We claim:
1. A method for measuring dry density and gravimetric water content of soil, comprising the steps of:
providing a plurality of spikes adapted to be driven into the soil;
driving said plurality of spikes into the soil in spaced relationship;
applying to said plurality of spikes an electrical signal suitable for time domain reflectometry;
analyzing a reflected signal using time domain reflectometry to determine an apparent dielectric constant Ka of the soil and bulk electrical conductivity ECb of the soil;
calculating dry density d of the soil using a predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and d; and
calculating gravimetric water content w of the soil using a predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb, and w.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the soil has a surface and the plurality of spikes have a lower end, and the step of analyzing a reflected signal includes measuring the apparent distance between a signal reflected from the surface of the soil and a signal reflected from the lower end of said plurality of spikes to determine an apparent length La.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said plurality of spikes have a probe length Lp and the apparent dielectric constant Ka(LaLp)2.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of analyzing a reflected signal includes measuring a source voltage Vs of the applied signal and a long term voltage Vf of the reflected signal.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the bulk electrical conductivity ECb(1C)(VsVf1) where C is a constant related to probe length Lp.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and d is
17
d
=
d
K
a
–
b
EC
b
ad
–
cb
,
where a, b, c and d are soil specific calibration constants.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein calibration constants a and b are predetermined experimentally for a given soil using the relationship
18
K
a
w
d
=
a
+
bw
,
where w is the density of water, d is the dry density of the soil, and w is the gravimetric water content of the soil.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein ECb is replaced with an adjusted value ECb,adj for which calibration constants c and d are known.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and w is
19
w
=
c
K
a
–
a
EC
b
b
EC
b
–
d
K
a
,
where a, b, c and d are soil specific calibration constants.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein calibration constants c and d are predetermined experimentally for a given soil using the relationship
20
EC
b
w
d
=
c
+
dw
,
where w is the density of water, d is the dry density of the soil, and w is the gravimetric water content of the soil.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein ECb is replaced with an adjusted value ECb,adj for which calibration constants c and d are known.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the calculated value of Ka at a given temperature is adjusted to a value Ka,20 C. at a standard temperature of 20 C., where
Ka,20 C.Ka,TTCF
and where
21
TCF
=
Temperature
Compensation
Function
=
0.97
+
0.0015
T
test
,
C
.
for
cohesionless
soils
,
4
C
.
T
test
,
C
.
40
C
.
=
1.10
–
0.005
T
test
,
C
.
for
cohesive
soils
,
4
C
.
T
test
,
C
.
40
C
.
13. A method for measuring dry density of soil, comprising the steps of:
providing a plurality of spikes adapted to be driven into the soil;
driving said plurality of spikes into the soil in spaced relationship;
applying to said plurality of spikes an electrical signal suitable for time domain reflectometry;
analyzing a reflected signal using time domain reflectometry to determine an apparent dielectric constant Ka of the soil and bulk electrical conductivity ECb of the soil; and
calculating dry density d of the soil using a predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and d.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and d is
22
d
=
d
K
a
–
b
EC
b
ad
–
cb
,
where a, b, c and d are soil specific calibration constants.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein calibration constants a and b are predetermined experimentally for a given soil using the relationship
23
K
a
w
d
=
a
+
bw
,
where w is the density of water, d is the dry density of the soil, and w is the gravimetric water content of the soil.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein calibration constants c and d are predetermined experimentally for a given soil using the relationship
24
EC
b
w
d
=
c
+
dw
,
where w is the density of water, d is the dry density of the soil, and w is the gravimetric water content of the soil.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein ECb is replaced with an adjusted value ECb,adj for which calibration constants c and d are known.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the calculated value of Ka at a given temperature is adjusted to a value Ka, 20 C. at a standard temperature of 20 C., where
Ka,20 C.Ka,TTCF
and where
25
TCF
=
Temperature
Compensation
Function
=
0.97
+
0.0015
T
test
,
C
.
for
cohesionless
soils
,
4
C
.
T
test
,
C
.
40
C
.
=
1.10
–
0.005
T
test
,
C
.
for
cohesive
soils
,
4
C
.
T
test
,
C
.
40
C
.
19. A method for measuring gravimetric water content of soil, comprising the steps of:
providing a plurality of spikes adapted to be driven into the soil;
driving said plurality of spikes into the soil in spaced relationship;
applying to said plurality of spikes an electrical signal suitable for time domain reflectometry;
analyzing a reflected signal using time domain reflectometry to determine an apparent dielectric constant Ka of the soil and bulk electrical conductivity ECb of the soil; and
calculating gravimetric water content w of the soil using a predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb, and w.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and w is
26
w
=
c
K
a
–
a
EC
b
b
EC
b
–
d
K
a
,
where a, b, c and d are soil specific calibration constants.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein calibration constants a and b are predetermined experimentally for a given soil using the relationship
27
K
a
w
d
=
a
+
bw
,
where w is the density of water, d is the dry density of the soil, and w is the gravimetric water content of the soil.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein calibration constants c and d are predetermined experimentally for a given soil using the relationship
28
EC
b
w
d
=
c
+
dw
,
where w is the density of water, d is the dry density of the soil, and w is the gravimetric water content of the soil.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein ECb is replaced with an adjusted value ECb, adj for which calibration constants c and d are known.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the calculated value of Ka at a given temperature is adjusted to a value Ka, 20 C. at a standard temperature of 20 C., where
Ka,20 C.Ka,TTCF
and where
29
TCF
=
Temperature
Compensation
Function
=
0.97
+
0.0015
T
test
,
C
.
for
cohesionless
soils
,
4
C
.
T
test
,
C
.
40
C
.
=
1.10
–
0.005
T
test
,
C
.
for
cohesive
soils
,
4
C
.
