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Site exploration and

characterization
•structural engineers know the engineering properties (strength, modulus of
elasticity, etc.) of the material (steel, concrete) they are working with, based on
the material they are using.
•however, geotechnical engineers work with soil, which is a natural material with
unknown engineering properties.
• thats why geotechnical engineers spend most of their time identifying the types
of soils on a site and evaluating their engineering properties (i.e. strength,
consolidation characteristics, compaction characteristics, hydraulic conductivity
etc.)
Site Exploration
•The elements of a site investigation generally should provide the following:
1) Information to determine the type of foundation required (shallow
or deep)
2) Information to allow the geotechnical consultant to make a
recommendation on the allowable load capacity of the foundation
3) Sufficient data/laboratory tests to make settlement predictions
4) Location of the ground water table
5) Informatin so that identification and solution of construction
problems (sheeting and dewatering or rock excavation, etc..) can be
made
6) Information to identify potential problems (settlements, existing
damage, etc..)
7) Information to identify environmental problems

•but how do we accomplish those goals?


Site Exploration
 Possible construction problems in advance (sheeting,
dewatering, slope instability etc.)
Site Exploration
 Possible construction problems in advance (sheeting,
dewatering, slope instability etc.)
Site Exploration
 Potential geotechnical problems concerning adjacent structures
Site Exploration Phases
 Planning
 The desk study and walk-over survey
 Subsurface exploration:
 boring, drilling, probing and trial pitting
 engineering geophysics
 Sampling and sample disturbance
 Laboratory testing
 In situ testing
 Writing a report
Location, number and depth of borings
 Where should be the b.h’s drilled?
 Importance of the building
 Shape and size of the structure
 Cost is affordable
 Depends on soil conditions
 General rules for required depth of borings
 Reach to stable layers, penetrate through all stable layers (Be careful when
stiff and dense layers are underlain by soft deposits)
 If structures are to be built on a deep soft deposit, the borings must penetrate
to a certain depth where consolidation settlement is negligible.
 Bedrock (if accessible) should be differentiated from boulders (penetrate into
bedrock for a minimum depth of 2*3m)
 The following rules may be used as guide for required depth of exploration
below various structures
Location, number and depth of borings
 General rules for required depth of borings?
 The depth of exploration should not be less than 10 m below the
actual foundation level unless rock is encountered.
To Make a Decision of
Remember that there is not a “unique” answer regarding the number and depth of
borings.
 Depth of bore holes depends on
 type of superstructure
 loads of superstructure
 envisaged type of foundation
 depth of borings are usually selected such that the effective vertical stress
change due to the new construction is insignificant (i.e. less than 10% of the
initial vertical effective stress-De Beer’s Rule).
 Number of bore holes depends on
 importance degree of superstructure
 knowledge about site soils (soil variability)
 budget for site investigation
 size of the project
• try to locate the borings where structural loads are expected.
Determination of Soil Profile
SAND h1

CLAY h2

SAND h3

h4

2~3 m
~1 m

TP-1
 Number of borings
 Coordinates of borings
BH-1 BH-3  Topographic plan
BH-5
TP-2

BH-2 BH-4
Location, number and depth of borings
For a building with a width of 30m
Augering
Washboring
Exploratory Borings
• usually subsurface explorations are performed using a drilling rig
to drill borings.

• these borings typically are


8cm-60cm in diameter, and
3m-30m deep.
Truck mounted drilling
• caving occurs when the sides of boring fall in (could occur in sandy soils, hollow
stem auger could be used).
• squeezing occurs when the soil moves inward reducing the diameter of the
boring (could occur in soft saturated clays, casing could be used).
Subsurface Exploration: boring, drilling, probing
Soil sampling
1) disturbed sampling (bulk or bag samples): obtained from
cuttings emerged from the drilling operation.
• Grain size analysis
• Determination of liquid and plastic limits
• Specific gravity of soil solids
• Organic content determination
• Classification of soil
Cannot be used for consolidation and shear
strength tests
2) undisturbed sampling: intact soil samples in terms of soil
fabric, obtained by shelby tubes shown in the figure.
Sampling and Sample Disturbance
Generally, samples of two types are specified
 Undisturbed samples; generally taken by cutting blocks of soil or
rock, or by pushing or driving tubes into the ground.
 Disturbed samples; are taken from cuttings produced by the
drilling process.
Soil disturbance can occur during
 drilling
 sampling
 transportation and storage
 preparation for testing
The mechanisms associated with this disturbance can be classified as
 changes in stress conditions
 mechanical deformation
 changes in water content and voids ratio
 chemical changes
Sampling and Sample Disturbance
Undisturbed sampling techniques
 Drive samplers are pushed into the soil without rotation, displacing
the soil as they penetrate.
 They generally have a sharp cutting edge at their base.
 In contrast, rotary samplers have a relatively thick and blunt cutting
surface, which has hard inclusions of tungsten or diamond set into
it.
 The sampler is rotated and pushed gently downwards, cutting and
grinding the soil away beneath it.
 Undisturbed sampling is generally not possible in granular soils.

