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SOIL SAMPLING IN GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

By Sana Jehan Ansari

Introduction

Soil Sampling is performed by geotechnical engineers to obtain information on the physical properties of soil and rock around a site to: 1) design foundation for proposed structures 2) for repair of distress to earthworks and structures caused by subsurface conditions

What is Soil Sampling?


Soil Sampling is also known as Geotechnical Investigation. A geotechnical investigation will include surface exploration and subsurface exploration of a site. To obtain information about the soil conditions below the surface, some form of subsurface exploration is required. Methods of observing the soils below the surface, obtaining samples, and determining physical properties of the soils and rocks include, trenching (particularly for locating faults and slide planes), boring, and in situ tests.

Disturbed Samples

A disturbed sample is one in which the structure of the soil has been changed sufficiently that tests of structural properties of the soil will not be representative of in-situ conditions, and only properties of the soil grains (e.g., grain size distribution, Atterburgs Limits, and possibly the water content) can be accurately determined.

Undisturbed Sample

Undisturbed" samples are not truly undisturbed. An undisturbed sample is one where the condition of the soil in the sample is close enough to the conditions of the soil in-situ, so that tests of structural properties of the soil can be approximated.

Soil Boring

Boring

Used for subsurface exploration of site. Come in two main varieties, large-diameter and smalldiameter. Large-diameter borings are rarely used due to safety concerns and expense, but are sometimes used to allow a geologist or engineer to visually and manually examine the soil and rock in-situ. Small-diameter borings are frequently used to allow a geologist or engineer examine soil or rock cuttings or to retrieve samples at depth using soil samplers, and to perform in-place soil tests

Types of Boring

1) Hand/Machine Driven Auger. This sampler typically consists of a short cylinder with a cutting edge attached to a rod and handle. The sampler is advanced by a combination of rotataion and downward force. Samples taken this way are disturbed samples.

Types of Boring

2) Continuous Flight Auger A method of sampling using an auger as a corkscrew. The auger is screwed into the ground then lifted out. Soil is retained on the blades of the auger and kept for testing. The soil sampled this way is considered disturbed.

In-situ Tests

Standard Penetration Test A standard penetration test (SPT) is an in-situ dynamic penetration test designed to provide information on the properties of soil, while also collecting a disturbed soil sample for grain-size analysis and soil classification.

In-situ Tests

Cone Penetration Test A CPT is performed using an instrumented probe with a conical tip, pushed into the soil hydraulically at a constant rate. A basic CPT instrument reports tip resistance and shear resistance along the cylindrical barrel. CPT data has been correlated to soil properties.

Laboratory Tests

A wide variety of laboratory tests can be performed on soils to measure a wide variety of soil properties. Some soil tests measure direct properties of the soil, while others measure "index properties" which provide useful information about the soil without directly measuring the property desired.

Laboratory Tests

Some of the lab tests are as follows:

1.

Atterberg limits
The Atterberg limits define the boundaries of several states of consistency for plastic soils. The boundaries are defined by the amount of water a soil needs to be at one of those boundaries. The boundaries are called the plastic limit and the liquid limit, and the difference between them is called the plasticity index. The shrinkage limit is also a part of the Atterberg limits. The results of this test can be used to help predict other engineering properties.

Laboratory Tests
2. Direct Shear Test The direct shear test determines the consolidated, drained strength properties of a sample. A constant strain rate is applied to a single shear plane under a normal load, and the load response is measured. If this test is performed with different normal loads, the common shear strength parameters can be determined

Laboratory Tests
3. Water Content This test provides the water content of the soil, normally expressed as a percentage of the weight of water to the dry weight of the soil.

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