RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS

Tamotsu Matsui 1, Sam Gyu Park2, Mi Kyung Park3 and Sumio Matsuura4

ABSTRACT Recently, the use of electrical prospecting with high spatial density of electrodes has increased and is being applied to underground investigations for tunnels, dams, landslides, and other civil engineering purposes. In order to characterize rock mass by using the resistivity distribution of ground obtained from these investigations, it is very important to understand the relationship between the electrical resistivity and engineering properties of rocks. In this paper, the resistivity of various types of rock is measured to elucidate the effect of physical properties of rock on resistivity. The resistivity of rocks has a tendency to decrease with increasing porosity. But, the resistivity does not always correspond to porosity even in the same kind of rock, because of different mineral compositions and pore geometry. The resistivity of rock increases with increasing the pore fluid resistivity, regardless of rock types. However, between 20 and 80 ohm-m which is available groundwater resistivity in rock mass, the resistivity of pore fluids had little effect on rock resistivity. The resistivity of rocks decreases with increasing water saturation up to a certain point, beyond which the degree of this drop becomes insignificant. And the resistivity of unsaturated rock exponentially increases with decreasing water saturation in the region of 20% or less. The tendency of resistivity change for clay content is different by types of smectite clays, while, on the whole, the resistivity decreases with increasing the smectite clay content. INTRODUCTION Fault fractures and altered zones which were developed by the volcanic activities and tectonic movements are widely distributed in Japan. These weak zones cause problems and increase lost of civil engineering projects mainly because of the presence of a large quantity of spring water and collapse of rock masses which occur during construction. Usually, geological reconnaissance, drilling and seismic refraction survey are undertaken in preliminary geological assessments for civil engineering projects. However, problems remain the accuracy of such data for rock mass classification in area of complicated geological structure and the expected behavior of groundwater. Recently, high-density resistivity prospecting which provides geological information visually has been increasingly used as an additional geophysical survey technique for tunnels, dams, landslides, and other civil engineering purposes. Matsui, et al., (1993, 1997) showed clearly that this technique was designed to evaluate rock mass properties, followed by estimating conditions of fault fracture zones, groundwater behavior, and rock mass classification in mountain tunnels, which cannot be obtained by the way of seismic wave velocities. The resistivity of the rock mass, which is obtained by high-density resistivity prospecting, depends on the porosity, water saturation and resistivity of groundwater in cracks and fault fracture zones, as well as the clay content that is produced by weathering and other geological phenomena. Therefore, by using the characteristics of resistivity, information on rock mass condition can be obtained in preliminary geophysical surveys. It is very difficult, however, to interpret for detailed rock mass properties by using resistivity as actual resistivity of the rock mass is controlled by complicated factors. In this paper, the resistivity of granites and various sedimentary rocks from Japan is measured to elucidate the effect of physical properties of rock on resistivity. From the measured resistivity data, relationships between

1 2

Tamotsu Matsui, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871 Japan Sam Gyu Park, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, P.O.Box 16 Tsukuba Norin Kenkyu Danchi, Ibaraki, 305-8687 Japan 3 Mi Kyung Park, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871 Japan 4 Sumio Matsuura, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, P.O.Box 16 Tsukuba Norin Kenkyu Danchi, Ibaraki, 305-8687 Japan

electrical resistivity and physical properties of rocks are discussed, together with application to interpretation of resistivity surveys of the rock mass. RESISTIVITY MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

Data processor Function generator Signal conditioner

The specimens used for resistivity measurement are granites and various sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, conglomerate, shale, mudstone and so on, which were taken from boring cores and cutting faces of tunnels. All specimens are cylindrical in shape, with a diameter of 5cm and a length of 10cm. The resistivity measurement system used is shown in Figure 1. This consists of a function generator, a Specimen holder signal conditioner, and a data processor for calculating the resistivity of a specimen by using input signals Figure 1: Resistivity measurement system from a data logger, and a specimen holder. A power supply is used to apply alternating current (AC) having an electrical potential of 3V and a constant frequency Lid of 0.03Hz. The specimen holder of the GS (Geoscience) type is used as shown in Figure 2, which Filter papers Spindle Spindle PC CP is constructed of acrylic acid resin as an electrical insulator. It is a hexahedron box with a width of 20cm, Specimen a length of 15cm and a height of 15cm. Both current Tap water and potential electrodes are made of copper net of 80 meshes, and filter papers are inserted between the electrodes and the specimen, which are infused with Figure 2: Schematic view of specimen holder. C 0.1N sodium chloride solution. These are pressed and P are current and potential electrodes, through the both spindles. When measuring resistivity respectively (Park and Matsui, 1998) of water-saturated specimens, the specimen surface is kept dry, tap water is put into the bottom of holder and a lid is closed. By measuring the potential in the axial direction when a parallel current flows through a cross section of a specimen, the resistivity of the specimen can be calculated from Equation (1).

