ASSIGNMENT NO-20

GEOTECHNICAL SOIL
INVERSTIGATIONS FOR ROADS
BRIDGES AND BUILDINGS

BY GROUP- J
ASHISH KURVE
AKASH BAJARE
SARANG GOGTE
BHUSHAN KAMBALE

OBJECTIVE
Nature of soil deposit
Depth and thickness of various soil strata
Location of ground water table
Collection of soil and rock sample and determination of
engineering properties
In-situ properties by field test

WHAT IS THE NEED ?

To determine the type of foundation required for the proposed
project at the site, i.e. shallow foundation or deep foundation.
To make recommendations regarding the safe bearing capacity
or pile load capacity
Ultimately, it is the subsoil that provides the ultimate support for
the structures

The three important aspect are

Planning
Execution
Report writing
Planning
To minimize cost of explorations and yet give reliable data.
Decide on quantity and quality depending on type, size and
importance of project and whether investigation is preliminary
or detailed.

Execution:
Collection of disturbed and/or undisturbed samples of
subsurface strata from field.
Conducting in-situ tests of subsurface material and obtaining
properties directly or indirectly.
Study of ground water conditions and collection of sample for
chemical analysis.
Laboratory testing on samples

Report writing:
Description of site conditions topographic features, hydraulic
conditions, existing structures, etc. supplemented by
plans/drawings.
Description of nature, type and importance of proposed
construction
Description of field and lab tests carried out.
Analysis and discussion of data collected
Preparation of charts, tables, graphs, etc.
Calculations performed
Recommendations

SITE INVESTIGATION
A complete site investigation will consist of :
Preliminary work

 Collecting general information and already existing

data such as study of geologic , seismic maps, etc. at
or near site.
Study site history if previously used as quarry,
agricultural land, industrial unit, etc.
Site Reconnaissance: Actual site inspection.
To judge general suitability various tests and
Decide exploration techniques

METHODS OF EXPLORATION
Direct methods
Trial pits or Trenches
Semi-direct methods
Borings
Indirect methods
Penetration tests
Geophysical methods

DIRECT AND SEMI DIRECT METHODS

Test pits
Adopted for minor structures, Small buildings
Suitable upto small depths (< 2m)
Geotechnical characteristics of disturbed samples
Boring

 Used for exploration at greater depths where direct

methods fail
Provide both disturbed as well as undisturbed samples
depending upon the method of boring

The different types of boring methods are :

Auger boring
Wash boring
Rotary drilling
Percussion drilling

AUGER BORING
This method is fast and economical
Suitable for soft to stiff cohesive soils
Soil sample collected is disturbed
Not suitable for very hard or cemented soils, very soft soils, as
then the flow into the hole can occur
Used for advancing borehole into the ground
Suitable when the borehole is kept dry and unsupported
Hand operated (3-5 m) or power driven
Post hole and helical auger
Rotating and pressing mechanism
Testing of samples collected in the Auger

POWER DRIVEN AUGER BORING

WASH BORING
Suitability

 Exploration below GWT

For all soils except gravel and boulders
Technique
Making of hole for short depth using an auger
Installation of casing pipe (manually/power)
Installation of tripod, pulley and winch
Hollow drill bit screwed to a hollow drill rod connected to a
rope
passing over a pulley
The hollow drill bit assembly placed in the hole
Water is forced through the swivel and the drilling rod
using a
pump
the rods are rotated and also moved up and down either
manually or
with a mechanized rig
The loosened soil comes out of the borehole in the form of
slurry
through the annular space between the rod and side of
hole
The suspension is led to a settling tank where the soil
particle
settle
Water collected in the sump is re-circulated again

 Limitation
Very disturbed sample
Cannot be used for evaluation of engineering properties
Sample can be extracted by replacing the drilling bit with a
sampler

PERCUSSION DRILLING
Suitable for hard soil and soft rock where auger boring and wash
boring can not be employed
Hole is made using auger

