Chapter-1

Site Investigation

1
• The process of determining the layers of natural soil
deposits that will underlie a proposed structure and their
physical properties is generally referred to as site
investigation.
• 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

2
Primary Objectives of soil Investigation
1. Determination of the nature of the deposits of soil.
2. Determination of the depth and thickness of the various
soil strata (stratification) and their extent in their
horizontal direction.
3. Determination of the location of the ground water
table.
4. Obtaining soil or rock samples from the various strata.
5. Determination of the engineering properties of the soil
and rock strata that affect the performance of the
structure, and
6. Determination of the in-situ properties by performing
field tests. 3
 The information gathered will be used for :
1. Selecting the type and depth of foundation suitable for
a given structure.
2. Evaluation of the bearing capacity of the selected
foundation.
3. Estimating the settlement of the structure.
4. Determining potential foundation problems
(e.g., expansive soil, collapsible soil, sanitary landfill).
5. Selection of alternative methods of construction.
6. Location and selection of construction materials.
7. Evaluation of the safety of existing structure.
• The principal properties of interest will be the strength,
deformation, and hydraulic characteristics 4
 Planning an exploration program
The planning of a program for soil exploration depends
upon:
– The nature of sub-soil
– The type of the structure
– The importance of structure
The cost of site investigation varies between 0.05 - 0.2%
of the total cost of the entire structure. In some unusual
conditions, the cost may even go up to 1%.
The actual planning of a subsurface exploration program
includes some or all of the following steps: -
A) Desk study or collection of primary information.
B) Reconnaissance survey.
C) Site Investigation.
5
 A) Desk Study or Collection of Preliminary
Information
This step involves obtaining information regarding ;
• The type of structure to be built and its general use.
– For example, for the construction of buildings, the
approximate column loads and their spacing and the
local building-code and basement requirements
should be known.
– The construction of bridges requires determining
the lengths of their spans and the loading on piers
and abutments.
• A general idea of the topography and the type of soil to
be encountered near and around the proposed site can
be obtained from soil maps and geologic maps.

6
 B) Reconnaissance Survey
This may be in the form of a field trip to the site to obtain
information on geology, terrain and exploration equipment
access, existing structures and their condition, existing
utilities, and potentially hazardous conditions.
• Examine exposures of soils and rocks in cuts
• Examine slopes for signs of instability (creep ridges,
tilted and bent trees, tilted poles, and slope seepage).
• Examine existing structures and pavements for signs of
distress (e.g, cracks on the wall).
• Note evidence of flood levels along streams or on
structures.
• The nature of stratification and physical properties of
the soil nearby can also be obtained from any available
soil exploration report for existing structures.
7
 C) Site Investigation
This stage is the detailed investigation phase and it
involves:
– Making Test pits and /or Boreholes.
– Collecting soil samples.
– Conducting field and laboratory tests.
– Identification of materials
1) Test Pits
• The simplest and cheapest method of shallow soil
exploration is to sink (dig) test pit to depths of 3 to 4 m.
• Test pits enable the in-situ soil conditions to be examined
visually.
• It is relatively easy to obtain disturbed or undisturbed soil
samples: 8
• Test pits will also be useful for conducting field tests such
as the plate-loading test.
• Test pits are considered suitable only for small depths;
the cost of these increases rapidly with depth.
• For greater depths, especially in granular soils, lateral
supports or bracing of the excavations will be necessary.
• Test pits are usually made only for supplementing other
methods or for minor structures.

9
2) Soil Boring
Drilling boreholes into the ground to obtain soil or rock
samples from specified or known depth is called “boring”.
• This is the most widely used method
• It provides samples from shallow to deeper depths for
visual inspection as well as laboratory tests.
• Used to conduct in situ tests at different depths
• Used to obtain information on groundwater conditions.
The most commonly used methods or types of boring are:
– Auger boring
– Wash boring
– Rotary drilling