R=

S V L I

(1)

in which R is the resistivity of specimen (ohm-m), S is the section area of specimen (m2), L is the length of specimen (m), I is the current (A) and V is the potential of the measured section (V). INFLUENCES OF PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCK ON RESISTIVITY Theoretical Background Archie (1942) published an empirical relationship between physical properties of porous rocks and resistivity that is the primary basic for quantitative interpretation as follows:
R = F w Sw n

(2)

in which R is the true resistivity of rock with fluids, F is the formation resistivity factor, w is the pore fluid resistivity, Sw is the water saturation, n is a parameter determined experimentally, which usually has a value of approximately 2. In case of full water saturation, the formation resistivity factor F is related to porosity through such an empirical relationship as Equation (3).

F=(

R ) = a m w

(3)

in which a is an empirical constant that is one or less, m is an empirical constant related to cementation with a common range from one to three, and is the porosity. Several combinations of a and m are used depending on the degree of formation compaction and lithology. However, Archies law with F as defined above is not applicable to geologic formations containing clays, because clays in formations have conductivity effects (Klein and Sill, 1982). For such media, several alternative procedures have been proposed on the basis of conceptual model approximations that include conductive effects of clays (Patnode and Wyllie, 1950; Waxman and Smits, 1968; Bussian, 1983). The resistivity due to the conductive solids as distributed in the rock s is often called electric diffuse double layer by surface conduction of dispersed particles, which is related geometrical shapes and sizes of pores (Katsube and Hume, 1983). Patnode and Wyllie (1950) proposed a parallel resistances model, in which the over-all conductivity of a rock is the sum of the quotient of the true formation factor and the conductivity of the interstitial fluid, and the apparent conductivity of any conducting solid material as distributed in the rock. The conductivity of conducting solid materials appears to be essentially independent of the conductivity of the interstitial fluid in the rock. The values given for the resistivity of the rock ( R ), the resistivity due to the conductive solids as distributed in the rock ( s ), and the resistivity of the fluid as distributed in the rock ( w ), are computed from the Equation (4).

1 1 1 = + R F w s
Laboratory Measurements Influence of porosity The resistivities of nineteen sedimentary rock specimens and thirteen granite specimens in saturated condition with the solution of 50 ohm-m were measured. The porosity of specimens was calculated by Equation (5).

(4)

10

Resistivity (ohm-m)

10

= (Wa Wd ) / (Wa Ww )

Conglomerate Sandstone Granite Shale Tuff

(5)

10

in which Wa and Ww are the aerial and under the water weights in wet condition, respectively, Wd is the dry aerial weight. The relationship between resistivity and porosity obtained is provided in Figure 3. The figure shows that resistivity does not always correspond to porosity even in the same kind of rock, because of different mineral compositions and pore geometry. Several resistivities have a tendency to decrease with increasing porosity. From this result, it can be understood that the resistivity of rock mass decreases as fracturing and weathering increase. Whereas the resistivity of rock mass increases as in fresh rock because the porosity is small.

10

10

Porosity (%)

Figure 3: Relationship between resistivity and porosity of rocks

Influence of pore fluid resistivity Granite and several sedimentary rocks specimens were tested using nine different concentrations of sodium chloride solution ranging from 20 to 32500 ppm. The pores of rock specimens were saturated by inhalation of the vacuum pump and held in a box to prevent drying and to allow for stable measurement of the resistivity. The relationship between rock resistivity and pore fluid resistivity is shown in Figure 4. According to this figure, the resistivity of rock increases with increasing the pore fluid resistivity, regardless of rock type. However, between 20 and 80 ohm-m (the normal resistivity of groundwater in a rock mass in Japan), the resistivity of pore fluids had little effect on rock resistivity. As the results, in the low range of pore fluid resistivity as in saltwater, the resistivity of rocks was mainly influenced by pore fluid resistivity. Whereas in the normal resistivity range of groundwater in

