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 nonrepresentative 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/cm2
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, A-rods, 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 (N-value)
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