Geotechnical Engineering – II

10CV64

Dr. Sanjeev Gadad

Associate Prof.
gssanjeev.nitk@gmail.com
 Unit 1
SUBSURFACE EXPLORATION
• Introduction
– Importance of exploration program,
– Methods of exploration: Boring, Seismic refraction method of
geophysical exploration,
– Types of samples - undisturbed, disturbed and representative samples,
– Samplers, sample disturbance, area ratio, Recovery ratio, clearance,
– Stabilisation of boreholes - Typical bore log. Number and depth of
borings for various civil engineering structures, soil exploration report.
• DRAINAGE AND DEWATERING
– Determination of ground water level by Hvorselev’s method,
– Control of ground water during excavation: Dewatering - Ditches and
sumps,
– Well point system, Vacuum method, Electro- Osmosis method.

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Importance of exploration program

• Safe and economical design of substructure elements requires knowledge

of subsoil conditions.
• Soil exploration – is the process of field and laboratory studies conducted
on soil to obtain subsoil characteristics. (along with groundwater table
position)

• Site investigations provide

– Stratigraphy and physical properties of soil.
– Ground water table and its fluctuations
– Geological studies and surveys, Topographical survey.

• Complex natural deposits, no universal method of soil exploration.

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Methods of exploration:

• Choice depends on nature of sub soils, its extent, purpose of exploration.

• Major classification: Preliminary and Detailed.
• Preliminary: Geological + Reconnaissance study
– From site visit: Local topography, excavations, cutting, drainage patterns, streams, flood
marks etc.
– Geophysical methods and tests with cone penetrometers and sounding rods are used.
• Detailed: Followed after preliminary study.
– To determine nature, sequence and thickness of subsoil layers, their variations
– Physical properties and position of ground water table
– Boring and Detailed sampling are used
• Detailed investigation should not be considered when
– Subsoil layers are very randomly distributed
– Structure transmits light loads
– Relatively less important structure
– Good record of subsoil details exists

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Boring
• Making and advancing of boreholes is called Boring.
• Suitability depends :
– Nature of soils
– Position of ground water table
– Ease and accuracy with which changes in soil and ground water
conditions can be determined.

Depending upon soil type and purpose of boring,

• Auger Boring
• Wash Boring
• Rotary Boring
• Percussion Boring
• Core Boring

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Boring
1. Auger Boring
Vertically pressing down action + rotate the auger
• Hand operated – used up to 6m depth (soft
soils)
– Bore hole must stand unsupported
– Casing Pipe may be used to avoid cave in
– Power driven augers for greater depths
 Suitability of Auger boring –
1. Partially saturated sands, silts & medium to
stiff cohesive soils.
2. Auger borings are kept dry
3. Samples are severely disturbed, useful only
for identification purpose only
4. Shallow foundations, highways & borrow
pits (exploration depth is small)

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 Shell and Auger (Sand bailer) method: widely used in India

• Heavy duty pipe with cutting edge.

• Length and weights as per requirements
• Sinker bars add weight to bailer, shell is raised and left to fall in hole
• Soil that is cut enters tube and emptied when full.
• Boring is started by augering and shell is used when augering is difficult.

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Sand bailer

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2. Wash Boring

• Drive a casing pipe through heavy drop, supported by a tripod & pulley.
• Water is forced under pressure (through hollow) drill rod, which may be
rotated.
• Lower end of drill rod has sharp cutting edge

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• Cut soil gets mixed with water & floats up (through annular space b/w
casing & drill rod)

• Slurry flowing indicates the soil type

• Change in soil strata can be identified/surmised from the rate of progress &
slurry flowing out

• Water + Soil, hence samples are not useful for information on properties of
soil.

• Obtain sample from borehole using appropriate tool

• Can be used for almost all type of soil, even below GWT.

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3. Rotary Boring

• Useful for soil, which is highly resistant to augering/wash boring

• Also used for sand & clay.
• Cutting action by rotating bit
• Attached to lower end of drill rod
• Drilling mud (bentonite + admixtures)
is forced down hollow drill rod
• If Core barrels + diamond cutters are
used, then it is core drilling

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4. Percussion Boring

• Boring by repeatedly applying blows

with chisel inside casing pipe
• Borehole is dry, little water to form
slurry
• Slurry is bailed out by pump
• Only method suitable in boulder &
gravelly strata

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5. Core Boring

• Drilling boreholes in rock cores

• Core barrel + hollow drilling rod + drilling bit
• Drill is rotated and bit advances cutting the rock.
• Water is pumped in to drilling rod, to reduce the temperature
• Diamond studded cutting edge is superior

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The two commonly used geophysical methods in civil
engineering are -

• Seismic refraction method

• Electrical resistivity method

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Seismic refraction method of geophysical exploration

• Seismic waves have different velocities in different types of soil/rock.