Resistivity (ohm-m)

a rock mass, the resistivity of rocks was influenced by their intrinsic matrix resistivity more than by pore fluid resistivity. Figure 5 shows the comparison between resistivities measured and calculated by a parallel resistances model and Archies formula for granite. The calculated resistivity was computed by using parameters of cementation factor m and intrinsic matrix resistivity s of granite, which were obtained by using the measured relationship between conductivities of granite specimen and pore fluid. The obtained values of m and s are 2.16 and 2634 ohm-m, respectively. From this figure, the measured granite specimen resistivity for each pore fluid resistivity showed good agreement with the calculated result based on parallel resistances model, but the calculated resistivity based on Archies formula cannot be applied to granite specimen when the pore fluid resistivity is high. It was also confirmed that the results of the test are applicable to the parallel resistances model considering intrinsic matrix resistivity in rocks within the resistivity range of groundwater in a rock mass. Influence of water saturation The rock specimens were saturated with tap water, and then their resistivity was measured decreasing the water saturation by natural drying and artificial desiccation. The relationship between resistivity and water saturation of rocks is shown in Figure 6. In this figure, the resistivity of rocks decreases with increasing water saturation up to a certain point, beyond which the degree of this drop becomes insignificant. Keller and Frischknecht (1966) provide a quantitative relationship between resistivity and extent of water saturation in a rock i.e.,

10

Resistivity (ohm-m)

10

Conglomerate Sandstone Granite Shale Tuff

10

10

10

-1

10

10

10

10

Pore fluid resistivity ( ohm-m)

Figure 4: Relationship between resistivity and pore fluid resistivity of rocks

10
5

Measured values Archie's fomula Parallel resistances model

10

10

10

10

-1

10

10

10

10

Pore fluid resistivity (ohm-m)

us = Sw n 100

Figure 5: Comparison between measured resistivity and calculated resistivity for granite.
10 10 10 10 10 10
5

(6)
Andesite Mudstone Tuff

Resistivity (ohm-m)

in which us is the bulk resistivity of a partially unsaturated rock, and 100 is the resistivity of the same rock when completely saturated with the same electrolyte. In this equation, the resistivity of an unsaturated rock exponentially increases with decreasing water saturation as shown in Figure 6. Influence of intrinsic matrix resistivity Mineral components and materials in pores affect the resistivity of rock. If the components have been changed into clay-sized fractions by weathering and alteration, intrinsic matrix resistivity may decrease because of changes in the interconnecting pores geometry and degree of cementation. In other words, the effect of surface conduction becomes large by clay-sized fractions of rocks.

20

40

60

80

100

Water saturation (%)

Figure 6: Relationship between resistivity and water saturation of rocks

Intrinsic matrix resistivity (ohm-m)

10

10

10

10

10

2 3 4 5 Porosity (%)

Figure 7: Relationship between intrinsic matrix resistivity calculated from measured resistivity data and porosity

Figure 8: Relationship between resistivity and smectite clay content (Takakura, et al., 1996)

Figure 7 shows the relationship between intrinsic matrix resistivity calculated by using the parallel resistances model from measured resistivity data of various rock specimens and porosity. In this figure, intrinsic matrix resistivity decreases with increasing porosity, which is closely related to the porosity of rock. It is very difficult to carry out a quantitative analysis of clay content in a rock. Therefore, by using artificial constructed specimens, which were made by mixing glass beads and smectite clays in 0.001N potassium chloride solution, the relationship between resistivity and smectite clay content has been shown as in Figure 8. The tendency of resistivity change for clay content is different by types of smectite clays, while, on the whole, the resistivity decreases with increasing the smectite clay content.

Granite Rhyolite Tuff Andesite Basalt Sandstone Shale Chert Limestone Crystalline schist M udstone Decomposed granite soils Clay Landslide soils Weathered formations 1x100 1x101 1x102 1x103

160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1x104

Resistivity (ohm-m)

