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Electrical Density Gauge, LLC

Dave B Straley

Dennis M Anderson

John W Lundstrom

William J Ehni

Darrell R Word

Stephan R-k Fuelling

Willian Ehni

Stephan R-K Fuelling

Test apparatus for testing porous material such as used in roadway base or building foundations may be deployed in the field at various test sites. The test apparatus includes electrodes that contact the porous material under test and a sensor unit that supplies electromagnetic signals to the porous material. Response signals reveal electrical parameters such as complex impedance which can be equated to material properties such as density and moisture content. Reference may be made to empirical correlations made in laboratory tests using the same test apparatus to enable the effects of the test apparatus on the measurement to be accounted for. The electrodes may include flexible coplanar electrodes that reduce air gaps when in contact with the porous material.

Analysis of porous material using laboratory calibrated test apparatus and sample data

The object of the Electrical Density Gauge (EDG) invention is to provide a low cost, portable, non-nuclear, and rugged field-use device that measures dry density in soils that have been constructed for use as road-beds and building foundations. This data is used to ensure the quality control of the constructed foundation. The electrical properties of soil are measured at a radio frequency using probes driven into the soil. To calibrate EDG, certain algorithms of these electrical properties are related to physically measured wet densities and unit weights of water for a plurality of calibration test spots. Correlation regressions are found, that are used to convert values of the electrical properties measured at unknown field test spots into values of dry density.

Electrically measuring soil dry density

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Incline Village, NV, United States of America

Dave B Straley