Modelling the spectral induced polarization response of water-saturated sands in the intermediate frequency range (102–105 Hz) using mechanistic and empirical approaches

International audienceThe intermediate frequency range 10 2 –10 5 Hz forms the transition range between the spectral induced polarization frequency domain and the dielectric spectroscopy frequency domain. Available experimental data showed that the spectral induced polarization response of sands fully saturated with water was particularly sensitive to variations of the saturating water electrical conductivity value in the intermediate frequency range. An empirical and a mechanistic model have been developed and confronted to this experimental data. This confrontation showed that the Maxwell Wagner polarization alone is not sufficient to explain the observed signal in the intermediate frequency range. The SIP response of the media was modelled by assigning relatively high dielectric permittivity values to the sand particle or high effective permittivity values to the media. Such high values are commonly observed in the dielectric spectroscopy literature when entering the intermediate frequency range. The physical origin of these high dielectric permittivity values is discussed (grain shape, electromagnetic coupling), and a preliminary study is presented which suggests that the high impedance values of the non-polarizable electrodes might play a significant role in the observed behaviour