Subsurface Utility Engineering &

Geophysical Investigations

No Dig India Show 2011

13th to 15th December , New Delhi

A Presentation By

Dr. Sanjay Rana

PARSAN Overseas (P) Limited
707, Eros Apartments, 569, Nehru Place,
New Delhi 110019
PARSAN………Subsurface Utility Engineering & Geophysical Investigations

Presented at: ADB Training Program, August 2011

Presented by: Dr. Sanjay Rana, Director, PARSAN Overseas (P) Limited
OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

•About PARSAN
•Why Use Geophysics
•Application Areas
•Seismic Refraction
•Ground Penetrating Radar
•Electrical Tomography
•Case Studies
•Conclusions
About PARSAN……
PARSAN OVERSEAS
An ISO 9001:2000 certified geophysical company having international associations for access to
latest technology with:
M/s TerraDat, UK
M/s Radar Systems Inc., Riga
M/s T&A Survey, Netherlands
Landtech Enterprises SA & Earth Research (UK) Ltd
Recognized as a leader in region for launching new technology. Responsible for launch of:
Ground Penetrating Radar Technology- 1996
Shear Wave Seismic Refraction- 1997
High Resolution Seismic Tomography- 1998
Inclusion of GPR as mandatory survey before trench less projects- 2001
Passive Seismic Tomography for Oil Exploration- 2008
Innovative use of geophysical methods for high resolution non-destructive testing of dams

Highly experienced and trained staff.

Working in India, Singapore, Oman, Afghanistan, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran,
Algeria, Georgia…….
ABOUT SPEAKER
Professional Geophysicist, with 20 years of work experience. Gold
Medalist, University of Roorkee (Now IIT-Roorkee)
Pioneered use of GPR in India in 1996.
Have conducted 28 training programs on GPR for various companies in 4
countries.
Experienced of working with most of the available GPR models like
GSSI, Mala, Sensor & Software, Pipe Hawk, and Zond. Overseas GPR
experience- Canada, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Afghanistan and
Bahrain.
Conducted first ever city level utility mapping project for city of Tirupur,
way back in 1999.
Various Papers & Publications, including “Advanced Technologies for
Preparation of Utility Maps of Cities”, which initiated many projects in
India.
Expert panel members of various organizations.
About SUE……
 Existing Underground Utilities are the
Veins and Arteries of our
Cities and Roads
And yet, we know very little
about where they are

Communication
Gas
Petroleum
Sewerage
Drainage
Power
Water
 WHY?

We keep adding and changing utilities

We don’t keep good records

Expansion
Modernization
Changing Utility Technology
Changing Facility Missions
Referenced to changed
topo features
No centralized records
storage
No standard format
No responsibility
 WHERE DO WE GET UTILITY
INFO?

Old Project Plans (As-Designed)

Old Project Plans (Red-Lined)

Utility Records (As-Designed)

Utility Records (As-Built)
Visual Observation
Field Survey
Maintenance Records
Repair Records
THE ENGINEER USES THESE SOURCES TO
COMPILE A UTILITY COMPOSITE THAT
OVERLAYS THE NEW DESIGN

Nowadays, we frequently
digitize this data into a
CADD or GIS System…

This can result in even more errors

 THE ENGINEER ENDS UP
WITH UTILITY DATA OF
UNKNOWN RELIABILITY
I think the gas line is here, but
I’m not really sure. It might be in
conflict with this proposed piling.
This makes it
extremely difficult to
manage the risks that I guess we’ll let the
are created by contractor worry
existing underground about that !
utilities
 WHAT ARE THESE RISKS?

Utility Damages
Affecting the Safety of
Construction crews, or the
Public

The
Telecommunications
and other industries
recognize this
THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER RISKS
TOO

Money TIME
Project delays
Detours

Redesign costs
Higher construction bids
Change orders
Extra work orders Intangibles
Construction Claims
Higher insurance costs Bad publicity
Higher financing costs
 Fortunately, there’s a way
to handle this risk

SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING

 S.U.E. COMBINES TRADITIONAL
ENGINEERING PRACTICES, SUCH AS …..

