Comparison of Standing Wave Ratio, Time Domain Reflectometry and Gravimetric Method for Soil Moisture Measurements

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1140-1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Feng ◽  
Yiming Wang ◽  
Weizhong Yang ◽  
Qinglan Shi
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Standing Wave ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Gravimetric Method ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry

scholarly journals Is the Time-Domain Reflectometry (TDR) Technique Suitable for Moisture Content Measurement in Low-Porosity Building Materials?

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 7855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Stingl Freitas ◽  
Ana Sofia Guimarães ◽  
Staf Roels ◽  
Vasco Peixoto de Freitas ◽  
Andrea Cataldo
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Gravimetric Method ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Time Domain ◽  
Low Porosity

Measuring moisture content in building materials is essential both for professional practice and for research. However, this is a very complex task, especially when long-term minor destructive measurements are desired. The time-domain reflectometry (TDR) technique is commonly used for soil moisture measurements, but its application in construction materials is considered a relatively new method, particularly for low-porosity building materials. The major obstacles to its current use in construction materials are (1) the difficulty of ensuring good contact between the TDR probe and the material, and (2) the lack of appropriate conversion functions between the measured relative permittivity and the moisture content of building materials. This paper intends to contribute to overcoming these difficulties by explaining in detail all the required steps to monitor moisture content in real-scale limestone walls. For that, a device is presented to guarantee the correct installation of the TDR probes on the walls, and a calibration procedure through the gravimetric method is proposed to avoid the use of an unsuitable calibration function developed for soil moisture measurements. In addition, the importance of the individual probe calibration is discussed, as well as TDR advantages and disadvantages for construction materials. The results obtained so far reveal that the TDR technique is suitable to detect moisture content variations in limestone, which is a low-porosity building material.

scholarly journals The Effect of Fertilization on Time Domain Reflectometry Probe Measurement Accuracy in the Field Experiment in Slovakia

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 144-149
Author(s):  
Lucia Toková ◽  
Dušan Igaz ◽  
Elena Aydin ◽  
Ján Čimo ◽  
Ján Horák
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Measurement Accuracy ◽  
Gravimetric Method ◽  
Calibration Method ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Experimental Site ◽  
Content Determination ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe paper presents evaluation of the calibration method using side-by-side direct gravimetric and indirect time domain reflectometry (TDR) for soil moisture measurements to improve TDR measurement accuracy. Measurements were carried out at the experimental site Dolná Malanta (Slovakia) in 2017. Two non-fertilized treatments – without biochar (B0 + N0) and with biochar at 20 t·ha−1 (B20 + N0) – and two fertilized treatments – with biochar at 20 t·ha−1 and N fertilizer at dosages of 160 kg·ha−1 (B20 + N160) and 240 kg·ha−1 (B20 + N240) – were used in this study. The study also investigates the relationship between both used methods of soil water content determination. A strong correlation between both methods was observed. In case of (B0 + N0); (B20 + N0); (B20 + N160); and (B20 + N240), it was 0.93; 0.97; 0.97; and 0.98, respectively. However, it is assumed that the TDR probe may show errors in the results without prior calibration. It was observed that the accuracy of TDR device was lower for fertilized treatments in contrast to the gravimetric method and non-fertilized treatments. It is assumed that the higher measurement inaccuracy might be increased by salt concentration in the soil as a result of applied N fertilizer.

Advanced Measurement Methods in Time Domain Reflectometry for Soil Moisture Determination

2006 ◽  
pp. 317-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christof Huebner ◽  
Stefan Schlaeger ◽  
Rolf Becker ◽  
Alexander Scheuermann ◽  
Alexander Brandelik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Measurement Methods ◽  
Moisture Determination

scholarly journals Capillary Uptake Monitoring in Lime-Hemp-Perlite Composite Using the Time Domain Reflectometry Sensing Technique for Moisture Detection in Building Composites

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Przemysław Brzyski ◽  
Zbigniew Suchorab
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Apparent Density ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Gravimetric Method ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Partial Replacement ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Capillary Uptake

