Field Services: Soil testing

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Test Method Title

Standard Test Method for Field Measurement of Soil Resistivity Using the Wenner Four Electrode Method

Reference Number

ASTM G57

Material

Field Soil

Test Property

Electrical Resistivity

Description of Test

Four metal electrodes are placed with equal separation in a straight line in the surface of soil to a depth not exceeding 5% of the minimum separation of the electrodes. A voltage is impressed between the outer electrodes causing current to flow and the voltage drop between the inner electrodes is measured using a sensitive voltmeter. The resulting resistivity measurement represents the average resistivity of a hemisphere of soil of a radius equal to the electrode separation.

Preferred Test Sample Size

Number of Test Specimens

2 - perpendicular to each other

Test Specimen Size

site specific

Keywords

electrical resistivity, corrosion