Известия Томского политехнического университета: Инжиниринг георесурсов (Dec 2017)
Application of microwave method for determining soil moisture
Abstract
Relevance. Laboratory and field methods for determining soil moisture, commonly used in manufacturing organizations in Russia, have not changed essentially for many decades, resulting in their relatively high complexity and energy consumption. However, in current market conditions there is a need to improve the speed, quality and efficiency in determining soil physical characteristics. The main aim was to study the drying process of dispersed soils in microwave ovens while determining their moisture content and to develop a methodology for determining soil moisture using microwave radiation. The application of the method in practice will solve the problems of increasing the resource efficiency of engineering and geological surveys by decreasing the energy and labor intensity of laboratory research, and, as a result, cost reduction. Object of research: soils typical for Western Siberia, picked on the territory of the Tomsk region and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. Research methods include a method for determining soil moisture using microwave ovens, as well as by analyzing the results using MS Excel and Statistica. Results. The paper considers the possibility of using the method of accelerated determination of moisture of various soils with the help of microwave ovens at engineering and geological surveys for design, construction, repair and reconstruction of structures. It was found that spread of moisture values of the dispersed soils during drying in a microwave oven is in most cases not higher than when drying in a convection oven. It was confirmed that during drying no loss of organic matter in the ground occurs, as well as there is no growth in sample mass that increases the accuracy of determinations. The reliability of the confirmed test results was confirmed by the method of drying the soil to constant weight, in accordance with the requirements of the current regulatory documents. The authors have developed and tested the methodological recommendations for determining soil moisture when they are dried in a microwave oven.
