Yao Liu

By Wei Shan, Zhaoguang Hu, Ying Guo, Chengcheng Zhang and Yao Liu

In permafrost‐degraded areas, “islands” of permafrost can be buried in the unfrozen soil. When permafrost is arranged in this discontinuous pattern, it is more difficult to analyze from an engineering or geological perspective. The degree of resistivity of unfrozen soil is determined by the dry density, temperature, moisture content, and pore water resistivity of the soil, as well as by the mineral composition, size, and cementing state of the soil particles. Part of the water in the soil pores experiences a phase change as the soil freezes, so permafrost has different resistivity than unfrozen soil. In this chapter, we explore the conduction characteristics of permafrost. First, we established a theoretical model to analyze the factors affecting the resistivity of permafrost. Next, we used an experimental study to analyze how unfrozen water content, initial moisture content, soil temperature, and dry density influence the resistivity of frozen soil. These experimental study results served to validate the rationality of the model of permafrost resistivity. To analyze differences in conductivity between underground media, we used a high‐density resistivity (HDR) method, which infers the storage of underground geologic bodies with different resistivity based on the distribution of a conduction current under the electric field action. In this chapter, the WGMD‐9 super HDR measurement system produced by the Chongqing Benteng Numerical Control Technique Research Institute was used to obtain the resistivity profile. The study region was the road area from Bei’an Expressway to Heihe Expressway in the permafrost degeneration area in Northeast China. A permafrost profile map was drawn based on data from engineering drilling and an analysis of factors that influence permafrost resistivity. The reliability of the permafrost profile map was verified by an analysis of temperature data taken at measured points at different depths of the soil profile.

Part of the book: Electrical Resistivity and Conductivity