'E INVESTIGATION PURPOSE To determine the site's suitability for economic design of structures and buildings ;ahe nature and the extent of preliminary work that will be needed. Why it is important? It will shows the detailed to many physical aspect such as subsoil composition, demolition and the legal aspect such as planning permission, right of access and preservation order OBJECTIVES To assess the general suitability of the site with the proposed works * To help produce a design that is adequate and economic + To help overcome possible difficulties & delays that may arise during construction period due to ground and other local conditions + To predict possible changes that may occur/cause of all changes in site condition ‘* To maximize potential of the site + Advise on sites. ‘A combination process which range from looking et published information such as maps to arrange laboratory test on the soil. Information required from a site investigation a. Information affecting the design of the structure: shear strength and compressibility of the soil b. Information affecting the construction of the works: the extent and properties of material to be excavated, of to be used for fill or for road bases or concrete ageregates c. Information on ground water conditions: the level and seasonal variation of the water table, the pressures in the soil water, and the permeability of the soil. Planning an investigation often inadequate to allow a detailed In the earlier stages of an investigation, the information availabl plan to be made. The investigation must therefore proceed in 3 stages:GEOTECHNOLOGY “The principal objectives of the detalled soil test/investigation are as follows: a. Todetermine in detail the geological structure of the site, including the thickness, sequence and extent of the strata, b. To determine the ground water conditions To obtain disturbed and undisturbed samples for identification and laboratory testing To carry out tests to determine the mechanical properties of the soil insitu, There are two principal methods of investigating the ground conditions: + trial pits + boreholes Ground investigation Trial pits Trial pits are shallow excavations going down to a depth not greater than 6m The trial pit as such is used extensively at the surface for block sampling and detection of services prior to borehole excavation Can be dug by hand or mechanical excavator Only suitable in dry area as they allow hand cut samples to be taken which minimize the disturbance of sample. Most suitable use in exploring back filled area and sites overlain by variable natural deposits Boreholes A borehole is used to + determine the nature of the ground (usually below 6m depth) in a qualitative manner * Recover undisturbed samples for quantitative examination. Where this is not possible, for in gravelly soils below the water table, in-situ testing methods are used. ‘Obviously the information gained from a borehole is an extremely limited picture of the subsurface structure. It is therefore essential to compare the results obtained with those that could have been expected from the desk study. The greater the number of boreholes the more certain it is possible to be of the correlation and thus to trust in the results. The two principal types of boring machine used for Site Investigation are = light percussive and + Drilling machines. iv. Laboratory testing of samples v. In situ testing a. Standard penetration test eee penetration test (SPT) is an in-situ dynamic penetration test designed to provide po 2 ation cn the geotechnical engineering properties of soil. This test is the most frequently used aeract exploration drilling test performed worldwide. The test provides samples for identification Purposes and provides a measure of penetration resistance which can be used for geotechnical designTHE PROCESS * Desk Study Site Reconnaissance/ Walk over survey Preliminary report or feasibility study Preliminary Ground investigation - Planning of main Preliminary report Main Ground Investigation * Laboratory testing Financial Report (Return of Investment) * Final report i. Desk studies It is important to collect all available information about the site before starting work. A desk study is the Collation and review of information already available about a site, and is carried out at an early stage of site appraisal to inform and guide the remainder of the site investigation. Collect as much material as possible about the site * Air photograph * Maps (geological, ordinance survey, etc] Journal & reports of previous site such as Geological books & Mining records Library, news Paper, adjacent buildings,—investigation etc. Site reconnaissance / walk over survey Initial document search should be followed by a walk-over survey of the site and its. This should be a methodical examination of surroundings. The site, based on defined classes of information, which complements the desk study and typically provides valuable information on matters such as: + Topography: indications of slope instability, spoil heaps or signs of ground subsidence resulting from mining. Geology: exposures