Detecting the effect of soil compaction processes on the distribution of subsurface resistivity using 2D resistivity imaging

Abstract

In many countries, some buildings are constructed on compacted soil brought from another site. Therefore, the soil examination of the physical and engineering properties one of the important procedures in civil engineering to determine the characteristics and amount of buildings volume that this soil can bear.There are several methods to test the physical and engineering properties of the compacted soil as well as to identify its suitability for construction; some of them are laboratory methods, while others are field methods by conducting various geophysical surveys, which is considered one of the most important field methods as it provides wide coverage of the test site. The current study aimed to show the variation in the effect of the soil compaction process on the distribution of its resistivity, determine the subsurface distribution of soil components, and attempt to determine the effect of the compaction process on the same soil type. A 2D resistivity imaging was conducted an area of land inside the University of Mosul estimated to be about 11,000 m2, which was filled with soil transferred from another site and then compacted.The study included a 2D resistivity imaging of 10 profiles with a length of 40 m. for each profile and a distance of 30 m. between one profile and another.The results of the study showed that there is the difference in the soil resistivity distribution after the compaction as a result of the variation in size gradient and the variation in compaction degree on the burial soil.