Geotechnical Engineering[CV332]

BSc Civil Engineering – 5th Semester

Lecture # 2
Geotechnical Investigations
08 - September – 2022
by
Dr. Mehtab Alam
Assistant Professor,
Civil Engineering Department – GIKI
Email: [email protected]
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OUTLINE
o Purpose of Geotechnical Investigation
o Phases of Geotechnical Investigation
o Geotechnical Investigation Program
✓Investigation/exploration methods
✓Number & Depth of Boreholes
✓Soil Sampling
✓Groundwater conditions
✓Lab & Field Tests
o Geotechnical/Soil Report
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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION PROGRAM
o Involves usually test pits and/or soil borings
(boreholes)-Phase II
o Detailed Investigation consists of
▪ Determining the need for and extent of geophysical
exploration.
▪ Preliminary location of each borehole and/or test pit.
▪ Numbering of the boreholes or test pits.
▪ Planned depth of each borehole or test pit.
▪ Methods and procedures for advancing the boreholes.
▪ Sampling instructions for the borehole. The sampling
instructions must include the number of samples and
possible locations.
▪ Determining the need for and types of in situ tests.
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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS

Indirect methods of subsurface Semi-direct methods of subsurface

exploration exploration
(Geophysical methods e.g. electrical (Wash boring, rotary drilling,
resistivity method, seismic refraction auger).
method, and sounding methods). * The depth of certain layers is
* Establish the soilprincipal strata. ascertained (depending on the boring
* The results obtained are generally tools used).
satisfactory. * Soil sampling can be made for a
particular layer.

Direct methods of subsurface exploration

(Test pits, trenches, large diameter boring, shafts, drifts).
* Provide relatively undisturbed samples.

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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS
o Indirect methods / Geophysical Methods
• (Ground-penetrating radar) GPR: a high-resolution, high-frequency (10
MHz to 1000 MHz) electromagnetic wave technique for imaging soils and
ground structures.
• The key geotechnical uses are soil profile imaging and the location of buried
objects. GPR produces continuous-resolution images of the soil profile with
very little soil disturbance.
• GPR is not suitable for highly conductive (>15 milliohms/m) wet clays and
silts. GPR resolution decreases with depth.

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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS
o Indirect methods / Geophysical Methods
• Seismic Surveys: Surface waves travel with different velocities through different
material
• When a seismic wave encounters a boundary between two elastic media, the wave
energy is transmitted by reflection and refraction.
• Seismic reflection and refraction are used in geotechnical site characterization
(stratigraphy, depth to bedrock and locating discontinuities and abnormalities)

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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS
Multichannel analysis of surface waves
(MASW) is used to map spatial changes in low-
velocity materials.

Downhole seismic tests are used to detect

layering and the strength of the layers. The
seismic source is located on the surface and
geophones are located in a borehole.

To get information on the stiffnesses of soil

layers, cross-hole seismic tests are used. The
seismic source is located in one borehole and
the geophone is located in an adjacent
borehole.
The P and S (shear) wave velocities are
calculated from the arrival times and the
geophone distances. These are then used to
calculate the soil stiffnesses. 7
GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS
o Geophysical Methods
• Electrical Resistivity: Electrical resistivity measurements can be used for identify
cations and quantification of t h e depth of groundwater, detection of clays,
and measurement of groundwater conductivity.

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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS
Direct methods of subsurface exploration
o Trial Pits/Test Pits
• Permits visual inspection of subsurface conditions in the natural state.
• Max. depth limited to 18-20 feet.
• Useful for gravelly soil where boreholes may be difficult.
• Sampling/testing done on exposed surfaces.
• Useful for pavement projects where exploration of shallow ground is required.

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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS

Example Test Pits

BOQ & Log

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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS
Semi-direct methods of subsurface exploration
o Hand or Power augers
These are tools used to quickly create a hole about
100 mm to 250 mm in diameter in the ground. You
can inspect the soil and take undisturbed samples for lab
tests.

