Module III - GEOTECHNICAL SOIL INVESTIGATION

By:

ENGR. STANLEY E. UBI Ph.D, FNSE, FNICE

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF CROSS RIVER
CALABAR.
Geotechnical Site Investigation
INTRODUCTION

Proper designs and constructions of all civil

engineering structures
• depend on detailed knowledge and
application of the soil materials
• soil being very common to all aspects of
civil engineering are used as foundation.
• The performance, economy and safety of
any these structures ultimately are
affected or even controlled by its
foundation
• Soil exploration happens to be one of the
most important parts of Foundation
Engineering and at the same time the
most neglected part of it.
• to achieve the necessary design
objectives, it is imperative for concerned
engineers to have a detailed and in-depth
knowledge of the soil behavior and their
engineering characteristics as foundation
and engineering construction materials
 Introduction
What is a geotechnical soil investigation?

Soil investigation is a process of site

exploration
• consisting of
• boring,
• sampling and testing so as
• to obtain geotechnical information
• for a safe, practical and economical
geotechnical evaluation and design.
 Planning Geotechnical
Investigations
• After the project has been initiated, the
first phase of any geotechnical
investigation should consist of a
• desk review of available geotechnical
information and project specific
requirements and information.
• This information is vital to planning an
efficient, cost-effective field investigation.
 The information is used to do
: the following
• Determine the nature of scope of the
geotechnical field investigation.
• Select proper field equipment
• Estimate manpower, time and total costs.
• Select field reference system for geotechnical
reports
• Determine site conditions that may restrict or
limit the investigation.
• A preliminary site reconnaissance is to be
made to physically examine land forms,
drainage,erosion features, etc.
 Preliminary Investigation
• The finding of the work will be presented in the
preliminary investigation report.
• The data should be presented in the form that
enables the Client to assess the economic effect
the soil bed rock and groundwater may have on
the viability of the project.
• After this information is obtained and studied, a
preliminary boring plan should be developed.
The boring plan should contain information on the
following:
• Type, number, and location of proposed test holes.
• Estimated depth, type of testing, and sampling
interval for each hole.
• Source of drilling water
• Instruction for communication and sample
handling.
 Detailed Geotechnical
Investigation
• Upon completion of the preliminary investigation a
review of other planning concept design information
is undertaken and thus specifies work scopes for the
Detailed Geotechnical Investigation shall include:
• Field Exploration
• The pattern of the borehole drilling should be agreed
between the geotechnical consultant and the design
engineer.
• The nature of the project to be designed and the
known subsurface conditions of the area usually
dictate the location, spacing and depth of the test
holes.
• The drilling of the boreholes should be carried out
by an experienced drill crew using the type of
equipment best suited for terrain and anticipated soil
conditions.
• The method by which the test hole has
been made must be clearly stated as
part of the field procedure.
• Shell and auger borings can be carried
out in all types of soil since the boreholes
can be lined where required with steel
casing tubes, and a wide variety of tools
are used for different soil and rock types.
 Depth of boring
• For structural foundations especially for high-rise
buildings, minimum number of one boring per
substructure unit is a must.
• Borings should be carried through unsuitable
foundation soils (such as peats, highly organic soils,
soft fine grained soils, loose coarse grained soils,
etc) into competent material of suitable bearing
capacity;
• and to depths where added stress due to estimated
footing load is less than 10percent of the existing
effective soil overburden stress
• and/or to a minimum of 3 metres into bedrock if
bedrock is encountered at a shallower depth.
 Field Sampling
• The purpose of drilling and sampling programme is
to obtain samples that reasonably represent
subsurface conditions over the entire project site.
• The frequency and type of sampling may be varied
by the requirements of the project, but should be
under the control of the geotechnical consultant.
Normally, standard sampling
• is carried out at 0.75m intervals initially, with a
spacing often increasing to 1.5m intervals below
4.5m or 6m depth if conditions warrant such
increase.
• SPT samples should be taken at 1.5m intervals and
at significant changes in soil strata.
 FIELD SAMPLING CONTD.
• U100 tests or undisturbed sampling should be
taken in cohesive strata and representative jar
samples laboratory classified for verification of
field visual soil identification.
• For foundation investigations coring a minimum
of 3m into the rock should be done’
• Soil samples and rock cores obtained represent a
considerable investment of time and money. The
samples should be properly labeled, transported,
and stored.
• The samples should be protected from shock,
large temperature changes, and moisture loss.
 Benefits of a soil investigation
The primary purpose therefore of a
geotechnical investigation is to
• provide design engineers with knowledge
of subsurface conditions at a specific
project site.
• Also provide the construction project
engineers and contractors with information
concerning the materials and conditions
that may be encountered in the field.
 Sampling Methods
Sampling type and frequency is dependent upon both the
type of material encountered and the purposes of the
investigation. There are basically two types of sampling
methods. These are:
• Disturbed Samples
• Undisturbed Samples
• Disturbed Samples are used for identification tests

