SITE INVESTIGATION AND SUBSOIL

EXPLORATION
“Subsurface material properties cannot be specified; they must be deduced
through exploration.” Charles Dowding (1979)

Dr. D. N. Arnepalli
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
 Definition and Objectives
 A detailed investigation for site is essential before a design
can be finalized.
 The process of determining the layers of natural soil and
rock deposits that underlie a proposed structure and their
Geotechnical, Geological and Hydrological properties is
referred to as site investigation.
 The objective of subsurface and related site investigation is
to provide the engineer or architect with as much
information as possible about the existing conditions such
as:
 Exposed overburden
 Course of a stream nearby
 Rock outcrop or a hillock
 Vegetation, and other geological features of the area
 It is equally important to know the subsoil conditions below
a proposed structure
 Objectives of Exploration
 To select suitable site for the proposed project
(Earth/Concrete dam; Nuclear power plant; Engineered
landfill and ………..)

 Assess the fundamental properties of the sub layers such

as shear strength, volume compressibility and hydraulic
characteristics.

 To decide type of foundation required for the proposed

project at the site, i.e. shallow foundation or deep
foundation and to recommend safe bearing capacity or pile
load capacity.

 The program should be planned so that the maximum

amount of information can be obtained at minimum cost.
Scope of the Subsoil Investigation Includes..
 Sequence and extent of each soil and rock stratum in the
region likely to be affected by the proposed work

 Nature of each stratum and engineering properties of soil

and rock which may affect design and mode of construction
of proposed structures and their foundations

 Location of ground water and possible corrosive effects of

soil and water on foundation materials

 In areas which have already been developed, advantage

should be taken of existing local knowledge, records of trial
pits, bore holes, etc, in the vicinity, and the behaviour of
existing structures, particularly those of a nature similar to
that of the proposed structure
Scope of the Subsoil Investigation Includes..
 In such cases, exploration may be limited to checking that,
the expected soil conditions are those as in the
neighbourhood.
 If the existing information is not sufficient or is inconclusive
the site should be explored in detail so as to obtain a
knowledge of the type, uniformity, consistence, thickness,
sequence and dip of the strata and of the ground water
conditions.
 Site Reconnaissance- Site reconnaissance would help in
deciding future programme of field investigations? that is,
to assess the need for Preliminary or Detailed
Investigations.
 This would also help in determining scope of work, methods
of exploration to be adopted, field tests to be carried out
and administrative arrangements required for the
investigation.
 Site Reconnaissance Includes..
 A study of local topography, excavations, ravines, quarries,
escarpments; evidence of erosion or landslides
 Behaviour of existing structures at or near the site; water
level in streams, water courses and wells; flood marks from
topographical maps, geological maps, pedology and soil
survey maps, and aerial photographs.
 Data regarding removal of overburden by excavation,
erosion or land slides should be obtained. This gives an
idea of the amount of preconsolidation the soil strata has
undergone.
 Similarly, data regarding recent fills is also important to
study the consolidation characteristics of the fill as well as
the original strata.
 The type of flora affords at times provides some indication
of the nature of the soil. The extent of swamp and
superficial deposits and peats will usually be obvious.
 Site Reconnaissance Includes..
 Ground-water conditions: The ground-water level fluctuates
and will depend upon the permeability of the strata and the
head causing the water to flow.
 The water level in streams and water courses, if any, in the
neighbourhood, should be noted, but it may be misleading
to take this as an indication of the depth of the water table in
the ground.
 Wells at the site or in the vicinity gives useful indications of
the ground-water conditions.
 Flood marks of rivers may indicate former highest water
levels.
 Tidal actuations may be of importance. It is also a
possibility of there being several water tables at different
levels, separated by impermeable strata, and some of this
water may be subject to artesian head.
 Site Reconnaissance Includes..
 Enquiries Regarding Early Use of the Site: In certain cases
the earlier uses of the site may have important bearing on
proposed new works. This is particularly so in areas, where
there have been underground workings, such as worked-out
ballast pits, quarries, old brick fields, coal mines and
mineral workings.
 Enquiries should be made regarding the location of shafts
and workings, particularly shallow ones, where there may
be danger of collapse, if heavy new structures are
superimposed.
 The possibility of damage to sewers, conduits and drainage
systems by subsidence should also be investigated.
 Geophysical investigations: to provide a simple and quick
means of getting useful information about stratifications.
 Electrical resistivity method
 Seismic method
 Methods of Investigations
 Open Pits