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GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS
• Wash Boring
• The method consists of first driving a casing
through which a hollow drill rod with a sharp
chisel or chopping bit at the lower end is inserted.
• Water is forced under pressure through the drill
rod which is alternately raised and dropped and
also rotated.
• The resulting chopping and jetting action of the
bit and water disintegrate the soil.
• The cutting is forced up to the ground surface in
the form of soil-water slurry through the annular
space between the drill rod and the casing.
• The change of soil stratification could be
guessed from the rate of progress and the
color of wash water.
• The samples recovered from the wash water
are almost valueless for interpreting the
correct geotechnical properties of soil.
Boulders and rock cannot be penetrated by this
method. 12
GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION METHODS
• Rotary Drilling
• Rapidly rotating drilling bits attached to the
bottom of drilling rods cut and grind the soil and
advance the borehole down.
• Several types of drilling bits are available for such
work.
• Rotary drilling can be used in sand, clay, and rock
(unless badly fissured).
• Water or drilling mud is forced down the drilling
rods to the bits, and the return flow forces the
cuttings to the surface.
• Percussion Drilling
• Drilling hard soil or rock
• Heavy drilling bit is raised and lowered to chop hard
soil
• Chopped soil particles are brought up by the
circulation of water
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SOIL SAMPLING
• The objective of soil sampling is to obtain soils of satisfactory size
with minimum disturbance for observations and laboratory tests.
• Disturbed soil samples:
• Undisturbed soil samples: soil samples retain the structural integrity of the in-
situ soil and have a high recovery rate within the sampler
• Soil samples are usually obtained by attaching a sampler, most widely
used samplers are,
• Denison
• Pitcher
• Shelby
• Split spoon

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SOIL SAMPLING
• Denison Sampler
• Undisturbed thin-wall samples in dense sand and gravel soil, hard clays,
partially cemented soils or soft weathered rock
• Not practical for sampling loose sand or soft clays due to inadequate
sample retention devices
• Cobbles and boulders will present major difficulties for penetration &
recovery- sawtooth bit of Denison sample are not capable of coring hard boulders

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SOIL SAMPLING
• Pitcher Tube Sampler
• To recover accurate samples from formations that are too hard for thin-wall
Shelby samplers or too brittle, soft or water-sensitive to permit satisfactory
recovery by conventional core barrel type samplers.

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SOIL SAMPLING
• Split Spoon
• This sampler is typically an 18"-30" long, 2.0" outside diameter (OD) hollow
tube split in half lengthwise.
• A hardened metal drive shoe with a 1.375" opening is attached to the bottom
end, and a one-way valve and drill rod adapter at the sampler head.
• Generally used for non-cohesive soils, samples taken this way are
considered disturbed.

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SOIL SAMPLING
• Shelby Tube sampler
• Consists of a thin-walled tube with a cutting edge at the
toe.
• A sampler head attaches the tube to the drill rod and
contains a check valve and pressure vents.
• Generally used in cohesive soils, this sampler is
advanced into the soil layer, generally 6" less than the
length of the tube.
• The vacuum created by the check valve and cohesion
of the sample in the tube causes the sample to be
retained when the tube is withdrawn.
• Soil sampled in this manner is considered undisturbed.

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SPACING NUMBER & DEPTH OF BOREHOLES
o Practically impossible and economically infeasible to completely
explore the whole project site.
o Judgments on the number, location, and depths of borings
o No and depths of borings -cover the zone of soil
influenced by structural loads.
There is no fixed rule to follow. in most cases, number and
depth is governed by:
• based on the geological characteristics of the ground,
• the importance of the structure, the structural loads, and the availability of
equipment
• Building codes and regulatory bodies provide guidelines on the minimum
number and depths of borings.

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SPACING NUMBER & DEPTH OF BOREHOLES
Spacing of Boring:
one boring at each corner and one at the center
should provide a start.

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SPACING NUMBER & DEPTH OF BOREHOLES
• Sowers and Sowers (1970) provided a rough estimate of the depth
of borings(unless bedrock is encountered) for multistory buildings.
Light Buildings

Heavy & Wide Buildings

zb is the approximate depth of boring and S is the number of stories.

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SPACING NUMBER & DEPTH OF BOREHOLES

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GROUND WATER CONDITION
• If you drill a hole into a soil mass that has all the voids filled with water
(fully saturated), you will observe water in the hole up to a certain
level. This water level is called groundwater level or groundwater table.
• Many construction failures, court battles, and construction cost overruns
are due to the non-identification or nondisclosure of groundwater
conditions at a site.

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THANKS

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