10
 Depth and number of boreholes
1) Number of Boreholes
• The disposition and spacing of the borings shall be such as
to reveal any major changes in thickness, depth or
properties of the strata
• The number and spacing of boreholes will depend upon
the extent of the site and the nature of the structure
coming on it
• The required number and spacing of borings is based on
judgment and experience. Reference values from the code.
• The more borings that are performed, the more data that
will be obtained about the subsurface condition. But
boring is an expensive task, hence one should minimize the
number of borings for a given project site. 11
2) Depth of boring
• Exploration is normally carried to a depth which includes
all strata likely to be significantly affected by the
structural load
• For foundation It shall be taken below all deposits that may
be unsuitable for foundation purposes including the case
where weak strata are overlain by a layer of higher bearing
capacity.
• The exploration shall be taken through compressible cohesive
soils likely to contribute significantly to the settlement of the
proposed works
• For embankments, the depth of exploration should be
sufficient to check possible shear failure through the
foundation strata and to assess the likely amount of any
settlement due to compressible strata.
• For roads, the depth of exploration shall be sufficient to
determine the strength, and volume change susceptibility of
possible subgrade and drainage conditions.
12
• The minimum depth of the boreholes should be
determined before the drilling operation. But it can be
changed during the drilling operation, depending on the
subsoil encountered.
• Unless bed rock is encountered at shallow depth, the
boring depth should extend below the depth where the net
stress increase from the foundation load is 10 % of the
average foundation contact pressure, qo.
• For square footing this is about 2B, where B is the width of
the foundation.
• Since footing sizes are seldom known in advance of
borings, a general rule of thumb is twice the least lateral
dimension of the structure or 10m below the lowest
building elevation.
• For a warehouse or store, boring depth of 6 to 15m may be
adequate.
13
 Soil Sampling
• There are two main types of soil samples which can be
recovered from bore holes or test pits. These are;
– Disturbed Samples
– Undisturbed Samples
Disturbed Samples
• These are samples where the structure of the natural soil
has been disturbed to a considerable degree by the action
of the boring tools or excavation equipment.
• However, these samples represent the composition and the
mineral content of the soil.
• Disturbed samples are satisfactory for performing
classification tests such as, sieve analysis, Atterberg limits
etc.
14
Undisturbed Samples
• These 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 and stress-
deformation characteristics of a soil deposit.
• Undisturbed samples in cohesionless deposits are
extremely difficult to obtain.
• Because of this the above characteristics are provided by
field tests.

15
 Types of Samplers
A) Standard Split-Spoon Sampler
• Used during standard penetration test (SPT) to obtain
disturbed samples of soft rock and soils.
• During SPT, a borehole is drilled and usually at an interval
of 1.5m, the drill tools are removed and then;
– The sampler attached with a drill rod is lowered to the
bottom of the borehole & then driven 450mm into the
soil by hammer blows to the top of the drill rod.
– The sampler is then withdrawn, and the shoe and
coupling are removed.
– Finally, the soil sample recovered from the tube is placed
in a glass bottle or sealed plastic bags and then
transported to the laboratory. 16
 Standard Split Spoon Sampler

Do2 - Di2 512 - 35 2

AR  2
100%  2
100%  112%
Di 35

Since AR=112% >10%, The sample is disturbed

17
B) Thin-Walled Tube Sampler (Shelby Tube)
• Used to obtain undisturbed cohesive soil samples.
• Bottom end of the tube (=50.8 or 76.2mm) is sharpened.
– The sampler attached with a drill rod is lowered to the
bottom of the borehole & then pushed into the soil by
static force.
– The sampler is then withdrawn. The two ends are sealed,
and the sampler is sent to the laboratory for testing.

18
C) Piston Samplers
• Are very thin tube samplers with pistons at their cutting ends.
• Provide best undisturbed samples of cohesive soils.
• While taking sample, the piston is held in positions and the
tube pushed down. The piston aids the retention of the soil
in the tube during withdrawal

(a) sampler is set in drilled hole. (b) Sample is pushed hydraulically into the soil.
(c) Pressure is released through hole in piston rod.
19
Rock Core Sampling
• When a rock layer is encountered during a drilling
operation, rock coring may be necessary.
• Rock sampler consisting of a tube (core barrel) with a
cutting bit (diamond or tungsten carbide) at its lower end.
• Rock cores are normally obtained by rotary drilling.