 Bore Holes

 Geophysical Investigation (non destructive)

 Electrical Resistivity Survey
 Seismic Survey

 Gravity Survey

 Magnetic Survey

 Temperature Logging

 Radioactivity Logging
 Truck-Mounted Drill Rig
 Typical Equipment Used for
Geotechnical Drilling
 Truck Mounted Drill Rig &
Support Truck (Water Tank)
 Angle Drilling
 Assess geologic features
(dip, strike, joints, etc.)
 Foundation testing for
bridge abutments
 Methods of Boring (Auger Boring)
 Auger Boring
 Hand auger may be useful up to 6 m depth
 Soil can stand itself
 Yield disturbed sample
Continuous Flight Auger (Drilling)s
Hollow Stem Auger (Drilling & Sampling)
 Casing with outer spiral

 Inner rod with plug or pilot assembly

 For sampling, remove pilot assembly and

insert sampler

 Typically 5 ft sections, keyed, box & pin

connections

 Maximum depth 60-150 ft

Hollow Stem Auger (Drilling & Sampling)
 Methods of Boring (Wash Boring)
 Wash Boring
 Casing pipe is inserted
 Jet of water is forced through drill rods
 Cutting the fines
 For all geomaterials except rock
 Methods of Boring (Percussion Boring)
 Percussion Boring
 Suitable for formation of
boulders and gravels
 Methods of Boring (Rotary Boring)
Air or Mud Rotary Drilling
 Offshore Drilling/Barge Rig
Exploration for abutments, bridges, docks, etc.
 Type of Samples
 Disturbed samples
 Soil structure gets altered (or) modified during sampling operation
 If natural moisture content and proportion of mineral is preserved
then these samples are called “Representative Samples”
 If the above conditions is not met, then we call them as
“non-representative Samples”

 Undisturbed samples
 If any sample is not falling under the criteria mentioned above is
considered undisturbed sample

 The extent of disturbance to the sample due to the sampler

depends on its design features
 Cutting edge
 Inside wall friction
 Non-return valve
Design Features of Sampler (for undisturbed sample)
 Area ratio = (D22-D12) x 100 %
D12
 Should be < 10 % for sensitive clays D4
< 20 % for stiff formations

 Inside clearance = (D3-D1) x 100 %

D3
D1
 Should be between 1- 3 %
 Is meant to reduce the friction between
sample and inner surface of the sampler
 Is also intended to allow elastic expansion of
the sample D1

 Outside clearance = (D2-D4) x 100 %

D2
D4
 Help in reducing the friction when sampler is
being driven and being withdrawn
 Types of Sampler
 Standard Split Spoon Sampler
 Shelby Tube Sampler
 Open Drive and Piston Sampler
 Double Tube Core Barrel
 Piston Type Sampler

Standard Split Spoon Sampler

Shelby Tube Sampler (Drilling & Sampling)
 Suitable for undisturbed soil sampling of
fine grained material
 Thin-wall Steel Tubes
 3.0" OD, 2.875" ID, 30.0" long, 7.2 lbs
 Undisturbed Samples from

Block sample of Clay

Open drive Sampler

Rock Coring (Drilling & Sampling)
 A typical double-tube core barrel
 Diamond or tungsten-carbide tooth
bit
 Size of core samples varies (NX-54
mm, NQ-47.6 mm, HQ-63.5 mm, etc.)
Rock Core Quality (Drilling & Sampling)
 Core recovery percentage

 Rock quality designation (RQD)