Figure 9: Distribution of resistivity for rock and soil formations

Field Measurements Influence of rock types Figure 9 shows the distribution of resistivity for rock and soil formations obtained from the high-density resistivity prospecting, in which the effect of water saturation and weathering conditions are not considered. The rock and soil formations have wide ranges of resistivity distribution, and as a whole their resistivity distributes approximately in a range from 100 to 1000 ohm-m. The chert and limestone show high resistivity, while the mudstone, clay and soils in landslides show comparatively low resistivity. As for difference of resistivity distribution in spite of the same rock and soil formations, it should be noted that each material has different porosity, pore fluid resistivity, water saturation and clay mineral content due to alteration and weathering degree, diagenesis, condition of groundwater distribution etc. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Resistivity is affected by the physical properties of rock, mostly such as porosity, pore fluid resistivity, water saturation, intrinsic matrix resistivity, clay content. The resistivity of rock mass below the water table depends

mainly on porosity, resistivity of groundwater and clay content. Among these factors, the resistivity of groundwater is almost constant for the same kind of rock. Therefore, the resistivity of rock mass is strongly influenced by the porosity being related to cracks and fractures, and the clay content being related to weathering and other geological phenomena. From these facts, the fault fracture and alteration zones show relatively low resistivity caused by increasing porosity and clay content. Also, in the upper part of groundwater table, the resistivity of rock mass is strongly influenced by water saturation, which is possible to predict for depending on the groundwater distribution condition. The relationship between electrical resistivity and physical properties of rock from this study can be summarized as follows: (1) The resistivity of rocks has a tendency to decrease with increasing porosity. But, the resistivity does not always correspond to porosity even in the same kind of rock, because of different mineral compositions and pore geometry for each material. (2) The resistivity of rock increases with increasing the pore fluid resistivity, regardless of rock types. However, between 20 and 80 ohm-m which is available groundwater resistivity in rock mass, the resistivity of pore fluids had little effect on rock resistivity. (3) The resistivity of rocks decreases with increasing water saturation up to a certain point, beyond which the degree of this drop becomes insignificant. And the resistivity of rock in the region of 20% or less of water saturation exponentially increases with decreasing water saturation. Finally, influencing factors and degree for the resistivity of rock are summarized in Table 1, based on the results above mentioned. Table 1 Influencing factors and degree of the resistivity of rock Geological conditions of rock Influencing degree Influencing factors mass Low resistivity ------ High resistivity Weathered and fault fractured Saturated condition Large ---------------- Small Porosity zones Unsaturated condition Small ---------------- Large Pore fluid resistivity Low ---------------- High Components of groundwater (Resistivity of groundwater) Water saturation Large ---------------- Small Groundwater table Water content by volume Weathered and fault fractured Large ---------------- Small (Porosity and water saturation) zones Clay content Much ---------------- Little Weathered and altered zones REFERENCES Archie, G.E. (1942). "The electrical resistivity log as an aid in determining some reservoir characteristics". Trans, A.I.H.E., Vol. 146, pp.54-67. Bussian, A.E. (1983). "Electrical conductance in a porous medium". Geophysics, Vol. 48, No. 9, pp. 1258-1268. Katsube, T.J. and Hume, J.P. (1983). "Electrical resistivities of rocks from Chalk River". Proceeding. Ws. Geophys. Geosci. Res. at Chalk River, pp.105-114. Keller, G. and Frischknecht, F. (1966). "Electrical method in geophysical prospecting". Pergamon Press, New York, p. 28. Klein, D.J. and Sill, W.R. (1982). "Electrical properties of artificial clay-bearing sandstones". Geophysics, Vol. 47, pp. 1593-1601. Matsui, T., Nakagawa, Y., Hashimoto, T., Kamide, S. and Ishibashi, H. (1993). "Application of resistivity image profiling to fractured zone delineation for tunnelling". Proceeding of International Symposium on Hard Soils-Soft Rocks, Athens, pp. 1513-1520. Matsui, T., Park, S.G., Sakamoto, S., Kanata, J. and Daikoku, A. (1997). "Verification of resistivity-based high-density prospecting applied to mountain tunnelling". ITA World Tunnel Congress, Vienna, pp. 83-88. Park, S.G. and Matsui, T. (1998). "Basic study on resistivity of rocks". Butsuri-Tansa, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 201-209 (in Japanese) Patnode, G.E. and Wyllie, M.R.J. (1950). "The presence of conductive solids in reservoir rocks as a factor in electric log interpretation". Trans, A.I.M.E., Vol. 189, pp. 47-52. Takakura, S., Nishizawa, O., Aoki, M. and Kozake, K. (1996). "Influence of smectites on resistivity of rocks and soils". Proceedings of the 96th Society of Exploration Geophysicists of Japan, Kyoto, pp.167-169. (In Japanese) Waxman, M.H. and Smits, L.J.M. (1968). "Electrical conductivities in oil-bearing shaly sands". Soc. Petr. Eng. J., Vol. 8, pp. 107-122.