• Waves get reflected when they cross boundary b/w different types of soils.
• Useful for general soil types & identification of depth of strata.
• How it works ?
– Generate impact by blows or small explosion
– Radiating shock waves are recorded by geophone (time of travel), at
regular intervals
– Primary waves: travel directly from shock source to geophone (along
ground surface)
– Other waves: travel downward, at different angles to horizontal
– Refraction of waves, when they pass stratum of different seismic velocity
– Denser layer, faster the waves travel
– Plot of arrival time vs distance

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If source-geophone distance < cross over distance (d) then,
• Direct waves reaches geophone earlier.
• The time-distance relationship is represented by straight line (P-wave).
If the source-geophone distance is > d, then
• Refracted waves reaches geophone earlier.

• V1 & V2 are seismic velocities

of upper & lower stratum

• Depth of boundary b/w

two strata is given by -

Assuming thickness of upper

strata as unvarying
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• Quick and reliable in establishing profiles of different strata.
• Deeper layers should have greater densities (higher velocities).
• Cannot be used to determine exact type of strata.

Table 1: Wave Velocities in different material

Material Wave velocity (m/s)
Sand & top soil 180-365
Sandy clay 365-580
Gravel 490-790
Glacial till 550-2135
Rock talus 400-760
Water in loose materials 1400-1830
Shale 790-3350
Sandstone 915-2740
Granite 3050-6100
Limestone 1830-6100
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Types of samples - undisturbed, disturbed and representative
samples,

• Disturbed Sample
– Natural structure of soil gets disturbed
– Represent the composition and mineral content
– Can used to determined index properties (grain size, specific gravity,..)

• Undisturbed Sample
– Natural structure of soil & water content is retained.
– It may not be possible to get truly undisturbed sample
– Obtaining sample, a change in stresses occur and cause small
disturbance.

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Samplers, Area ratio, Recovery Ratio, Clearance,

• Commonly used samplers are

• Open drive samplers
• Piston samplers
• Rotary samplers

• Inside clearance,

• Outside clearance,

• Area Ratio,

D1 = inside diameter of cutting edge

D2 = outside diameter of cutting edge
D3 = inside diameter of sampling tube
D4 = outside diameter of sampling tube
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• Inside diameter is meant to reduce friction b/w soil sample and sampler, by
allowing for elastic expansion.
• If inside clearance is too large then there will be too much of lateral expansion.
• Outside clearance will reduce friction while sampler is being driven and
when it is being withdrawn.

• Recovery ratio,

• Lr<1: soil is compressed

• Lr = 1, indicates a good recovery
• Lr>1: means that soil has swelled

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Open Drive Sampler
• Consists of seamless open end steel tube with cutting edge.
• Sampler head is provided with vents to allow water & air to escape
• Ball check valve to retain the sample

• Thick walled samplers are used for disturbed but representative samples
– Samplers may be in form of tube or split tube with or without liner
– Repeated blows of falling weight are applied to obtain sample

• Thin wall samplers are used for obtaining undisturbed samples

– Area ratio is below 15%
– Sampler tube may be of brass, aluminum or other suitable hard material,
durable & corrosion resistant
– Sampler is driven into soil in a continuous rapid motion without impact or
twisting

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 Table: Requirements of Sampling tubes
Area Ratio

Inside Diameter (mm) 38 70 100 10.9

Outside Diameter (mm) 40 74 106 11.8

Minimum effective length (cm) 30 45 45 12.4

• Larger diameter & Length tubes may be used to collect sample.

• Open drive thin wall sampler are suitable for all types of (cohesive) soil.
• Cannot be used in hard or gravelly soil.

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Piston Sampler
• Consists of sampler cylinder and piston
system
• Piston is placed inside the sampler
• At required depth, piston is fixed and the
sampler cylinder is forced into the soil,
cutting the sample
• The sampler on passing the piston,
negative pressure develops above the
sample, which holds the sample.
• Withdraw both the sampler and piston,
with sample inside the cylinder
• Useful in saturated sands and other soft &
wet soils, which cannot be sampled by
open drive samplers

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Sample disturbance,
• To reduce sample disturbance
• Ci should be from 1 to 3 % by IS: 1892-1979
• C0 should be b/w 0-2%
• Ar should be kept as low as possible

• Types of samples required in the Laboratory

• Undisturbed: Co-eff of permeability, shear strength & consolidation
parameters, Density, natural w/c
• Representative: specific gravity, grain size distribution, Atterberg limits

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• Stabilisation of boreholes - Typical bore log. Number and depth of
borings for various civil engineering structures, soil exploration
report

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DRAINAGE AND DEWATERING

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• Determination of ground water level by Hvorselev’s method,

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• Control of ground water during excavation: Dewatering - Ditches
and sumps,

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• Well point system, Vacuum method, Electro- Osmosis method.

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