Soil Exploration

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 Purpose of Soil Exploration
Different methods
1. Test trenches and Pits
2. Auger and Wash Boring
3. Rotary Drilling
4. Geophysical Methods
Soil Sampling (Disturbed and Undisturbed)

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COMMON STAGES IN SITE INVESTIGATION

Desk Study
Site Reconnaissance
Field Investigations
a) Preliminary Ground Investigation
b) Detailed Ground Investigation
Laboratory Testing
Report Writing
Follow up Investigations during design &
construction
Appraisal of performance
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 SOIL INVESTIGATION
Determination of surface and subsurface soil conditions
and features in an area of proposed construction that
may influence the design and construction and address
expected post construction problems.

SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION
Simple visual examination of soil at the surface or
from shallow test pits.
Detailed study of soil and groundwater to a
reasonable depth (influence zone) by sampling from
bore holes, shafts and audits and in-situ and laboratory
tests.
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 PURPOSE OF SOIL INVESTIGATION:
The site investigation provides first hand information for;

Selection of foundation type.

Design of foundations.
Contractors to quote realistic and competitive
tenders.
Planning construction techniques.
Selection of appropriate construction equipment
(especially for excavation and foundations).
Feasibility studies of the site.
Estimating development cost for the site.
Study of environmental impacts of the proposed
construction. 5
 PURPOSE OF SOIL INVESTIGATION:
Selection of borrow areas for embankments.
Need for any suitable soil improvements.
Requirement of any surface or subsurface drainage.
Selection of the most suitable and economical route for
highways with respect to soil conditions.
Selecting areas (better soil) for engineering structures where
there is flexibility in relocating the structure thus realizing
considerable savings in foundation costs.
The design of extension works to existing structures.
the investigation of the cases where failure has occurred, to
know the causes and design of remedial works.
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Boring Logs

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METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

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 METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

The methods to determine the sequence, thickness and

lateral extent of the soil strata and, where appropriate
the level of bedrock.

The common methods include

Test pits
Shafts and audits
Boring or drilling

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 Test Pits

The excavation of test pits is a simple and reliable method.

The depth is limited to 4-5m only.

The in-situ conditions are examined visually

It is easy to obtain disturbed and undisturbed samples

Block samples can be cut by hand tools and tube samples can be taken from
the bottom of the pit.

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Walls of the test pit indicate four layers (1) Clayey silt (2)
Sandy silt (3) Clean sand (4) Sandy gravel

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 Boring or Drilling
Boring refers to advancing a hole in the ground.
Boring is required for the following:
To obtain representative soil and rock samples for laboratory tests.

To identify the groundwater conditions.

Performance of in-situ tests to assess appropriate soil characteristics.

Some of the common types of boring are as follows

Auger boring

Wash boring

Percussion boring

Rotary drilling

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 Auger Boring
Hand Auger Mechanical Auger

Hand Auger
It is the simplest method of boring used for small projects in soft cohesive soils.

For hard soil and soil containing gravels boring with hand auger becomes
difficult.
Hand-augered holes can be made upto about 20m depth, although depth
greater than about 8-10m is usually not practical.
The length of the auger blade varies from 0.3-0.5m.
The auger is rotated until it is full of soil, then it is withdrawn to remove the
soil and the soil type present at various depths is noted.
Repeated with drawl of auger for soil removal makes boring difficult below 8-
10m depth.
The soil samples collected in this manner are disturbed samples and can be
used for classification test. Auger boring may not be possible in very soft clay
or coarse sand because the hole tends to collapse when auger is removed 14
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a. Helical (worm types) Augers b. Short flight Auger
c. Iwan (posthole) Auger

a b c

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 Mechanical Auger

Mechanical Auger means power operated augers. The power required to

rotate the auger depends on the type and size of auger and the type of soil.
Downwards pressure can be applied hydraulically, mechanically or by dead
weight

a
a
b
c d
a. Continuous Flight Auger b. Hallow-stem auger plugged during advancing
bore
c. Plug removed and sampler inserted d. Truck mounted auger boring machine
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 The diameter of the flight auger usually is between 75 to 300mm, although
diameters up to 1m and bucket augers up to2m are available.

