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Geotechnical Firm Pinpoints Structural

Failure with Surfer
The engineering problems solved by American Geotechnical Inc. often
start off subtly – a door doesn’t shut tight or a window separates from its
frame. However small, these are sometimes signs of serious structural
issues below a house or building. And the California-based geotechnical
engineering and material testing firm frequently relies on Surfer software
to visualize what is happening with the structure and determine the cause.

American Geotechnical refers to this part of its practice as ‘forensic

engineering.’ The structural problems it investigates in residential and
commercial buildings often result from ground movement below or

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 around the foundation. In areas where the structure is built on a structural
cement slab, excessive moisture or other soil conditions may cause the
slab itself to tilt, dome or warp. If unresolved, these situations can lead to
major failures of the structure above.

“We use Surfer to map the stresses around the structure…to help the
engineers figure out why one part is sinking, and another is swelling,” said
Manuel Simbulan, Technical Illustrator/CAD Designer at American
Geotechnical.

The typical first step is for geotechnical engineers to capture relative

elevation measurements, called deflections, across the slab using a simple
water level. Even for a standard-size home, the technician may collect 100
or more measurements. The goal is to determine a baseline elevation for
the slab and then convert the other values to plus or minus numbers
depending on whether they are above or below the average.

Simbulan imports the elevation values into Surfer and generates several
3D maps of the surface – 3D wire diagram, colorized contour, and a
gradient visualization. This may show a simple tilt in the slab, a doming at
the center, or a complex surface with more ups and downs than a roller
coaster. The result gives a general idea of where the stresses are coming
from. Swelling clays may be lifting part of the slab, or eroding soil may be
causing another side to sink.

Click Image to Enlarge Click Image to Enlarge

Single floor level survey Floor differential survey for

used to identify structural multi-unit complex
weakpoints

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 “Moisture in the soil could be the problem,” said Simbulan, explaining that
poor drainage may cause rainwater to pool up around the foundation or a
water pipe could be leaking.

Soil moisture is usually detected by digging small pits around the outside
of the structural slab. The soil is analyzed for water content. This data can
also be visualized in Surfer with the deflection contours overlaid, providing
correlations between soil moisture and slab deformation. Simbulan
delivers these Surfer maps to the geotechnical engineers for final analysis.

Once the source of the structural problems has been pinpointed, the
engineers recommend a solution, which can range from mitigation of the
soil moisture to adding subsurface supports to the slab. In some cases, the
building must be demolished if the problem is bad enough.

American Geotechnical owns several mapping and visualization software

packages, but Simbulan prefers Surfer for the forensic engineering
applications because of the professional look of the color contours it
renders.

“These are the maps we present to clients and use in court during legal
testimony,” said Simbulan.

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