20
• Two types of core barrel are available: the single-tube core barrel
and the double-tube core barrel .
• Rock cores obtained by single-tube core barrels can be highly
disturbed and fractured because of torsion.
• The primary use of the core sample is for further laboratory
test (Unconfined compressive strength).
• Based on the length of the rock core recovered from each
run, Recovery ratio and RQD can be calculated for a general
evaluation of the rock quality encountered.
Length of core recovered
Recovery ratio 
Length of core advance
– Rock Quality Designation (RQD) is defined as the
percentage of rock cores that have length equal or greater
than 10 cm over the total drill length. 21
 Field ( in-situ) tests
• The main problems associated with laboratory testing of
soils are disturbance during sampling and the difficulty of
testing samples large enough to be representative of the
soil in the field
• In addition to by passing sample disturbance problems, in-situ tests
have the following advantages:
• They are usually less expensive, so greater number of tests
can be performed, thus characterizing the soil more detail.
• The test results are available immediately
• they also have disadvantages, including
• Often no sample is obtained , thus making soil
classification more difficult.
• The engineer has less control over confining stresses and
drainage. 22
• These tests are valuable means of determining the
relative densities; shear strengths and bearing
capacities of soils directly without the disturbing
effects of boring and sampling. The most
commonly used field tests are; -
– Penetration or sounding tests
– Vane shear test
– Plate loading and pile loading test

23
1) Penetration Tests
• They are conducted mainly to get information on the
relative density of soils with little or no cohesion.
• These tests are based on the fact that the relative density
of a soil stratum is directly proportional to the resistance
of the soil against the penetration of the drive point.
• From this, correlations between values of penetration
resistance versus angle of internal friction (), bearing
pressure, density and modulus of compressibility have
been developed.
• Penetration tests are classified as:
• Static penetration tests
• Dynamic penetration tests.

24
Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
• Also known as the Dutch or Static cone penetration test.
• Widely used in Europe.
• No boreholes are necessary to perform it.
• The apparatus consists of a cone (apex angle of 60°,
=3.57cm, and a projected base area of 10 cm2), sounding
rods (=1.5cm) and sleeve (jacket).

25
The sequence of operation of the penetrometer is;
Position 1:- The cone and friction jacket assembly in a
collapsed position.
Position 2:- The cone is pushed down by the inner sounding
rods to a depth a, until the collar engages the cone. The
pressure gauge records the total force Qc to the cone.
Normally a = 40 mm.
Position 3:- The sounding rod is pushed further to a depth b.
This pushes the friction jacket and the cone assembly
together; the force is Qt .Normally b = 40 mm.
Position 4:- The outside mantle tube is pushed down a
distance a + b which brings the cone assembly and the friction
jacket to position 1. The total movement = a + b = 80 mm.
26
• The process of operation illustrated above is continued
until the proposed depth is reached. The cone is pushed at
a standard rate of 20 mm/sec.
• The readings thus taken are plotted against depth.
27
• Cone penetration resistance, qc, is obtained by dividing the
total force Qc acting on the cone by the base area, Ac, of
the cone. Qc
qc 
Ac Qf
fc 
• In the same way, the local side friction fc is Af
Where,
Qf = Qt-Qc = force required to push the friction jacket.
Qt = the total force required to push the cone and friction
jacket together.
Af= surface area of the friction jacket.
• The measured point resistance and sleeve friction (or side
friction) are used to compute the friction ratio Fr as:
fc
Fr   100 %
qc
• Friction ratio is an important parameter for classifying soil.
28
 CPT correlations
• Cone (Point) Resistance and Relative Density of Frictional
Soils are correlated as shown in the table below.

• Results of cone penetrometer tests have also been

correlated with the friction angle. A number of correlations
exist. Based on published data for sand (Roberston and
Campanella, 1983), you can estimate ’ using:
 qc 
 '  350  11.5 log ; 250   '  500
 30 z 0
'

• The cone resistance qc is normally correlated with the
undrained shear strength using;
qc   z
Su 
Nk
Where,
σz = total overburden pressure above the cone tip
Nk = a cone factor that depends on the geometry of the cone
and the rate of penetration.
• Average values of Nk as a function of plasticity index Ip can
be estimated from
I p  10
N k  19  ; I p 10
5

• One of the greatest values of the CPT consists of its

function as a scale model pile test.
Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
• Is the most popular field test performed mostly in coarse grained
(or cohesionless) soils.
• It measures the resistance of the soil to dynamic penetration by a
standard split-spoon sampler which is driven into the soil at the
bottom of a borehole.
• In this test, a standard split-spoon sampler attached to drill rods
is driven 450mm (150+150+150) into the ground by blows from
a drop hammer of mass 63.5 kg falling from a height of 760 mm.
• The blows required to produce the first 150mm penetration are
usually ignored since the ground is considered to be disturbed
during drilling activity.
• The number of blows required driving the sampler further
300mm is recorded as standard penetration number; N, at that depth
or simply “the N-value” or “Blow count”.