 Calculated as the ratio of the sum of
length of core fragments greater than
4 inches to the total drilled footage per
run, expressed as a percentage
Methods of Sampling and Resulting Samples
 Disturbed samples are used for determining index properties
(ex. PSD, Consistency, etc.)
 Undisturbed samples are used for determining engineering
properties (ex. Density, water content, shear strength
parameters, etc.)
 Wash samples are obtained from wash boring water or mud.
 Representative sample retains all constituents of the soil, but
is disturbed from natural state and structure. (ex. Split spoon
sampler)
 Block samples are carved out from sides or bottoms of
excavations, sealed in a box and taken to lab.
 Open drive samplers consist of thin walled tubes which are
driven or pushed into the soil at the bottom of the hole. (ex.
Shelby Tube sampler)
 Typical Bore Log Contains….
1. Details of drilling company
2. Driller’s name
3. Job description
4. Number, type, and location of boring
5. Date of boring
6. Subsurface stratification, which can
be obtained by visual observation of
the soil brought out by auger, split-
spoon sampler, and thin-walled
Shelby tube sampler
7. Elevation of water table and date
observed, use of casing and mud
losses, and so on
8. Standard penetration resistance and
the depth of SPT
9. Number, type, and depth of soil
sample collected
10. 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
Depth of Investigation

Stress Distribution below the footing

based on reconnaissance study
 Depth of Investigation
The approximate required minimum depth of the borings should be
predetermined. The estimated depths can be changed during the drilling
operation, depending on the subsoil encountered.

To determine the approximate minimum depth of

boring, engineers may use the following criteria:

1. Determine the net increase of stress, Δσ under a

foundation with depth as shown in the Figure.
2. Estimate the variation of the vertical effective
stress, σ'v, with depth.
3. Determine the depth, D = D1, at which the stress
increase Δσ is equal to 0.1q ( where q = estimated
net stress at foundation level due to the Stress distribution below
structure). the shallow foundation

4. Determine depth, D = D2, at which Δσ/σ’v = 0.05.

5. Unless bedrock is encountered, the smaller of the
two depths, D1 and D2, just determined is the
approximate minimum depth of boring required.
Number of Bore Holes &Extent of Investigation
 For a compact building site covering an area of about 0.4
hectare, one bore hole or trial pit in each corner and one in
the centre should be adequate
 For smaller and less important buildings even one bore hole
or trial pit in the centre will suffice.
 For very large areas covering industrial and residential
colonies, the geological nature of the terrain will help in
deciding the number of bore holes or trial pits. Cone
penetration tests may be performed at every 50 m by
dividing the area in a grid pattern and number of bore holes
or trial pits decided by examining the variation in the
penetration curves.
 The cone penetration tests may not be possible at sites
having gravelly or boulderous strata.
 Extent of Investigation
 There are no hard and fast rules for the spacing of the
boreholes. The following table Provides some general
guidelines for borehole spacing.
 These spacing can be increased or decreased, depending on
the subsoil condition. If various soil strata are more or less
uniform and predictable, the number of boreholes can be
reduced.
Approximate spacing of boreholes
Type of project Spacing (m)
Multi storey Building 10-30
One storey industrial plants 20-60
Highways 250-500
Residential subdivision 250-500
Dams and Dykes 40-80
 In-situ (Field Strength) Tests
 When it is difficult to obtain “undisturbed” samples

 Cohesionless soils, Sensitive clays

 Vane shear test (VST)

 Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

 Cone Penetration Test (SCPT/CPT; DCPT)

 The Pressure-meter Test (PMT)

 The Plate Load Test (PLT)

 The Borehole Shear Test (BST)

 The Flat Dilatometer Test (DMT)

Field (Strength) Tests
 Vane Shear Test
 Determine in-place shear strength for soft clay
 Good for loose cohesionless soils, that lose part
of their strength when disturbed (with Caution)
 How to use?
 Push the vane tester into the soil and apply a
torque to the vertical shaft
T
c=
 d 2 h   d 3 
π   +  
 2   6 
where
c = cohesion of the clay
T = torque required to shear the soil
d = diameter of vane tester
h = height of vane tester
Correction factor for Vane Shear Test
Correction Factor (μ)

Plasticity Index (%)

 Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
 As per IS:2131 –
1981 for soils.
 Most important and
most commonly
used field test
 Typical equipment:
drill rig, split spoon
sampler, hammer
and casing pipe.
Standard Penetration Test (SPT)- Procedure
1. Drive a section of casing pipe.
2. Complete wash boring and clean the hole
3. Replace driving bit by split spoon sampler at the bottom end of
the driving rod
4. Drive the sampler by dropping a hammer of 63.5 kg weight
through a height of 75 cm
5. The number of blows required to penetrate three successive
lengths of 15 cm are noted.
6. The first 15 cm drive is considered as seating load and is
ignored. The total number of blows required to penetrate the
remaining 30 cm (15 cm +15 cm) is called the blow count or
penetration number N (N2+N3).
7. Raise the sampler to the surface, open it and extract the
sample.
8. Drive the next length of casing and repeat the process until
required depth is reached.
SPT- Standard Split Spoon Sampler
Types of SPT Hammers
SPT- Manually Operated Hammer
SPT- Automatic Trip Hammer and SPT-Refusal

The bore log shows refusal and

test is halted if:

1. More than 50 blows per 150 mm

penetration (i.e., from 150 mm to
300 mm)

2. More than 100 blows per 300 mm

penetration (i.e., from 300 mm to
450 mm)

3. Ten successive blows produce no

advance
 Correction to SPT Blow Counts
 Energy Correction (Due to the Hammer Efficiency)---- 60 %

 Borehole diameter
EmCbC r N
Type of sampler N 60 =
Rod length
0 .60
 SPT-Overburden Correction
N `= ( N 1 ) 60 = C N N 60
 2000 
CN = 0 .77 × log 10  1  (kPa)
 σV 
(Or)
Applied to N value based on chart by Peck, et. al. (varies from 0.45 to 2)

SPT- Dilatancy Correction

Correction due to dilatancy for fine sand and silt below GWT
having N`=(N1)60 > 15 (due to the liquefaction effect)
N” = 15 + 0.5*(N’-15)
Correlations between N Values and Soil Property
Compactness Relative
N φ
of sand Density (%)
0 to 4 Very Loose 0-15 < 28
4 to 10 Loose 15 - 35 28 -30
10 to 30 Medium Dense 25 - 65 30 -36
> 50 Very Dense > 85 > 41

Relation of Consistency of Clay and Unconfined Compressive (qu)

Consistency qu (kPa)
Very Soft Soft Medium Stiff Very Stiff Hard
SPT N-value <2 2-4 4-8 8-15 15-30 >30
qu <25 25-50 50-100 100- 200-400 >400
200
 Relevance of SPT for Bearing Capacity

Bearing capacity factors (Nq and Nγ)

depends on friction angle (φ)

φ vs. SPT N-value

Cone Penetration Test (SCPT/CPT and DCPT)
 Originally Developed in Netherlands 1930s
 Further developments in 1950s
 Popularly known as “Dutch Cone”
 ASTM D3441, IS 4968-Part3
 Base Area= 10 cm2, Appex Angle =60°
 Methods
 Static cone test-CPT (when cone is pushed)
 Dynamic cone test-DCPT (when cone is driven)
 Types of CPT devices
 Mechanical cone
 Electric cone
 Piezocone
Mechanical Cone Penetrometer (CPT)
Electrical Cone Penetrometer (CPT)
Piezocone Penetrometer (CPT)
Sequential Steps to Perform CPT
1. “Cone” and “Friction Jacket”
are in stationary position
(Position 1)
2. Cone pushed by inner
sounding rod to a depth of
a=40mm at a steady rate of
20 mm/sec till the collar
engage the cone (Position 2)
3. The tip resistance qc
(QC/Ac)called cone or point
resistance
4. The sounding rod pushed
further to a depth of b=40
mm, this will push the
“friction jacket and cone”
together (Position 3)
5. The skin friction fs= Qf/Af
= (Qt-QC)/Af
Sequential Steps to Perform CPT
6. The outside mantle is
pushed down to a distance
of (a+b), which brings the
friction jacket and cone to
position 1 (Position 4)
7. CPT provides continues
record of variation of cone
resistance,friction resistance
and pore pressure with
depth but CPT does not yield
sample
8. The test is unsuitable for
gravels and very dense sand
9. The data from CPT often
used to estimate the Point
bearing resistance and
friction resistance of pile
foundation
Pictorial View of Cone Penetrometer
Cone Penetrometer Mounted on Truck
Typical Results from CPT
CPT Correlations With Engineering Properties
Type of Soil qc/N (qC in kg/cm2)
Sandy gravels and gravels 8 to 10
Coarse sand 5 to 10
Clean fine to medium sand and slightly silty-sand 3 to 4
Silts. Sandy silts, slightly cohesive silt-sand mixture 2

