Abstract
As a special soil widely existing in world, loess engineering properties are often disturbed by water and salt. Hence, the influence of water content and salt content on the conductivity properties of loess was analyzed using the electrical resistivity of loess obtained by LCR digital bridge tester in this study. Loess electrical resistivity with different water content (8–20%) and NaCl content (0–6%) was obtained at test frequencies of 100 Hz, 1 kHz, and 10 kHz. Results show that loess electrical resistivity exhibited an exponential function with a change in water content. As water content increased, loess electrical resistivity decreased significantly. When water content exceeded the plastic limit, loess electrical resistivity decreased slowly. When NaCl content around 2%, the increase of ion content in conductive path of loess enhanced loess conductivity. When NaCl content reached 6%, the conductive capacity of the loess tended to reach its maximum, and the resistivity slowly decreased and stabilized. There was a nonlinear functional relation between loess electrical resistivity and test frequency. As the test frequency increased, the number of ions that could be used to form a conductive path increased, and loess electrical resistivity decreased. In addition, three paths model of loess electrical resistivity and double-layer structure can well explain above phenomena. This research can provide theoretical basis for electrical resistivity technology to predict water content and salt content, and valuable reference for large-scale field application of electrical resistivity observation technology.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- W :
-
Water content
- C :
-
NaCl content
- F :
-
Test frequency
- ρ :
-
Loess electrical resistivity
- R :
-
Sample resistance measured by testing
- S :
-
Cross-sectional area of the sample
- L :
-
Height of the sample
References
Abu Hassanein Zeyad S, Benson Craig H, Blotz Lisa R (1996) Electrical resistivity of compacted clays. J Geotech Eng 122:397–406. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1996)122:5(397)
Al Rashid QA, Abuel Naga HM, Leong EC, Lu Y, Al Abadi H (2018) Experimental-artificial intelligence approach for characterizing electrical resistivity of partially saturated clay liners. Appl Clay Sci 156:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2018.01.023
An N, Tang CS, Cheng Q, Wang DY, Shi B (2020) Application of electrical resistivity method in the characterization of 2D desiccation cracking process of clayey soil. Eng Geol 265:105416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105416
Archie GE (1942) The electrical resistivity log as an aid in determining some reservoir characteristics. Trans AIME 146:54–62. https://doi.org/10.2118/942054-G
ASTM (2009) Annual book of ASTM standards. ASTM International, West Conshohocken
Bai W, Kong L, Guo A (2013) Effects of physical properties on electrical conductivity of compacted lateritic soil. J Rock Mech Geotech Eng 5:406–411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105416
Cai J, Wei W, Hu X, Wood DA (2017) Electrical conductivity models in saturated porous media: a review. Earth Sci Rev 171:419–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.06.013
Campbell RB, Bower CA, Richards LA (1949) Change of electrical conductivity with temperature and the relation of osmotic pressure to electrical conductivity and ion concentration for soil extracts. Soil Sci Soc Am J 13:66–69. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1949.036159950013000C0010x
Cardoso R, Dias AS (2017) Study of the electrical resistivity of compacted kaolin based on water potential. Eng Geol 226:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2017.04.007
Christensen NB, Sherlock D, Dodds K (2006) Monitoring CO2 injection with cross-hole electrical resistivity tomography. Explor Geophys 37:44–49. https://doi.org/10.1071/EG06044
Chu Y, Liu S, Bate B, Xu L (2018) Evaluation on expansive performance of the expansive soil using electrical responses. J Appl Geophys 148:265–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2017.12.001
Clavier C, Coates G, Dumanoir J (1984) Theoretical and experimental bases for the dual-water model for interpretation of shaly sands. Soc Petrol Eng J 24:153–168. https://doi.org/10.2118/6859-PA
Darrow MM, Guo R, Trainor TP (2020) Zeta potential of cation-treated soils and its implication on unfrozen water mobility. Cold Reg Sci Technol 173:103029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2020.103029
Datsios Z, Mikropoulos P, Karakousis I (2017) Laboratory characterization and modeling of DC electrical resistivity of sandy soil with variable water resistivity and content. IEEE Trans Dielectr Electr Insul 24:3063–3072. https://doi.org/10.1109/TDEI.2017.006583
Duan Z, Cheng WC, Peng JB, Wang QY, Chen W (2019) Investigation into the triggering mechanism of loess landslides in the south Jingyang platform, Shaanxi province. Bull Eng Geol Env 78:4919–4930. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-01432-8
Duan Z, Wu YB, Tang H, Ma JQ, Zhu XH (2020) An analysis of factors affecting flowslide deposit morphology using Taguchi method. Adv Civil Eng 2020:8844722. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8844722
