GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION

Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022) 1

Geotechnical tasks at
different phases of bridge With these documents the geotechnical engineer may
determine the
construction)
• Probable type of soil strata at the bridge site e.g., fine
1. Planning alluvial deposit of southern Terai,
At this stage of study, the design • course alluvial deposit of Northern Terai, unconsolidated
engineer should look for the sediments and weak sedimentary rocks of Siwalik hills,
available information from the metamorphic rock or colluvial and alluvial deposits of
available documents to plan the Midlands, Higher Himalayan rock or highland deposits in
necessary investigation necessary the higher Himalayan zone, and soft heterogeneous
in the future study. Distinct lacustrine deposit of Kathmandu Valley.
features of Terai, Valleys, Hills and • The engineer should plan for the investigation for
Higher mountains in Nepal can be liquefaction in fine alluvial layers,
easily determined with, • The engineer should plan for the possible karst
• Regional geology maps from the formation in carbonaceous rocks of midland and
department of Mines and Siwaliks.
Geology. • Plan for the method of soil investigation works and tools
e.g., Rotary drilling rigs for boulder-gravel deposit, and
• Map; Topographical maps, rock strata,
• Aerial photography, Google earth Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022)
• Probable types of foundation
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 The laboratory investigations included,
2. Feasibility study and detailed design
• Laboratory tests (tests for fine grained
At the feasibility stage of bridge design,
the geotechnical should conduct field
soil, tests for coarse grained soil, test for
investigation and laboratory testing intact rock material)
according to the plan Analysis and foundation design
The field investigations included, • Selection of foundation type
• Drilling of bore holes, Tests pits.
Geophysical surveys • Bearing capacity analysis for shallow
footings
• Field insitu testing e.g., SPT/DCPT,
Permeability/ Lugeon tests • Pile capacity analysis,
• Geological mapping, Rock mass • Capacity of drilled pier
analysis
• Settlement analysis
• Design recommendation for selected type
of bridge foundation
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3. Construction
The foundation condition as analyzed and designed during the feasibility and
detailed design phases may need verification during the construction of
bridge. Followings are the example when verification of ground strata and
designed foundation is necessary.
• Weak soil strata at the designed foundation depth
• Very hard soil strata within the designed depth of deep foundation
• Failure to achieve designed pile shape and capacity.
• Weathered, and highly fractured rock mass.
• Change in river flow, high deposition or high erosion or bed degradation
Tests such as plate load test might be necessary to examine the loose soil,
stability analysis of bore holes might be necessary for bore piles and drilled
caissons.

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Purposes of soil investigation are mainly to:
(1) Establish the soil, rock and groundwater conditions
(2) Determine properties for foundation design
(3) Identify project risks

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 Soil/Geotechnical Investigation
The determination of the correct subsoil/geotechnical investigation at the
proposed bridge site is necessary for the following reasons
• To make economic design of the foundation for bridge piers and
abutments
• To avoid the defects in the bridge structure
• To get correct idea of the nature of strata underlying at various points
along the bridge site

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 Soil/Geotechnical Investigation
The objective of sub-surface exploration is to determine the suitability of the soil or rock,
for the foundation of bridges. The sub-surface exploration for bridges is carried out in two
stages, namely
▪ preliminary and
▪ detailed.
It may require additional/confirmatory exploration during construction stage.

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The objective of sub-surface exploration is to estimate or determine the
following:
i) engineering properties of the soil/rock;
ii) location and extent of weak layers and cavities, if any, below hard
founding strata;
iii) the sub-surface geological condition, such as, type of rock, structure of
rock, i.e., folds, faults, fissures, shears, fractures, joints, dykes and
subsidence due to mining or presence of cavities
iv) ground water level;

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The objective of sub-surface exploration is to estimate or determine the
following:
v) artesian conditions, if any;
vi) quality of water in contact with the foundation;
vii) depth and extent of scour;
viii) suitable foundation level;
ix) safe bearing capacity of foundation stratum;
x) probable settlement and probable differential settlement of the
foundations;
xi) likely sinking or driving effort; and
xii) likely construction difficulties

