Modified Odometer Cell to Measure Electrical Resistivity of Clays Undergoing Consolidation Process

摘要

Electrical resistivity is used widely to evaluate various soil behavior and properties. Furthermore, it controls the power consumption during the electro-osmosis consolidation process. This paper discusses the modifications made on the conventional odometer test apparatus to measure the electrical resistivity of a clay specimen undergoing consolidation at different vertical effective stress levels using the four-electrode Wenner array method. Extensive numerical calibrations were also conducted to investigate the effect of boundary conditions of the test set up on the electrical resistivity values and, based on the results obtained, a general calibration equation is introduced. The validity of the proposed calibration equation is confirmed experimentally using different materials with known electrical resistivity values. Finally, three different sets of electrical resistivity results during the consolidation process are presented and discussed from the modified odometer cell.