Duan Z, Cheng WC, Peng JB, Rahman MM, Tang H (2021) Interactions of landslide deposit with terrace sediments: perspectives from velocity of deposit movement and apparent friction angle. Eng Geol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105913
Espinoza DN, Kim SH, Santamarina JC (2011) CO2 geological storage—geotechnical implications. KSCE J Civ Eng 15:707–719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-011-0011-9
Freschi F, Mitolo M, Tartaglia M (2014) Interferences phenomena between separate grounding systems. IEEE Trans Ind Appl 50:2853–2860. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2013.2290840
Fu JT, Hu XS, Xi L (2019) Influences of soil moisture and salt content on loess shear strength in the Xining Basin, northeastern Qinghai-Tibet plateau. J Mt Sci 16:1184–1197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-018-5206-9
Fukue M, Minato T, Horibe H, Taya N (1999) The micro-structures of clay given by resistivity measurements. Eng Geol 54:43–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-7952(99)00060-5
Geng J, Sun Q (2018) Effects of high temperature treatment on physical-thermal properties of clay. Thermochim Acta 666:148–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2018.06.018
Gorman T, Kelly WE (1990) Electrical-hydraulic properties of unsaturated Ottawa sands. J Hydrol 118:1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(90)90247-U
Haeri SM, Akbari Garakani A, Roohparvar Hamid R, Desai Chandrakant S, Seyed Ghafouri SMH, Salemi Kouchesfahani K (2019) Testing and constitutive modeling of lime-stabilized collapsible loess. I: experimental investigations. Int J Geomech. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001364
Han PJ, Zhang YF, Chen FY, Bai XH (2015) Interpretation of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) circuit model for soils. J Cent South Univ 22:4318–4328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-015-2980-1
Handy RL (1973) Collapsible loess in Iowa. Soil Sci Soc Am J 37:281–284. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1973.03615995003700020033x
Hasan MF, Abuel Naga H, Broadbridge P, Leong EC (2018) Series-parallel structure-oriented electrical conductivity model of saturated clays. Appl Clay Sci 162:239–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2018.06.020
Hen Jones R, Hughes P, Glendinning S, Gunn D, Chambers J, Wilkinson P, Uhlemann S (2014) Determination of moisture content and soil suction in engineered fills using electrical resistivity. In: Khalili N, Russell A, Khoshghalb A (eds) Unsaturated soils: research and applications. CRC Press
Hu W, Cheng W-C, Wen S, Mizanur Rahman M (2021) Effects of chemical contamination on microscale structural characteristics of intact loess and resultant macroscale mechanical properties. CATENA 203:105361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105361
Jin Z et al (2019) Valley reshaping and damming induce water table rise and soil salinization on the Chinese loess plateau. Geoderma 339:115–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.12.048
Kalinski RJ, Kelly WE (1993) Estimating water content of soils from electrical resistivity. Geotech Test J 16:323–329. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ10053J
Kang M, Lee JS (2015) Evaluation of the freezing–thawing effect in sand–silt mixtures using elastic waves and electrical resistivity. Cold Reg Sci Technol 113:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.02.004
Leng Y, Peng J, Wang S, Lu F (2020) Development of water sensitivity index of loess from its mechanical properties. Eng Geol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105918
Li H, Duan Z, Dong C, Zhao F, Wang Q (2021) Impact-induced liquefaction mechanism of sandy silt at different saturations. Adv Civil Eng 2021:6686339. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6686339
Liu B, Li D (2012) A simple test method to measure unfrozen water content in clay–water systems. Cold Reg Sci Technol 78:97–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2012.02.001
Liu SY, Du YJ, Han LH, Gu MF (2008) Experimental study on the electrical resistivity of soil–cement admixtures. Environ Geol 54:1227–1233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0905-5
Liu Z, Liu FY, Ma FL (2015) Collapsibility, composition, and microstructure of loess in China. Can Geotech J 53:673–686. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2015-0285
Liu H, Jie T, Li B, Youming D, Chunning Q (2017) Study of the low-frequency dispersion of permittivity and resistivity in tight rocks. J Appl Geophys 143:141–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2017.05.018
Lu Y, Lu S, Horton R, Ren T (2014) An empirical model for estimating soil thermal conductivity from texture, water content, and bulk density. Soil Sci Soc Am J 78:1859–1868. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2014.05.0218
Lyu C, Sun Q, Zhang W, Hao S (2019) Effects of NaCl concentration on electrical resistivity of clay with cooling. J Appl Geophys 170:103843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2019.103843
Lyu C, Sun Q, Zhang W (2020) Effects of NaCl concentration on thermal conductivity of clay with cooling. Bull Eng Geol Env 79:1449–1459. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-019-01624-w
