Influence of Physical Parameters and Soil Chemical Composition on Electrical Resistivity: A Guide for Geotechnical Soil Profiles

The use of geophysical testing in geotechnical studies is sometimes looked at as a probable rather than certain approach when it comes to construct a precise subsurface soil profile. In order to obtain a detailed informative and comprehensive subsurface soil profile it will be required to conduct excessive borings and allow for huge costs. However, it can be possible to utilize the modern 2D and 3D electrical resistivity soil profiling techniques combined with few boreholes data to produce a reliable and correct subsurface profile, which can be used confidently by geotechnical engineers. In this study, the procedure of linking borehole information to the electrical resistivity ranges is set out. The predicted subsurface outcome for other electrical resistivity lines in the same area can be presented. This study considered only the soil density and soil type as prime factors. In order to validate the procedure further four investigation points were advanced and checked for matches and mismatches. Recorded errors were treated with a range of acceptance and rejection criteria. Further studies to introduce more adequate refinements are proposed. The resistivity of rocks and minerals can vary with the mobility, concentration, and ions dissociation. Dissolved chlorides and sulfates in water can result in different conductivities. The combined effect of some cations and anions together with some engineering parameters was studied for 15 samples of near surface sands and clays. Correlation studies and linear models using R statistical package were employed to highlight the influence of the chemical composition on the electrical resistivity results compared to other engineering properties and factors.