Is 14436:1997

GUIDELINES ON DETERMINATION OF
RESISTIVITY OF ROCK SPECIMEN

ICS 93.020

0 BIS 1997

BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS

MANAK BHAVAN, 9 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFJ’AR MARG
NEW DELHI 110002

July 1997 Price Group 4

I
 R Mechanics Sectional Committee, CED 45
w

_. FOREWORD
I.

This Indian Standard was adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards, after the draft finalized by Rock
Mechanics Sectional Committee had been approved by the Civil Engineering Division Council.

In order to assess the various porperties of rock, Indian Standards covering standard method of test are
being formulated and this standard provides guidelines on laboratory determination of resistivity on rock
specimen. It is a Non-Destructive Test. Quick determination of Resistivity helps in classification. The
laboratory measurement will help in assessing the field resistivity test result. However, the design should
be based on field test results.

There are number of ways in which electric current can be employed to investigate the conditions of rock
in an area. In the most commonly used method, the current is driven using a pair of electrodes and the
resulting distribution of potential is mapped by using another pair of electrodes connected to a sensitive
voltmeter. The electrical resistance of a material is usually expressed in terms of its resistivity. The
resistivity can be measured in the field as well as in the laboratory. The interpretation of electric
measurements in geological terms is based on resistivity contrast between different rock types.
Rock resistivities vary widely from a fraction of an ohm-metre to millions of ohm-metre. The various
engineering parameters can be correlated with the resistivity results for engineering judgement.

Technical Committee responsible for the formulation of this standard is given in Annex B.

In reporting the result of a test or analysis in accordance withthis standard, if the final value, observed or
calculated, is to be rounded off, it shall be done in accordance with IS 2 : 1960 ‘Rules for rounding off
numerical values (revised)‘. The number of significant places retained in the rounded off value should be
the same as that of the specified value in this standard.
 IS 14436 : 1997

Indian Standard
GUIDELINES ON DETERMINATION OF
RESISTIVITY OF ROCK SPECIMEN
1 SCOPE 4 PREPARATION OF SAMPLES
1.1 This standard provides guidelines for the 4.1 The specimen shall be selected to represent
laboratory determination of resistivity on rock average of the type of rock under consideration and
specimen. shall be prepared as per IS 9179. Samples shall be
protected~from frost and extreme heat at all times
1.2 The test may be carried out either in the
during sampling and transportation.
laboratory or at the site.
4.2 In the laboratory, the rock specimen shall be
2 KEFERENCES
obtained from the same block of rock as on site and
The Indian Standards given below contain drilled in the same direction.
provisions which through reference in this text,
4.3 In the field, the rock specimen shall be ob-
constitute provision of this standard. At the time of
tained from the same bore hole and geological
publication, the editions indicated were valid. All
horizon and within the shortest possible difference
standards are subject to revision, and parties to
in their elevations in the bore holes.
agreements baj.:d on this standard are encouraged
to investigate the possibility of applying the most 4.4 The total number of specimens should be such
recent editions of the standard indicated below: that at least 10 tests of any one of the types under
consideration are possible.
IS No. Title
4.5 The specimen should be submerged preferably
9179 : 1979 Method for the preparation of
in formation water for atleast 24 hours before
rock specimen for laboratory
measurement. In case of rock liable for disintegra-
testing
tion under saturation, tests may be carried out at
13030 : 1991 Method of test for laboratory the natural moisture content itself.
determination of water content,
porosity, density and related 4.6 The dimensions of the test specimen shall be
properties of rock material measured to the nearest 0.1 mm. The thickness
shall be measured at or near the centre.
3 TERMINOLOGY
5 APPARATUS
3.0 For the purpose of this standard, the following
definitions shall apply. 5.1 Any equipment having the following basic
facilities can be used for the measurement of resis-
3.1 Core tivity in laboratory or at the site.
It is any single cylindrical piece of rock obtained 5.2 A commutator (transmitter) to transmit pulse
from drilling process. The diameter of the core train to the sample, which is mounted between
should preferably be of Nx size. The ratio of length electrodes. A receiver to measure the voltage drop
to diameter may preferably be 2.5 : 3.0. across the sample due to pulse train passing
3.2 Disc through the sample. The voltage at the receiver
terminal should be read from the digital equip-
It is any single circular solid piece cut out of the rock
ment. Alternate current should be preferred to
core.
overcome surface impedance problems.
3.3 Rock Prism
5.3 The equipment should have sufficient number
It is any single solid prism of rock cut out of rock. of controls and indicators for proper operation
3.4 Resistivity like:

If the resistance between opposite faces of con- i) Acoustic alarm to indicate that the current
ducting material of lenght L and cross-sectional through the sample is constant or not;
area A is~R, then the resistivity is expressed asp = ii) Indicators for checking battery condition;
RAIL.

1
IS 14436: 1997

iii) Overload signal lamps to indicate too high room, where the temperature is maintained at 27
voltage at receiver terminal due to high +-2°C. The water used shall be either from the site
commutator current; or distilled water. The test shall be conducted in an
environment, where the ambient temperature is
‘iv) Polarity indicator to show the polarity (+/-)
maintained at 27 f 2°C.
of the voltage read by an analog meter; and
Various switches like commutator and 6.2 The number, length and area of the sample
v)
receiver ‘ON/OFF’, current range, voltage shall be enteredinto the data sheet (Annex A).
range, etc. 6.3 The sample *shall be dried carefully using a ’
5.4 The following technical specifications may be towel.
used as a guide: -
6.4 The rock specimen shall be inserted between
a) Commutator the electrodes after making certain that the battery
Output current : 0.05 pa-10 mA, select- charger is disconnected. Arrangements for prevene-
ing the drying out of sample shall be made in the
able in 12 steps
flexible tube.
Current stability : 0.05 percent short
term, and 6.5 The commutator switch is then set to the ‘ON’
0.25 percent long position.
term, checked by LED
6.6 Full contact between electrode plates and end
indicator
faces shall be ensured. The desired current shall be
Current cycle time I 1.96 seconds standard set using current selector switch. The acoustic
setting. alarm sounds if constant current is not being sent
through the sample. If this alarm is issued, a lower
b) Receiver current setting may be selected and the current
Input impedance : 1012ohms shall be noted
50 - 60 Hz rejection : 60 db
6.7 The selector switch shall be set to primary
Primary voltage range : 40 mV - 10 V, selec- voltage position and the receiver switch be set to
tion in 6 steps ‘ON’ position.
Resolution 0.4 mV
Accuracy 1Spercent of full scale 6.8 The scale range and the setting of switches shall
Polarity indication : Automatic be selected to minimise the effects of disturbances
Weight 6 kg approx on measurements. The note of which shall be made
Power supply : Rechargeable battery on the data sheet.
packs
6.9 A typical measurement set up is shown in
5.5 It is preferable but not obligatory that the ap- Fig. 1.
paratus befitted with automatic data acquisition
system and computing facilities to aid in the inter- 6.10 Precaution
pretation of the test results.
6.10.1 The following precautions shall be taken:
5.6 The apparatus should have detailed operation a) The battery shall be recharged regularly, and
and maintenance manual.
b) The battery charger must be disconnected
5.7 The equipment should have a test box as auxil- before measurement.
liary unit to check proper functioning and measure-
ment of parameters. 6.10.2 The equipment should be tested and
calibrated using a standard resistance Test Box
5.8 The equipment must be used at a site where before the actual operation.
there is very little electromagnetic disturbance
caused by the mains (50 or 60 Hz). 7 FACTORS AFFECTING THE TEST RESULTS
6 TESTING~PROCEDURE 7.1 Several factors control~the results of measure-
6.1 The rock samples shall be removed from the ments of resistivity, some of them are hard to con-
water in which it has been for at least 24 hours, in a trol, as such sufficient precautions should be taken:

2
 A&B - Commutator terminals.
M&h’ - Receiver input terminals.
Ll - Battery lamp when commutator battery needs charging.
LP, L3, L4, L5 - Lamps provide time reference system indications.
L6 - Overload lamp.
L7, L6, and Ls - Battery lamps when all three receiver batteries need charging.
Kl - Commutator ‘ON/OFF’ switch.
K2 - 12-step current selector.
K3 - 6-step range selector for V and VP.
K4 - 6-step range selector for VIP.
K5 - Function selector for V, VP, Sp and VIP.
K6 - 2-step range selector for SP.
K7 - Receiver ‘ON/OFF’ switch.
POL - Polarity indicator (+ -) shows the polarity of the values presented on the receiver analog
meter.

