GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

TOPICS
STRESSES DUE TO APPLIED LOADS
SITE INVESIGATIONS AND SOIL EXPLORATIONS
EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES
FOUNDATION ENGINEERING
SITE INVESTIGATIONS AND SOIL
EXPLORATIONS
A fairly accurate assessment of the characteristics
and engineering properties of the soil at site is
essential for proper design and successful
construction of any structure at site
The field and laboratory investigations required
to obtain the necessary data about surface and
subsurface features of soils for this purpose are
collectively called site investigations and soil
exploration
SITE INVESTIGATIONS
It refers to the procedure for determining
surface and subsurface conditions in the area
of proposed construction
Soil exploration is a part of site investigation
Cost of site investigation will be less than 1%
of the total cost of the entire project
Lack of site investigation may lead to
increased cost due to unforeseen difficulties in
design and execution of projects


It includes
Determination of nature of the soil deposit
Collecting information regarding the surface and
subsurface conditions of soil
Determining the profile of natural soil deposit at
site, i.e the depth and thickness of various soil
strata
Location of groundwater and fluctuation in
groundwater table
Taking soil samples and determining the
engineering properties of soil and rocks
In-situ testing of soils to determine the properties
at natural conditions
Importance of surface conditions of soil
Surface topography affect the accessibility of site
to men, materials and equipment
Cost of site clearance depends on the nature and
extent of vegetative cover
Availability of water and electric power, proximity
to major transportation routes, environmental
protection regulations of various agencies,
availability of sufficient area for pre construction
etc affect the construction procedures
Importance of subsurface conditions
Possible need of dewatering will be revealed
Necessity for bracing of excavations for
foundations
Locate and Select materials used for construction
Site improvement methods to be adopted
The information are useful for the
following purposes:
To select the type and depth of foundation for
a given structure
To determine the bearing capacity of the soil
To estimate the probable maximum and
differential settlements
To establish the ground water level and to
determine properties of water
To predict the lateral earth pressure against
retaining walls and abutments
To select suitable construction techniques
To predict and to solve potential foundation
problems
To ascertain the suitability of the soil as a
construction material
To investigate the safety of the existing
structures and to suggest the remedial
measures
SOIL EXPLORATION
Conducted to find out details of sub surface
strata and their engineering properties
It includes 3 stages
Reconnaissance
Preliminary Explorations
Detailed Explorations

1. RECONNAISSANCE
First examination of area by the engineer
along with other specialists, such as geologist,
land surveyor, the geotechnical engineer etc.
At this stage a thorough study of the existing
condition of the site is done
It helps in deciding future programme of site
investigation, scope of work, methods of
exploration to be adopted, type of samples to
be taken, and the laboratory testing and in
situ testing

Method of reconnaissance survey
Visit to the site and careful visual inspection for
collecting the following features
General topography of the site
Type of vegetation existing at the site give an idea
about nature of the soil
Land use pattern
Depth of ground water table as observed in the wells
Existence of springs, swamps etc. at the site
Drainage pattern existing at the site
The location of high flood marks on the nearby
buildings and bridges

Existence of settlement cracks in the structures
already built near the site
The evidence of land slides, creep of slopes, and
shrinkage cracks
The stratification of soil as observed from deep
cuts near the site
Existence of underground water mains, power
conduit etc. at the site
Method of reconnaissance survey
(contd.)
Study of maps
Geological maps
Study of toposheets provided by Geological
Survey of India provide information of surface
and subsurface conditions
Soil conservation maps
Aerial photographs
Blue prints of existing buildings
Information about the proposed structure


2. PRELIMINARY EXPLORATIONS
Aim:- To determine the depth, thickness,
extent and composition of each soil stratum at
site. The depth of bed rock and ground water
table are also determined
Different methods used - test pits, trial pits,
trenches, borings, soundings or penetration
tests, geophysical methods


3. DETAILED EXPLORATIONS
Aim: To determine engineering properties of
soils in different strata
Essential for complex construction projects
Different methods include
Boring, sampling and testing of samples in
laboratory to determine the properties of soil in
natural (vane shear test, plate load test,
permeability test) and dynamic state

DEPTH OF EXPLORATION
Depth of exploration at a particular site
depends upon the degree of variation of the
subsurface data in the horizontal and vertical
directions

DEPTH OF EXPLORATION (contd.)
For getting adequate information for settlement
predictions, borings should penetrate all the
strata, that could consolidate significantly under
the loaded structure
For important and heavy structures (like bridges and
tall buildings) the boring should extend to rock
For smaller structures, the depth of boring may be
estimated from the results of previous investigations
in the vicinity of the site, and from geologic evidence
DEPTH OF EXPLORATION (contd.)
In general depth of exploration should be atleast
equal to significant depth
It is the depth upto which the stress increment due to
superimposed loads can produce significant
settlement and shear stress
It depends on the type of structure, intensity of
loading, shape and disposition of loaded area, the soil
profile and the physical characteristics of the soil
Significant depth is generally taken as the depth at
which the vertical stress become 10% of the initial
overburden pressure
Or a pressure bulb bounded by an isobar of 1/10th of
the loading intensity is used to define the significant
depth
DEPTH OF EXPLORATION (contd.)
Depth of exploration
Square footing: 1.5 times the width (1.5B)


DEPTH OF EXPLORATION (contd.)
- Strip footing: 3 times the width
- Closely spaced raft: 1.5 times the width of
entire loaded area



DEPTH OF EXPLORATION (contd.)
Adjacent footings with clear spacing less than
twice the width: 1.5 times the length
Pile foundation: 10 to 30 metres, or more, or at
least 1.5 times the width of the pile group
Friction piles: 1.5 times the width of the pile group
measured from the lower third point

DEPTH OF EXPLORATION (contd.)
Base of the retaining wall: 1.5 times the base
width or 1.5 times the exposed height of face of
wall, whichever is greater
Floating basement: Depth of construction
Deep excavations: 1.5 times depth of excavation
Road cuts: equal to bottom width of the cut
Fills: 2m below the ground level or equal to the
height of the fill whichever is greater
Gravity dams: 2 times height of dam
Weathering considerations: 1.5 m in general and
3.5m in black cotton soils.