31
• SPT test is usually conducted at an interval of 1.5m.
• The N-value should be recorded as “refusal” and the test is halted
if; - 50 blows are required for any 150-mm increment.
- 100 blows are obtained (to drive the required 300 mm).
- 10 successive blows produce no advance.

32
• The SPT N-values should be corrected for different factors
before using them. Among these factors are the SPT
hammer efficiency, rod length, type of sampler used and
borehole diameter. The SPT N-values are corrected using:
N'cor  C N  N  n1  n2  n3  n4

N’cor = Adjusted (corrected) N value

N = Measured (observed) N value
95.76
C 
CN = Adjustment for overburden pressure, '
N
o

σ’o = Effective overburden pressure (KPa)

E
n1= hammer efficiency correction, n 
E
1
r

rb

Er = Average energy ratio that depends on the hammer

system.

33
Erb= Standard energy ratio (commonly 55%, 60% or 70%)
n2 = rod length correction
n3 = sampler correction
n4 = borehole diameter correction

34
• In the field, the magnitude of Erb can vary from 30 to 90%.
The standard practice is to express (standardize) the N-
value to one of the following average energy ratio.
Erb=55%, hence n1=Er/55 and N’cor will be expressed as N’55.
Erb=60%, hence n1=Er/60 and N’cor will be expressed as N’60.
Erb=70%, hence n1=Er/70 and N’cor will be expressed as N’70.
• The value of N’cor should be rounded to a whole number.
• If the value of N’cor becomes greater than the originally
recorded N value, take N’cor = N.
• In Ethiopia, the SPT is widely used to obtain the bearing
capacity of soils directly. Assuming an allowable settlement
of 25mm, Meyerhof proposed the following equations to
calculate the allowable bearing capacity for shallow
foundations. 35
 For Isolated Footing : For Mat Foundation:
N N
qall  K d KW if B  1.2 qall  K d KW
F1 F2
N  B  0 .3 
2

qall    K d KW if B  1.2
F2  B 
Where, F1  0.05 & F2  0.08 if N is N' 55 or N'60
F1  0.04 & F2  0.06 if N is N'70
  DW 
0.51   if DW  B  Df 
KW    B  K d  1  0.33   1.33
1 B  B 
 if DW

B = Width of footing
Df = Depth of foundation from the ground.
DW = Depth of ground water from the footing base.
N = The statistical average value of the corrected SPT N-
value (N’55, N’60 or N’70) in the footing influence zone, which
is taken to be the zone between 0.5B above the base of the
footing up to 2B below the base of the footing.
36
 SPT correlations
• Typical correlation among N values, relative density, and
for coarse grained soils are given in the table below.

• The table below shows, correlation of N60 and Su for

saturated fine grained soils.
N60 Description Su (kpa)
0–2 Very soft < 10
3–5 Soft 10 – 25
6–9 Medium 25 – 50
10 – 15 Stiff 50 – 100
15 – 30 Very stiff 100 – 200
> 30 Extremely stiff > 200
EXAMPLE
The table below shows the values of the field standard
penetration number (N60) in a sand deposit using a donut
hammer.
Depth (m) N60
1.5 6
3 8
4.5 9
6 8
8 13
9 14

The ground water table is located at a depth of 6m below the

ground surface. The unit weight of the sand is 18 KN/m3
and its saturated unit weight is 20 KN/m3. Calculate the
corrected penetration numbers. 38
Solution
N'cor  C N  N  n1  n2  n3  n4

• Hammer type is Donut → Er = 45%

• For N60 → Erb = 60% hence n1=Er /Erb=45/60=0.75
• No information about Sampler type → take n3 = 1
• No information about borehole diameter → take n4 = 1
• Calculate CN at each point using; C  95.'76 N
o

σo’ = γ’*Z GWT is at 6m → for 0-6m γ‘=18KN/m3

below 6m γ‘= γsat – γw = 20-9.81=10.19KN/m3
• Calculate n2 at each point assuming the rod length is equal
to the depth.
• The calculations are summarized in the table below.
39
 D γ'
σo' (KPa) CN N n1 n2 N'60 N'60
(m) (KN/m3)

1.5 18 27 1.883 6 0.75 0.75 6.4 6

3 18 54 1.332 8 0.75 0.75 6.0 6
4.5 18 81 1.087 9 0.75 0.85 6.2 6
6 18 108 0.942 8 0.75 0.95 5.4 5
8 10.19 108+(2*10.19)=128.38 0.864 13 0.75 0.95 8.0 8
9 10.19 128.38+(1*10.19)=138.57 0.831 14 0.75 0.95 8.3 8

