Abstract

Electrical resistivity survey have been widely conducted at diverse scales, from a few centimeters for laboratory tests to kilometers for field tests. It measures electrical resistance through relationship of electric potential difference and current between two electrodes penetrated on the surface of medium, and eventually quantifies electrical resistivity known as inherent properties of the medium. In field or full-scale test, it assumes the electrodes as equivalent half-sphere electrodes that have a same surface area with different electrodes for ease of calculation because the contact area between electrode and medium is small and sufficient distance between two electrodes. However, small-scale laboratory test is significantly affected by the electrode geometries (penetrated depth, height, radius of electrode and distance between electrodes), which change the equipotential surface and electric current flow. Indeed, the electrode geometries may eventually cause a difference of electrical resistivity value. This study reviews the theoretical electrical resistance derived with various electrode geometries (half-sphere, cylinder, cylindrical with half-spherical tip, cylindrical with conical tip) and verifies the developed numerical module by comparing results with the theoretical electrical resistance. The distributions of electrical resistance around electrodes and among electrodes are analyzed. In addition, it is discussed how the electrical characteristic of cylindrical electrode with conical tip widely used in field test has effect on the electric current flow.