I.

SITE INVESTIGATION

Site Investigation is the process of collecting information, assessment of the data and reporting
potential hazards beneath a site which are unknown.
Site Investigation is grouped into the following stages:
1. Soil Investigation
2. Geologic survey maps.
3. Preliminary investigation
4. Detailed Site Investigation
5. Supplementary investigation and construction control.
Site Investigation Purpose and Objectives
The objective of a site investigation is to gather the information needed to carry out the risk
assessment, in order to be in a position to assess the presence and significance of
contamination of land.
The number one objective of a site investigation is to determine as accurately as may required
1. The nature and sequence of strata
2. The ground water conditions at the site
3. The physical properties of soil and rock underlying the site
4. The mechanical properties such as strength of different soil or rock strata

Background Analysis before a Subsurface Investigation takes place

All site investigations require a field investigation, Geotechnical Contractors should obtain
information on the types of structures which are intended to be built and what there uses will be.
This includes key characteristics of the structure, when it is scheduled to be built.

The Extent of Soil Investigation

Subsurface condition at a site may be relatively uniform or extremely variable and will largely
determine the complexity of the problems to be faced in both design and construction of the
foundations.

Depth of Site Investigation

The site investigation should be carried to such a depth that the entire zone of soil or rock
affected by the changes caused by the building or the construction will be adequately explored.
This may be taken as depth at which vertical stress induced by the new construction is smaller
than 10% of the existing overburden stress at that level.

Stages of Site Investigation

The approach adopted for a particular site investigation, its extent and the techniques used will
all depend upon the site-specific circumstances, and the experience and judgment of those
involved. There is no single way to carry out an investigation, and inevitably different advisors
will adopt different approaches for any particular project.

For any project soil investigation is usually performed in several stages, i.e., during feasibility
and planning stage, before construction and during construction (if required). These are termed
as:
1. Preliminary investigation;
2. Detailed investigation;
3. Supplementary investigation and construction control.

Preliminary Site Investigation

This phase includes gathering information such as the type of structure to be constructed and its
future use, the requirements of local building codes, and the column and load bearing wall
loads.

II. GEOLOGICAL METHODS

Geologists use a wide variety of methods to understand the Earth's structure and evolution,
including field work, rock description, geophysical techniques, chemical analysis, physical
experiments, and numerical modelling.
Necessity of Geological Investigation:
For safety, stability & economy of civil engineer construction.
The bed rock should be at shallow depth.
The bed rocks should be competent throughout.
Geological structures like faults, joints, folds & inclined strata, if present, should be
closely analyzed to know whether they are harmful or advantageous.
Ground water should not pose any problems.
Availability of suitable & enough construction materials near the site.

Prospecting and the exploration process

In searching for valuable minerals, the traditional prospector relied primarily on the direct
observation of mineralization in outcrops, sediments, and soil. Although direct observation is still
widely practiced, the modern prospector also employs a combination of geologic, geophysical,
and geochemical tools to provide indirect indications for reducing the search radius.

Geological mapping

Geological mapping is the process of a geologist physically going out into the field and
recording geological information from the rocks that outcrop at the surface. Information the
geologist looks for will include: boundaries between different rock types and structures e.g. fault-
lines and evidence of the rocks undergoing deformation.

Mineral exploration drilling

Drilling provides most of the information for the final evaluation of a prospect and will determine
if the prospect is mineable. Prospecting and exploration is the first phase in the life cycle of a
mine, followed by development, extraction and finally closure and reclamation.

Pitting trenching and stripping

Pitting and trenching are conducted to get a greater visual understanding of the rock. Heavy
equipment is used to remove the surface soil and expose the bedrock (stripping).

III. EXPLORATION TECHNIQUES

Shallow seismic is the study of subsurface structure to understand the various rock formations.
To study the subsurface rock formations, a controlled seismic source is used to generate
seismic waves, and seismic data is collected by geophones. Velocity of seismic waves
generated from the source will depend on the density of the rock through which they travel. The
reflected and refracted waves generated from the source will have different arrival times at the
receiver.

EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES THAT DO NOT NEED APPROVAL

Certain exploration activities with minimal environmental impact have been identified as exempt
development under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production and
Extractive Industries) 2007 (Mining SEPP). These minimal impact activities do not require
further environmental assessment or approval prior to being carried out.
The following activities are exempt developments, provided they are of minimal environmental
impact and do not take place on environmentally sensitive land:
low intensity exploration activities including:
o geological mapping and airborne surveying
o sampling and coring using hand-held equipment
o geophysical (but not seismic) surveying and downhole logging
o accessing of areas by vehicle that does not involve the construction of an access way,
such as a track or road.

GEOLOGICAL MAPPING

Geological mapping locates and identifies rock types and geological structures relative to the
landforms and topography. It is often the first exploration method done on the ground, and can
take place at a local detailed scale or a regional scale. Geological mapping typically involves a
visit to the area of interest by a geologist to look at rock outcrops, and to observe the location,
orientation and characteristics of the rocks or sediments visible at the surface.

AIRBORNE SURVEYS
Airborne geophysical survey is a very useful method to investigate large areas quickly without
harming the natural setting of the local environment. Mapping a large survey area with extreme
topography is a very difficult and expensive task to be done by ground based geophysical and
geological methods. A continuous development in hardware, software and instrumentation has
made resolution of airborne geophysical surveys as precise as ground based geophysical
surveys.

SEISMIC SURVEYS
Seismic surveys use reflected sound waves to produce a “CAT scan” of the Earth's subsurface.
Seismic surveys can help locate ground water, are used to investigate locations for landfills, and
characterize how an area will shake during an earthquake, but they are primarily used for oil
and gas exploration.

IV. GEOPHYSICAL METHODS

The physical properties of rocks have been used to devise geophysical methods that are
essential in the search for minerals, oil and gas and other geological and environmental
problems.
These methods are:
Gravity method
Seismic method
Electromagnetic method
Geothermal method
Magnetic method
Electrical method
Radiometric method

Passive methods

Which detect variations within the natural fields associated with the earth, like the gravitational
and magnetic fields, such as gravit, magnetic, some electric and some electromagnetic
methods, radioactive and geothermal methods

Active methods

These artificially generated signals transmitted into the ground and then modify the received
signals in ways that are characteristic of the materials through which they travel. Examples of
these methods are seismic and some electrical methods.

Airborne versus ground geophysical methods:

Airborne geophysical methods are used in reconnaissance work, but the ground
methods are used in more detailed investigations.

Gravity method:
It is mainly used for oil exploration. Sometimes in mineral and ground water prospecting.
Gravity prospecting involves the measurement of variations in the gravitational field of
the earth (i.e. minute variations in the pull of gravity from rock within the first few miles of the
earth’s surface).
 Different types of rock have different densities and the denser rocks have the greater
gravitational attraction.

V. SEISMIC AND ELECTRICAL METHODS

Seismic reflection method

This method is used to map the structure of subsurface formations by measuring the times
required for a seismic wave, generated in the earth by a near surface exploration of dynamite,
mechanical impact or vibration, to return to the surface after reflection from interface between
formations having different physical properties.

Body waves.  These are the fastest traveling of all seismic waves and are called compressional
or pressure or primary wave (P-wave).  The particle motion of P-waves is extension (dilation)
and compression along the propagating direction.  P-waves travel through all media that support
seismic waves; air waves or noise in gasses, including the atmosphere.  Compressional waves
in fluids, e.g., water and air, are commonly referred to as acoustic waves. 
Surface waves.  Two recognized vubrations, which exist only at "surfaces" or interfaces, are
Love and Rayleigh waves.  Traveling along a surface, these waves attenuate rapidly with
distance from the surface.  Surface waves travel slower than body waves.  Love waves travel
along the surfaces of layered media, and are most often faster than Rayleigh waves.  Love
waves have particle displacement similar to SH-waves.

Seismic refraction method:

In refraction method, the detecting instruments recorded the arrival times of the seismic waves
when refracted from the surface of discontinuity.

Electrical methods:
The electrical geophysical methods are used to determine the electrical resistivity of the earth's
subsurface.