Cone resistance (qc, kg/cm2)

Angle of internal friction, Ø (Degrees)
Correlations With Engineering Properties

Cone Resistance qC (kg/cm2)

Friction ratio, fR (fs/qc)

 CPT versus SPT
 CPT: provides much better resolution, reliability

 CPT: Versatile and provides pore water pressure, dynamic

soil properties

 CPT : Does not provide a sample

 CPT :Will not work with soil with gravel

 CPT: Need to mobilize a special rig

 Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT)
 Self study from IS4968-Part1 and 2, Gopal Ranjan Text Book pp. 683
 Pressure Meter Test (PMT)
 Type of load test
 Load is applied by uniform radial pressure to the sides of bore hole in
which it is placed

 Types of pressure meters

 Menard Pressure meter (MPM), which is lowered in preformed bore hole
 Self-boring pressure meter (SBP), which form its own bore hole and
causes much less disturbance to the soil

 Menard Pressure meter (MPM)

 Is an inline three cell probe
 Middle part is the test or measuring cell
 Two cells called guard cell (to protect the test cell from end effects)
 Water is used to fill the test cell and compressed gas is to fill guard
cells
Sequential Steps to Perform MPM
1. The test is conducted in
predrilled bore hole normally
at 1m interval
2. Oversized bore hole up to 10
% is allowed
3. The pressure of water in the
test cell is increased
incrementally till the soil fails
(till limiting pressure, pl)
4. The failure is considered
when the total expanded
volume of test zone reaches
twice the volume of original
cavity
5. Each increment of pressure is
held for a minute and
corresponding volume is
recorded
 Salient Features of MPM Data
1. Initial part “OA” is the
process of pushing bore
hole sides to their original
position
2. The volume of expansion of
cavity considered to begin
only from “A”
Pressure (kPa)

3. The straight line portion

“AB” is considered as
“Pseudoelastic stage” of the
soil. The point “B” indicates
end of this stage and
corresponding pressure is
called “Creep Pressure”
4. The portion “BC” is called
plastic phase of the soil
deformation and the
Injected volume (cm3) pressure at “C” is known as
“Limiting Pressure”
CPT Correlations With Engineering Properties
1. Menard’s pressure modulus, Em = 2.66 Gm
2. Gm is called Menard’s shear modulus for curve between V0 and Vf

3. The Young’s modulus E= Em/α (where α called Rheological parameter)

and depends on soil type and [Em/(pl-σh)]

Type of Soil [Em/(pl-σh)] α

NC clay 9 to 16 0.67
OC clay > 16 1.00
Silt-NC 8 to 14 0.5
Silt-OC > 14 0.67
Sand 7 to 12 0.33
MPM Correlations With Engineering Properties

pl
Cu =
9
q ultimate =σ 1
v + k bc ( p l − σ h )

q des   B 
α

ΔH =  2 B 0  λ d  + αλ c B  F d
9Em   B0  

where
σ1v = effective horizontal stress in kPa
kbc = bearing capacity factor
ΔH= settlement of shallow foundation
B0= a reference dimension=0.6 m
α= rhelogical factor
Em= Menards shear modulus
σh = horizontal soil stress at rest
q ultimate= ultimate bearing capacity
qdes= net design bearing pressure
B= width or diameter of the foundation≥B0
λc, λd, = shape factors = f (L/B of foundation)
Fd= depth factors (varoes between 1 to 1.2)
 Problems with MPM
 Disturbance caused to the
sides of the BH can vitiate
the results