• Undisturbed Samples are used to determine shear

strength and consolidation characteristics, permeability
etc. of soils.
 Field Testing
• Field testing must be carried out in accordance with
recognized practice or in accordance
• with special instructions set out by the equipment
manufacturers.
Types of test normally done include
• standard penetration,
• Dutch cone penetration tests
• in-situ vane tests.
• Other tests as plate load tests etc.
The CPT test can provide in-situ soil strength
parameters
Major drawbacks of CPT are that the samples are not
recoverable
 Laboratory Testing of Samples
• May range from a simple moisture
content determination to specialized
strength and stiffness testing.
• Testing can be expensive and time
consuming
• The geotechnical engineer should
recognize the project issues ahead of
time so as to optimize the testing
programme particularly strength and
consolidation testing.
 Laboratory Testing
• Laboratory testing must be performed
by trained and qualified technicians
working under the control of an
experienced geotechnical engineer.
• Samples shall be clearly identified as
to project,
• borehole number, and location, depth
of sample taken, and specific test
required.
• test results should be included in the
finalized geotechnical report.
 Soil Classification Tests
• Determination of moisture content
• Determination of Atterberg limits e.g
L.L, P.L, S.L
• Determination of the specific gravity
of soil solids Gs
• Determination of the particle-size
distribution, -Wet sieving,Dry sieving
Hydrometer method for cohesive soils
• Disturbed samples are usually used
for the above analyses.
 Geotechnical Analysis
• Combines the information obtained from the
geotechnical field investigation and laboratory test
results
• Analysis should alert designers, contractors and
construction personnel of potential problems and
provide economical solutions with consideration
given to alternatives.
• Finally, the analysis should provide an assessment
of risk associated with each of the possible
solutions.
The quality of the analysis depends on several factors.
• Knowledge of engineering principles and
• practical experience in application of these
principles
• a clear understanding of the project details.
 GEOTECHNICAL REPORT
A report is the final document of the whole
exercise of soil exploration
• A report should be comprehensive, clear
and to the point.
• A report writer should be knowledgeable in
the principle of soil mechanics, practical
and pragmatic
• It is the experience of a number of years of
practical challenges in the field that helps
a geotechnical consultant make report
writing an art
 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
(GEOTECHNICAL REPORT)
• The results of a geotechnical field investigation are
presented formally in a geotechnical report comprising of
the Factual Data and the Report Recommendations.
The factual data comprises
• the terms of reference,
• details of the field investigation procedures,
• results of the field investigation,
• result of the field testing,
• records of groundwater observations,
• laboratory test results, site plan and inferred soil
stratigraphy, etc.
• This portion of the report should not include any
conclusions derived from the factual data.
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
• Recommendations may cover a variety of activities,
such as alternative founding types depths/elevations
with recommended design bearing values, pile
design considerations, estimate of potential
settlements, discussion of analyses used, listing of
all major assumptions and/or data used for analyses,
design and construction recommendations.
• The recommendations should be made with due
consideration to the construction proposed by the
user, in order to provide the most economic viable
alternatives available for construction.
• The report is a necessary tool for the planner,
designer and for those contractors who specialize in
excavation and foundations.

• The part of the report containing factual information

shall be incorporated in the tendering documents.
 Intended Purpose of a
geotechnical report
• The purpose of the geotechnical report is to transmit
and document all pertinent geotechnical information
in a systematic, concise format with specific design
recommendations and alternatives.
• All geotechnical reports should be consistent and
organized to follow the same general structure to
allow for familiarity by even the occasional reader. A
good final report should be prepared to follow the
following topic areas:
• Introduction
• Field Investigation Programme
• Laboratory testing
• Geology of the site area
• Prevailing Site condition
• Groundwater condition
• Subsoil Condition
• Analyses of test results
• Discussion of Test Results and Recommendations
• Appendices and Attachments (as required)
• Recommendation in the report should be concise
and directed to the preferred alternatives.
• All necessary information required to design and
construct the recommended alternative should be
provided and all reference literature cited.
• Areas where special treatment may be required must
be identified and recommendation on the type of
treatment or corrective action to be taken must be
emphasized.
• The appendixes of a geotechnical
report should contain
• laboratory test results, boring logs/CPT
plots, field test data used to generate
the report.
• Specific calculations would not
normally be included, but all standard
terminology and reference charts used
to prepare the report may be included.