KH Instrumentation Pte Ltd

METHOD STATEMENT

FOR

SOIL INVESTIGATION

50 BUKIT BATOK STREET 23 , Midview Building,#05-26/27 SINGAPORE 659578

Website: www.khi.sg, Tel: 6358 4333 Fax: 6358 4330 Co.Reg.No.201008675E
 KH Instrumentation Pte Ltd

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. SCOPE OF WORK

3. SPECIFICATIONS & STANDARDS

4. FIELD INVESTIGATION

5. LABORATORY TESTING

6. REPORT

Appendix A SOIL BORE LOG SAMPLE SHEET

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 KH Instrumentation Pte Ltd

1. INTRODUCTION

This method statement describes the methodology for the soil investigation campaign which will be
conducted in proposed site by KH Instrumentation Pte Ltd

2. SCOPE OF WORK

The Soil investigation works comprise drilling of borehole with associated undisturbed sampling,
disturbed sampling and necessary in-situ testing as well as laboratory testing. The purpose of the
investigation will to obtain geotechnical information on the subsoil conditions at the site.

(a) To study soil properties with depths for each bore holes
(b) To study Ground water table conditions
(c) To determine the bearing capacities of the underlying soil layer condition
(d) To predict the settlement of the selected foundation

3. SPECIFICATIONS & STANDARDS

The soil investigation will be performed according to British Code of Practice BS 5930:1999 –
Site Investigation and British Standard BS 1377-9:1990 in-situ tests

4. FIELD INVESTIGATION

Figure 4.1 : Typical Drilling Rig

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 KH Instrumentation Pte Ltd

4.1 BOREHOLES
The boreholes will be used to identify and classify the soil layering present within the proposed site
area, based on the results of the SPT tests, and the results will be compiled into a bore log. The
borelog will contain the period of execution of the borehole, a stratigraphy profile with soil
descriptions and classifications of every soil present within the borehole.

The procedure for the drilling works is as follow:

 The drilling rig will be transported to the location of the borehole.

 A list of the boreholes with the respective coordinates and reduced level shall be given by
client.
 The borehole will be drilled by rotary action combined with downward force and water flush.
 Bentonite might be used to stabilize the borehole

A Borelog example is presented in Appendix A.

4.2 SOIL BORING AND SAMPLING

Prior to commencement of the site investigation, cable detection works will be carried out at each
borehole location to detect the existence of any buried services. Trial pit will be followed by
hand Auger down up to 3.0m depth was conducted at each borehole before the commencement of
drilling works

4.2.1 GROUND WATER MEASUREMENT

The ground water levels will be measured 2 times day and during the soil investigation works. The
summaries of the water levels will be shown in the Borelog.

4.2.2 STANDARD PENETRATION TEST

Standard penetration tests will be carried out at every 3.0 m intervals and/or all field works will
be generally carried out in accordance with "BS 5930:1999" Code of Practice for site Investigation"
or As per instructed by the Client. The test will be carried out in accordance to BS 1377:1990. The
SPT test service for the following purposes:
(a) To determine the relative density or consistency of soils and
(b) To recover disturbed samples for visual inspection.

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 KH Instrumentation Pte Ltd

This empirical dynamic penetration test determines the resistance of soils to the penetration of a split
barrel sampler of 50mm external diameter, driven by a 63.5kg automatic drop hammer, allowing a
free fall of 760mm.

The procedure to perform the standard penetration test is as follow:

 The 100 mm borehole will be drilled until the testing level.

 Clean out the bottom of the borehole carefully.
 Lower the standard split spoon sampler on the driving rods until the bottom of the borehole.
 Install the knocking head on top of the upper driving rod and place the 63.5kg hammer in
position.
 Record the initial penetration under this total dead-weight. In case this penetration exceeds
450mm the result of the test shall be defined as zero.
 Let the hammer free fall over a height of 76cm (standard height) and record the number of
blows
 To penetrate the first 150mm or 25 blows, whichever is first reached Record the number of
blows required to effect each 75mm of penetration.
 Continue penetrating the spoon sampler and record the number of blows required for
a further penetration of 300mm (register the number of blows for each 75mm
penetration). This value corresponds to the penetration resistance (N).
 Raise the drive rods and withdraw the spoon sampler from the borehole.
 Open the sampler and place a representative portion of the soil core from the bottom
300mm drive in a sampler container. If more than one type of soil is encountered in the
drive, use separate containers for each type of soil.

 Label the sample containers with the following information (Figure 4.2.2)
 Borehole ID
 Sample number
 Depth of penetration
 Length of recovery
 Date of sampling
 Standard penetration resistance (N) for each 75mm penetration and the sum for the
last 300mm.

 The values of N obtained in this investigation will be recorded in borehole logs.