FIG. 1 CONTROLS,INDICATORSAND NORMALMEASUREMENTSET-UP (TYPICAL,)

7,2 The factors affecting the test results are: V A

P = IXL
a) sample holder,
b) sample preparation routine, = resistivity in ohm-metre,
P
c) sample measurement and its
reproducibility, V = voltage indicated on receiver analog meter
in mv,
d) degree of electrolyte saturation,
e) electrolyte composition, and I = current through the sample in mA,
f) porosity of the rock sample. A = mean cross sectional area of the sample in
8 CALCULATION m2, and
8.1 Resistivity of the rock shall be calculated from L = overall length of samplein m.
the following expression :

3
IS14436:1997

9 REPORTING OF TEST RESULTS Water content and degree of saturation at

the time of test shall be determined as per
9.1 The report of test shall include the following IS 1~3030.
information: Test duration.
g)
a) Lithologic description of the rock. h) Date of testing and type of equipment used.
b) Orientation of sample with respect to 0 Any other observation or available physical
specimen anisotropy. data.
4 Source of sample, depth and geographic 9.2 The resistivity for each specimen in the sample
location, method of sampling and environ- calculated on the basis of the formula in 8.1 ex-
ment. pressed to two significant places together with the
average result for the same.
d) Number of specimens tested.
9.3 Range of resistivity for different rocks are
e>Specimen diameter and length.
shown in Fig. 2.

RESISTIVITY (ohm-m)

ROCK l$ lo-* Id’ 1 10 lo* lo3 lo& lo5 lo6

.’ I
t DIABASE I I I I 1

FIG. 2 ROCK RESISTIVITIES

(TYPICAL)

4
 IS 14436 : 1997

ANNEX A
(Clause 6.2)
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF RESISTMTY ON ROCK SAMPLES

Data Sheet

Project
Location
Rock type
Physical properties
(Use separate sheet)
Test conducted by
Dap :
Sl No. Sample Current Voltage Vp Resistivity
* (Ohm -m)
\
’ No. Length Diameter Area PA
(m) (m) (m2)

5
IS 14436 : 1997

ANNEX B
( Foreword )
Rock Mechanics Sectional Committee, CED 48

ChUri??WZ Representing
DRBHAWANISINGH University of Roorkee, Roorkee
Membtks
DR P. K. J~liil University of Roorkee, Roorkee
DR M. N. VILADKAR(Alternate)
ASSISTANT RESEARCHOFFICER Irrigation Department, UP
DR R. L. CHAUHAN Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, Shimla
CH~EF~ENGINEER (R R: D) Irrigation Department, Haryana
DIRECTOR(ENGG) (Alternate)
SHRIDADESWARGANGADHAR DHAYAGUDE Asia Foundations & Constructions Ltd, Mumbai
SHRIARUN DATTATELAYAJOSHI(AZ&~~~~)
DIRECTOR&SECRETARY Central Ground Water Board, New Delhi
DRA.K.DLJBE Central Mining Research Station (CSIR), Roorkee
SHRIA.K.SONI(Alremare)
DR V. K SINHA Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad
SHRIA. GHOSH Central Building Research Institute (CSIR), Roorkee
DR G. S. MEHROTRA (Alternate)
DIRECTOR Geological Survey of India, Calcutta
SHRIKARMVIR Irrigation 8: Power Department, Chandigrah
DIRECTOR Central Water & Power Research Station, Pune
SHRIB.M.RAMA GOWDA (Alternate)
DR UDAYV. KULKARNI Hindustan Construction Co Ltd, Mumbai
DR R. P.KULKARNI Irrigation Department, Maharashtra
MEMBERSECRETARY Central Board of Irrigation & Power, New Delhi
DIRECTOR(C) (Alremare)
SHRID. N. NARESH National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd, New Delhi
SHRIM. D. NAIR Associated Instrument Manufactures (I) Pvt Ltd, New Delhi
SHRIB. K. SAIGAL(Alremare)
SHRID. M. PANCHOLI Irrigation Department, Government of Gujarat
DR U.D.DATIR Gujarat Engineering Reasearch Institute
SUENTIST~NCHARGE National Geophysical Reasearch Institute, Hyderabad
DRK.S. RAO’ Indian Geotechnical Society, New Delhi
PROFT. RAMAMURITHY Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi
DR G. V. RAO (Akeinare)
SHRIS. D. BARATHA Karnataka Engineering Research Station, Karnataka
SHR~T. S. NARAYANADAS @llremare)
SHRIA. K. DHAWAN Central Soil & Materials Research Station, New Delhi
SHRIJ~TINDRA SINGH Engineer-in-Chiefs Branch, New Delhi
SHRID. K. JAIN(Alremare)
SHRIP. J. RAO Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi
SHRID. S. TOLIA(&emure)
SHRI~RANJODH SINGH Naptha Jhakri Power Corporation, Shimla
SHRIU. S. RAJVANS~II In personal capacity (KC-38, !&vi Nagur, Ghaziubud, U.P.)
DR J. L. JETHWA In personal capacity (Scienrist Incharge CMPTSrurion Unit, Nugpur)
DR V. M. SHARMA In personal capacity (ATES), New Delhi
SHRIK. K. SHARMA, Director General, BIS (fi-@cio Member)
Director (Civ Engg)