DEPTH OF EXPLORATION (contd.)
In the case of multi-storeyed building,
Depth of exploration (m), D = C(S)
0.7
C = constant, 3 for light steel buildings and
narrow concrete buildings,
6 for heavy steel buildings and
wide concrete buildings
S = number of storeys
SPACING OF EXPLORATION
Lateral extend of exploration and the spacing
of bore holes depends mainly on the variation
of strata in the horizontal direction
For small and less important buildings, one
bore hole at the centre is sufficient
For compact buildings, covering an area of 0.4
hectares, there should be atleast 5 boreholes,
one at the centre and 4 near the corners
SPACING OF EXPLORATION (contd..)
SPACING OF EXPLORATION (contd..)
For large multi storeyed buildings, bore holes
should be drilled at the corners and also at
important locations
For highways, subsurface explorations are
usually carried out along the proposed centre
line or along the proposed ditch line
SPACING OF EXPLORATION (contd..)
Spacing between bore holes is generally kept
between 10 to 30m, depending upon the
subsurface conditions and loading

Name of Project Spacing of Borings (m)
Highway 150 300
Earth dam 30 60
Concrete dams 40 80
Borrow pits 30 120
Multistoreyed building 15 30
Single storeyed building 30 - 90
SOIL EXPLORATION METHODS
Direct methods test pits, trial pits, trenches
Semi direct methods borings
Indirect methods
soundings or penetration tests strength and
compressibility of soil
geophysical methods locating boundaries of
different strata
In an exploratory programme, one or more of
these methods may be used to yield the desired
information
DIRECT METHODS
Open type exploration methods
Soil can be inspected in natural conditions
Soil samples are collected with the help of
samplers
Two categories
Test pits (upto 3m depth) and trenches (long
shallow pits)
Drifts (horizontal tunnels) and shafts (vertical
holes)
SEMI DIRECT METHODS - BORING
Making or drilling bore holes into the ground with
a view to obtain soil or rock samples from
specified depths is called boring
When depth of exploration is more, boring
techniques are used for collecting soil samples
Samples are used for conducting laboratory test
Also used for conducting in-situ tests and for
locating water table
Deformation of sub strata can be measured with
the help of extensometers fitted in bore holes
METHODS OF BORING
Depending upon the type of soil and purpose
of boring
Auger Boring
Wash Boring
Rotary Boring
Percussion Drilling
Rotary Drilling
Commonly employed for
sampling in rock strata
AUGER BORING
Done with the help of an auger vertical
shank with a cross wise handle for turning and
having central tapered feed screw
Operated manually or mechanically

Hand augers
15 -20 cm dia
Suitable for advancing holes upto 3-6m depth in soft
soils
Attached to lower end of a pipe of 18mm dia
Pipe is provided with a cross arm at its top
Hole is advanced by turning the cross arm manually
and applying thrust in downward direction at the
same time
When auger is filled with soil, it is taken out



Post hole augers
Used for taking samples from a bore hole, if its is
already driven
Mechanical augers
Power driven augers
Used for making holes in hard strata to a great
depth

Manual type post hole auger
Continuous flight augers
Mechanical augers with a central hollow tube
When hole is advanced, central tube is kept plugged
As the auger turned into the ground, the cuttings rise
to the surface through the spiral
During sampling, the plug is removed and sampler is
inserted for taking samples
disadv-: difficult to ascertain the depth from which
the cuttings coming on the ground have been
removed

Continuous flight augers
Advantages of auger boring
Used in soils which can stay open without
casing or drilling mud clays silts and partially
saturated sands can stand unsupported
Useful for subsurface investigations of
highways, railways and airfields, where depth
of exploration is small


Disadvantages of auger boring
For soils which cannot stand unsupported
(sandy soil below water table), casing is
required auger boring is slow and expensive
Cannot be used for soils with large cobbles,
boulders, or other obstructions that prevent
drilling
Disturbed soil samples are obtained
Difficult to locate the exact changes in soil
strata

WASH BORING
Hole is drilled by first driving a casing, about 2-3m
long, and then inserting a hollow drill rod with a
chisel shaped chopping bit at the lower end into
it
Water is pumped down the hollow drill rod (wash
pipe)
Water emerges as a strong jet through the small
opening of the chopping bit
Hole is advance by the combination of chopping
action and jetting action
The water and the chopped soil particles rise
upward through the annular space between
the drill rod and the casing
The return water (wash water) is laden with
the soil cuttings. It is collected in a tub
through T shaped pipe fixed at the top of the
casing
Hole is further advanced by alternately raising
and dropping the chopping bit by a winch

Advantages
Light and inexpensive equipment
Used for exploration below ground water table
Can be used for all kinds of soils except those
mixed with gravel and boulders
Used for advancing boreholes, whenever sample
is required, chopping bit is replaced by a sampler
The change of the rate of progress and the
change of colour of wash water indicates the
changes in soil strata




Disadvantages
Disturbed samples are obtained
slow in stiff soils and coarse grained soils
Can be effectively used in hard soils, rocks and
soil containing boulders
Not suitable for taking good quality,
undisturbed samples above ground water
table as wash water enters the strata below
the bottom of the hole and causes an increase
in water content