Soil Exploration

1
 Chapter 1
Soil Exploration

1.1. Purpose of site Exploration:

The purpose of site exploration is to assess the suitability of a
site for a particular project or to investigate the cause of failure of
an existing structure.

The primary objectives of soil exploration are:

 Determination of the nature of the deposits of soil.

Determination of the depth and thickness of the various soil

strata and their extent in their horizontal direction.

The location of the ground water table and fluctuations in GWT.

2
 Obtaining soil rock samples from the various
strata.
 The determination of the engineering
properties of the soil and rock strata that
affect the performance of the structure, and
 Determination of the in-situ properties by
performing field tests.

The information gathered will be used as bases:

• For the selection of foundation.
• To decide on the depth of foundation.
3
 For the determination of the bearing capacity
of the selected foundation.
 For the performance of settlement of the
existing foundation.
1.2. Subsurface Exploration Program.
The following steps are involved in site
exploration program:
1. Desk study or collection of primary information.
2. Reconnaissance survey.
3. Site Investigation.

4
• 1.2.1. Desk Study or Collection of Preliminary
Information.
The following information's are important:
 Information regarding the type of structure to be
built and its general use. (Building: column load ,
spacing of column, and required code) or (Bridge:
span length and loading on piers and abutment)

 A general idea of the topography and the type of soil

to be encountered. These can be obtained from soil
maps and geologic maps.

5
• 1.2.2. Reconnaissance Survey.
Visual inspection to the site to obtain information about:

 General topography of the site, possible existence of drainage

ditches.

 Soil stratification from deep cuts, such as those made for

construction of other structures.

 Type of vegetation, which may indicate the type of soil.

 Type of construction nearby and existence of any cracks in walls or

other problems.

 The nature of stratification and physical properties of the soil

nearby can also be obtained from any available soil exploration
report for existing structures. 6
1.2.3. Site Investigation:
• In general, the methods available for soil
exploration may be classified as follows:
1. Direct Methods: Test pits, Trial pits or trenches.
2. Semi-direct Methods: Borings and sampling
3. Indirect Methods: Soundings or Penetration tests
and geophysical methods
The detailed investigation phase involves:
Making test boreholes and /or test pits.
Collecting soil samples.
Conducting field tests.

7
• A decision has to be made on:
The depth of the boreholes.
The number and the location of boreholes.
The sampling interval.
Type of sample to be collected.
Type of field tests to be conducted.
Types of laboratory tests to be conducted.

8
The choice of appropriate testing method is affected
by:

Economy.

Type of structure.

Type of foundation, if predetermined.

Type of soil.

9
 1. 3 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.

 For greater depths, especially in granular soils, lateral supports or braking

of the excavations will be necessary. Ground water table may have to be
lowered.
10
 Stratigraphy and Finds
Layer Soil Soil Colour Finds Chronology
L1 Sandy soil Gray 7.5YR 5/1 Modern Rubbish (filled soil) 1980s
L2 Sandy soil Pinkish white 7.5YR 8/2 Modern rubbish (filled soil) 1980s
L3 Sandy soil Reddish yellow 7.5YR 7/6 Modern rubbish (filled soil) 1980s
L4 Sandy soil Gray 7.5YR 6/1 Modern rubbish (filled soil) 1980s
L5 Loamy soil Reddish yellow 5YR 6/6 Nil (original decomposed soil)
L6 Loamy soil Reddish yellow 5YR 6/8 Nil (original decomposed soil)
L7 Loamy soil, with Light red 2.5YR 6/8 Nil (original decomposed soil)
some
decomposed
bed rock texture

Test Pit Wall Photograph Test Pit Wall Drawing

Western Wall Section Western Wall Section Drawing

11
1.4.1 Depth of Exploration for foundation structures

12
• 1.4.2. Number of boreholes and spacing

13
14
15
• Additional borings may be required in very
uneven sites or where fill areas have been
made and the soil varies horizontally rather
than vertically.
• Even through the geotechnical-engineer may
be furnished with a tentative site plan locating
the building(s), often there are still in the
stage where horizontal relocations can occur,
so the borings should be sufficiently spread to
allow this without having to make any( or at
least no more that a few) additional borings.
16
• 1.4.3. Borehole Log:

• Information on the subsurface conditions

obtained from the boring-operation is typically
presented in the form of a boring record,
commonly known as “borehole log”.
• The borehole log should provide the following:
 A continuous record of the various strata identified at
various depth of the boring is recorded.
 Description or classification of the various types of soil
or rock encountered.
 Data regarding ground water level.
 Size of hole.
17
 Method of excavation or boring.
 Dates work was carried out.
 The types and depths of samples taken.
 In-situ tests carried out and the depth at
which they were conducted.
 Problems or any special conditions
encountered during boring.

18
19
20
• 1.5. Sampling and Boring

 Laboratory test results are mainly depend on

the quality of soil samples
 There are two main types of soil samples which
can be recovered from bore holes or trial pits.

 Disturbed soil samples

 Undisturbed soil samples
 Types and spacing of samples depend on the
material encountered and the types of the
project.

21
• Disturbed Samples: - are samples where the
structure of the natural soil has been disturbed
to a considerable degree by the action of the
boring tolls or excavation equipment.

