Norman Wagner

Experimental Investigations on the Frequency- and Temperature-Dependent Dielectric Material Properties of Soil

Frequency- and temperature-dependent complex permittivity or conductivity of a silty clay loam were examined in a broad saturation and porosity range with network analyzer technique (1 MHz-10 GHz, 5 °C-40 °C, coaxial transmission line and open ended coaxial cells). An advanced mixture model based on the well-known Lichtenecker-Rother model (ALRM) was developed and used to parameterize complex permittivity or conductivity at a measurement frequency of 1 GHz under consideration of a dependence of the so-called structure parameter as well as the apparent pore water conductivity on saturation and porosity. The ALRM is compared with frequently applied mixture models: complex refractive index model, Looyenga-Landau-Lifschitz model, Bruggeman-Hanai-Sen model, and Maxwell-Garnet model as well as empirical calibration functions. Comparison of ALRM applied to the investigated frequency and temperature range with sophisticated broadband relaxation models indicates the potential and the limitation to predict the high-frequency electromagnetic material properties.

Numerical 3-D FEM and Experimental Analysis of the Open-Ended Coaxial Line Technique for Microwave Dielectric Spectroscopy on Soil

Open-ended coaxial line probes (OCs) are systematically analyzed by means of numerical 3-D finite element calculations in combination with experimental investigations for microwave dielectric spectroscopy on fine grained soils. The probes, based on conventional coaxial lines and connectors (N, SMA), are broadband characterized in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 10 GHz. The sensitive region for dielectric measurements is ±7-mm lateral and 7-mm perpendicular to the midpoint of the sensor aperture. The spatial spreading of the sensitive zone is stable for the investigated low-loss and high-loss strongly dispersive standard liquids, as well as the saturated and unsaturated soils. Dielectric spectra are determined based on a bilinear relationship between effective permittivity and complex reflection coefficient of the probe after probe-calibration with known standards. The mean relative error of the real part of the complex permittivity from 100 MHz to 10 GHz is smaller than 3.5% and is less than 10% for the imaginary part. A lower limit of the measurement range of 50 MHz with the used procedure and materials is suggested. Complex effective permittivity of saturated fine-grained soils is determined with the developed probes and procedure. The soil dielectric spectra were analyzed with a broadband relaxation model, as well as a novel, coupled hydraulic-dielectric mixture approach. The results demonstrate the suitability of the investigated OCs for the determination of high resolution soil dielectric spectra.

TDR measurements and simulations in high lossy bentonite materials

The measurement of moisture distribution in bentonite barriers in salt mines is absolutely essential in order to monitor fluid ingress and record data for long-term security analyses. The aim of this investigation was to apply a TDR measurement system using flexible flat band cable sensors in the harsh environment of a salt mine. The measurement of the dielectric material properties of sodium-bentonite sand mixtures moistened with tap water and concentrated NaCl solutions was the basis for the development of the measurement system. If the sensor was surrounded by a material mixture with strong losses it was found that both the pulse travel time and the complex wave impedance depended on the real part of permittivity and the loss factor. The step responses of the TDR sensors recorded in experiments and in electromagnetic field simulations were used to show the pulse travel time versus moisture content using tap water and concentrated NaCl solution.

Broadband electromagnetic analysis of compacted kaolin

The mechanical compaction of soil influences not only the mechanical strength and compressibility but also the hydraulic behavior in terms of hydraulic conductivity and soil suction. At the same time, electric and dielectric parameters are increasingly used to characterize soil and to relate them with mechanic and hydraulic parameters. In the presented study electromagnetic soil properties and suction were measured under defined conditions of standardized compaction tests. The impact of external mechanical stress conditions of nearly pure kaolinite was analyzed on soil suction and broadband electromagnetic soil properties. An experimental procedure was developed and validated to simultaneously determine mechanical, hydraulic and broadband (1 MHz-3 GHz) electromagnetic properties of the porous material. The frequency dependent electromagnetic properties were modeled with a classical mixture equation (advanced Lichtenecker and Rother model, ALRM) and a hydraulic-mechanical-electromagnetic coupling approach was introduced considering water saturation, soil structure (bulk density, porosity), soil suction (pore size distribution, water sorption) as well as electrical conductivity of the aqueous pore solution. Moreover, the relaxation behavior was analyzed with a generalized fractional relaxation model concerning a high-frequency water process and two interface processes extended with an apparent direct current conductivity contribution. The different modeling approaches provide a satisfactory agreement with experimental data for the real part. These results show the potential of broadband electromagnetic approaches for quantitative estimation of the hydraulic state of the soil during densification.

Broadband dielectric measurement methods for soft geomaterials: coaxial transmission line cell and open-ended coaxial probe

Broadband dielectric measurement methods based on vector network analyzer coupled with coaxial transmission line cell (CC) and open-ended coaxial probe (OC) are simply reviewed, by which the dielectric behaviors in the frequency range of 1 MHz to 3 GHz of two practical geomaterials are investigated. Kaolin after modified compaction with different water contents is measured by using CC. The results are consistent with previous study on standardized compacted kaolin and suggest that the dielectric properties at frequencies below 100 MHz are not only a function of water content but also functions of other soil state parameters including dry density. The hydration process of a commercial grout is monitored in real time by using OC. It is found that the time dependent dielectric properties can accurately reveal the different stages of the hydration process. These measurement results demonstrate the practicability of the introduced methods in determining dielectric properties of soft geomaterials.