of soils and rocks which can be examined and sampled Surface water and ground water: signs of flooding; springs; water logging Vegetation: signs of vegetation die-back or restricted vegetation as a result of contamination of the ground; presence of invasive species such as Japanese Knotweed; trees which may cause shrinkage and swelling of clay soils. Invasive root system and strong growth can demage foundations, buildings, flood defenses, roads, paving, retaining walls and architectural sites. It can also reduce the capacity of channels in flood defenses to carry water Ecology: indicators of protected species, newts, badgers, bats, nesting birds. Contamination: indications of spills, disturbed ground, areas of fill or spoil heaps, old fuel or oil tanks. Structures: settlement of existing structures or the use of asbestos; indicators of archaeological value. Local Knowledge: anecdotal information on past uses of the site or past problems in the area. Access & services: information such as access for site equipment and location of buried or overhead services Detailed exploration/Detail ind programs; ands: nisGEOTECHNOLOGY 1. Desk study 2. Site reconnaissance 3. Detail Examination of Tests and Programs Information/ issues to check : 1. Site Location Nearest town and city — Schools, emergency services, entertainment, recreation, shops, transport and employment Distance from head office (client & builders) & traveling time Distance from nearest railway station to the site 2. Accessibility roads * width, gradient, bends, sharp corners, condition and construction relative to transport Bridges, heavy plant and equipment strength, width and clearance Temporary roads, rolled metal-helght tracts or consider preparing sub base for new roads as temporary access 9 3. Availability of space offices, canteen, stores and Material storage areas and handling of compound Plant location ‘+ Construction area and assembly areas + Water, drainage, electricity, 4. Services Water, drainage, electricity, ges & telephone Location will be determined from maps by consultation with the appropriate local authorities. An estimate of buildings usage is also for ascertaining the demand ‘on sewers and drains 5. Ground composition Boreholes are required to determine Changes in strata, Strength of subsoil, Toxicity of subsoil Stability of excavation and Water table (depth below surfaces) 6, Site clearance and demolition ‘Aplan of the site should indicate trees, shrubs and existing buildings and a site survey will reveal the extent of necessary leveling, Demolition and excavation, Method and cost, Effect of trees and structural prevention orders, Reuse of materials, Protection of adjacent building ,Special insurance requirement Compensation payment and liability for damage, Distance to spoil tips and charge In General + Dealt with local planning authority to ascertain whether there are special/significant restrictions which could adversely affect the development of site building line position + Survey should include details of neighboring development, future development and the position with regard to facilities in the area + Should enquire the existence of any restri which may restrict the development ive covenants such as right of way, ight & drainagepurposes. Many local and widely published international correlations which relate blow count, or N= value, to the engineering properties of soils are available for geotechnical engineering purposes Procedure The test uses a thick-walled sample tube, with an outside diameter of 50.8 mm and an inside diameter of 35 mm, and a length of around 650 mm. This is driven into the ground at the bottom of a borehole by blows from a slide hammer with a mass of 63.5 kg (140 Ib) falling through a distance of 760 mm (30 in]. The sample tube is driven 150 mm into the ground and then the number of blows needed for the tube to penetrate each 150 mm (6 in) up to a depth of 450 mm (18 in) is recorded. The sum of the number of blows required for the second and third 6 in. of penetration is termed the "standard penetration resistance" or the "N-value", In cases where 50 blows are insufficient to advance it through a 150 mm (6 in) interval the penetration after 50 blows is recorded. The blow count provides an indication of the density of the ground, and it is used in many empirical geotechnical engineering formulae Purpose The main purpose of the test is to provide an indication of the relative density of granular deposits, such as sands and gravels from which it is virtually impossible to obtain undisturbed samples. The great merit of the test and the main reason for its widespread use is that it is simple and inexpensive. The soil strength parameters which can be inferred are approximate, but may give a useful guide in ground conditions where it may not be possible to obtain borehole samples of adequate quality like gravels, sands, silts, clay containing sand or gravel and weak rock. In conditions where the quality of the undisturbed sample is suspect, e.g,, very silty or very sandy clay, or hard clay, it is often advantageous to alternate the