• Disturbed samples are satisfactory for

performing classification tests such as, sieve
analysis, Atterberg limits and compaction etc.

• Disturbed samples should be taken in all kinds of

borings at 1.5m intervals and at each change of
stratum.
22
Walls of the test pit indicate four layers (1) Clayey silt (2)
Sandy silt (3) Clean sand (4) Sandy gravel

23
23
• Undisturbed Samples: - are samples, which represent as
closely as is practicable, the true in-situ structure and
water content of the soil.

• Undisturbed samples are required for determining

reliable information on the shearing resistance,
permeabilty and stress-deformation characteristics of a
deposit.
• As a general guide, undisturbed samples in clays, or a
saturated penetration test in sands, should be carried
out at 1.5m to 3m intervals and at every change in
stratum, in shell and auger borings.
• Standard or cone penetration tests should be carried
out every 1.5m in rotary drill holes through sand and24
Types of Samplers

Split Spoon/SPT sampler

Thin-wall tube/Shelby tube

Piston Sampler

25
26
27
28
 Amount of sampling
 Depends upon;
Time constraints

Topography

Cost factors

Reasons for sampling

There are no specific guidelines

29
 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

30
 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

31
31
a. Helical (worm types) Augers b. Short flight Auger
c. Iwan (posthole) Auger

a
b c

32
 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

33
 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

34
34
 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.

35
 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.
36
36
 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

37
Wash boring rig
38
39
 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 40
hole.
 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.

41
1.6. Field / In-situ Tests:
1.6.1. Sounding Tests:
 Sounding tests are normally carried out to
supplement borings. Since they are relatively
cheaper and faster than borings they are widely
used in site exploration.
 The most common sounding test devices are
penetrometers. Penetrometers are of two:
 A) Static penetrometr
 B) Dynamic penetrometer.
 In both types of penetrometers it is the resistance
against penetration that is measured.
42
43
44
2)Static Cone Penetration Test(Dutch Cone Penetrometer Test)

 The penetrometer essentially consists of a metal-rod with a wedge shaped

tip having a cross-sectional are of 10cm2. The metal rod is encased in a
metal pipe with specific dimensions.

 The penetrometer is pushed into the soil with a constant speed (at about
0.25 meter/minute), and the corresponding point resistance and total
resistance are measured at specific depths.

 The point resistance is measured while pushing the metal rod a distance
of 13cm. then the metal rod and casing are pushed together a distance of
7cm in which the total resistance is measure.

 The specific skin friction, which is the difference between the total
resistance and the point resistance, may also be plotted. This parameter
plays an important role in the design of piles
45
46
47
b) Dynamic penetration Test

1.Standard Penetration Test (SPT):

The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) was developed around

1927 and it is perhaps the most popular field test performed
mostly in coarse grained (or cohesionless) soils.

It is also used in cemented soils and some clay.

A standard split-spoon sampler is driven 450mm into the soil by

repeated blows from a hammer of standard dimensions (mass of
63.5 Kg dropped from a height of 76cm). The blows required to
produce the first 150mm penetration are usually ignored and the
number of blows required driving the sampler a further 300mm is
recorded as “the N-value”.

48
• Various corrections are applied to the N values to account for energy losses,
overburden pressure, rod length, and so on. It is customary to correct the N values
to a rod energy ratio of 60%.
• The rod energy ratio is – the ratio of the energy delivered to the split spoon
sampler to the free falling energy of the hammer. The corrected N values are
denoted as N60.
• The N value is used to estimate the relative density, friction angle, and settlement
in coarse grained soils. The test is very simple, but the results are difficult to
interpret.

49
50
2. Plate Loading Test:

 A square or circular plate is seated on the stratum to be tested, usually at

the bottom of a trial pit, and loaded. Load is applied in the increments and
maintained until full settlement has taken place at each load increment.

 Correlations are available to estimate the settlement of a full-sized

foundation based on settlement of the plate.
 Plate loading tests are particularly suitable for coarse granular materials
which cannot be tested by normal laboratory means or by a penetration test.
 The main drawback in predicting settlement from these tests is that the zone
of stressed soil beneath the plat is much smaller than that beneath the
larger foundation; it will thus be unaffected by deeper strata whose load
bearing and settlement characteristics may critically affect the behavior of
the foundation.
 With clays, tests do not usually continue for long enough for consolidation to
be completed so settlement cannot be predicted. In order to obtain reliable
results, plates should be as large as possible and should never be less than
0.3m.
51
52
1.6.3. Vane Shear Test:
• In soft and saturated clays, where undisturbed specimen is
difficult to obtain, the undrained shear strength is measured
using a shear vane test. A diagrammatic view of the shear
vane apparatus is shown in Fig. 1.4. It consists of four thin
metal blades welded orthogonally (900) to a rod where the
height H is twice the diameter D (Fig. 1.4). Commonly used
diameters are 38, 50 and 75 mm.

53
54
1.7. The Geotechnical Report:
A soil exploration report should contain all available data from
bore holes, test pits, field and laboratory tests and site
observation.
Most reports have the following contents:

55
56
 Assignment No.1
1.Explain the purpose of soil exploration?
2. What are the different types of boring tests?
and write advantage and disadvantage of each
test.
3. Describe the three types of soil sampler and
where to apply them.
4.Write the steps in soil exploration program.

57