Borehole depths up to 50m are possible with continuous-flight augers.

The most common method is to use continuous flight augers. Continuous

flight augers can be solid stem or hollow stem with internal diameter of 75-
150mm.

Hollow stem augers are used when undisturbed samples are required. Plug
is withdrawn and sampler is lowered down and driven in to the soil below
the auger.

If bed rock is reached drilling can also take place through the hollow stem.

As the auger acts as a casing it can be used in sand below water table. The
possibility of rising sand in to the stem by hydrostatic pressure can be
avoided by filling the stem with water up to the water table
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 The soil rises to the surface along the helical blades, obviating
the necessity of withdrawal.

They are not suitable for soil bore that require casing, which
demand removal of auger for driving the casing.

The presence of cobbles and boulders create problems with

small-sized augers.

There is a possibility that different soil types may become

mixed as they rise to the surface and it may be difficult to
determine the depths of changes of strata. Experienced driller
can however detect the change of strata by the change of speed
and the sound of drilling. 18
 Wash boring
Water with high pressure pumped through hallow boring rods is
released from narrow holes in a chisel attach to the lower end of
the rods.

The soil is loosened and broken by the water jet and the up-down
moment of the chisel.

The soil particles are carried in suspension to the surface

between the rock and the borehole sites.

The rods are raised and drop for chopping action of the chisel by
means of winch.

Wash boring can be used in most type of soil but the progress is
slow in coarse gravel strata. 19
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 The accurate identification of soil strata is difficult due to
mixing of the material has they are carried to the surface.

The method is unacceptable for obtaining soil samples.

It is only used for advancing the borehole to enable tube

sample to be taken or field test to be carried at the hole
bottom.

The advantage is that the soil immediately below the hole

remains relatively un-disturbed

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Wash boring rig 21
 ROTARY DRILLING

The rig consists of a derrick, power unit, winch, pump and a drill head
to apply high-speed rotary drive and downward thrust to the drilling
rods.

Primarily intended for investigation in rock, but also used in soils.

The drilling tool, (cutting bit or a coring bit) is attached to the lower
end of hollow drilling rods

The coring bit is fixed to the lower end of a core

Water or drilling fluid is pumped down the hollow rods and passes
under pressure through narrow holes in the bit or barrel

The drilling fluid cools and lubricates the drilling tool and carries the
loose debris to the surface between the rods and the side of the hole.22
 The fluid (bentonite slurry) also provides some support to the sides
of the hole if no casing is used
.
There are two forms of rotary drilling, open-hole drilling and core
drilling.

Open- hole drilling, which is generally used in soils and weak

rock, just for advancing the hole

The drilling rods can then be removed to allow tube samples to be

taken or in-situ tests to be carried out.

In core drilling, which is used in rocks and hard clays, the diamond
or tungsten carbide bit cuts an annular hole in the material and an
intact core enters the barrel, to be removed as a sample. Typical
core diameters are 41, 54 and 76mm, but can range up to 165 mm.
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 Advantages

The advantage of rotary drilling in soils is that progress is

much faster than with other investigation methods and
disturbance of the soil below the borehole is slight.

Limitations

The method is not suitable if the soil contains a high

percentage of gravel/cobbles, as they tend to rotate beneath the
bit and are not broken up.

The natural water content of the material is liable to be

increased due to contact with the drilling fluid

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Rotary Drilling rig
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 GEOPHYSICAL METHOD
Although boring and test pits provide definite results but they are time consuming
and expensive.

Subsurface conditions are known only at the bore or test pit location.

The subsurface conditions between the boring need to be interpolated or estimated.

