CE362

Geotechnical Engineering-II

UNIT-1a

Soil Exploration

Dr K Rambha Devi
Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Dept
MIT, Imphal
Phone: 9436021234
email: mail_rambha@yahoo.co.in
Contents :
 Purpose
 Methods of soil exploration, Boring, sampling;
 Planning of soil investigation, Number of bore holes and
depth of exploration;
 Types of tests to suit soil conditions.
A soils investigation is an essential part of the design
and construction of a proposed structural system
(buildings, dams, roads and highways, etc.). Soils are
identified, observed, and recovered during a soils
investigation of a proposed site. Usually soils
investigations are conducted only on a fraction of a
proposed site because it would be prohibitively
expensive to conduct an extensive investigation of a
whole site.
PURPOSES OF A SOIL INVESTIGATION
• To evaluate the general suitability of the site for the
proposed project.
• To enable an adequate and economical design to
be made.
• To disclose and make provision for difficulties that
may arise during construction due to ground and
other local conditions.
COMPONENTS OF A SOIL INVESTIGATION
A soils investigation has three components.
First component : prior to design.
Second component :during the design process.
Third component :during construction.
The second and third components are needed for
contingencies. The first component is generally more
extensive and is conducted in phases.
Soil Exploration Methods
 Geophysical methods
 Test pits
 Hand augers
 Power augers
 Wash boring
 Rotary drills
Soils Exploration Methods
Trial pits or test pits. A pit is dug by hand using shovels or with
a machine such as a backhoe. This method can provide shallow-
depth soil stratigraphy.
Advantages
 Cost-effective
 Provide detailed information on stratigraphy
 Large quantities of disturbed soils are available for testing
 Large blocks of undisturbed samples can be carved out from
the pits
 Field tests can be conducted at the bottom of the pit.
Trial pits or test pits.
Disadvantages
 Depth limited to about 6 m
 Deep pits uneconomical
 Excavation below groundwater and into rock difficult and
costly
 Too many pits may scar site and require backfill soils
Soils Exploration Methods

Hand or power augers. These are tools used to quickly

create a hole about 100 mm to 250 mm in diameter in the
ground. The soil can be inspected and disturbed samples for
lab tests taken .
Advantages (Hand augers. )
 Cost-effective
 Not dependent on terrain
 Portable
 Low headroom required
 Used in uncased holes
 Groundwater location can easily be identified and
measured
Soils Exploration Methods

Hand or power augers.

Disadvantages (Hand augers. )
 Depth limited to about 6 m
 Labor-intensive
 Undisturbed samples can be taken only for soft clay
deposits
 Cannot be used in rock, stiff clays, dry sand, or caliche
soils
Soils Exploration Methods

Advantages (Power augers)

 Quick
 Used in uncased holes
 Undisturbed samples can be obtained quite easily
 Drilling mud not used
 Groundwater location can easily be identified
Soils Exploration Methods

Disadvantages (Power augers)

 Depth limited to about 15 m; at greater depth drilling
becomes difficult and expensive
 Site must be accessible to motorized vehicle
Soils Exploration Methods

Wash boring. Water is pumped though a hollow rod that

may or may not be equipped with a drill bit to remove soil
from a borehole. The washings can be used to estimate the
soil types.
Advantages
 Can be used in difficult terrain
 Low equipment costs
 Used in uncased holes
Soils Exploration Methods

Wash boring.
Disadvantages
 Depth limited to about 30 m
 Slow drilling through stiff clays and gravels
 Difficulty in obtaining accurate location of groundwater
level
 Undisturbed soil samples cannot be obtained ar
Soils Exploration Methods

Rotary rigs. These are mechanical devices used to drill

boreholes, extract soil samples, and facilitate in situ tests
Advantages
 Quick
 Can drill through any type of soil or rock
 Can drill to depths of 7500 m
 Undisturbed samples can easily be recovered
Soils Exploration Methods

