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A New Method for Measurement of the Electrical Conductivity of Unsaturated Soils
Author(s) -
Mokady R. S.,
Majdan A.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1002/ijch.196800028
Subject(s) - potentiometer , chemistry , electrical resistivity and conductivity , soil water , conductivity , conductance , analytical chemistry (journal) , electrical resistance and conductance , soil science , voltage , composite material , environmental chemistry , electrical engineering , materials science , environmental science , condensed matter physics , physics , engineering
A method for the measurement of the electrical conductivity of unsaturated soils is presented. A low frequency A.C. is passed through a soil sample and the consequent voltage drop in the soil is measured potentiometrically. The measurement is carried out at different frequencies and by extrapolating to zero, the electrical conductance of the sample is obtained. The results were in good agreement with those obtained using the D. C. technique. Yet, in the proposed method, difficulties due to electro‐osmosis and polarization are avoided and it is possible to carry out measurements over extended periods of time as there occur only negligible changes in the medium measured. The internal resistance of the differential potentiometer is not great enough; therefore, there still does exist a certain influence of contact‐resistance. The proposed method enables us to make reliable and accurate measurements (relative error — 0.3%) of electrical conductivity even in relatively dry soils because the contact resistance does not interfere in this set‐up.