Electrodes are used to measure a potential difference between two points. In geophysical and geotechnical applications they are often in the form of non-polarizable porous-pot electrodes. Here we describe the design, construction, and testing of modular and refillable electrodes, which facilitates repair as the electrodes degrade over time. We use a chemical composition based on a metal in contact with an over-saturated electrolyte that consists of a salt of that metal and an auxiliary salt. We compare characteristics when the electrolyte is stabilized in a clay or not, and with various states of ceramic porous plugs and two types of wood plugs. Next, we assess the long-term stability (more than 1 month), noise (periods of 1 s to 1 hr), and temperature sensitivity of different types of electrodes. Electrodes with an electrolyte and clay formula showed lower noise (0.2–0.4 μV at periods of 1–120 s), greater long-term stability (0.05–0.5 mV/month of smooth drift), and greater consistency between samples measured than those with no clay (noise and drift values up to four times larger). The effects from different porous plugs were negligible, with similar results for ceramic and wood types. The temperature sensitivity of the electric potential was assessed, from −3 to 35°C. All electrodes showed a temperature sensitivity of about −30 μV/°C. This is considered very low compared to some commercially available electrodes. Finally, continuous long-term laboratory and field measurements of the potential highlight the application of the new electrodes.

中文翻译：

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专为地球物理和岩土工程应用而设计的模块化多孔罐电极的长期稳定性、噪声和温度敏感性及其构造细节

电极用于测量两点之间的电位差。在地球物理和岩土工程应用中，它们通常采用不可极化多孔罐电极的形式。在这里，我们描述了模块化和可再填充电极的设计、构造和测试，当电极随着时间的推移而退化时，这有助于修复。我们使用基于与过饱和电解质接触的金属的化学成分，该电解质由该金属的盐和辅助盐组成。我们比较了电解质在粘土中稳定与否时的特性，以及陶瓷多孔塞和两种类型木塞的各种状态的特性。接下来，我们评估不同类型电极的长期稳定性（超过1个月）、噪声（1秒至1小时的周期）和温度敏感性。与电解质和粘土配方的电极相比，具有电解质和粘土配方的电极表现出更低的噪声（1-120 秒周期内为 0.2-0.4 μV）、更高的长期稳定性（平滑漂移为 0.05-0.5 mV/月）以及测量的样品之间更高的一致性。无粘土（噪音和漂移值高达四倍）。不同多孔塞的影响可以忽略不计，陶瓷和木材类型的结果相似。评估电势的温度敏感性，范围为-3 至35°C。所有电极均表现出约-30 μV/°C 的温度敏感性。与一些市售电极相比，这被认为是非常低的。最后，连续长期的实验室和现场电位测量凸显了新电极的应用。