sampling with standard penetration tests to check the strength. If the samples are found to be unacceptably disturbed, it may be necessary to use ¢ different method for measuring strength like the plate test. When the test is carried out in granular soils below groundwater level, the soil may become loosened. In certain circumstances, it can be useful to continue driving the sampler beyond the distance specified, adding further driling rods as necessary, Although this is not a standard penetration test, and should not be regarded as such, it may at least give an indication as to whether the deposit is really as loose as the standard test may indicate ‘The usefulness of SPT results depends on the soil type, with fine-grained sands giving the most useful results, with coarser sands and silty sands giving reasonably useful results, and clay and gravelly sotls vielding results which may be very poorly representative ofthe true soil conditions. Sols in arid areas, Such as the Western United States, may exhibit natural cementation. This condition will often increase the standard penetration value Correlation with soil mechanical properties Despite its many flaws, itis usual practice to correlate SPT results with soll properties relevant for geotechnical engineering design. SPT results are in-situ field measurements, and not as subject to sample disturbance, and are often the only test results available, therefore the use of correlations has become common practice in many countries. ‘An approximate relationship cited in the US Army Corp of Engineers engineering manal pubicaicn on sheet pile design developed after Terzaghi and Peck (1948) and Teng (1962), shows in the tabls ¥e Ot the relationship specifically for SPT N values and bulk density of soil correlated to relative densityGEOTECHNOLOGY east Se a ee referred to in the engin =] gineering manual as moist unit weight in pcf units, converted to metric values in the Relative Density | SPTNvalue | Bulk Density (ke/m*) Very loose 0-4 <1600 Loose 5-10 1530 - 2000 Medium 11-30 1750-2 100 Dense 31-50 1750-2245 Very Dense >50 >2100 Problems with SPT “The Standard Penetration Test recovers a highly disturbed sample, which is generally not suitable for tests which measure properties of the in-situ soll structure, such as density, strength, and consolidation characteristics. To overcome this limitation, the test Is often run with a larger sampler with a slightly different tip shape, so the disturbance of the sample is minimized, and testing of structural properties is meaningful for all but soft soils, However, this results in blow counts which are not easily converted to SPT N-values - many conversions have been proposed, some of which depend on the type of soll sampled, making reliance on blow counts with non-standard samplers problematic. Standard Penetration Test blow counts do not represent a simple physical property of the soil, and thus must be correlated to soil properties of interest, such as strength or density, There exist multiple Correlations, none of which are of very high quality. Use of SPT data for direct prediction of liquefaction potential sufers from roughness of correlations and from the need to "normalize" SPT data to account for overburden pressure, sampling technique, and other factors. Additionally, the method cannot collect accurate data for weak soll layers for several reasons: 4, The results are limited to whole numbers for a specific driving interval, but with very low blow counts, the granularity of the results, and the possibility of a zero result, makes handling the data cumbersome. 2, Inloose sands and very soft clays, the act of driving the sampler will significantly disturb the soil, including by soil liquefaction of loose sands, giving results based on the disturbed soil properties rather than the intact soil properties variety of techniques have been proposed to compensate for the deficiencies of the standard penetration test, including the Cone penetration test, in-situ vane shear tests, and shear wave velocity measurements. b. Cone penetration test ‘The cone penetration or cone penetrometer test (CPT} is a method used to determine the geotechnical engineering properties of salls snd delineating sol stratigraphy, It was initially developed inthe 195212 the Dutch Laboratory for Soil Mechanics in Delft to investigate soft soils. Based on this history it has also been called the "Dutch cone test", Today, the CPT is one of the most used and accepted soil methods for sail investigation worldwide.oe eT ae eT eT the tip facing down, into the ground a se EC jetween 1.5 -2.5 cm/s accepted). The resolution of the CPT in delineating ae eae ted to the size of the cone tip, with typical cone tips having 2 cross-sectional t m?, corresponding to diameters of 3.6 and 4.4 cm. Avery early ultra-m cm: subtraction penetrometer was developed and used on a Us mobile ballistic missile launch system (MGM-134 Midgetman) soil/structure design program in 1984 at the Earth Technology Corporation of Long Beach, California. niature 1 aaa It | | | Friction sleeve | Load cell 7 Cone vi. Reporting results