T
test
,
C
.
40
C
.
25. An apparatus for measuring dry density of soil, comprising:
a plurality of spikes adapted to be driven into the soil in spaced relationship;
means for applying to said plurality of spikes an electrical signal suitable for time domain reflectometry;
means for analyzing a reflected signal using time domain reflectometry to determine an apparent dielectric constant Ka of the soil and bulk electrical conductivity ECb of the soil; and
means for calculating dry density d of the soil using a predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and d.
26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and d is
30
d
=
d
K
a
–
b
EC
b
ad
–
cb
,
where a, b, c and d are soil specific calibration constants.
27. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising means for calculating gravimetric water content w of the soil using a predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb, and w.
28. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising means for compensating for soil temperature.
29. An apparatus for measuring gravimetric water content of soil, comprising:
a plurality of spikes adapted to be driven into the soil in spaced relationship;
means for applying to said plurality of spikes an electrical signal suitable for time domain reflectometry;
means for analyzing a reflected signal using time domain reflectometry to determine an apparent dielectric constant Ka of the soil and bulk electrical conductivity ECb of the soil; and
means for calculating gravimetric water content w of the soil using a predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb, and w.
30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the predetermined relationship between Ka, ECb and w is
31
w
=
c
K
a
–
a
EC
b
b
EC
b
–
d
K
a
,
where a, b, c and d are soil specific calibration constants.
31. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising means for compensating for soil temperature.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1-24. (canceled)
25. A system for managing media traffic associated with a plurality of customer contact centers, the system comprising:
an edge device deployed in a communications network for facilitating calls between agents and customers of the plurality of contact centers, wherein the agents and customers access the communications network respectively over agent and customer private networks, the agents connecting to the agent private network via a first link, and the customers connecting to the communications network via a second link traversing the customer private network; and
a server system in a computing environment coupled to the communications network, the server system being configured to:
identify calls between the agents and the customers;
identify one of the plurality of customer contact centers associated with the identified calls;
determine availability of the first link for the identified customer contact center; and
in response to the determined availability for the identified customer contact center, triggering an action for preserving a particular quality of service for the identified customer contact center.
26. (canceled)
27. The system of claim 25, wherein the computing environment is a cloud computing environment.
28. The system of claim 25, wherein the determining the availability of the first link includes determining estimated available bandwidth of the first link for the identified contact center.
29. The system of claim 28, wherein the determining the estimated available bandwidth of the first link includes determining a physical media limit for the first link provisioned for the identified contact center.
30. The system of claim 28, wherein the determining the estimated available bandwidth of the communications link includes determining estimated bandwidth consumption for the identified calls.
31. A system for managing media traffic for a particular one of a plurality of contact centers, the system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more memory devices coupled to the one or more processors and storing program instructions therein, the one or more processors being configured to execute the program instructions, the program instructions comprising:
identifying calls between agents and customers of the contact center, wherein the agents have access to agent communication devices for accessing the communications network over a private network, the agent communication devices for accessing the private network via a communications link;
identifying one of the plurality of contact centers associated with the identified calls;
determining availability of a communications link for the identified contact center; and
in response to the determined availability for the identified contact center, triggering an action for preserving a particular quality of service for the identified contact center.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the private network is configured to provide an anticipated quality of service for calls traversing the private network.
33. The system of claim 31, wherein the determining the availability of the communications link includes determining estimated available bandwidth of the communications link for the identified contact center.
34. The system of claim 33, wherein the determining the estimated available bandwidth of the communications link includes determining a physical media limit for the communications link provisioned for the identified contact center.
35. The system of claim 33, wherein the determining the estimated available bandwidth of the communications link includes determining estimated bandwidth consumption for the identified calls.
36. The system of claim 35, wherein the program instructions further include:
comparing the estimated bandwidth consumption for the identified calls against a threshold bandwidth consumption amount; and
triggering the action in response to determining that the estimated bandwidth consumption for the identified calls satisfies the threshold bandwidth consumption amount.
37. The system of claim 31, wherein the action is canceling an outbound campaign for the identified contact center.
38. The system of claim 31, wherein the action is activating a greeting turning down a new inbound call directed to the contact center.
39. A method for managing media traffic for a particular one of a plurality of contact centers, the method comprising:
identifying calls between agents and customers of the plurality of contact centers, the agents having access to agent communication devices for accessing a communications network over a private network, the agent communication devices for accessing the private network via a communications link;
identifying one of the plurality of contact centers associated with the identified calls;
determining availability of the communications link for the identified contact center; and
in response to the determined availability for the identified contact center, triggering an action for preserving a particular quality of service for the identified contact center.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein the private network is configured to provide a particular quality of service for calls traversing the private network.
41. The method of claim 39, wherein the determining the availability of the communications link includes determining estimated available bandwidth of the communications link for the identified contact center.
42. The method of claim 41, wherein the determining the estimated available bandwidth of the communications link includes determining a physical media limit for the communications link provisioned for the identified contact center.
43. The method of claim 41, wherein the dete mining the estimated available bandwidth of the communications link includes determining estimated bandwidth consumption for the identified calls.
44. The method of claim 43 further comprising:
comparing the estimated bandwidth consumption for the identified calls against a threshold bandwidth consumption amount; and
triggering the action in response to determining that the estimated bandwidth consumption for the identified calls satisfies the threshold bandwidth consumption amount.
45. The method of claim 39, wherein the action is canceling an outbound campaign for the identified contact center.
46. The method of claim 39, wherein the action is activating a greeting turning down a new inbound call directed to the contact center.
47. The method of claim 39, wherein the calls between the agents and customers are serviced by contact center applications hosted by a first server system in a first computing environment, the method further comprising:
signaling a second server system in a second computing environment to service second calls directed to the identified contact center.