in a non-invasive way, considerably lowering the value of the resistivities.

scholarly journals Ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography for locating buried building foundations: A case study in the city centre of Thessaloniki, Greece

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1355
Author(s):  
G. Vargemezis ◽  
N. Diamanti ◽  
I. Fikos ◽  
A. Stampolidis ◽  
Th. Makedon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
City Centre ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
The City

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys have been carried out in the city centre of Thessaloniki (N. Greece), for investigating possible locations of buried building foundations. Geophysical survey has been chosen as a non-destructive investigation method since the area is currently used as a car parking and it is covered by asphalt. The geoelectrical sections derived from ERT data in combination with the GPR profiles provided a broad view of the  subsurface.  Regarding  ERT,  high  resistivity  values  can  be  related  to  buried building remains, while lower resistivity values are more related to the surrounding geological materials. GPR surveying can also indicate man-made structures buried in the ground. Even though the two geophysical methods are affected in different ways by the subsurface conditions, the processed underground images from both techniques revealed great similarity. High resistivity anomalies and distinct GPR signals were observed in certain locations of the area under investigation, which are attributed to buried building foundations as well as the geological structure of the area.

scholarly journals A 2D electrical resistivity tomography survey of a vineyard plot of the Gaillac appellation (France): interpretation with respect to possible implications on vine water supply

OENO One ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Pierre Courjault-Radé ◽  
Muriel Llubes ◽  
José Darrozes ◽  
Marguerite Munoz ◽  
Eric Maire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Lower Layer ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Resistivity Tomography

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aims</strong>: The aim of this 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey performed on a vineyard plot of the Gaillac appellation was to investigate spatial and temporal variations in subsurface water supply in relation with pedo-geological and morphological features.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results</strong>: The ERT surveys were carried out under two contrasted - dry and humid - climatic conditions. All the resistivity profiles showed the superposition of two layers: a lower layer characterized by very low resistivity values (&lt; 40 <strong>Ω</strong>.m) corresponding to a marly molassic subsoil overlaid by an upper layer characterized by moderate to high resistivity values (300 <strong>Ω</strong>.m to 1500 <strong>Ω</strong>.m) corresponding to a silty-sandy and gravely-pebbly soil sequence. The resistivity values of the molassic subsoil stayed very low independently of water supply conditions whereas those of the soil sequence decreased by a factor 2 (300/750 <strong>Ω</strong>.m versus 750/1500 <strong>Ω</strong>.m) when the plot was close to field capacity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion</strong>: The ERT results coupled with pedological and morphological data strongly suggest that the water flow is preferentially restricted at the molassic subsoil/soil sequence interface, short-lived and of low amplitude.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Significance and impact of the study</strong>: Consequently, the water supply regime, which points out a potential risk of drought stress for vine crops, implies a minimization strategy when choosing vegetal material and viticultural management operations</p>

scholarly journals The Messapic Site of Muro Leccese: New Results from Integrated Geophysical and Archaeological Surveys

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianco ◽  
De Giorgi ◽  
Giannotta ◽  
Leucci ◽  
Meo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Geophysical Survey ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Good Correspondence ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Ground Penetrating

The regular application of geophysical survey techniques to evaluate archaeological sites is well established as a method for locating, defining, and mapping buried archaeological materials. However, it is not always feasible to apply a range of different methods over a particular site or landscape due to constraints in time or funding. This paper addresses the integrated application of three geophysical survey methods over an important archaeological site located in south Italy. In particular, it is focused on the results achieved from a past geophysical survey and the ongoing excavations performed by archaeologists in the site of Muro Leccese. Muro Leccese (Lecce) is one of the most important Messapian archaeological sites in southern Italy. The archaeological interest of the site was generated since the discovery of the remains of Messapian walls (late 4th–3rd centuries BC). With the aim of widening the archaeological knowledge of the Messapian settlement, several integrated methods, including magnetometry, ground-penetrating radar, and electrical resistivity tomography were used on site to fulfill a number of different research objectives. Since the most important targets were expected to be located at shallow soil depth, a three-dimensional (3D) ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey was carried out in two zones, which were labeled respectively as zone 1 and zone 2, and were both quite close to the archaeological excavations. The GPR investigations were integrated with a 3D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey in zone 1 and with a magnetometric, in gradiometry configuration survey in zone 2. The integration of several techniques allowed mapping the structural remains of this area and leading the excavation project. The geophysical results show a good correspondence with the archaeological features that were found after the excavation. Current work on the geophysical survey data using different codes for the processing of the data and merging different datasets using a Geographic Information System allowed achieving a user-friendly visualization that was presented to the archaeologists.

scholarly journals Characterization of Aquifers in Metamorphic Rocks by Combined Use of Electrical Resistivity Tomography and Monitoring of Spring Hydrodynamics

