Dielectric properties of soil mixed with urea fertilizer over 20 Hz to 2 MHz frequency range

Abstract

The dielectric properties of sandy soil for various moisture contents of distilled water and Urea-fluid solutions in soil are estimated in the lower frequency range from 20 Hz to 2 MHz using precision LCR meter. The spectra of complex permittivity e*(ω), loss tangent tan δ(ω), electrical conductivity σ*(ω), and complex impedance Z*(ω) plane plots of these soil-fluid system have been investigated for various moisture contents of different concentrations of Urea solution in the soil samples. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the soil increase with increase in moisture content of different concentrations of Urea solution in the soil. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the soil increases significantly with the decrease in frequency over the given frequency range. The complex impedance plane (Zʹ versus Zʺ) plot separates electrode polarization and bulk material phenomena, which can also be observed in the dielectric loss tangent peaks.