Utility Records Research

Relocation Cost Estimates

Utility Design/Relocation Design

Plotting of Utilities from Records
WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Utility Designating
via
Surface Geophysical
Methods
 Utility Locating
Via Non-Destructive
Vacuum Exposure
 THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
ADVANCEMENT IS THE
UTILITY QUALITY LEVEL
ATTRIBUTE
• Quality Level Attributes are attached to plotted utilities

• They indicate how utility data was developed

• Reliability and Accountability are defined

 The least reliable utility data

“QUALITY LEVEL D”

Plotted on plans from records.

Sometimes a field visit - to look for utility indications on the
site - is made.
Sometimes “verbal recollections” are plotted.

This level of effort

is great for Project
Planning purposes,
utility “inventories,”
and very preliminary
utility relocation cost
estimates
 “Quality Level C”
The “traditional” utility depiction

Surface Appurtenances are surveyed and accurately plotted on a current

site plan
Utility data from records (QL D) are correlated to the appurtenances

Problems with records

interpretations still exist: e.g.
schematics, no appurtenances
depicted, utilities not straight
between appurtenances, no
records exist, and so on.
 “Quality Level B”
A significant upgrade in quality

Surface Geophysical Methods used to search for and trace existing

utilities.
Designated utilities are then surveyed and plotted on site plan.

Non-recorded utilities found.

Utilities’ routes between
appurtenances are imaged.

Typically used in early

preliminary design for
construction footprint
decisions.
 “Quality Level A”
A guarantee in 3-D

Utilities exposed via non-destructive air-vacuum means

Exposed utilities are then surveyed and plotted on site plan
Elevations, Size, Condition, Materials, Precise Horizontal
Positions are measured and documented

Typically used in final design

stages. Allows small
adjustments in design for big
savings in construction
QL A AND QL B UPGRADES HAVE
BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN REDUCING
RISK ON TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF INFRASTRUCTURE
PROJECTS.

THIS IS A TRIED
AND TRUE
PROCESS
YET, SUE HAS NOT BEEN USED AS A PROFESSIONAL
STANDARD PRACTICE IN SOME AREAS FOR MANY
REASONS.

No concerted local or regional effort to educate project

owners or engineers of benefits
Lack of interest by agencies
Development of SUE has been primarily in developed
countries
Few providers
Lack of a well defined standard of care created little
incentive for changing the status-quo
 A January 2000 FHWA / Purdue University study
(Publication No. FHWA-IF-00-014) states the
following:

“A savings of $4.62 for every $1.00 spent on SUE was

quantified from a total of 71 projects. These projects
had a combined construction value in excess of $1
billion. The costs of obtaining Quality Level “B” (QL
B) and Quality Level “A” (QL A) data on these 71
projects were less than 0.5 percent of the total
construction costs, and it resulted in a construction
savings of 1.9 percent over traditional Quality Level C
(QL C) and/or Quality Level D (QL D) data.” .62 for
every $1.00 spent on SUE
 One individual project had a $206.00 to $1.00
return on investment (North Carolina DOT).

The simple conclusion of this study is that SUE is a

viable technologic practice that reduces project costs
related to the risks associated with existing
subsurface utilities and, when used in a systematic
manner, will result in significant quantifiable and
qualitative benefits.
Geophysical
Subsurface
Investigations……
WHY USE
GEOPHYSICS…….
Low Cost
Rapid Coverage
No Exposure to buried hazards
Non Destructive
Minimal Surface Disturbance
Easy to integrate
Integrated capability
 GEOPHYSICS- HUGE
ROI...