Secrerq

SHRIW. R. PAUL
Joint Director (Civ Engg), BIS
Rock Testing in Laboratory Subcommittee, CED 48 :2

Convener
DK A. K. DHAWAN Central Soil and Materials Research Station, New Delhi
Members
DRR.B.SINGH Central Soil and Materials Research Station, New Delhi
SHRtHASANAt3DULLAH (Alternate)
PROFV. D. CHOUBEY Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad
PROFA.K.GHOSH (Alremure)
DR P. K. JAIN Universitv of Roorkee. Roorkee
SHRIN. K. SAMADHIYA(Alternate)
(Corttinued onpage 7)

6
 IS 14436: 1997

RESEARCH O~kk7.R Maharashtra Engineering Rescarch Institute, Nasik

SIIRIY.V.RA.~~ANA National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR), Hyderabad
I’ROF T. RAMAMIJRWY Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
DK J. M. KA’I’I? (~ltcrnare)
SHRI U. N. SIN1IA Central Building Reseach Institute (CSIR), Roorkee
FHKI G. S. MWROTKA (Abemofe)
DK MANOJ VEKMAN Central Mining Reseat&h Station (CSIR), Nagpur
Sr IRI V. K. MEHKOTKA U. P. Irrigation Research Institute, Roorkee
SHRI U. D. DATIK Irrigation Department, Gujarat
SrrKr M. D. NAIR Associated Instrument Manufacturers (I) Pvt Ltd, New Delhi
SHRI B. K. SAIC~AL(,4Z&n1a@)
SHill JATlNDER SINGH Ilydraulid Engineering Instruments, New Delhi
SwI RANJODH Sfmf< Naptha Jhakri Power Corporation, Shimla
SHRI S. N. SENG~JPL~ National Institute of Rock Mechanics, Karnataka
SHRI H. K. SHAKMA National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd, New Delhi
SHRI V. S. R~~VANSHI In personal capacity (KC-38, KaviNagar, Ghaziabad, U. P.)

7
 Bureau of Indian Standards

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Review of Indian Standards

Amendments arc issued to standards as the need arises on the basis of comments. Standards are also
reviewed periodically; a standard along with amendments is reaffirmed when such review indicates that
no changes arc needed; if the review indicates that changes are needed, it is taken up~for revision. Users
of Indian Standards should ascertain that they are in possession of the latest amendments or edition by
rel’crring to the latest issue of ‘BIS Handbook’ and ‘Standards: Monthly Additions’.

This Indian Standard has been developed from Dot : No. CED 48 ( 5596 ).

Amendments Issued Since Publication

Amend No. Date of Issue Text Affected

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