Mastrocicco M, Vignoli G, Colombani N, Zeid NA (2010) Surface electrical resistivity tomography and hydrogeological characterization to constrain groundwater flow modeling in an agricultural field site near Ferrara (Italy). Environ Earth Sci 61:311–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-009-0344-6
McNeill JD (1990) Use of electromagnetic methods for groundwater studies. Geotech Environ Geophys 1:191–218. https://doi.org/10.1190/1.9781560802785
Mojid MA, Rose DA, Wyseure GCL (2007) A model incorporating the diffuse double layer to predict the electrical conductivity of bulk soil. Eur J Soil Sci 58:560–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2006.00831.x
Munoz Castelblanco J, Pereira J-M, Delage P, Cui Y-J (2012) The influence of changes in water content on the electrical resistivity of a natural unsaturated loess. Geotech Test J 35:11–17. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ103587
Nakatsuka Y, Xue Z, Garcia H, Matsuoka T (2010) Experimental study on CO2 monitoring and quantification of stored CO2 in saline formations using resistivity measurements. Int J Greenh Gas Control 4:209–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2010.01.001
Naseem A, Jalal F-e, Naseem A (2020) Predicting sandy-clayey soil properties using electrical resistivity testing. Geotech Eng 173:21–29. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeen.18.00102
Niu X, Yao Y (2021) Resilient modulus experiment of subgrade soil on different wetting–drying and salt washing–supplying paths. Transp Geotech 28:100512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2021.100512
Nor NM, Haddad A, Griffiths H (2006) Performance of earthing systems of low resistivity soils. IEEE Trans Power Deliv 21:2039–2047. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRD.2006.874656
Oh TM, Cho GC, Lee C (2014) Effect of Soil Mineralogy and pore-water chemistry on the electrical resistivity of saturated soils. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 140:5. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)gt.1943-5606.0001175
Peng J, Sun P, Igwe O, Xa Li (2018) Loess caves, a special kind of geo-hazard on loess plateau, northwestern China. Eng Geol 236:79–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2017.08.012
Qi X, Xu Q, Liu F (2018) Analysis of retrogressive loess flowslides in Heifangtai China. Eng Geol 236:119–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2017.08.028
Qiu J, Lu Y, Lai J, Guo C, Wang K (2020) Failure behavior investigation of loess metro tunnel under local-high-pressure water environment. Eng Fail Anal 115:104631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2020.104631
Ranjy Roodposhti H, Hafizi MK, Soleymani Kermani MR, Ghorbani Nik MR (2019) Electrical resistivity method for water content and compaction evaluation, a laboratory test on construction material. J Appl Geophys 168:49–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2019.05.015
Revil A (2013) Effective conductivity and permittivity of unsaturated porous materials in the frequency range 1 mHz–1 GHz. Water Resour Res 49:306–327. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012WR012700
Rhoades JD, van Schilfgaarde J (1976) An electrical conductivity probe for determining soil salinity. Soil Sci Soc Am J 40:647–651. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1976.03615995004000050016x
Rhoades JD, Raats PAC, Prather RJ (1976) Effects of liquid-phase electrical conductivity, water content, and surface conductivity on bulk soil electrical conductivity. Soil Sci Soc Am J 40:651–655. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1976.03615995004000050017x
Rinaldi VA, Cuestas GA (2002) Ohmic conductivity of a compacted silty clay. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 128:824–835. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2002)128:10(824)
Rong Z, Jinliang H, Zhicheng G (2006) Novel measurement system for grounding impedance of substation. IEEE Trans Power Deliv 21:719–725. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRD.2006.870980
Russell EJF, Barker RD (2010) Electrical properties of clay in relation to moisture loss. Near Surf Geophys 8:173–180. https://doi.org/10.3997/1873-0604.2010001
Sebastian Bryson L, Bathe A (2009) Determination of selected geotechnical properties of soil using electrical conductivity testing. Geotech Test J 32:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ101632
Seladji S, Cosenza P, Tabbagh A, Ranger J, Richard G (2010) The effect of compaction on soil electrical resistivity: a laboratory investigation. Eur J Soil Sci 61:1043–1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2010.01309.x
Shah PH, Singh D (2004) A simple methodology for determining electrical conductivity of soils. J ASTM Int 1:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1520/JAI12128
Shan W, Liu Y, Hu Z, Xiao J (2015) A model for the electrical resistivity of frozen soils and an experimental verification of the model. Cold Reg Sci Technol 119:75–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.07.010
Son Y, Oh M, Lee S (2010) Estimation of soil weathering degree using electrical resistivity. Environ Earth Sci 59:1319–1326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-009-0119-0
