Electrical resistivity borehole measurements: application to an urban tunnel site

This paper shows how it is possible to use wells drilled during geotechnical pre-investigation of a tunneling site to obtain a 2-D image of the resistivity close to a tunnel boring machine. An experimental apparatus is presented which makes it possible to perform single and borehole-to-borehole electrical measurements independent of the geological and hydrogeological context, which can be activated at any moment during the building of the tunnel. This apparatus is first demonstrated through its use on a test site. Numerical simulations and data inversion are used to analyse the experimental results. Finally, electrical resistivity tomography and single-borehole measurements on a tunneling site are presented. Experimental results show the viability of the apparatus and the efficiency of the inverse algorithm, and also highlight the limitations of the electrical resistivity tomography as a tool for geotechnical investigation in urban areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]