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The tests to be conducted for properties of soil are different for
I) Cohesionless Soil
a) Laboratory Tests
i) Classification tests, index tests, density determination, etc.
ii) Shear Strengths by triaxial/direct shear, .etc.
b) Field Tests
i) Plate Load Test, (as per IS 1888).
ii) Standard Penetration Tests (as per IS 2131)
iii) Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT), (as per IS 4968 Part I or
PartII).
iv) Static Cone Penetration Test, (as per IS 4968 Part III).
Where dewatering is expected, permeability tests may be conducted (as
per IS 2720 Part XVII).
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II) Cohesive Soil
a) Laboratory Tests
i) Classification tests, index tests, density determination etc.
ii) Shear strengths by triaxial/direct shear, etc.
iii) Unconfined compression test (IS 2720 Part X)
iv) Consolidation test (IS 2720 Part V)
b) Field Tests
i) Plate Load Test, (as per IS: 1888).
ii) Vane Shear Test, (as per IS:4434).
iii) Static Cone Penetration Test, (as per IS:4968 Part III).
iv) Standard Penetration Test, (as per IS:21 31)
v) Dynamic Cone Penetration Test, (as per IS:4968 Part I or Part II).
Where dewatering is expected, permeability tests may be conducted (as per
IS:2720 Part XVII).

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DETAILS OF EXPLORATION FOR FOUNDATION RESTING ON ROCK
Basic Information Required from Explorations
i) Geological system;
ii) Depth of rock and its variation over the site;
iii) Whether isolated boulder or massive rock formation;
iv) Extent and character of weathered zone;
v) The structure of rock-including bedding planes, faults, etc.;
vi) Properties of rock material, like, strength, geological formation, etc.;
vii) Quality and quantity of returning drill water; and
viii) Erodibility of rock to the extent possible, where relevant
Tests
• Generally, shear strength tests will suffice for design purposes. Other tests
may need to be done in special case. The shear strength tests can be done as
unconfined compression, triaxial compression or direct shear test.

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investigation for conglomerate
• A drill hole shall be made same as for rock. The samples
collected shall be subjected to
• suitable tests depending upon the material. Special care shall
be taken to ascertain the credibility of the matrix.

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Classification of Rocks

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Methods of Exploration 1. Open pits with sampling (upto 3 to 4m)
2. Boring (for investigating strata for depth
greater than 3 m)
Common methods of boring are
• Augur boring
• Wash boring
• Rotary boring
• Percussion boring
3. Geophysical method
• Seismic refraction/Reflection method
• Gravimetric Method
• Electromagnetic method
• Electrical Resistivity method
• Magnetic Resonance method

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Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022)
Methods of Boring

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Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022)
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 Laboratory test for soil sample
No. Test Properties of soil to be remarks
determined
1 Chemical Analysis Soluble salts in rock Also Helps to determine silt factor
2 Consolidation compressibility Determination of likely settlement
3 Direct shear and triaxial Shear strength for non With SPT gives Bearing Capacity, frictional
cohesive or any soil properties & sinking difficulties
4 LL and PL Consistency Gives general characteristics of soil
5 Mechanical and wet Grain size distribution Gives general characteristics of soil
analysis
6 Sp. Gr. and dry density Void ratio and unit weight With SPT gives Bearing Capacity, frictional
properties & sinking difficulties
7 Un confined compression Shear strength of cohesive Gives general characteristics of soil, With
soil SPT gives Bearing Capacity, frictional
properties & sinking difficulties
8 Vane test Shear strength and Determination of likely settlement
sensitivity of clay
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A better estimation of in situ rock quality is obtained R.Q.D. (%) Rock
by modified core recovery ratio known as Rock Quality
Quality Designation (RQD) 90-100 Excellent
RQD = Li/Lt (Peck et. al., 1974)
75-90 Good
where, Li = total length of intact hard and sound
piece of core of length greater than 100 mm 50-75 Fair
Lt = total length of drilling 25-50 Poor
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0-25 Very poor
 Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
• Most extensively used in situ test for bridge design in Nepal
• In this test a sampling tube is driven into a borehole in the ground using a standardized
hammering weight. The actual test consists of measuring the number of blows needed to
achieve a penetration of 300 mm into the ground. This is denoted as N, the blow
• requires a large counter weight. Another advantage of the SPT is that immediately
provides a soil sample. The sample is not of the best quality, but at least there is a sample.

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Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022)
 Standard Penetration Test
Components
➢Split spoon sampler IS:9640-1980
➢Drive weight assembly
▪ Falling Weight = 63.5 Kg
▪ Fall height = 75 cm
➢Others : Lifting bail, Tongs, ropes, screw jack, etc.
Procedure
➢The bore hole is advanced to desired depth and bottom is cleaned.
➢Split spoon sampler is attached to a drill rod and rested on bore hole bottom.
➢Driving mass is dropped onto the drill rod repeatedly and the sampler is driven
into soil for a distance of 450 mm. The number of blow for each 150 mm
penetration are recorded.