 Expansion of soil due to

release of in-situ pressures

 Diameter of BH being too

large or too small when
compared to the un-inflated
probe may cause some
errors.
 Plate Load Test (PLT)- Procedure
1.Selection of location for test
 The test is conducted at proposed foundation level
 In case GWT is within the depth equals to the width of plate,
the test shall be conducted at GWT level / 1m below the
foundation level (to avoid unrealistic stiff behaviour of soil)
 In case of GWT is higher than test level, it shall be lowered
to the test level and maintained by pumping through a sump,
away from the test plate
 In case of soils like non-plastic silt and fine sand which
cannot be drained by pumping from the sump, the test level
shall also be at water table level.
 In case of foundations on silt and fine sand, this test
provides direct measure of “compressibility/settlement” of
soils and “Bearing Capacity” of shallow foundations
Plate Load Test (PLT)
 Plate Load Test (PLT)- Procedure
2. Test Pit Size
 The pits, usually at the foundation level (with 5 mm sand
layer), having width equal to five times the test plate
 It shall have a leveled and cleaned bottom at test level,
protected against disturbance or changes in natural
formation
3. Size and shape of the plates
 Except in case of road problems and circular footing;
square plates may be adopted.
 For clayey and silty soils, for loose to medium dense sandy
soils with N < 15, a 450 mm square plate shall be used.
 In the case of dense sandy, gravelly soils (15 < N < 30 )
three plates of sizes 300 mm to 750 mm shall be used.
 The side of the plate shall be at least four times maximum
size of the soil particles
 Plate Load Test (PLT)- Procedure
4. Test arrangement and Loading
 The loading platform shall be supported by suitable means
at least 2.5 m from the test area with a height of 1 m or
more above the bottom of the pit to provide sufficient
working space
 A minimum seating pressure of 70 g/cm2 shall be applied
and removed before starting the load test
 The two supports of the reference beam or datum rod shall
be placed over firm ground, fixed with minimum two dial
gauges resting at diametrically opposite ends of the plates.
The dial gauges shall be so arranged that settlement is
measured continuously without any resetting in between
 Apply the load to soil in cumulative equal increments up to
1 kg/cm2 or one-fifth of the estimated ultimate bearing
capacity, whichever is less.
 Plate Load Test (PLT)- Procedure
5. Settlement and observation
 Settlements should be observed for each increment of load
after an interval of 1, 2.25, 4, 6.25, 9, 16 and 25 min and
thereafter at hourly intervals to the nearest 0.02 mm.
 For soils other than clayey soils, each load increment shall
be kept for not less than one hour or up to a time when the
rate of settlement gets appreciably reduced to a value of
0.02 mm/min
 In case of clayey soils the ‘time settlement’ curve shall be
plotted at each load stage and load shall be increased to
the next stage either when the curve indicates that the
settlement has exceeded 70 to 80 percent of the probable
ultimate settlement at that stage or at the end of 24 hour
period
 The next increment of load shall then be applied and the
observations are repeated
 Plate Load Test (PLT)- Procedure
5. Settlement and observation cont…
 The test shall be continued till, a settlement of 25 mm
under normal circumstances or 50 mm in special cases
such as dense gravel, gravel and sand mixture, is
obtained or till failure occurs, whichever is earlier.
 Alternatively where settlement does not reach 25 mm, the
test should be continued to at least two times the
estimated design pressure. If needed, rebound
observations may be taken while releasing the load.
Plate Load Test (PLT)
Plate Load Test (PLT)
Load settlement curve obtained from PLT
Settlement (mm) Applied Pressure (kPa)
Determination of SBC and settlement from PLT
 The safe bearing pressure, q bearing, for medium and dense
sands could be read from the above figure, corresponding to
a settlement ( Sp), which shall be estimated using below Eq.1
where

Sf = Sp
(
 B f B p + 0 .3 ) 2

Eq . 1
Sf = settlement of foundation in m

(
 B p B f + 0 . 3 ) Sp = settlement of plate in m
Bf = width of the footing
Bp = width of the plate
 In case of clays consolidation settlement, which constitutes
most part of the total settlement, cannot be predicted through
plate load test. Hence plate load test is of not much relevance
in clayey soils. Thus the following equation may be used to
predict the allowable bearing pressure

Sf  Bf 
 S  =
B 
 p   p 
Bearing pressure of cohesion less soils from PLT
Applied Pressure (kPa)
qbearing