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Maja Briški ◽  
Andrej Stroj ◽  
Ivan Kosović ◽  
Staša Borović
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Crystalline Rocks ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Alteration Zone ◽  
Spring Discharge ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Alteration Zones ◽  
Alteration Processes

Crystalline rocks are generally characterized by negligible porosity and permeability in terms of groundwater exploitability. However, alteration processes can greatly increase their fracture permeability and induce formation of modest, but locally important aquifers. Therefore, subsurface characteristics of alteration zones are of major importance for hydrogeological evaluation of crystalline terrains. Alteration processes greatly affect rock total porosity and water content, causing contrasting electrical resistivity of rocks affected by varying degrees of weathering. This makes electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) a preferable geophysical method for the exploration of alteration zones in crystalline rocks. In our research, we used an integrated approach, combining the ERT method with monitoring of spring discharge and hydrochemistry to characterize metamorphic aquifers on slopes of the Medvednica Mountain (Croatia). Significant fracture flow aquifers are found to be formed in intensely fractured but not highly weathered rock masses (medium to high resistivity values), while highly weathered masses (low resistivity values) form local barriers for fracture flows. Subsurface structure of the alteration zone proved to be highly irregular, with sharp contacts between more and less weathered rocks. Decrease of permeability below the alteration zone keeps the water level near the surface and enables spring occurrence on the mountain slopes. Studied aquifers have relatively limited extent, resulting in typical capacity of major springs of a few l/s. More frequent but less productive springs are attributed to the draining of the shallow part of the alteration zone (mostly saprolite). Combination of the ERT method with spring monitoring proved to be very effective as a first and relatively inexpensive methodology for hydrogeological characterization of crystalline terrains, both in local and catchment scales.

scholarly journals Ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography for locating buried building foundations: A case study in the city centre of Thessaloniki, Greece

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1355
Author(s):  
G. Vargemezis ◽  
N. Diamanti ◽  
I. Fikos ◽  
A. Stampolidis ◽  
Th. Makedon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
City Centre ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
The City

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys have been carried out in the city centre of Thessaloniki (N. Greece), for investigating possible locations of buried building foundations. Geophysical survey has been chosen as a non-destructive investigation method since the area is currently used as a car parking and it is covered by asphalt. The geoelectrical sections derived from ERT data in combination with the GPR profiles provided a broad view of the  subsurface.  Regarding  ERT,  high  resistivity  values  can  be  related  to  buried building remains, while lower resistivity values are more related to the surrounding geological materials. GPR surveying can also indicate man-made structures buried in the ground. Even though the two geophysical methods are affected in different ways by the subsurface conditions, the processed underground images from both techniques revealed great similarity. High resistivity anomalies and distinct GPR signals were observed in certain locations of the area under investigation, which are attributed to buried building foundations as well as the geological structure of the area.

scholarly journals Exploring the regolith with electrical resistivity tomography in large-scale surveys: electrode spacing-related issues and possibility

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 1785-1812
Author(s):  
Laurent Gourdol ◽  
Rémi Clément ◽  
Jérôme Juilleret ◽  
Laurent Pfister ◽  
Christophe Hissler
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Apparent Resistivity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Subsurface Layer ◽  
Electrode Spacing ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Constant Thickness ◽  
Resistivity Tomography

Abstract. Within the critical zone, regolith plays a key role in the fundamental hydrological functions of water collection, storage, mixing and release. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is recognized as a remarkable tool for characterizing the geometry and properties of the regolith, overcoming limitations inherent to conventional borehole-based investigations. For exploring shallow layers, a small electrode spacing (ES) will provide a denser set of apparent resistivity measurements of the subsurface. As this option is cumbersome and time-consuming, larger ES – albeit offering poorer shallow apparent resistivity data – is often preferred for large horizontal ERT surveys. To investigate the negative trade-off between larger ES and reduced accuracy of the inverted ERT images for shallow layers, we use a set of synthetic “conductive–resistive–conductive” three-layered soil–saprock/saprolite–bedrock models in combination with a reference field dataset. Our results suggest that an increase in ES causes a deterioration of the accuracy of the inverted ERT images in terms of both resistivity distribution and interface delineation and, most importantly, that this degradation increases sharply when the ES exceeds the thickness of the top subsurface layer. This finding, which is obvious for the characterization of shallow layers, is also relevant even when solely aiming for the characterization of deeper layers. We show that an oversized ES leads to overestimations of depth to bedrock and that this overestimation is even more important for subsurface structures with high resistivity contrast. To overcome this limitation, we propose adding interpolated levels of surficial apparent resistivity relying on a limited number of ERT profiles with a smaller ES. We demonstrate that our protocol significantly improves the accuracy of ERT profiles when using large ES, provided that the top layer has a rather constant thickness and resistivity. For the specific case of large-scale ERT surveys the proposed upgrading procedure is cost-effective in comparison to protocols based on small ES.

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