50 BUKIT BATOK STREET 23 , Midview Building,#05-26/27 SINGAPORE 659578

Website: www.khi.sg, Tel: 6358 4333 Fax: 6358 4330 Co.Reg.No.201008675E
 KH Instrumentation Pte Ltd

KH Instrumentation Pvt Ltd

Figure 4.2.2 SPT Sample Label

4.2.2 Undisturbed Samples (UD)

A thin-walled tube with 100mm diameter, 1 meter length, will be used to collect undisturbed samples.
every 2 meters penetration of the borehole, on very soft to stiff cohesive soil layers. The procedure to
retrieve this kind of undisturbed samples is as follow

 100 mm borehole is drilled until the sampling depth while the borehole will be maintained stable
by steel casing.
 Connect the thin-walled tube to the drive head, The thickness of the wall tube is 1.9mm
 (area ratio ≈3.9%).
 Lower the thin-walled tube into the clear-flushed borehole, after bore until the sampling depth.
Boring rods shall be connected in order to reach the mentioned depth.
 The rig hydraulic system will be used to press the sampler slowly into the soil. The rate of
penetration will as per standard of soil investigation practice to minimize the disturbance of the
sampler.
 At least 700mm in length of undisturbed soil will be retrieved.
 Carefully retrieve the sample pulling out the drilling rods.
 At ground level, disconnect the thin-walled tube from the drive head.
 Remove some soil sample from top and base of the thin-walled tube, to guarantee that the
sample does not contain any impure particles.
 Cover the tube with plastic and seal it with wax (approximately 1’’ to 2’’ thickness)
 Label the undisturbed sample and transfer it directly to the sample storage room on the
geotechnical laboratory. The temperature of the sample storage room shall be kept constant at 25
ºC and the humidity shall be at least 90%.

50 BUKIT BATOK STREET 23 , Midview Building,#05-26/27 SINGAPORE 659578

Website: www.khi.sg, Tel: 6358 4333 Fax: 6358 4330 Co.Reg.No.201008675E
 KH Instrumentation Pte Ltd

5. LABORATORY TESTING
Laboratory tests will conduct on selected soil samples in a SAC-SINGLAS accredited soil
laboratory (Lab services Pte Ltd). On the basis of the borehole logs and in-situ tests will be
performed, a programme of laboratory testing will be developed by Project Geotechnical Engineer to
obtain the relevant material properties of the soil strata at the project site for engineering design. The
laboratory testing program will be formulated to obtain

 Sufficient data such that the different soil strata can be adequately identified and classified.
 The relevant strength and deformation properties of the subsurface soils required for foundation
design.

All the soil samples recovered from the boreholes will be sealed in the sampling tubes, airtight plastic
containers or double polythene bags and will be transported to the accredited laboratory.
The undisturbed samples will be extracted from their sampling tubes, examined and visually
classified. All samples will be examined by a soil technician and checked against the laboratory test
results before final description.

In general, the testing is divided into the following three areas:

(i) Index property Tests

 Natural moisture content

 Bulk unit weight & Dry Density
 Atterberg’s limits (Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, Plastic Index)

(ii) Strength and Deformation Tests

 Unconsolidated-Undrained (UU) Triaxial Compression Tests

 Consolidated-Undrained (CU) Triaxial Compression Tests
 Dimensional Consolidation test
 Unconfined Compressive Strength -Rock Core
 Point Load Strength Index
 Slake Durability

(iii) Chemical Test

 PH
 Sulphate Content (SO3)
 Chloride Content (Cl-)

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In general, the laboratory tests will be done in accordance with British Standard Methods of Test for
Soils and Rocks for Civil Engineering Purposes.

5.1 MOISTURE CONTENT

The water content is determined by oven drying selected moist/wet soil material for at least 24 hours
to a constant dry mass at a temperature of 105 c̊ . The loss in weight of the sample due to drying
represents the weight of the moisture of the soil. The moisture content of the soil is presented as
percentage of the dry weight of the soil. This test is performed in accordance with BS 1377: Part
2:1990 #3.

5.2 UNIT WEIGHT

Unit weights are computed from the wet and dry weights of a standard volume of the soil.
The dry weight is obtained after determining the moisture content of a wet sample of standard volume
of soil. The unit weight, ϒ (kN/m3), refers to the unit weight of the soil at the sampled water content.
The dry unit weight ϒd, is determined from the mass of the oven dried soil and the initial volume.
This test is performed in accordance with BS 1377: part 2:1990 #7.

5.3 ATTERBERG LIMIT

The Atterberg limit refer to arbitrarily defined boundaries between the liquid and plastic states
(i.e., liquid limit, WL) and between the plastic and brittle states (i.e., plastic limit, Wp), of fine-
grained soils. They are expressed in percentage water content. The range of water contents over which
a soil behaves plastically is termed the plastic index and corresponds to the numerical difference
between the liquid and plastic limit (i.e., WL-WP). Tests to determine the Atterberg limit can be
performed on soil samples of cohesive material. The soil is dried and then ground into separate grains
using a mortar. The soil grains larger than 425 µm size are removed by sieving. The soil is then
thoroughly mixed with different quantities of distilled water. The liquid and plastic limits of the soil
are then determined in accordance with BS 1377: Part 2: 1990 #4 and #5.