40
2) Dynamic Cone Penetration (DCP)Test
• Is normally used to determine the relative resistance offered
by the different soil layers.
• The cone is fixed to the bottom of a rod and driven into the
ground in the same way as a SPT is performed. The number
of blows required to penetrate 30cms depth is called as Nc
value.
• In the case of dynamic cone penetration test no borehole
is used.
• Experiments carried out indicate that beyond about 6m
depth, frictional resistance on the rod increases which gives
erroneous results for Nc value. The maximum depth
suggested for this test is about 6 m.

41
2) Vane Shear Test
• Used to determine the undrained shear strength of soft and
saturated clays, where undisturbed specimen is difficult to
obtain.
• It cannot be applied to partially saturated soils to which the
angle of shearing resistance is not zero.
• It gives results similar to those obtained from unconfined
compression tests on undisturbed samples.
• The apparatus consists of four thin metal blades welded
orthogonally (900) to a rod where the height H is twice the
diameter D. Commonly used diameters are 38, 50 & 75 mm.
• It also has Vane head (torsion head), complete with pointer,
stop pin, circumferential graduated scale, calibrated torsion
spring. 42
43
• The vane is pushed into the soil either at the ground surface or at the
bottom of a borehole until totally embedded in the soil (at least 0.5 m).
• A torque T necessary to shear the cylinder of soil defined by the blades
of the vane is applied by rotating the arm of the apparatus with a
constant speed of 60 per minute (0.10/sec).
• As a result, shear stresses are mobilized on all surfaces of a cylindrical
volume of the soil generated by the rotation.
• The maximum torque is measured by a suitable instrument and equals
to the moment of the mobilized shear stress about the central axis of
the apparatus.
• From the measured maximum torque the undrained shear strength is
calculated from;
T
Su 
D 2 ( H / 2  D / 6)

44
 3) Plate Loading Test
• In this test a gradually increasing static load is applied to the soil
through a steel plate (Φ=30cm), and readings of the settlement and
applied load are recorded, from which a relationship between bearing
pressure and settlement for the soil can be obtained.
The test procedure:
1. A pit is excavated with a minimum width or diameter of 4B (B is the
diameter of the test plate) to a depth of Df (the depth of the
proposed foundation).
2. The plate is placed at the center of the hole, and a load that is about
one-fourth to one-fifth of the estimated ultimate load is applied to
the plate in steps by means of a jack. During each step of the
application of the load, the settlement of the plate is observed on
dial gauges. At least one hour is allowed to elapse between each
application.
45
3. The test should be conducted until failure, or at least until the plate
has gone through 25 mm of settlement.
4. Once completion of the test, the plate is unloaded in the same
incremental steps (to draw the expansion curve).

46
Limitation of Plate Loading Test
• Plate loading test is of short duration. Hence consolidation settlement
does not fully occur during the test.
• For settlement consideration, its use is restricted to sandy soils, and to
partially saturated or rather unsaturated clayey soils.
• Plate loading test can give very misleading information of the soil is
not homogeneous within the effective depth (depth of stress
influence) of the prototype foundation.
• Plate loading test should not recommended in soils which are not
homogeneous at least to depth of 1½ to 2 times the width of the
prototype foundation

47
 4) Pile Loading Test
• This is the most reliable means for determining the load
carrying capacity of a pile.
• The load arrangement and testing procedure are more or
less similar to the plate-loading test.
• From the results of this test, the allowable bearing capacity
and load- settlement relationship of a group of friction
piles can be estimated.

48
 LABORATORY TESTS
• Laboratory tests are useful in providing reliable data for
calculating ultimate bearing capacity of soils, stability and
settlement behavior of foundation, and for determining
physical characteristics of soils. Results of laboratory tests
should be used in conjunction with borehole records and
results of field test.
• The common laboratory tests that concern the foundation
engineers are:
-Grain size analysis -Compaction test
-Determination of Atterberg limits -Direct shear test
-Test for Natural moisture content - Test for Unit weight
-Unconfined compression test -Triaxial compression test
-Chemical analysis -Consolidation test