VI. DIRECT PENETRATION

Direct penetration
The direct cone penetration test (CPT) based pile design methods use the measured
penetrometer readings by scaling relationships or algorithms in a single-step process to enable
the assessment of pile capacity components of shaft and base resistance (f p and q b,
respectively) for evaluation of full-size pilings. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of
published works that focus on direct CPT evaluation of static axial pile capacity. The review is
presented in a chronological order to explicate the evolution over the past six decades of an in
situ test based solution for this soil-structure interaction problem.

VII. CORE BORING

Core boring is a sampling technique used to research mineral resources in the subsoil by boring
wells in order to analyze the ground, and for other digging activities for civil engineering
purposes. In core boring a cylinder shaped sample of rock or ice is extracted, which is known as
a core.  From these cores it is possible to obtain a large amount of information on the climate
variations of the past, thanks to what remains imprisoned in the ice, such as: gas bubbles,
chemical elements that form the ice, sediments, fossils and many other elements.

VIII. LOGGING OF CORES

Core logging is the systematic recording and measuring of as much information as
possible/required to determine the lithology (rock types), mineralogy, potential geological
history, structure and alteration zones through a tiny piece of cylindrical rock drilled and
removed from a potential mineral deposit.

IX. GEOLOGICAL CONDITION NECESSARY FOR CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS

A DAM may be defined as a solid barrier constructed at a suitable location across a river valley
with a view of impounding water flowing through that river. (1) generation of hydropower energy;

SELECTION OF SITES

Topographically
• It would be a narrow gorge or a small valley with enough catchments area available
behind so that when a dam is placed there it would easily store a calculated volume of water in
the reservoir created upstream.
Technically
• The site should be as sound as possible: strong, impermeable and stable.
• Strong rocks at the site make the job of the designer much easy: he can evolve best
deigns.
• Impermeable sites ensure better storage inventories.
Constructionally
• The site should not be far off from deposits of materials which would be required for its
construction.
• All types of major dams require millions of cubic meters of natural materials - earth,
sand, gravel and rock -for their construction.
Economically
• The benefits arising out of a dam placed at a particular site should be realistic and
justified in terms of land irrigated or power generated or floods averted or water stored.
Environmentally
• The site where a dam is proposed to be placed and a reservoir created, should not
involve ecological disorder, especially in the life cycles of animals and vegetation and man.

X. TUNNELS, BUILDING AND ROAD CUTTING

Rocks may be broadly divided into two categories in relation to tunneling: 1.consolidated and 2.
unconsolidated or soft ground. Only a brief account is given below.

(A) Consolidated Rocks

Tunnel design, method of its excavation and stability are greatly influenced by following
geological conditions: lithology, geological structures and ground water conditions.

Lithology
It has already been mentioned that information regarding mineralogical composition, textures
and structures of the rocks through which the proposed tunnel is to pass is of great importance
in deciding
• The method of tunneling
• The strength and extent of lining and, thus the cost of the project.

Hard and Crystalline Rocks

• These are excavated by using conventional rock blasting methods and also by tunnel
boring method
• In the blasting method, full face or a convenient section of the face is selected for
blasting up to a pre-selected depth.

Fissured Rocks form a category in themselves and include any type of hard and soft rock that
has been deformed extensively due to secondary fracturing as a result of folding, faulting and
metamorphic changes of shearing type. (b)
Geological Structures Dip and Strike
These two quantitative properties of rocks determine the attitude (disposition in space) of the
rocks and hence influence the design of excavation (tunnel) to a great extent.
Three general cases may be considered.
Horizontal Strata
When encountered for small tunnels or for short lengths of long tunnels, horizontally layered
rocks might be considered quite favourable.

Moderately Inclined Strata.

Such layers that are dipping at angles up to 45 o may be said as moderately inclined.
The tunnel axis may be running parallel to the dip direction, at right angles to the dip direction or
inclined to both dip and strike directions.

Steeply Inclined Strata

In rock formations dipping at angles above 45 o , quite complicated situations would arise when
the tunnel axis is parallel to dip or parallel to strike or inclined to both dip and strike directions. In
almost vertical rocks for example, when the tunnel axis is parallel to dip direction, the formations
stand along the sides and on the roof of the tunnel as massive girders.