Time domain reflectrometry measurements of water content in coarse waste rock

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Nichol ◽  
Leslie Smith ◽  
Roger Beckie
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Dielectric Permittivity ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Travel Time ◽  
Pore Water ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
High Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Laboratory Calibration

Methods are presented to calibrate and implement a time domain reflectrometry (TDR) system to estimate the water content of coarse mine waste rock containing high solute concentrations in the pore water. High electrical conductivity of the pore water reduces the quality of TDR waveforms through the loss of signal amplitude. Zegelin-type probes with a resistive coating on the center conductor were used to obtain higher signal-to-noise waveforms. These probes must be calibrated prior to use. The TDR pulse travel-time measured in soils containing pore water with high solute concentrations increases systematically with solute concentration. Empirical calibrations are derived for waste rock with low and high electrical conductivity pore water. An ambient temperature correction is derived from observed diurnal fluctuations in the measured travel time to determine whether or not a detailed laboratory calibration for temperature effects is required. The variation of apparent dielectric permittivity with temperature is positively correlated with temperature at low water content and negatively correlated at high water content. This trend indicates the influence of water bound to mineral surfaces on the variation of apparent dielectric permittivity with temperature. Examination of our field data indicates that the effect of dissolved ions on the TDR calibration was great enough to justify a calibration that accounts for pore-water composition. The effect of ambient temperature was found to be small enough that an intensive laboratory calibration was not required.Key words: time domain reflectrometry, water content, mining.

scholarly journals Technical Note:Practical considerations on the use of down-sized time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probes

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 949-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Mojid
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Travel Time ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Transition Time ◽  
Probe Length ◽  
Travel Path

Abstract. Nine time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probes, 2 to 10 cm long, were evaluated by comparing their measurement accuracy of TDR-pulse travel time in a sand and sandy loam soil, and electrical conductivity in NaCl solutions. TDR probes <2.5 cm in length generated trough-haped TDR waveforms with rounded corners at the points of the pulse reflection from the probe ends. The sharpness of the pulse reflection on the waveforms increased with both the increasing probe length and soil-water content. The transition time for the propagation of TDR pulse at the probe entrance increased as the soil dried up. The increased transition time caused a rightward movement of the first peak of the waveform at the probe entrance. Because of such peak movement, TDR-support software algorithm determined travel path of TDR pulse through the probe that was smaller than the actual travel path. TDR-measured pulse travel time tTDR varied erratically with the predicted pulse travel time tg (from volumetric soil-water content) for the probes <2.5 cm in length. But, for all probes ³2.5 cm in length, tTDR varied linearly with tg and followed the 1:1 line. TDR could not measure tTDR <300 ps accurately. A minimum probe length Lmin and the lowest allowable soil-water content qmin that the probe can accurately measure govern this lowest pulse travel time tmin. The mean absolute deviation between tTDR and tg was 77 ps for the 2.3 cm long probe and 1.39 ps for all probes ≥2.5 cm in length. All probes ≥2.5 cm in length measured electrical conductivity of salt solutions sTDR that compared well with the electrical conductivity measured by a conductivity meter sm. The length of the probes did not exert any noticeable influence on the accuracy of electrical conductivity measurement. Keywords: TDR probe, pulse travel time, dielectric constant, electrical conductivity

scholarly journals Estimating Pore Water Electrical Conductivity of Sandy Soil from Time Domain Reflectometry Records Using a Time-Varying Dynamic Linear Model

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 4403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basem Aljoumani ◽  
Jose Sanchez-Espigares ◽  
Gerd Wessolek
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Dielectric Permittivity ◽  
Linear Relationship ◽  
Linear Model ◽  
Pore Water ◽  
Sandy Soil ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Relative Dielectric Permittivity ◽  
Time Varying

Despite the importance of computing soil pore water electrical conductivity (σp) from soil bulk electrical conductivity (σb) in ecological and hydrological applications, a good method of doing so remains elusive. The Hilhorst concept offers a theoretical model describing a linear relationship between σb, and relative dielectric permittivity (εb) in moist soil. The reciprocal of pore water electrical conductivity (1/σp) appears as a slope of the Hilhorst model and the ordinary least squares (OLS) of this linear relationship yields a single estimate ( 1 / σ p ^ ) of the regression parameter vector (σp) for the entire data. This study was carried out on a sandy soil under laboratory conditions. We used a time-varying dynamic linear model (DLM) and the Kalman filter (Kf) to estimate the evolution of σp over time. A time series of the relative dielectric permittivity (εb) and σb of the soil were measured using time domain reflectometry (TDR) at different depths in a soil column to transform the deterministic Hilhorst model into a stochastic model and evaluate the linear relationship between εb and σb in order to capture deterministic changes to (1/σp). Applying the Hilhorst model, strong positive autocorrelations between the residuals could be found. By using and modifying them to DLM, the observed and modeled data of εb obtain a much better match and the estimated evolution of σp converged to its true value. Moreover, the offset of this linear relation varies for each soil depth.

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