Patent ID: 8847609

Claim:
A material measurement gauge, the material measurement gauge comprising: an electromagnetic field generator configured to generate, by proceeding through a range of frequencies, an electromagnetic field that penetrates into a material, wherein the material includes a heterogeneous material including at least one of a pavement material and a soil material; a sensor configured to determine a frequency response of the material to the electromagnetic field across the range of frequencies, wherein determining the frequency response includes determining a change in a real component of complex impedance property of the material as a function of frequency across the range of frequencies and a change in an imaginary component of the complex impedance property of the material as a function of frequency across the range of frequencies; an analyzer configured to correlate the changes in the real and imaginary components of the complex impedance property of the material as a function of frequency to a material property of the material, wherein correlating the changes in the real and imaginary components of the complex impedance property of the material as a function of frequency to the material property includes using stored relationships between the changes in real and imaginary components of complex impedance property as a function of frequency and the material property determined through multifrequency calibration using samples having changes in real and imaginary components of complex impedance property as a function of frequency that are correlated to known values of the material property to determine a value for the material property for the material given its changes in real and imaginary components of complex impedance property as a function of frequency.