The use of waste plants in the production of building materials is consistent with the principles of sustainable development. One of the ideas involves using hemp shives as an aggregate for the production of a composite used as a filling of the timber frame construction of the walls. The most important disadvantage of using the building materials based on organic components is their susceptibility to the water influence. The wall material is exposed to rising groundwater. The research part of the paper presented the preparation method and the investigation of the hemp-perlite-lime composites. Flexural and compressive strength, apparent density, total porosity, thermal conductivity, and mass absorptivity were examined. The main research part pertained to the analysis of capillary uptake occurrence in the composites, being the important phenomenon present in the external walls. The study on this phenomenon was carried out using the technique of indirect moisture evaluation—Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR). The indirect readouts were additionally verified with the traditional evaluation using the gravimetric method based on the PN-EN 1925 standard. The study proved that the tested composites were characterized by low apparent density, thermal conductivity, strength parameters, high total porosity, and mass absorptivity. The partial replacement of hemp shives by expanded perlite had a beneficial effect on the tested properties of composites.

scholarly journals Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique – A solution to monitor moisture content in construction materials

2020 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 17001
Author(s):  
Teresa Stingl Freitas ◽  
Ana Sofia Guimarães ◽  
Staf Roels ◽  
Vasco Peixoto de Freitas ◽  
Andrea Cataldo
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Correct Diagnosis ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Gravimetric Method ◽  
Reference Method ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Relative Dielectric Permittivity ◽  
Porous Building Materials

Measuring moisture content in building materials is crucial for the correct diagnosis of buildings’ pathologies and for the efficiency evaluation of the treatment solution applied. There are several different techniques available to measure the moisture content in construction materials. However, perform long-term minor-destructive measurements is still a great challenge. The TDR – Time Domain Reflectometry – technique is commonly used for moisture content measurements in soils, but is considered a relatively new method with regard to its application in construction materials. In the present state of research, the current use of the TDR technique for monitoring moisture content in all types of consolidated porous building materials is not possible yet. Indeed, the empirical conversion functions proposed for soils are mostly not suitable for building materials. Furthermore, to successfully use the TDR technique, a good contact between the TDR probe and the material under study is required, which may be difficult to achieve in hard materials. In this paper, the TDR technique was implemented in two limestone walls constructed in the lab to test experimentally the efficiency of a wall-base ventilation channel to speed up drying after a flood. Each wall was equipped with four two-rod TDR probes for continuous monitoring the moisture content in both situations: with and without the ventilation channel. All the equipment used, procedures followed during the drilling until the probes’ final installation, as well as the individual calibration required for each probe are explained in detail. Instead of using unsuitable functions proposed for soils, the evaluation of the moisture content from the apparent relative dielectric permittivity measured was established using as reference method the gravimetric method. The results obtained suggest that the TDR technique is suitable for moisture content monitoring in consolidated porous building materials.

scholarly journals Two- and three-parameter calibrations of time domain reflectometry for soil moisture measurement

1997 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 2417-2421 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Yu ◽  
A. W. Warrick ◽  
M. H. Conklin ◽  
M. H. Young ◽  
M. Zreda
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Moisture Measurement ◽  
Soil Moisture Measurement

Impact of density on the hydraulic properties of peat and the time domain reflectometry (TDR) moisture calibration curve

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 279-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anushka Shibchurn ◽  
Paul J Van Geel ◽  
Paula L Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Dielectric Constant ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Dry Density ◽  
Water Contents

The hydraulic properties of a peat used in a commercial peat biofilter were evaluated to determine their relationship with density and to establish a time domain reflectometry (TDR) calibration curve for water content as a function of the measured dielectric constant. The peat studied was a milled Sphagnum peat with a high organic content (99%). The dry densities evaluated in this study ranged from 90 to 180 kg/m3. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) decreased with an increase in dry density (ρdry) and was found to follow a log-linear relationship (Ks = 0.2462 exp(–0.0438ρdry), correlation coefficient R2 = 0.9789). As expected, the soil moisture curve was impacted by density, with a higher density resulting in higher water contents for a given suction. The data were fit to the van Genuchten relationship. A TDR calibration curve was generated at five different densities. A comparison of the curves indicates that the water content as a function of dielectric constant was not dependent on density because of the significantly larger dielectric constant (Ka) of water compared with those of peat solids and air-filled voids. The TDR calibration curve for the peat evaluated in this study (volumetric water content Θv = 0.2667 ln(Ka) – 0.1405, R2 = 0.9564) predicted higher water contents for a given dielectric constant compared with those from similar calibration curves for peat published in the literature. The data were compared with those from six other studies and indicated that the TDR calibration varied for different organic soils. The density-dependent hydraulic parameters and TDR calibration curve are important parameters needed to study the hydraulics of peat biofilters.Key words: peat, TDR, time domain reflectometry, density, hydraulics, soil moisture.

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