Site Exploration

and Characterization
Subsurface material properties cannot
be specified; they must be deduced
through exploration.

Charles Dowding (1979)

Objectives
Determine location and thickness of soil
and rock strata (subsurface soil profile)
Determine location of groundwater table
Recover samples for laboratory testing
Conduct lab and/or field testing
Identify special problems and concerns

Site Exploration;
General Strategy

Project Assessment
Literature Search
Field Reconnaissance
Subsurface Drilling and Sampling
Laboratory Testing of Soil Samples

Project Assessment
Type, location and approximate
dimensions of the proposed
development
Existing topography and any
proposed grading
Any previous developments

Literature Search
Geologic Maps (e.g. USGS, Bureau of
Economic Geology)
Soil Survey Reports (USDA Soil
Conservation Service)
Geotechnical Reports
Historic Groundwater Data

Remote Sensing
Conventional Aerial Photographs
Geologic features (landslides, faults),
topography, drainage patterns
Site history

Infrared Aerial Photographs

Springs, seepage zones
Useful in slope stability investigations

Field Reconnaissance
Any previous developments, grading
etc.
Site topography, any signs of slope
instability (landslides, soil creep)
Site drainage conditions
Rock outcrops
Site access

Field Exploration
Site Boring Layout
Test Borings or Test Pits?
It depends on the type of materials,
and what you want to know.

Number and Frequency of Borings

Depth, Sampling Methods and Field
Testing

III. Subsurface
Exploration/Sampling
Borehole Spacing
Site conditions/uniformity
type of structure (bridge, building,
landfill)
typically one borehole/2500 ft2
Also see Table 4.1 (p.108)

Borehole Depths
Magnitude of loading/soil conditions
Also see Table 4.3 (p.109)

How Many Borings?

How Deep?

Dial Before You Dig

One Call System
Underground Utility
Locator System
In Texas:
1-800-344-8377
1-800-DIG-TESS

Look Up and Live!

Safety Awareness
Regular Emphasis

Drilling and Sampling of

Soils
Subsurface Drilling
Auger Drilling
Solid Stem Auger
Hollow Stem Auger

Rotary Drilling
Bucket Auger
Percussion (or Cable Tool) Drilling

Auger Drilling

Auger Drilling
Hollow Stem Auger
Casing with outer spiral
Inner rod with plug/or pilot
assembly
For sampling, remove pilot
assembly and insert sampler
Typically 5ft sections, keyed,
box & pin connections
Maximum depth 60-150ft

Hollow-Stem Augers

Rotary Drilling
Bit at the end of drill rod
rotated and advanced
Soil/rock cuttings removed
by circulating drilling fluid
Common drilling fluid;
bentonite in water with
slurry density 68-72pcf
Air may be used as drilling
fluid

Cable Tool Drilling

Not common in US in
geotechnical explorations
Heavy impact drilling tools
lifted and dropped
Impact loosens soil and rock
Cuttings removed with a
bailer
Slow process; Used in
environmental explorations
where drilling fluid is not
permitted

Rock Drilling, Coring,

Augering
http://www.globald
rilsup.com/catindex.html

Soil and Rock Sampling

Disturbed samples
In-place structure is not preserved
Okay for determination of soil index
properties

Estimating the nature of the

formation from the cuttings is like
identifying the cow from the
hamburgers.
G.F. Sowers

Soil and Rock Sampling

Undisturbed samples
Minimizes effects from potential
disturbance
Needed for determination of in-situ
density, in-situ permeability, soil shear
strength and compressibility

Soil Samplers

Standard Split Spoon Samplers

Shelby Tube Samplers
Piston Samplers
Heavy Wall Samplers

Standard Split Spoon

Samplers

Thick wall (0.25in) cylinder

Sampling tube is split along the
length
Hammered into the ground

Standard
Split
Spoon
Sampler

Shelby Tube (Thin-wall)

Samplers
Thin wall (1/16in)
sampling tube
Sampler pushed
into the ground
hydraulically
Sample extruded
from tube

Piston
Samplers
Minimizes sample
disturbance
caused by backpressure

Heavy-Wall
Samplers
Thicker walls
provide better
strength &
durability
However, it creates
more disturbance
Sampler pounded
into the ground

Groundwater Monitoring
Groundwater level
must be
determined during
geotechnical
investigation
Can be
accomplished by
leaving selected
soil borings open

In-situ Testing
When it is difficult to obtain
undisturbed samples
Cohesionless soils, Sensitive clays
In-situ Test Methods

Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
Pressuremeter Test
Flat Plate Dilatometer Test

Standard Penetration Test

(SPT)
140 lb (63.5 kg) Hammer
30in (76 cm) free fall
Drive sampler over 18 inches
Record no. of blows per each 6 inch
penetration
SPT blow count=blows for 2nd 6 inch
penetration + blows for 3rd 6inch
penetration

Standard Penetration Test

(SPT)

Types of SPT Hammers

SPT

SPT

Corrections to SPT blow

Counts
Factors affecting SPT blow count:
Hammer Efficiency (See Table 4.3)
Borehole diameter (See Table 4.4)
Type of sampler (See Table 4.4)
Rod length (See Table 4.4)

SPT Correction Factors

N 60

E mC BCSC R N

0.60

hammer efficiency (Em) . Table 4.3

bore hole diameter (CB).Table 4.4.
sampler correction (CS) Table 4.4
rod length (CR) Table 4.4

SPT Overburden Correction

( N1 ) 60 N 60

2000 lb / ft
z

( N1 ) 60 N 60

100 kPa
z

(Customary)

(SI)

Use of SPT Data

To Determine Relative Density, Dr
From AASHTO Chart
From Eq. (4.3) p.122

To determine
From Figure 4.11 (p.123)

To determine C
From AASHTO Chart