Sp as per Eq. 1
Settlement (mm)
 Ultimate bearing pressure from PLT
 In case of granular soils the bearing capacity increases with
size of the foundation (plate), IS 1888 recommends to conduct
three load tests using test plate of three different sizes and
bearing capacity values extrapolated to real size of footing
SBC (kPa)

 Bf 
quf = qup    Eq.2 ( granular)
 B p

q uf = q up  Eq . 3 ( cohesive )

Size (cm)
 If above procedure is not practicable, then use Eq. 2 and 3
 Limitation of Plate Load test
 Plate load test provide immediate settlement, however in
case of clays, primary and secondary/creep (organic clays)
settlements are significant
 Non-homogeneity of the soil may errors due to size effect, as
shown below
 Corrections to plate load test Data
 Self study from IS 1888, IS 1809 part I and Gopal Ranjan Text
Book pp. 506
 Geophysical Methods
1.Seismic Refraction Method
 Based on the fact that seismic waves exhibits varied
velocities in different types of geomaterials (soil and rocks)

 Waves are refracted when they cross the boundary between

two layers

 The method enables to identify the nature of the soil layer

and approximate depth of strata

 Induce shock waves by detonation of small charge or

impact on plate with sledge hammer

 The radiating wave are recorded by geophones, installed at

known distance
 Seismic Refraction Method

 Some waves travel along ground surface called “Direct

/Primary waves”
 Some waves may reflect quickly and can be captured by the
geophones placed near to the source
 Other waves travel down and get refracted if pass through the
stratum having different seismic velocity
Seismic Refraction Method
C

A
 Seismic Refraction Method
 If the underlying layer is denser, the refracted waves travels fast
 As the distance between source and geophone increases, the
refracted waves reaches the geophone earlier than the primary
wave (represented by BC)
 If the source geophone is placed at a distance less than “xc”,
the direct wave reaches the geophone earlier than refracted
wave and visa-versa
 As the distance between source and geophone increases, the
refracted waves reaches the geophone earlier (represented by
AB) than the primary wave
 If the seismic velocities of the upper and lower stratum are V1
and V2 and then depth of upper layer “D” equals to…….
1
Xc  V 2 − V1  2
D=  
2 V 2 + V1 
 Seismic wave velocities of different materials
Density
3 Porosity Velocity
Type of Soil (kN/m )
(%) (m/sec)
Sandy ? ? 180 to 365
Sandy clay ? ? 365 to 580
Gravel ? ? 470 to 790
Shale ? ? 790 to 3350
Granite ? ? 3050 to 100

 This method is quite reliable and fast in establishing the profiles

of different strata
 However this method cannot be used to identify the exact type
of the strata. For this purpose boring and sampling is essential
 Geophysical Methods
1.Electrical Resistivity Method
 The method is based on measured change of mean resistivity
of the material
 Test is carried by driving four metal spikes (electrodes) into
the ground along straight line at equal or specified distance
 The current flow through outer electrodes produce an
electrical field
 The potential difference between inner two electrodes is
measured, apparent resistivity of the soil is calculated, which
is weighted average of true resistivity up to a depth “a”.
 The soil close to the surface being heavily weight than soil at
greater depths
 If a stratum of low resistivity overlies stratum of high
resistivity the is current is forced to flow closer to the ground
surface, resulting in higher voltage drop and high apparent
resistivity
Electrical Resistivity Different Materials
Resistivity
Type of Soil
(kOhm-cm)
Clay and saturated silt 0 to 10
Sandy clay and wet silty sand 10 to 25
Clay sand and saturated sand 25 to 50
Sand 50 to 150
Gravel 150 to 500
Sound rock 150 t0 4000
Electrical Resistivity Method Current Flow Profile
I
Electrical Resistivity Method-Potential Profile
 Electrical Resistivity Method
1.Method of Sounding
 Self study from Gopal Ranjan Text Book pp. 694
 Electrical Resistivity Method
1.Method of Profiling
 Self study from Gopal Ranjan Text Book pp. 694
SITE INVESTIGATION AND SUBSOIL EXPLORATION

Dr. Dali Naidu Arnepalli Ph.D.

Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras