Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #274584
Title: Laboratory measurements of acoustic, electrical resistivity, and erodibility of soils as a function of compaction

Author
item Ehn, Cameron
item Hanson, Gregory
item HICKEY, CRAIG - University Of Mississippi

Submitted to: Workshop Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2011
Publication Date: 10/8/2011
Citation: Ehn, C.T., Hanson, G.J., Hickey, C.J. 2011. Laboratory measurements of acoustic, electrical resistivity, and erodibility of soils as a function of compaction. Proceedings of the 9th Meeting of the MidSouth Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America, October 7-8, 2011, Conway, AR. p. 3-4.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Catastrophic floods resulting from the failure of dam and levee infrastructures can paralyze the economy and social life of large populations for long periods of time. The United States has over 100,000 miles of levees and the National Inventory of Dams lists approximately 79,000 U.S. dams. The development of rapid assessment techniques to determine the integrity of levee systems and earthen dams is essential in managing such structures. These assessment techniques require advanced screening tools to delineate, classify, and prioritize compromised locations within levees and dams. Although overtopping is the primary cause of dam and levee failure, internal erosion, seepage, and piping are also among the major causes of failure in earthen embankments. Current geophysical techniques used in the assessment of the interior of earthen embankments include: acoustic/seismic, electro-magnetic and resistivity, gravity, optical sensing, and radar. The advantage associated with using geophysical techniques is that the measurements are sensitive to the distribution of the bulk, or geophysical, properties in the subsurface such as: elasticity, electrical resistivity, dielectric constant, etc. Relationships between these physical properties and the more "basic" properties (bulk density, water content, porosity, mineralogy, etc) used by engineers must be determined. In this presentation, laboratory measurements of seismic velocity, electrical resistivity, erodibility, and the standard Proctor test are discussed. It is anticipated that relationships based upon these measurements will provide the bridge for practitioners to more fully utilize the information in geophysical maps.