 Installation of casing pipe

Heavy drill bit called Churn bit is attached to drill rods
Bore hole is extended by repeated blows of the drill bit using
winch system
Water is forced through the drill rod assembly for breaking stiff
soil or rock
Slurry removed by bailers
Method cannot be used in loose sand and is slow in plasticity
Formation gets badly disturbed by impact

ROTARY DRILLING
Suitable for rock strata and can also be used for sands and silt
Method is fast in rock formation
Drill bit fixed to drill rod is rotated by power
The soil collected in the drill bit can be removed and boring is
continued
Water/Bentonite slurry can be forced under pressure through
the drill rod
Rock cores may be obtained by using suitable diamond drill bit
PLANNING AN EXPLORATION PROGRAMME
Include:
Site plan of the area

 A layout plan of proposed structure with column location

and expected loads
Location of bore holes and field tests
SPT, Vane shear test

Planning of other field tests

SCPT, DCPT, Plate Load Test

Bore log data and different laboratory tests for evaluation

of strength and compressibility characteristics of different
soil
Grain size, Specific gravity, Plasticity, Triaxial shear
test, consolidation test
Spacing of boring:
depends on type, size, weight of proposed structure
Extent of variation in soil condition
Sl. No

Name of Project

Spacing , (m)

Highway

300-600

Earth dam

30-60

Borrow pit

30-120

Multistory building

15-30

Single story building

30-90

Depth of boring:
Type of structure
Should penetrate all strata that could consolidate

 For bridge and tall building the boring should extend to

rock
1.5 times the width of footing below foundation level
For embankment and dam
0.5 2 times the height
Single storey 3.5 m, Double storey 6.5 m
Depth of boring:
Type of structure
Should penetrate all strata that could consolidate
For bridge and tall building the boring should extend to
rock
1.5 times the width of footing below foundation level
For embankment and dam
0.5 2 times the height
Single storey 3.5 m, Double storey 6.5 m
In general soil samples are categorized as shown in figure

 Disturbed sample : In such sample natural soil structure is

modified or destroyed
If water content and mineral content are also modified then
it is a non-representative or remolded sample
If water content and mineral content are not modified then
it is representative sample

Undisturbed sample : Natural soil structure, water content

and mineral content are preserved

For the purpose of atterbergs limit, specific gravity, grain size

analysis either representative or undisturbed sample should be
used
Undisturbed sample are desired for coefficient of permeability,
consolidation parameter and shear strength parameter,
FIELD METHODS TO DETERMINE BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL
Plate load test

 Standard penetration test (SPT)

Static cone penetration test (SCPT)
Dynamic cone penetration test (DCPT)
Field vane shear test
PLATE LOAD TEST
Significance
Determination of allowable bearing capacity of sub soil
Suitable for gravel/boulder strata when SPT and DCPT does
not give dependable results
Also used to determine the modulus of subgrade reaction
(K) useful for design of pavements
Apparatus
Bearing plates
Square MS plates( 30, 45, 60 ,75 and 100 cm)
Circular plates (30 cm , 75 cm dia.)
Dial gauge (0.01 mm)
Magnetic base
Hydraulic jack
stop watch
Spirit level
Test location
Conducted at proposed foundation level
If GWT is above test level it is lowered down to test level
Selection of test plate

 Side of test plate atleast equal to 4 times the maximum

size of particle at the test level
Circular plates are used for circular footings and road
pavement
General size of plates are 30 cm, 45cm, 60cm, 75 cm or
100 cm
Test pit
Excavated upto the level of foundation for proposed
structure
Width of pit = 5 times the width of plate

 Procedure of test
Application of seating load of 0.07 kg/cm 2
Load removed after 5-10 min, Dial gauge is set to zero
The load is then applied in cumulative in equal increment
of 0.5 to 1 kg/cm2
For each increment, settlement are noted down at different
time interval of 1, 2.25, 4, 6.25, 9, 16, 25 min, 1hr, 2hr, till
the rate of settlement is not more than 0.02 mm/min, not
less than 1hr for sandy gravelly soils
In clays, the settlement measures are taken for 24 hours
for each load increment
Application of next higher load and the process is repeated

