• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.23-34
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• 2017

As the electrical property of fully saturated soils is dependent on the pore water, it has been commonly used for the detection of the contamination into the ground. The objective of this study is to investigate the electrical characteristics according to the salinity and the lead concentration in fully saturated soils. Fresh water and saline water with the salinity of 1%, 2% and 3%, which are mixed with 6 different lead solutions with the range of 0~10 mg/L, are prepared in the cylindrical cell incorporated with sensors for measuring electrical resistance and time domain reflectometry signal. Then, the dried sands are water-pluviated into the cell. The electrical resistance and the time domain reflectometry signal are used to estimate the electrical conductivity. Test results show that electrical conductivity determined from electrical resistance at the frequency of 1 kHz continuously increases with an increase in the lead concentration, thus it may be used for the estimation of the contaminant level. In addition, the electrical conductivity estimated by the time domain reflectometry changes even at very low concentration of lead, the variation rate decreases as the lead concentration increases. Thus, the time domain reflectometry can be used for the investigation of the heavy metal leakage. This study demonstrates that complementary characteristics of electrical resistance and time domain reflectometry may be used for the detection of the leakage and contamination of heavy metal in coastal and marine environments.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.33-37
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• 2016

The hydration process of Controlled Low Strength Material (CLSM) used for backfill is the primary factor to determine the construction period. The objective of this study is to monitor the hydration process of CLSM using the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) and to establish the relationship between dielectric constant and compressive strength. The CLSM specimen is composed of cement, flyash, silt, sand, accelerator, and water. The material characteristics of the CLSM including flow, unit weight, compressive strength are investigated. To measure the dielectric constant of the CLSM during the curing time, TDR probe incorporated with a mold and a reflectometer are used. Experimental results show that the dielectric constant remains constant at early stage, and then decreases as the curing time increases. In addition, the dielectric constant is related to the compressive strength in inverse power function. This paper suggests that the TDR technique may be used as a non-destructive testing method in order to estimate the compressive strength of the CLSM mixture under construction.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.15-24
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• 2018

As electromagnetic waves are affected by electrical conductivity or permittivity, they are widely used to evaluate geotechnical characteristics. In this study, a probe for measuring electromagnetic waves using a time domain reflectometry is manufactured to evaluate heavy metal concentration in saline water. In the experiments, a copper is used as a heavy metal, and a probe is demonstrated with the concentration of copper. Solutions were set for 8 different copper concentration (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 mg/L) in saline water with 3% salinity. The probe is coated by electrical insulating materials such as epoxy, top-coat, varnish, acrylic paint, heat-shrinkage tube to measure electromagnetic waves in saline water. The measured signals are compared according to coating material. As results, for probes coated with acrylic paint and heat-shrinkage tube, signal variation is not detected. For epoxy, top-coat, and varnish coated probes, the voltage decreases with an increase of copper concentration. Probes coated by epoxy at once and top coat can estimate under 5 mg/L of copper concentration and the probe coated by epoxy twice can estimate over 5 mg/L of copper concentration. This study shows that the probe using the time domain reflectometry can be used to evaluate the concentration of heavy metal in saline water by coating the probe with insulating material.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.17-28
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to measure the volumetric water content of unsaturated soils during drying and wetting process by using volumetric pressure plate extractor (VPPE) incorporated with time domain reflectometry (TDR). The VPPE consists of a pressure cell, a pressure regulator, a burette system and a TDR probe. Two samples with different initial void ratios were prepared in the pressure cell, and the air pressure at the range of 0.1 kPa - 50 kPa was applied to adjust the matric suction by the pressure regulator. The burette system was used to measure the volumetric water content change of the sample according to the matric suction. In addition, the TDR probe, installed in the cell, was used to evaluate the dielectric constant from the reflected signal of the electromagnetic wave at the probe. The volumetric water content of specimen was estimated by the empirical equation between the volumetric water content and dielectric constant, which was calibrated with the Jumunjin sand. The test results show that the volumetric water content calculated by TDR probe is strongly correlated to the measured value by burette system. The hysteresis occurs during drying and wetting process. Furthermore, the degree of hysteresis reduces in the repeated process. This study suggests that TDR may be effectively used to evaluate the water content soil for the determination of water characteristic curve of unsaturated soils.