Abstract

The increasing use of microwaves and millimeter waves in various fields of human endeavor such as communications, radar, medicine, biology, agriculture, industrial processes and civil engineering demands accurate data on the dielectric properties of materials. For instance, field density and soil water content are used as a quality control or quality assurance criterion in flexible pavement systems, embankments, canals, earth dams, reinforced earth systems and roadways. This has led to researches into the dielectric properties of porous materials such as soils and rocks. This work has been undergone because of the dearth of data using the in-situ method of estimation of soil electrical parameters from the tropics most especially Nigeria and as well as to optimize analysis of soil conditions for enhanced quality and yield of turf and crops. In this paper, in-situ measurement of soil parameters such as soil dielectric permittivity, soil volumetric moisture content and soil temperature of various types of soil has been made across the climatic zones of Nigeria using Davis Wireless Vantage Pro2 equipment at a fixed frequency of 928 MHz. The result of this study reveals that soil volumetric moisture content is the dominant factor that influences soil electrical characteristics.

Key words: In-situ, dielectric, permittivity, propagation, dispersion.