Geophysical methods are more quick and cheaper.

They provide thorough coverage of the entire area.

The results of Geophysical testing however are less definitive and require subjective
interpretation.

Therefore both methods are important. In case geophysical testing in major in scope,
few borings and sampling will be required for accurate determination of soil
properties.

If boring is major in scope then few geophysical lines will be required to know the26
conditions in-between the borings.
 Site Evaluation Direct Methods

Boreholes/Probes

Test Pits/Trenches

Cores

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 Geophysical Techniques Indirect Methods

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

Electromagnetic (EM)
Magnetic
Utility Locating
Seismic
Electrical Resistivity
Gravity
Very Low Frequency (VLF)

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 Geophysical Techniques Indirect Methods

Advantages
Non-Destructive
Cost Effective
Provides Preliminary
or Supplemental
Information

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 Soil Sampling

Split Spoon/SPT sampler

Thin-wall tube/Shelby tube

Augers

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 Soil Sampling
Disturbed
In situ structure not retained
Water content, classification, compaction
Undisturbed
Less disturbed
Shear strength, consolidation, permeability

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 Soil Sampling

Disturbances
Shearing and compression
In situ stress release
Drying
Vibrations

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 How do we
Sample Soil?
Is it just digging holes?

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 Amount of sampling
Depends upon;
Time constraints
Topography
Cost factors
Reasons for sampling
There are no specific guidelines

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34 Soil Analysis Ch 8
 Soil Sampling
How many samples do we take?
At least 20 single samples per 10 000m2 must be taken with
an earth boring tool (or spade) and combined to a mixed
sample.
To what depth do we sample?
The usual sampling depth is up to 20 cm in arable land or
10cm in pasture. Undisturbed soil samples are obtained
with a cutting cylinder with minimum capacity of 100cm3 .

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GROUND INVESTIGATION
TESTING

Selection of Testing
for
SPECIFIERS 36
 Laboratory Testing
Testing by a laboratory accredited to ISO 17025 is an essential
part of soil and rock testing

Competency of staff
Control of test conditions
Accuracy of test measurements
Traceability of measurements to national standards
Control of test material
Repeatability of results

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 Laboratory Testing

Soil and Water testing

Rock Testing
Chemical Testing (for effect on construction
materials)
Contamination (Analytical) Testing

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Types of Laboratory Tests
Classification tests
Chemical Tests
Compaction Tests
Shear strength and triaxial tests
Consolidation Tests
Permeability Tests
Specialist Tests
Rock Tests
Contamination Tests

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 Structuring the Test Schedule
Design data required and for what purpose
Identification of material characteristics
Identification of contamination levels
Type of sample needed
Minimum mass of sample
Multiple tests on samples

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 Classification Tests

Moisture content
Density
Atterberg limits
Particle size distribution

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 Rock Testing

Classification (moisture, density, porosity, slake

durability)
Point load strength
Uniaxial compressive strength and modulus
Triaxial strength
Permeability

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 Chemical Tests

To provide design parameters for civil

engineering materials in the ground
pH, sulphate, chloride, carbonate
Organic content and mass loss on ignition
Special testing (eg SD1)

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 Compaction Tests

Density/moisture content relationships

California bearing ratio (CBR)
Moisture condition value tests (MCV)
Maximum/minimum density
Combined relationship testing

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 Shear Strength and Triaxial
Tests

Shear Box
Laboratory vane shear
Quick undrained triaxial test (total stress)
Consolidated undrained triaxial test (effective
stress)
Consolidated drained triaxial test (effective
stress)
Ring shear for residual strength

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 Consolidation Tests

One dimensional consolidation

Triaxial consolidation
Hydraulic cells (Rowe)
Swelling tests

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 Permeability Tests

Constant head permeameter

Falling head permeameter
Triaxial permeability

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 Contamination Testing
pH
Organics
Inorganics
Metals
Asbestos

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