Effect of humidity incorporation on the development of a ground enhancement material

Soil electrical resistivity is a fundamental property in various engineering applications, such as electrical, geotechnical or geophysical; its application can even be extended to those aspects related to agriculture. On the other hand, worldwide, there are soils with high resistivity. In the Middle East, for example, there are high resistivity values ​​that range between 10,000 Ωcm and 200,000 Ωcm (ohm per centimeter). In West Africa, desert soils reach up to 30,000 Ωm. Also, in some Asian countries, resistivity values ​​​​of up to 200,000 Ωm have been measured. Furthermore, various studies have shown that there is an inverse relationship between resistivity and soil humidity content. Thus, to counteract the negative effects due to the high resistivity of soils, Ground Enhancement Material (GEM) have been developed, composed mainly of materials with high hygroscopicity and low resistivity. The objective of this article was to investigate the relationship between electrical resistivity and humidity incorporation in the development of a GEM. Combinations of different chemical materials such as magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄), sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄) and sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃), combined with bentonite clay, were studied. The mixtures were evaluated through laboratory tests to determine their electrical resistivity by varying the humidity between 30% and 60% at different frequencies. The mixture containing 100% Na₂SO₄ was found to have the lowest resistivity, as varying the humidity content from 30 to 60% reduced the resistivity from 58 Ωcm to 23 Ωcm. The results obtained can provide researchers, engineers, and specialists with the potential for the developed GEM to be used in soils with varying humidity conditions in different systems, depending on the frequency at which electrical resistivity is measured.