49
 Ground Water Measurement
• Ground water affects many elements of foundation design and
construction.
• Because of this its location should be determined in each job with
reasonable accuracy.
• The depth of water table is measured by lowering a chalk-coated steel
tape in the borehole.
• The depth can also be measured by lowering the leads of an electrical
circuit. As soon as the open ends of the leads touch the water in the
borehole, the circuit is completed. It is indicated by glow of the
indicator lamp.
• In soils with low permeability such as silts, fine silty sands, and clays,
it may take several days to several weeks for the GWT to stabilize use
a piezometer
• This procedure allows periodic checking of a piezometer until the
water levels stabilizes, that is the depth to the water has not changed
50
since the previous water level measurement was taken.
 Borehole Log
• Information 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 information;
 Name and address of the drilling company
 Driller’s name
 Job description and number
 Number, type, size, date, and location of boring
 Record of the various strata identified at various depth of the boring.
 Description of the various types of soil or rock encountered.
 Data regarding ground water level.
 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.
 In case of rock coring, type of core barrel used and, for each run, the
actual length of coring, length of core recovery, and RQD 51
52
 The Geotechnical Report
• At the end of all subsoil exploration programs, a soil exploration
report is prepared for use in the design office and for reference during
future construction work.
• Although the details and sequence of information in the report may
vary to some degree depending on the structure under consideration
and the person/company compiling the report, geotechnical reports
broadly fall into two categories:
1) The basic “Factual”, site investigation report which simply records its
findings of the site investigation, and
2) The “Comprehensive” or “engineering” report, which, in addition,
interprets those findings and makes specific recommendations.

53
1) The Factual Report
A factual report typically contains the items described below:
• Introduction: the project is briefly described and the scope of the
report is defined. The name of the client and his consulting
engineers are given. Location of the site is often included in this
section.
• Topography and Geology: the site, and possibly the surrounding
area, is briefly described. A briefly summary of published
geological information is normally also given in this section.
• Site Work: Details of the extent of the site work are given,
including the number of trial pits, boreholes and probes and the
methods used. The types and numbers of any field tests are also
included. Overall dates of site working are given.
• Laboratory Testing: The types and numbers of laboratory tests
are given, with overall dates for the testing program. 54
• Summary of Ground Conditions: Summary of ground
conditions encountered during the site work.
• Test Results: Results of all field and laboratory tests are
presented in the form of tables and graphs.
• Trial Pits and Borehole Records: Details of each trial pit and
borehole are given diagrammatically.
• Site Plan: A plan or plans showing borehole and trial pit
locations.
• Notes: At some point in the report there is usually a set of notes
giving standard abbreviations and symbols used. Details of some
of the standard tests may be explained and references may be
made to the standards used in carrying out the work. There is
usually a general disclaimer to protect the site investigation
contractor should problems arise later due to ground conditions
which were not revealed during the ground investigation.
55
2) The Engineering Report
Engineering reports usually contain all the items given in the factual
report, either as part of the report itself or as an appendix, plus the
following items.
• Description of project: This is usually discussed more fully than
in the factual report. It will include, where possible, such items as
the size and type individual buildings and any particular
considerations such as permissible settlement.
• Results of the desk study: the desk study carried out by site
investigation firms for a factual report is usually fairly rudimentary
and may only consist of checking the appropriate geological
maps. For the engineering report the desk study section may be
substantial but could be virtually non-existent, depending on how
much information is available.

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• Discussion of ground conditions: Again, this is much more
fully covered than the sample summary which usually appears in
the factual report. Where appropriate, it will refer to possible
seismic, hydrological or mining problems, or any other special
factors.
• Soil properties for Design: Design values of soil properties,
such as shear strength and compressibility, are given for each of
the foundation soils encountered. Variations in properties with a
given soils, both across the site and with depth, should be
indicated. The extent and location of each of the soil types and
their distinguishing features should also be included.
• Foundation Design: Foundation types are recommended,
along with suggested founding depths, sizes, permissible
loadings, expected settlement and any other relevant details.
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• Calculations: The recommended values of the soil properties
and foundation design details given in the previous two
sections should be supported by clearly laid out calculations.
The assumptions made and the design methods used should be
stated so the work can be checked by others and values can
easily be amended if new information becomes available.
• Site Plans: These are usually more detailed that for the factual
report and normally show the proposed project layout.
• Other Items: These may include such items as a brief for the
resident engineer; a warning that specific problems may arise
which will require special treatment or a redesign of certain
features; or a recommendation that further investigation be
carried out.

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Example; Plan & section of boreholes

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