Sun Q, Zhao F, Wang S, Zhang H (2021) Thermal effects on the electrical characteristics of Malan loess. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:15160–15172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11545-x
Tabbagh A, Cosenza P (2007) Effect of microstructure on the electrical conductivity of clay-rich systems. Phys Chem Earth Parts A/B/C 32:154–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2006.02.045
Tang L, Wang K, Jin L, Yang G, Jia H, Taoum A (2018) A resistivity model for testing unfrozen water content of frozen soil. Cold Reg Sci Technol 153:55–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2018.05.003
Wang W, Li J, Li X, Wang Y (2020) Evolution of the hydrogeological structure and disaster-generating mechanisms of landslides in loess slopes of the southern Jingyang Plateau, Shaanxi China. Hydrogeol J 28:2223–2239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02195-x
Wang Q, Meng Y, Su W, Ye W, Chen Y (2021a) Cracking and sealing behavior of the compacted bentonite upon technological voids filling. Eng Geol 292:106244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2021.106244
Wang H, Ni W, Liu H, Huang M, Yuan K, Li L, Li X (2021b) Study of the repeated collapsibility of undisturbed loess in Guyuan China. Bull Eng Geol Environ. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02304-4
Waxman MH, Smits L (1968) Electrical conductivities in oil-bearing shaly sands. Soc Petrol Eng J 8:107–122. https://doi.org/10.2118/1863-A
Wu J, Li P, Qian H, Fang Y (2014) Assessment of soil salinization based on a low-cost method and its influencing factors in a semi-arid agricultural area, northwest China. Environ Earth Sci 71:3465–3475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2736-x
Xu L, Yan D (2019) The groundwater responses to loess flowslides in the Heifangtai platform. Bull Eng Geol Env 78:4931–4944. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-01436-4
Xu J, Li Y, Lan W, Wang S (2019) Shear strength and damage mechanism of saline intact loess after freeze-thaw cycling. Cold Reg Sci Technol 164:102779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2019.05.005
Xu L, Lan TG, Mu QY (2021) Effects of structure on the compression behavior of unsaturated loess. Int J Geomech 21:06021007. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001967
Xue C, Wang X, Liu K (2020) Effect of soaking time and salt concentration on mechanical characteristics of slip zone soil of loess landslides. Water 12:3465. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12123465
Yan X, Duan Z, Sun Q (2021) Influences of water and salt contents on the thermal conductivity of loess. Environ Earth Sci 80:52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09335-2
Yoon GL, Park JB (2001) Sensitivity of leachate and fine contents on electrical resistivity variations of sandy soils. J Hazard Mater 84:147–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3894(01)00197-2
Yuan ZX, Wang LM (2009) Collapsibility and seismic settlement of loess. Eng Geol 105:119–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2008.12.002
Zhang F, Wang G, Kamai T, Chen W, Zhang D, Yang J (2013) Undrained shear behavior of loess saturated with different concentrations of sodium chloride solution. Eng Geol 155:69–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2012.12.018
Zhang D, Cao Z, Fan L, Liu S, Liu W (2014) Evaluation of the influence of salt concentration on cement stabilized clay by electrical resistivity measurement method. Eng Geol 170:80–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2013.12.010
Zhang F, Zhao C, Lourenço SDN, Dong S, Jiang Y (2020) Factors affecting the soil–water retention curve of Chinese loess. Bull Eng Geol Env. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01959-9
Zhao C, Zhang Q, He Y, Peng J, Yang C, Kang Y (2016) Small-scale loess landslide monitoring with small baseline subsets interferometric synthetic aperture radar technique—case study of Xingyuan landslide, Shaanxi China. J Appl Remote Sens 10:026030. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.10.026030
Zhou M, Wang J, Cai L, Fan Y, Zheng Z (2015) Laboratory investigations on factors affecting soil electrical resistivity and the measurement. IEEE Trans Ind Appl 51:5358–5365. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2015.2465931
Zuo L, Xu L, Baudet BA, Gao C, Huang C (2020) The structure degradation of a silty loess induced by long-term water seepage. Eng Geol 272:105634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105634
Acknowledgements
This study would not have been possible without financial supports from the Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 41790442, 41702298 and 41972288, and from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation No. 2020M683676XB.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
We have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Duan, Z., Yan, X., Sun, Q. et al. Effects of water content and salt content on electrical resistivity of loess. Environ Earth Sci 80, 469 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09769-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09769-2