Rotary rigs.
Disadvantages
 Expensive equipment
 Terrain must be accessible to motorized vehicle
 Difficulty in obtaining location of groundwater level
 Additional time required for setup and cleanup.
Sampling
 Undisturbed samples
 Disturbed samples
SAMPLING
Undisturbed samples, are obtained by techniques
which aim at preserving the in-situ structure and water
content of the soil.
 required mainly for shear strength and consolidation
tests
In boreholes, undisturbed samples can be obtained
by withdrawing the boring tools and driving or
pushing a sample tube into the soil at the bottom of
the hole.
SAMPLING
When the tube is brought to the surface, some soil is
removed from each end and molten wax is applied, in thin
layers, to form a seal approximately 25mm thick: the ends of
the tube are then covered by protective caps.
Undisturbed block samples can be cut by hand from the
bottom or sides of a trial pit. During cutting, the samples
must be protected from water, wind and sun to avoid any
change in water content: the samples should be covered with
molten wax immediately they have been brought to the
surface.
A disturbed sample is one having the same particle
size distribution as the in-situ soil but in which the soil
structure has been significantly damaged or completely
destroyed; also the water content may be different from
that of the in-situ soil.
 mainly for soil classification tests, visual
classification and compaction tests,
 can be excavated from trial pits or obtained from
the tools used to advance boreholes (e.g. from
augers and the clay cutter).
Samplers
• Open drive sampler
• Thin-walled sampler
• Split-barrel sampler
• Stationary piston sampler
• Continuous sampler
• Window sampler
Sampling tubes that are in common use have been
designed to minimize sampling disturbances.
Measures to check disturbance
• recovery ratio
• Inside clearance
• Outside clearance
• Area ratio
Recovery ratio is defined as L/z, where L is the length of
the sample and z is the distance that the sampler was
pushed.
A recovery ratio of 1 (recovered length of the sample = the
length sampler was forced into the stratum) indicates that,
theoretically, the sample did not become compressed from
friction on the tube. A recovery ratio greater than 1.0
would indicate a loosening of the sample from
rearrangement of stones, roots, removal of preload, or
other factors.
Inside clearance Ci:

The internal diameter of the cutting edge (D1) should be

approximately 1 to 3 % smaller than that of the tube to
reduce frictional resistance between the tube and the
sample. This size difference also allows for slight elastic
expansion of the sample on entering the tube and
assists in sample retention.
Outside clearance Co:

The external diameter of the cutting shoe (D4) should be

slightly greater than that of the tube to reduce the force
required to withdraw the tube. IS 1892-1979
recommends the outside clearance should lie between 0
to 2%.
Outside clearance will help reduce friction while driving
the sampler and withdrawing it after collecting the
sample.
The volume of soil displaced by the sampler as a
proportion of the sample volume is represented by the
area ratio (Ar) of the sampler,

The area ratio is generally expressed as a percentage.

Other factors being equal, the lower the area ratio, the
lower the degree of sample disturbance. Well-designed
sample tubes should have an area ratio of less than
about 10 percent.
SOILS EXPLORATION PROGRAM
A detailed soils exploration consists of:
1. Determining the need for and extent of geophysical
exploration.
2. Preliminary location of each borehole and/or test pit.
3. Numbering of the boreholes or test pits.
4. Planned depth of each borehole or test pit.
5. Methods and procedures for advancing the
boreholes.
SOILS EXPLORATION PROGRAM
6. Sampling instructions for at least the first borehole.
The sampling instructions must include the number
of samples and possible locations.
7. Determining the need for and types of in situ tests.
8. Requirements for groundwater observations.
Number and Depths of Boreholes
The number and depths of borings should cover the
zone of soil that would be affected by the structural
loads. In most cases, the number and depths of borings
are governed by experience based on the geological
character of the ground, the importance of the structure,
the structural loads, and the availability of equipment.
The number of boreholes should be adequate to detect
variations of the soils at the site.
Number and Depths of Boreholes
If the locations of the loads on the footprint of the
structure are known, at least one borehole at the
location of the heaviest load should be drilled. As a
guide, a minimum of three boreholes should be drilled
for a building area of about 250 m2 and about five for a
building area of about 1000 m2
Number and Depths of Boreholes
Some general guidance on the depth of boreholes :
 In compressible soils such as clays, the borings should
penetrate to at least between 1 and 3 times the width of
the proposed foundation below the depth of embedment
or until the stress increment due to the heaviest
foundation load is less than 10%, whichever is greater.
 In very stiff clays and dense, coarse-grained soils,
borings should penetrate 5 m to 6 m to prove that the
thickness of the stratum is adequate.
Number and Depths of Boreholes

 Borings should penetrate at least 3 m into rock.

 Borings must penetrate below any fills or very soft
deposits below the proposed structure.
 The minimum depth of boreholes should be 6 m
unless bedrock or very dense material is
encountered.
Site investigation Report
 Introduction
 Borehole logs
 Field and laboratory test results
 Analysis of data
 Recommendations
 References
Site investigation Report
 Introduction
• Nature of project and scope of investigation
• Location and description of site
• Tests carried out in field and laboratory
• Site plan showing locations of boreholes and
other field tests
 Borehole logs
• Name of project and location, including street
name.
• Location of boring—station and offset.
• Date boring was performed.
• Surface elevation.
• Depth and thickness of each stratum, with fill
pattern to quickly identify different soil types.
• Depths at which samples were collected and in
situ tests were conducted, with sample type or
test numbers.
 Borehole logs
• Result of important laboratory and field test
results
• Soil classification of each stratum.
• Depth to water (if encountered).
Site investigation Report
• Analysis of data
• Reference to borelogs to determine soil
stratification
• RLs of natural water levels and refusal if
encountered
• Range of soil parameters for demarcated
zones
• Computations necessary for recommendations
related to foundation details
Thank You