3.10. The way forward
The next phase of research will be to compare the performance of 30% bentonite mixed concrete encased steel cage with two other proposed settings namely steel cage encased in pure bentonite and steel cage encased in pure native soil.
The selected site will consist of soil with much higher soil resistivity than the site of discussion here.
The rationale is that based on literature, the effectiveness of bentonite as GIM is most significant under extremely high soil condition.
This information will be made available to the literature in few months time.
Another point worth investigating in the future is the incorporation of effects of ionization of bentonite in overall grounding system performance.