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Development of a time domain reflectometry sensor for cone penetration testing

dc.contributor.advisorBarbour, Leeen_US
dc.contributor.advisorSi, Bingchengen_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberIreson, Andrewen_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberFleming, Ianen_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberElliott, Janeen_US
dc.creatorAmos, Michaelen_US
dc.date.accessioned2015-02-13T12:00:20Z
dc.date.available2015-02-13T12:00:20Z
dc.date.created2015-01en_US
dc.date.issued2015-02-12en_US
dc.date.submittedJanuary 2015en_US
dc.description.abstractAn essential component for evaluating the performance of a mine site after its closure includes the tracking of water movement through mine waste such as tailings and overburden. A critical element of this evaluation is the measurement of the volume of water stored in the closure landform. The objective of this project was to design a time domain reflectometry (TDR) device that could be used to measure the volumetric water content of a soil profile to depths of 10 to 20 m. Upon completion of this project, the device will be integrated onto ConeTec’s cone penetration testing (CPT) shaft for initially monitoring Syncrude Canada Limited’s northeastern Alberta oil sands mine site. The objective of this project will be achieved through at least two phases of research and development; this thesis concentrates on the first phase. In this phase, research focused on prototype development through laboratory testing to determine appropriate TDR probe geometries and configurations that could be integrated onto a CPT shaft. Considerations also had to be made for protecting the integrity of the probe during field use and mitigating the effects of highly electrically conductive soils common in reclaimed mine sites. A number of different prototype designs were initially investigated in this research, leading to the development of a refined prototype for advanced testing. Testing for the project was carried out first in solutions of known dielectric constants and salinities, and then proceeded to soils with a range of known water contents and salinities. Good quality electrical connections were found to be crucial for generating waveforms that were easy to interpret; bad connections resulted in poor results in a number of cases. Decreased probe sensitivity was observed in response to increased rod embedment within the probe variants. A far greater decrease in sensitivity was seen in the results of the fully sheathed rods, although the sheathing was effective for extending the range of the probe in electrically conductive testing conditions. Despite poor results that were seen in some of the tests, overall the results were promising. In particular, results from the push-test showed that the probe was able to monitor changes in water content with depth.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2015-01-1924en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.subjecttime domain reflectometryen_US
dc.subjectcone penetration testingen_US
dc.subjectsoil water contenten_US
dc.subjectmine wasteen_US
dc.titleDevelopment of a time domain reflectometry sensor for cone penetration testingen_US
dc.type.genreThesisen_US
dc.type.materialtexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentCivil and Geological Engineeringen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil Engineeringen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Saskatchewanen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.Sc.)en_US

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