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Procedure (Cont….)
N-value
➢First 150 mm penetration is considered as seating penetration
➢The number of blows for the last two 150 mm penetration are added together and
reported as N-value for the depth of bore hole.
➢The split spoon sampler is recovered, and sample is collected from split barrel so as
to preserve moisture content and sent to the laboratory for further analysis.

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Procedure (Cont….)
➢SPT is repeated at every 750 mm or 1500 mm interval for larger depths.
➢Under the following conditions the penetration is referred to as refusal and test is
halted
a)50 blows are required for any 150 mm penetration
b)100 blows are required for last 300 mm penetration
c)10 successive blows produce no advancement

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 Depth of Exploration
The sub-surface exploration can be divided into three zones:
i) between bed level and upto anticipated maximum scour depth (below
H.F.L.)
ii) from the maximum scour depth to the foundation level, and
iii) from foundation level to about 1.5 times the width of foundation below
it.

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 Correction of SPT value

• Correction due to dilatency

Terzaghi and Peck (1967) for very fine, silty, saturated sand (if N > 15)
N’ = 15 + 0.5 * (N-15)
Bazaraa (1967)
N’ = 0.6N (for N>15)

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Correction of SPT value Correction for Overburden Pressure :
N’ = CN N
N' = Corrected value of observed N
CN = Correction factor for overburden
pressure
Peck, Hanson and Thornburn (1974)
CN = 0.77 log10 (2000/p’) kN/m2 or kPa

P’ = Effective overburden pressure at depth

corresponding to N – value measurement
Bazaraa (1967)
N’ = 4N/(1+0.04p’) for p’ <= 75 kPa
N’ = 4N/(3.25+0.01p’) for p’ > 75 kPa

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 Correction of SPT value

Skempton (1986) and Liao and Whitman (1987)

where
N60 = standard penetration number, corrected for field conditions to an average
energy ratio of 60%
N = measured penetration number
ηH =hammer efficiency (%)
ηB =correction for borehole diameter
ηS =sample correction
ηR =correction for rod length.

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approximate correlation with SPT value (Clay)

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approximate correlation with SPT value (Sand)

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Bearing capacity : It is the load carrying capacity of the soil.
Basic definitions
• Ultimate bearing capacity or Gross bearing capacity (qu): It is the
least gross pressure which will cause shear failure of the supporting soil
immediately below the footing.
• Net ultimate bearing capacity (qun): It is the net pressure that can
be applied to the footing by external loads that will just initiate failure in
the underlying soil. It is equal to ultimate bearing capacity minus the
stress due to the weight of the footing and any soil or surcharge directly
above it. Assuming the density of the footing (concrete) and soil (𝛾) are
close enough to be considered equal, then
qnu=qu- 𝛾Df
where,
Df = is the depth of the footing

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• Safe bearing capacity: It is the bearing capacity after
applying the factor of safety (FS). These are of two types,
• Safe net bearing capacity (qns ) : It is the net soil pressure which
can be safety applied to the soil considering only shear failure. It is
given by,
qns = qnu/FS
• Safe gross bearing capacity (qs ): It is the maximum gross pressure which the soil can
carry safely without shear failure. It is given by,
qs = qns+𝛾Df
• Allowable Bearing Pressure: It is the maximum soil
pressure without any shear failure or settlement failure.

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Presumptive bearing capacity values as per IS1904-1978

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Net bearing Capacity (Cohesionless soil)
Teng (1962)
qnu= 5[3N2Brw+5(100+N2)Dfr’w] kN/m2 -
Strip Foundation
qnu= 5[3N2Brw+3(100+N2)Dfr’w kN/m2 -
Square and Circular Foundation
B= width of footing if Df>B use Df = B
rw and r’w = correction factor for water
table
rw = 1-0.5(da/Df) and r’w = 0.5 + 0.5 (db/B)
Allowable bearing pressure of well
foundation for cohesionless (sandy) soil
qa = 5.4 N2B + 16(100+N2)Df

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 General
General Arrangement Drawing (GAD)Arrangement Drawing (GAD)

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Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022)
Seismicity of Nepal

