Nondestructive Water Content Determination
Walter D. Jones · Geological Society of America Bulletin · 1971
DURING THE SERIES OF COMPACTION TESTS USUALLY RUN ON EMBANKMENT MATERIAL TO DETERMINE AN OPTIMUM WATER CONTENT AND MAXIMUM DENSITY OF A SOIL AT A STANDARD COMPACTIVE EFFORT, AN ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY MEASUREMENT CAN BE MADE TO PROVIDE A DETERMINATION OF WATER CONTENT. THIS METHOD HAS BEEN TESTED EXPERIMENTALLY AD FOUND USEFUL OVER A RANGE OF MOISTURE CONTENT BELOW OPTIMUM. SOIL RESISTIVITY DECREASES WITH INCREASE IN WATER CONTENT AND DENSITY. THEREFORE, ON THE DRY SIDE OF OPTIMUM, THE SIMULTANEOUS INCREASE OF WATER CONTENT AND DENSITY ENHANCES THE DECREASE IN RESISTANCE. THIS METHOD IS, THEREFORE, QUITE RELIABLE FOR DETERMINING WATER CONTENT ON THE DRY SIDE OF OPTIMUM. BECAUSE WATER CONTENT IS A HYPERBOLIC FUNCTION OF CELL RESISTANCE, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RESISTANCE MEASUREMENT DECREASES AS WATER CONTENT INCREASES. /AUTHOR/