Shelby type tube


Laboratory Testing
 Classification Tests
 Particle size distribution test
 Hydrometer test
 Plasticity test
 Specific gravity determination
 Strength and Stiffness Tests
 California bearing ratio (CBR) test
 Franklin point load test
 Laboratory vane test
 Direct shear test
 Unconfined compression test
 Triaxial test
 Consolidation Tests
 the oedometer (Terzaghi 1923; Casagrande 1936)
 the triaxial apparatus (Bishop and Henkel 1962)
 the hydraulic consolidation cell (Rowe and Barden 1966)
Determination of gwt

•location of gwt is very important in foundation


design.

•you can simply install an observation well, once


gwt level becomes stable, lower a probe and
determine the gwt depth.
Laboratory Testing
 Classification Tests

Casagrande Fall cone Plastic limit


cup apparatus apparatus test

Set of sieves

Drying oven Specific Gravity test Precision balance


Laboratory Testing
 Strength and Stiffness Tests

Point load test

Laboratory vane test

CBR test

Direct shear test Unconfined compression test


Laboratory Testing
 Triaxial Tests
In-Situ Testing
•there is always the question of which is better, laboratory testing or in-situ testing for
geotechnical investigation of a site. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

• advantages of in-situ testing:


1) even though we called “undisturbed”, there is some amount of sample disturbance
depending on the type of soil during sampling for lab tests. e.g. for sandy soils it is very
difficult or very expensive to obtain “undrained” samples.
2) in-situ testing is usually less expensive compared to lab tests.
3) test results are available immediately

•disadvantages of in-situ testing:


1) variable or unknown boundary conditions such as drainage conditions, and confining
pressure.
2) in-situ test results are most frequently converted to geotechnical parameters such as
internal friction angle, unit weight etc. via empirical(tecrubeye dayanan, gozlemsel) correlations
that may not be accurate.
FIELD TESTS
MAJOR FIELD TESTS

 Standard Penetration Test (SPT).


 Cone Penetration Test (CPT).
 Coring of Rocks
 Vane shear test (VST).
 The Pressure-meter Test (PMT).
 The Plate Load Test (PLT).
 Geophysical Methods
FIELD TESTS
Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
•one of the most commonly used in-situ test, but also one of the least accurate due to the
variations in procedure and poor workmanship.

• procedure for the SPT:


1) drill a 60mm to 200mm hole to the depth of interest,
2) attach the SPT sampler (see figure below) to the drill rods and lower it to the bottom of the hole,
3) 63.5kg hammer is raised 76cm and allowed to repeatedly fall freely to drive the sampler into the
bottom of the hole. Record the number of hammer blows to drive the sampler in to the ground
for the intervals of 15cm (15 cm,30cm and 45cm). Stop the test if more than 50 blows are
required for any of the intervals, or if more than 100 total blows are required. Either of these
events is known as ‘Refusal’ and is so noted on the boring log.
4) compute the N value by subtracting the blow counts for the first 15cm from the total number of
blow counts (for 45 cm),
5) remove the SPT sampler from the bore hole and save the soil sample. Note that samples obtained
by SPT sampler are considered as “disturbed” samples.
6) drill the boring to the next test depth and repeat the procedure.
The Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
The Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

SPT spoon
The Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

The boring log shows refusal and the test is halted if


1. 50 blows are required for any 150-mm increment.
2. 100 blows are obtained (to drive the required 300 mm).
3. 10 successive blows produce no advance.

When the test carried out in very fine sand or silty sand below the water table the
measured N value, if greater than 15, should be corrected for the increased resistance
due to negative excess pore pressure set up during driving and unable to dissipate
immediately. The corrected value is given by:

N’ = 15+1/2(N-15)
The Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
The standard blow count N60 can be computed from the
measured N as follows:
ER
N 60  N x xCB xCS xCR
0.6
( N1 ) 60  N 60 xC N
 N=measured SPT N value
 N60= SPT N value corrected for 60% energy efficiency and field procedures
 (N1)60 = SPT N value corrected for 60% energy efficiency and field procedures, and overburden correction
 CN = correction factor for overburden pressure
 σv´is the effective overburden pressure of the test location (in kPa)
 ER = hammer energy ratio
 CB = correction factor for borehole diameter
 CS = correction factor for samplers with and without liners
 CR = correction factor for rod length
The Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
Uses of SPT data and
correlations

• remember that SPT is an in-situ test,


which does not directly measure any of the
engineering properties or design
parameters for a soil.

• but there are empirical correlations


available between SPT blow count and
different soil properties such as Dr or f' .

