REFERENCE Minimum Unit Price Total

CODE SITE INVESTIGATION UNIT

STANDARD Quantities

Vp SEISMIC REFRACTION SURVEY AND

D.3 PROCESSING m As indicated in 14'000
(acquisition from 24 to 96 geophones with a paragraph 3.3
maximum spacing of 5m)

3.3 Guidelines for the seismic refraction surveys

3.3.1 General information
Vp wave seismic refraction survey are conducted through sequence of energization at the surface and recording of
the refracted wave arrivals in correspondence of geophones arranged in a linear array. The geophone inter-axis and
the total length of the array should be adequate to provide an accurate and in- depth investigation.
Recording of waves arrival times to the various geophones enables the measurement of the progression and depth of
the refractor as well as the calculation of the mechanical features of the grounds and the bedrocks under investigation.
3.3.2 Reference regulations and specifications
The Consultant will execute the seismic refraction lines for Vp (longitudinal) waves according to the ASTM D 5777
- 95 Standard Guide for Using the Seismic Refraction Method for Subsurface Investigation.

3.3.3 Equipment and material

The Consultant will have the complete equipment for the execution of these investigations: seismographs, geophones,
energy source, wiring to the seismographs for both the geophones and power source, etc.
It is required the minimum presence on site of :

 4 seismographs with 24-channels of simultaneous acquisition (Geode Geometrics or Daqlink Seismic

Source, otherwise to be approved by the Client), stacking capability, programmable analogical and digital
filters (high pass, band pass and band reject active filters), vertical signal gain (width) and sensitivity
ranging between 6 and at least 92 decibels, digital data recording for further processing with at least 16-bit
output format
 96 vertical geophones at 30-40Hz recording frequency

The Consultant will select an energy source suitable to the depth of the investigation; it could consist of an 8” bore
seismic shotgun (industrial lead buckshot cartridge with a muzzle velocity of 400 ÷ 600 m/s) or of explosive charges
or a 80 kg falling weight, from a height of at least 3,5 meters. The use of an hand operated hammer will be accepted
only for short (60m) sections and must be approved by the Client.
The explosive supply, storage, management and permit acquisition will be in charge of the Consultant.

3.3.4 Test procedure

Each seismic line will be carried out with the full-fold method, connecting all the geophones to the seismographs for
the simultaneous reception of the records of all the geophones.
Access to the area and the cleaning of vegetation along each line will be in charge of the Consultant.
The spacing of the geophones along the lines will be 5 m or less. The lines length will vary from a minimum of 60m
to a maximum of 480m. The position of all geophone and shot locations must be recorded by a GPS or similar survey
instrument with a vertical and horizontal accuracy less than 0.2m.
The explosive should be placed in a perforated hole of approximately 1 m deep and then covered. For each line of
seismic refraction, the energy source will be applied every 4-5 geophones plus 2 or 4 external energizations.
The Consultant will adjust parameters and will take advantage of the functions of seismographs that reduce the level
of noise unrelated to the investigations. The format of the data output will be Seg 2 or Seg Y.
The Consultant must have high-valence software for tomographic processing, capable of solving the ray tracing
model and the tomographic inversion in compression and attenuation waves (the software should allow the analysis
of velocity gradients). The processing software must be approved by the Client

3.3.5 Reporting and Documentation

The Consultant will deliver the following documentation:

 Geophysical Report based on the results of the investigations with the indication of the equipment used,
the operating methods, the calculation algorithms, tables and charts to integrate and clarify the results,
procedures, final outcomes and their interpretation,
 Field data in Seg2 or SegY format,
 Topographic map with position of the refraction lines, geophones and energization points,
 A drawing for each line with all the seismograms acquisitions and the indication of the picking time of first
arrivals for Vp waves,
 Seismic profiles with:
o location of the geophones and the energization points
o distribution in color scale of the seismic Vp velocities (same color scale to be used among all
profiles)
o comparison of the acquired and calculated dromocrones
o geological-stratigraphic interpretation of the results of the seismic lines, including the evaluation
of the reliability level of the model;