Detailed investigation of site…Saving huge costs

towards changed plans, project delays when
surprises crop up….
No drilling, No digging…Vast information at
fraction of cost of traditional methods.
Early stage application…Better planning, smooth
execution.
 Method
Seismic Refraction
Resistivity Imaging
ReMi (Refraction Micro-tremor)
Crosshole/ downhole/ uphole
Seismic Reflection
Ground Penetrating Radar
Micro Gravity
Sensitive To... Typical Applications
Changes in strata type (soil, weathered Rock interface, overburden mapping,
rock, rock), rock quality (jointed, rock quality, degree of weathering/
weathered), elastic properties jointing, faults, fracture mapping
Soil-rock profile, water table
Moisture content variations, conductivity, determination, weak zone delineation,
water table, porosity detection of weak zones under rock
interface, buried channels.
Determination of shear wave profiles
Change in shear properties of medium (to determine liquefaction potential,
earthquake response)
Detailed analysis to obtain P and S
wave velocities with depth for
Difference in elastic properties.
dynamic moduli: Poisson’s Ration,
Variations in S Wave or P Wave velocity.
shear modulus, bulk modulus,
Young’s modulus
Detects interfaces, maps faults/
Difference in acoustic impedance
fractures/ water lenses/ shear zones
(velocity x density)
along tunnel routes
Detection of buried pipes and cables,
with exact location and depth. Also
Change in dielectric properties
used for inspection of concrete
structures.
Changes in Density of Subsurface Detection of buried voids/ cavities
Seismic
Refraction…….
BASIC PRINCIPLE……..
 Energy Sources……
• Explosives
• Sledge Hammer
• Weight Drop
• Buffalo Gun
• Etc……….
RECORDED DATA……
VELOCITY MODEL…….
VELOCITY MODEL…….
SEISMIC REFRACTION-
FEATURES
Precise determination of soil thickness.
Precise determination of seismic velocities.
Precise determination of water table in overburden.
Localization and identification of geological units.
Detailed analysis of soil.
Great accessibility to rough terrain and remote
regions.
SEISMIC REFRACTION-
APPLICATIONS
Bedrock profile, rock quality and depth.
Thickness of overburden
Fractures and weak zones
Topography of ground water
Rippability assessment in mines
Slope stability studies
Pipeline route studies
SEISMIC REFRACTION-
ADVANTAGES & LIMITATIONS
Advantages
Rapid ground coverage.
Only option in rough remote terrains.
Provides continuous profile of subsurface, critical for
engineering projects.
Estimation of Dynamic Elastic Moduli like Poisson’s
Ration, Young’s Modulus, Shear Modulus.
Limitations
Velocity increase with depth a pre-requisite
Hidden layer & Blind Zone anomalies
Ground Penetrating
Radar…..
BASIC PRINCIPLE………

Photographs: Georadar Inc.

HOW AN IMAGE IS
FORMED………
HYPERBOLA FORMATION………
FIELD EXAMPLE- PIPES………
DEPTH DETERMINATION………
EQUIPMENT………
FIELD OPERATION………
GPR- FEATURES………

Penetration of more than 40 meters in certain

formations (penetration dependent on conductivity
and frequency of antenna)
Data acquisition at walking speed.
Identification of objects measuring on few
centimeters.
Light portable equipment
Results available immediately
PAVEMENT ASSESSMENT…
REBARS…….
REBAR LAYERS……
ROAD SUBSIDENCE…..
CAVITY……
FRACTURES……
Electrical
Tomography…..
WHAT FOR……

Applications:
Determine the underground water resources
Bedrock quality and depth measurements
Mineral prospecting
Dam structure analysis
Landfill
Contamination source detection
Advantages:
Excellent 2-dimensional display of ground resistivity.
Delineation of small features like cavity, contamination
plumes, weak zones in structures like dams etc.
EXAMPLE……

Photo Courtesy: www.mragta.com

EXAMPLE……
CAVE/ CAVITY……
BOULDERS……
CONTAMINATION…….
Case Study
PROBLEM…….

Project site was for cable stayed bridge across a river.

A cavity was detected in otherwise massive sandstone,
while drilling.
It was of utmost importance to determine nature and
extent of this cavity before finalizing the design.
Investigations:
Geophysical investigations consisting of crosshole seismic
and electrical tomography were conducted to
determine depth and extent of the cavity.
RESULTS…….
Conclusions……….
CONCLUSIONS…….

SUE- Need of the hour for Utility Data

Management
Geophysical Techniques- Quick assessment of
subsurface conditions in non-destructive manne
Geophysical Techniques- Detailed and continuous
information as against drilling
Geophysical Techniques- Eliminates surprises
during project execution
Thanks for your attention

Dr. Sanjay Rana

sanjay@parsan.biz