•suspect and be cautious when using SPT


correlations, especially in clayey soils.
Remember that all of such correlations are
very approximate.
The Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
The SPT has been used in correlations for unit weight g, relative density
Dr , angle of internal friction f, and undrained compressive strength qu.
The Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
•developed in Europe in early 20th century and becoming increasingly popular,

•a truck-mounted cone is pushed into the


ground at constant rate.
•two things are measured
1) cone resistance (qc)
2) cone side friction (fsc)
3) pore pressures (u) can also be
measured with a “piezo cone”

• in practice side friction could be


expressed in terms of friction ratio, Rf

Rf (%)= fsc /qc .100


•note that no soil sample is recovered during CPT, hence inspection of soil samples is not
possible.

•can not be used in gravelly soils.


The Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
The cone penetration test is carried out in its simplest form by
hydraulically pushing a 60° cone, with a face area of 10cm2 (35.7mm dia.),
into the ground at a constant speed (2 ± 0.5 cm/s) whilst measuring the
force necessary to do so.

Both electrical and mechanical means of measuring cone resistance and side
friction are currently used, with the shape of the cone differing
considerably according to the method in use. The cone is driven from
ground surface, without making a borehole, using a special mobile
hydraulic penetrometer rig.

CPT is an invasive soil test that defines soil strata type, soil properties, and
strength parameters. It is highly repeatable, insensitive to operators, and best
suited for uncemented soils, sands, or clay.
The Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
The Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
The Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
correlations with CPT data
•the good thing about CPT is that you can take continuous measurements through different
soil profiles (unlike SPT)
The Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
The Cone Penetration Test (CPT)

CPT data correlated to soil type and equivalent SPT-N.


(After Robertson, P.K. and Campanella, R.E.,
1983,Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 20, No. 4)
Uses of CPT data and
correlations

• similar to SPT, CPT is an in-situ test,


which does not directly measure any of
the engineering properties or design
parameters for a soil.

• but there are empirical correlations


available between CPT resistance and
different soil properties such as Dr , f'
, soil classification.

•CPT data can also be used in deep


foundation design as well.
The Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
The Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
In cohesive soils, the CPT is routinely used to determine both undrained shear
strength and compressibility. In a similar way to the bearing capacity of a
foundation, cone resistance is a function of both overburden pressure (σv) and
undrained shear strength (cu):

Nk is not a constant, but depends upon cone type, soil type,


overconsolidation ratio, degree of cementing
The Nk value in an overconsolidated clay will be higher than in the same clay
when normally consolidated. Therefore it is normal to use area-specific
values of Nk to calculate cu. Typically, Nk varies from 15 to 20 (Bowles, 2002).
Field Vane Test
Early geotechnical engineers found difficulty in determining the
shear strength of very soft and sensitive clays by means of
laboratory tests, as a result of the disturbance induced by poor-
quality samplers. These difficulties led to the development of the
vane shear test. This device made it possible for the first time to
determine the in situ shear strength and sensitivity of a soft clay.

Once the vane has been pushed into the ground, it is rotated at a
slow rate. Torsional force is measured, and is then converted to
unit shearing resistance by assuming the geometry of the shear
surface, and the shear stress distribution across it.
Field Vane Test
Field Vane Test

Undrained shear strength from vane test; cuv


cuv = Tmax/(πD2 (H/2+D/2)),
H/D is usually kept as 2 so;
cuv = 6 Tmax/ 7π D3

cuv-design = l . cuv
Field Vane Test
Field Vane Test
Pressuremeter Test
The pressuremeter was developed in France in the early 1950s (Ménard
1957). In its earliest form it was (and remains today) a simple, robust
mechanical tool, well-adapted to use in routine investigations.

Pressuremeter tests can be carried out both in soils and in rocks. The
pressuremeter probe, which is a cylindrical device designed to apply uniform
pressure to the ground via a flexible membrane, is normally installed
vertically, thus loading the ground horizontally.

The aim of pressuremeter test is to obtain information on the stiffness, and


in weaker materials on the strength of the ground, by measuring the
relationship between radial pressure and the resulting deformation.
Pressuremeter Test
Pressuremeter Test
Pressuremeter Test
Field Load Test
Field Load Test
 The ultimate load capacity and allowable bearing capacity of
foundation can be effectively determined.
 Generally referred as ‘Plate Load Test’
 The plates used in the tests are made of steel generally with
the dimensions of :
• 25mm thick and 150 to 722 mm in diameter
Or
• square plates with 305x305 mm
Field Load Test
 A hole is excavated with a minimum diameter of 4B
(B=diameter of the test plate) up to a depth of Df (Df=depth
of the proposed foundation)
 Load is applied in steps by means of a jack
 At least 1 hour elapses after application of each step load
before the next load is applied
 The test should be conducted until failure or at least until the
plate has gone through 25 mm of settlement.

qu(F)=ultimate bearing capacity of the proposed foundation


qu(P)=ultimate bearing capacity of the test plate
SF= settlement of foundation
SP=settlement of plate
Field Load Test
 For tests in clay;

qu(F)=qu(P)

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