Open ended-coaxial Cable Measurements of Saturated Sandy Soils

Abstract

The application of electromagnetic methods in the radar and micro-wave frequency band allows the fluid content of soils to be estimated; the heuristic or physically-based models permit to relate the observed electrical permittivity of the soils with the porosity and fluid saturation. The role of the effect of the free water and bound water in the overall electromagnetic behaviour of soils is discussed. The measurements of the complex electrical permittivity of samples with different fluid content were carried out using an open ended coaxial cable in the frequency range between 0.2 and 6 GHz. The data processing permitted to estimate the water content with good accuracy; the slight overestimate of the values with respect to the standard laboratory measures of the fluid content is due to the propagation of the experimental uncertainties and to the effect of the bound water.