Spectral Decomposition of Soil Electrical and Dielectric Losses and Prediction of In Situ GPR Performance

The performance of high-frequency ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for high-resolution imaging of the near surface can essentially be controlled by the soil electromagnetic (EM) properties. One of these properties influencing sensing depth and image resolution of GPR is the intrinsic attenuation. We investigated the frequency-dependent electrical and dielectric properties of a broad range of soil samples. In order to derive the effective complex dielectric permittivity between 1 MHz and 10 GHz, we applied the coaxial transmission line (CTL) technique. A generalized dielectric response model, consisting of one Debye and one Cole-Cole type relaxation and a constant low-frequency conductivity term was used to analyze the dielectric relaxation behavior. Splitting the spectra into individual loss processes shows that dielectric relaxation mechanisms play a crucial role in most natural soils. Especially for high-frequency applications, attenuation cannot be described by a dielectric constant and dc-conductivity alone. Therefore, a simple conductivity-attenuation relation without dielectric losses can highly overestimate the GPR performance. As an alternative to the CTL technique in the lab, we suggest to use time-domain reflectometry (TDR) for the in Situ assessment of high-frequency electrical properties and deduced prediction of GPR performance.

Radio to microwave dielectric characterisation of constitutive electromagnetic soil properties using vector network analyses

The knowledge of constitutive broadband electromagnetic (EM) properties of porous media such as soils and rocks is essential in the theoretical and numerical modeling of EM wave propagation in the subsurface. This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on the performance EM measuring instruments for broadband EM wave in the radio-microwave frequency range. 3-D numerical calculations of a specific sensor were carried out using the Ansys HFSS (high frequency structural simulator) to further evaluate the probe performance. In addition, six different sensors of varying design, application purpose, and operational frequency range, were tested on different calibration liquids and a sample of fine-grained soil over a frequency range of 1 MHz-40 GHz using four vector network analysers. The resulting dielectric spectrum of the soil was analysed and interpreted using a 3-term Cole-Cole model under consideration of a direct current conductivity contribution. Comparison of sensor performances on calibration materials and fine-grained soils showed consistency in the measured dielectric spectra at a frequency range from 100 MHz-2 GHz. By combining open-ended coaxial line and coaxial transmission line measurements, the observable frequency window could be extended to a truly broad frequency range of 1 MHz-40 GHz.

Estimation of the Soil Water Characteristics from dielectric relaxation spectra

The frequency dependence of dielectric material properties of water saturated and unsaturated porous materials such as soil is not only disturbing in applications with high frequency electromagnetic (HF-EM) techniques but also contains valuable information of the material due to strong contributions by interactions between the aqueous pore solution and mineral phases. Hence, broadband HF-EM sensor techniques enable the estimation of soil physico-chemical parameters such as water content, texture, mineralogy, cation exchange capacity and matric potential. In this context, a multivariate (MV) approach was applied to estimate the Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) from experimentally determined dielectric relaxation spectra of a silty clay soil. The results of the MV-approach were compared with results obtained from empirical equations and theoretical models as well as a novel hydraulic/electromagnetic coupling approach. The applied MV-approach gives evidence, (i) of a physical relationship between soil dielectric relaxation behavior and soil water characteristics as an important hydraulic material property and (ii) the applicability of appropriate sensor techniques for the estimation of physico-chemical parameters of porous media from broadband measured dielectric spectra.

Simultaneous determination of the dielectric relaxation behavior and soilwater characteristic curve of undisturbed soil samples

The frequency dependence of soil electromagnetic properties contain valuable information of the porous material due to strong contributions to the dielectric relaxation behavior by interactions between aqueous pore solution and mineral phases due to interface effects. Soil hydraulic properties such as matric potential are also influenced by different surface bonding forces due to interface processes. For this reason, a new analysis methodology was developed, which allows a simultaneous determination of the soil water characteristic curve and the dielectric relaxation behavior of undisturbed soil samples. This opens the possibility to systematically analyze coupled hydraulic/dielectric soil properties for the development of pedotransfer functions to estimate physico-chemical parameters with broadband HF-EM measurement techniques.

Frequency-dependant dielectric parameters of steel fiber reinforced concrete

Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) is increasingly being used in civil constructions, especially precast tunnel segment linings. Fibers are mixed with fresh concrete, which results in a more or less random distribution of fibers within the concrete matrix. Because of this, SFRC demonstrates a great challenge when it is being investigated using GPR. In order to investigate the frequency-dependent dielectric parameters of SFRC; (I) PET/CT scans of concrete were conducted to understand the nature of orientation and density of fibers being distributed within the concrete sample and (Π) a two-port coaxial transmission line technique developed for the determination of dielectric spectra of undisturbed soil samples was used to investigate the concretes complex permittivity with and without steel fibers in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 5 GHz.