5.4 TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION TESTS

This test is performed on undisturbed samples of cohesive soils. This test is generally
performed as a set of three single state tests. However, if this sample is not enough, this test is
conducted using two or single (multistage) specimen. The general testing procedure is as
explained below. Depending on the consistency of the cohesive material, the test specimen is
prepared by trimming the sample or by pushing a mould into the sample. The height to
diameter ratio of the sample is about two.

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A rubber membrane is placed around the specimen and a confining pressure is kept constant and
drainage of pore water is not allowed. The test is strain controlled at the rate of 2 percent per minutes
and the test is continued until the specimen shears and a peak value is obtained, or until 20 percent
strain has occurred.

Multi-stage tests were performed for this investigation. The results of the tests are presented as
deviator stress versus axial strain. The undrained shear strength, defined as half the ultimate deviator
stress, can be derived from these presentations and is reported to the nearest whole KPa. This test is
performed on general accordance with BS 1377: part 7: 1990 #8 and #9.

There are three primary Triaxial tests conducted in the laboratory, each allowing the soil response for
differing engineering applications to be observed. These are:

• Unconsolidated Undrained test (UU)

• Consolidated Undrained test (CU)

5.4.1 UNCONSOLIDATED UNDRAINED (UU) TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION TEST

UU test was conducted to determine the undrained shear strength of the soil . The soil
specimen is subjected to a constant confining pressure and to strain-controlled axial loading, when no
change in total moisture content is allowed. The axial load is increased by applying a constant rate of
strain until the specimen fail.

5.4.2 CONSOLIDATED-UNDRAINED TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION (CU) TESTS

For CIU(multi-stages) tests, specimens were first isotropically consolidated after saturation
and then shear under undrained condition. The pore water pressures developed in the specimen during
shearing were monitored by using a pressure transducer. Three stages of consolidation and shearing
were carried out for each series of CIU test, so that a failure envelope can be defined. The test
procedures suggested by Bishop and Henkel (1962) were generally adopted.
The consolidated undrained test (CIU) is the most common type of Triaxial test to determine
the effective shear strength parameters of soil including the measurement of pore pressure. The
saturated soil specimen is first consolidated by all-around fluid pressure. After consolidation, increase
the cell pressure and adjust the back pressure to give a difference equal to the required effective
consolidation pressure, start the consolidation stage by opening the back pressure valves, record
reading of the volume change indicator at suitable intervals of time and allow consolidation to
continue until there is no further volume change, record the pore pressure. The specimen is ready for
un-drained compression test.
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5.5 CONSOLIDATION (OEDOMETER) TEST

Selected undisturbed soil specimen is prepared in 19mm thick slice of 50mm diameter and
placed into the Consolidation Ring. The specimen is then set in a consolidation loading frame and
subjected to a number of loading stages using calibrated dead weights and compression of the
specimen is recorded.
After reaching the final stage of loading, unloading is done in stages. A Cycle of unloading and
reloading is done before reaching the final stage. Various consolidation properties, eg, Compression
index (Cc), co-efficient of volume compressibility (mv), co-efficient of consolidation (cv) are
obtained from this test, kv is calculated from cv and mv, and is corrected for 20 ° in case the test
temperature is different. This test is performed on general accordance with BS 1377: part 5: 1990 .

5.6 UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH -ROCK CORE

These test methods cover the determination of the strength of intact rock core specimens in
uniaxial and triaxial compression. The tests provide data in determining the strength of rock, namely:
the uniaxial strength, shear strengths at different pressures and different elevated temperatures, angle
of internal friction, (angle of shearing resistance), and cohesion intercept. The test methods specify
the apparatus, instrumentation, and procedures for determining the stress-axial strain and the stress-
lateral strain curves. This test is performed in accordance with ASTM D7012-10.

5.7 POINT LOAD STRENGTH INDEX

This test method covers the guidelines, requirements, and procedures for determining the
point load strength index of rock. This is an index test and is intended to be used to classify rock
strength.Specimens in the form of rock cores, blocks, or irregular lumps with a test diameter from 30
to 85 mm can be tested by this test method. This test is performed in accordance with ASTM D5731-
08.

5.8 SLAKE DURABILITY

This test method covers the determination of the slake durability index of a shale or other similar
rock after two drying and wetting cycles. This test is performed in accordance with ASTM D4644-08.

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5.9 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Chemical analysis of soil samples are performed in accordance with BS 1377 (1990). The test
performed by Lab Services Pte Ltd. The parameters analyzed include determination of pH value,
Sulphate content (SO3) & Soluble Chloride content (Cl-)

pH BS 1377 : Part 3 :1990

Sulphate Content (SO3) BS 1377 : Part 3 :1990
Soluble Chloride content (Cl-) BS 1377 : Part 3 :1990

6.0 REPORT

The Final report will be submitted upon completion of all field works, laboratory analysis and
verification of each data. The interpretative report will encompass all factual information, full
description of the soil condition, necessary recommendations (as specified) and Professional
Engineers Certification
Soft Copy of the report along with the AGS file will be submitted.

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APENDIX A

SOIL BORE LOG SAMPLE SHEET

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Website: www.khi.sg, Tel: 6358 4333 Fax: 6358 4330 Co.Reg.No.201008675E