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Nepal is situated in the central part of the Himalaya, which is one of theseismically most active
zones in the world. Earthquakes in the Himalaya result
from the cyclic release of elastic stress accumulating continuously at arate of about 2 cm a year
The Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) is the major source of seismic hazard in Nepal. During
interseismic period, stress energy accumulatesalong the Himalaya in the form of straining of
the upper part of the crust. This energy is released when the accumulated stress exceeds the
rock strength.
There are two schools of thought regarding the size of earthquake sources in the Himalaya.
1. One school considers very large earthquakes may occur similar to the 2004 Indonesia
Earthquake (Mw 9.0).
2. The other school disagrees with the possibility of such large earthquakes and advocates the
possibility of earthquakes smaller than Mw 9.0 adopting the major source of seismic hazard
(MHT) is segmented into several segments;
very large earthquakes may not occur in the Himalaya because seismicity pattern as well as
geomorphic features along and across the Himalaya exhibit lateral variation, which possibly are
boundaries of potential earthquake sources.
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Nepal has witnessed several mega-quakes, with magnitude above 8, and
thousands of smaller earthquakes. The Kathmandu Valley has been
reportedly destroyed several times by destructive earthquakes in the
past . The 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha Earthquake is the most recent destructive
event in Nepal, which killed about 8979 people and injured hundreds of
thousands. Small earthquakes (Mw <4.0) occur every day but they are not
strong enough to cause loss of lives and property. Great (Mw ≥ 8.0) as well
as major (8.0 > Mw> 7.0) earthquakes occur infrequently but can have a
tragic impact on people and society as a whole. Earthquakes cannot be
predicted reliably; therefore proper assessment of seismic hazard is
important. Such assessment provides information, which is required in
construction practices, national level planning, national level policy making,
and insurance policies and so on. Seismic hazard of Nepal has been
investigated by several researchers and institutions. The first one of such
study was carried out for the Nepal

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• Nepal is one of the long-identified high seismic hazard nations lies in the central most segment
of the Himalayan collided zone.
• During its history, Nepal has experienced six large/great damaging earthquakes (1255, 1408,
1505, 1833, 1934, and 2015) with magnitudes equal to or greater than 7.6
• The latest most destructive earthquake (Mw=7.8, 25 April 2015 Gorkha earthquake) and its
accompanied aftershocks caused a high tollInvestigation
Geotechnical of casualties
(TEAM-2022) (>8,600 deaths and injuries >20,000)
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Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022) 42
Content of the Geotechnical Engineering Report.
The geotechnical engineering report for the design of bridges should include factual
subsurface information, interpretation, opinions, recommendations, and summary of
works.
The information include.
• Summary of work performed and subsurface investigation (optional).
• Soil Boring Data Sheet(s) and Individual Boring Logs with information on the absence of
any interpretive stratigraphy between soil borings.
• Boring Location Plan – Plan must show existing roadway or bridge alignment with
• stationing. Overlay proposed bridge outline and/or roadway alignment and aerial view
as appropriate. Present a north arrow, legend, and appropriate scale.
• Laboratory Testing Results.
• In-situ Testing Results, if applicable (dynamic cone penetrometer, ground penetrating
radar, falling weight deflectometer, vane shear).
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The report should describe potential problems Annexes,
disclosed by analyses and identify potential feasible
solutions. Following outline is recommended to Appendix A: Bore holes logs,
follow to prepare the final geotechnical report. The Appendix B: Insitu Testing
subsections provided the brief details Appendix C: Laboratory testing
• Executive summary (optional) Appendix D: Calculation sheets (optional)
• Table of contents Appendix E: Photographs
• Introduction
• Project description
• Field investigation
• Laboratory testing
• Site conditions
• Subsurface conditions
• Design calculation and analysis and
recommendations-
• analysis for approach road,
• Substructure foundation
• Construction considerations
Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022) 44
 Assignments
1. The catchment area of Kaligandaki river at the bridge site near Ramdi in
Siddartha highway is 3500 sq km. the snow covered area is 500 sq km. the
mean particle size of bed material at bridge site is 1.5 mm. coordinate of
bridge site is 27.902, 83.632. use available digital maps if necessary.
a. What are the methods of discharge estimation used in Nepal?
b. find design discharge for bridge at proposed site
c. Find water way
d. Find maximum scour depth
e. Recommend and make a sketch of suitable bridge length with appropriate
superstructure and foundation type
i. With single span
ii. With multiple span

Geotechnical Investigation (TEAM-2022) 45

 Assignments
2. Mention the methods of fixing the length of bridges according to the condition of bank and bed
of river.
3. Write in brief the importance of sub soil exploration in bridge site. What are the major methods of
soil exploration?
4. Write notes on
a. RQD
b. Tests of soil
c. Standard penetration test and corrections in N value
d. Borehole log
e. Bearing capacity of soil
5. Describe about the importance of seismological study of bridge site in Nepal. What are the factors
considered for the seismic consideration in bridge design?

6. prepare a format of Bore hole log for bridge site with all necessary details. You can assume or
collect any required data.
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THANK YOU

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