 Test is continued till a total settlement of 25 mm under

normal condition or 50 mm (under special condition like
dense gravel, gravel-sand mixture) is reached or till failure
occurs whichever is earlier
Calculation of final settlement corresponding to each
loading intensity (Average of settlement of all three or four
dial gauge readings)
When settlement does not reach 25 mm continue the test
till
settlement increases rapidly at a certain load
indicating shear failure
Total settlement is more than 10% of the width of
diameter of the plate
STANDARD PENETRATION TEST (SPT)
Significance
Determination of in-situ parameters of soil
Determination of bearing capacity
Apparatus
Augers, Split spoon sampler, Drive weight assembly, Arods, Tripod(fitted with winch and pulley), Boring guide
Procedure
Bore hole with hand auger up to about 1.5 m depth
sampler is seated through 150 mm by giving blows of 63.5
kg hammer falling freely through 750 mm height
Number of blows for 150 mm penetration is counted
Sampler further driven by 300 mm and number of blows
are recorded for each 150 mm penetration

 The number of blows for first 150 mm penetration are

discarded
The total blows for the second and third 150 mm
penetration are recorded as Penetration resistance (Nvalue)
Collection of soil sample
Sample is taken out of borehole and is opened
If sandy material, the sample collected in polythene bag, in
case of clay it should be steel tube
The tube is sealed with wax to avoid evaporation of soil
mixture
Corrections of N
Correction of overburden pressure
Correction factor
Nc= 0.77 log 20/po
Correction for dilatency (N>15)
Ncor = 15 + (Nc-15)
UTILITY OF NC VALUES
Estimation of geotechnical properties

Estimation of allowable bearing capacity by

settlement criteria
Cohesive soil

Cohesionless soil

STATIC CONE PENETRATION TEST

Significance
Most useful where soil properties gets disturbed by
boring/blows
Useful on very soft and loose soils where
transportation of heavy equipments required for SPT and
DCPT test may not be possible
Useful for determination of bearing capacity at different
depths below foundation level
Skin friction values required to be used for determining the
length of piles
Apparatus

 Steel cone
Friction jacket
Sounding rods
Sounding tubes/mantle tubes
Driving and measuring instrument
Capacity of equipment available
3 ton
10 ton
20 ton
Recording of cone and friction jacket resistance
Determination of cone penetration resistance
Determination of ultimate bearing capacity

FIELD VANE SHEAR TEST

Significance
Determination of in-situ shear strength of saturated clay of
very soft to medium consistency
Difficulty in sampling and underestimate of shear strength
of such soil in laboratory
Undrained strength both in undisturbed and remoulded
samples are obtained for estimating the sensitivity of the
soil
Vane
Four mutually perpendicular blades, L =2D
Dia. 37.5 mm, 50 mm ,75 mm or 100 mm

 Dia of central rod to which the blades are welded >12.5

mm
Torque applicator
Attachment to secure the string of rods connecting the
vane
Speed control (0.1o/sec)
Rod system
The rods connect the vane to the torque applicator
Rods are 1m and can resist the maximum torque
Procedure
Bore hole is made by suitable method up to the required
depth
Casing may be driven upto the full depth of the hole
Vane is then connected to 1m extension rods as required
The assembly is then lowered into the borehole
The vane is then pushed inside bottom surface to a depth
5 times the dia of the hole
The assembly is then connected to torque applicator
through a connector
Vane is rotated at the rate of 0.1o/s after a minimum period
of five minutes
The vane is rotated till shear failure or when the torque
indicator dial gauge moves back
Note the maximum divisions of the torque application
Using the calibration chart provided by the manufacturer
convert the reading into Torque cm-kg

 Sensitivity
After the determination of maximum torque, the vane is
rotated rapidly through a minimum of ten revolutions
Remoulded strength is determined within one minute after
completion of revolutions
Sensitivity = Undisturbed strength/ Disturbed strength