Chapter 2

Soil Exploration

SUBSURFACE EXPLORATION
The process of identifying the physical characteristics and layers of deposits that underlie a proposed structure is generally
referred to as subsurface exploration.
PURPOSE OF SUBSURFACE EXPLORATION
The purpose of subsurface exploration is to obtain reliable, specific and detailed information about the soil/rock and
groundwater conditions at a site for enabling engineers in the safe and economic design and execution of engineering
works. Subsurface exploration may also be necessary when additions and alteration existing structures are
contemplated.

It is to obtain information with geotechnical engineer in

1. Selecting the type and depth of foundation suitable for a given site
2. Evaluating the load-bearing capacity of the foundation.
3. Estimating the probable settlement of a structure.
4. Determining potential foundation problems (for example, expansive soil, collapsible soil, sanitary landfill, and so on).
5. Determining the location of the water table.
6. Predicting lateral earth pressure for structures such as retaining wall, pile bulkheads, and braced cuts.
7. Establishing construction methods for changing subsoil condition

SUBSURFACE EXPLORATION
PROGRAM
Subsurface exploration comprises several steps, including collection of information, reconnaissance, and site
investigation.

Collection of Site
Reconnaissance
Information Investigation

Step 1. Collection of Preliminary Information

This step includes obtaining information regarding the type of structures and its general use. For the construction of
buildings, the approximate and their spacing and the local building code and basement require be known. The construction
of bridges requires determining span length, loading on piers and abutments. A general idea of the topography and the
type of soil to be considered and around the proposed site can be obtained from the following
1. Geological Survey maps.
2. Agronomy maps published by the agriculture departments of various states.
3. The hydrological information. These include the records of stream flow, high flood levels, tidal records, and so on.

The information collected from these sources can be extremely helpful in planning a site investigation. In some cases,
substantial savings may be realized by anticipating problems that may be encountered later in the exploration program.

Step 2. Reconnaissance
The engineer should always make a visual inspection of the site to obtain information about
1. The general topography of the site, possible existence of drainage ditches, abandoned dumps of debris, or other
materials. Also, evidence of creep of slopes and deep, wide shrinkage cracks at regularly spaced intervals may be
indicative of expansive soils.
2. Soil stratification from deep cuts, such as those made for construction of nearby highways and railroads.
3. Type of vegetation at the site, which may indicate the nature of the soil. For example, a mesquite cover in central Texas
may indicate the existence of expansive clays that can cause possible foundation problems.
4. High-water marks no nearby buildings and bridge abutments.
5. Ground water levels, which can be determined by checking nearby wells.
6. Types of construction nearby and existence of any cracks in walls or other problems.
The nature of stratification and physical properties of the soil nearby can also be obtained from any available soil-
exploration reports for existing structures.
Step 3. Site Investigation
The site investigation phase of the exploration program consists of planning making test boreholes, and collecting soil
samples at desired intervals for subsequent observation and laboratory tests. An investigation should be carried out to the
required depth and horizontal extent in the region likely to be affected by the proposed constructions. The investigation
should yield precise information about the following:
I. Order of occurrence and extent of soil/rock strata.
ii. Nature and engineering properties of the soil/rock strata.
iii. Location of groundwater table and its fluctuation.
Depth of investigation, in general, is decided based on the intensity of structured loading and the type of foundation
contemplated.

NSCP Section303.1
Foundation investigation shall be conducted and a Professional Report shall be submitted at each building site for
structures two storeys or higher, an exhaustive geotechnical study shal1 be performed to evaluate in-situ soil parameters
for foundation design and analysis. The minimum required number of boreholes per structure based on footprint area is
summarized in Table 303-1. All of these boreholes should fal1 within the footprint of the structure, and should generally
be uniformly distributed throughout the building footprint. Unless specified by the consulting Geotechnical Engineer, all
boreholes should be drilled to a depth of at least five meters into hard strata or until a suitable bearing layer is reached. For
buildings with basements, the depth of boring should extend to twice the least dimension of the structure's footprint (2B)
added to the depth of the basement.

Table 303-1 Minimum required number of boreholes per An exhaustive geotechnical investigation should also be
structure. conducted in cases of:
1) Questionable soils, expansive soils, or problematic
soils (e.g. liquefiable, organic, compressible, sensitive,
etc.);
2) To determine whether the existing groundwater table
is above or within 1 .5 meters below the elevation of the
lowest floor level;
3) Where such floor is located below the finished ground
level adjacent to the foundation;
4) In cases where the use of pile foundations and/or
ground improvement are anticipated;
5) in areas underlain by rock strata where the rock is
suspected to be of questionable characteristics or
indicate variations in the structure of the rock or where
solution cavities or voids are expected to be present in
the rock; and
6) Other cases deemed necessary by the Geotechnical
*-The minimum required number of boreholes should in Engineer.
no way be constructed as an upper limit value.
**- "A" corresponds to the footprint area of the structure The Building Official may require that the interpretation
in m2 and evaluation of the results of the foundation
investigation be made by a geotechnical engineer.

The approximate required minimum depth of the borings should be predetermined. The depth can be changed during the
drilling operation, depending on the subsoil encountered. To determine the approximate minimum depth of boring,
engineers may use the rules established by the American Society of Civil Engineers (1972):

1. Determining the net increase of stress, , under a foundation with a depth as shown in the Figure 1.0.
2. Estimate the variation of the vertical effective stress, v with depth.
1
3. Determine the depth, D=D1, at which the stress increase is equal to 10q (q=estimated net stress on the
foundation).
4. Determine the depth, D=D2, at which /v=0.05.
 5. Unless bedrock in encountered, the smaller of the two depths, D1 and D2, just determined is the approximate
minimum depth of boring required.

If the preceding rules are used, the depths of boring for a

building with a width of 30.5 m (100 ft) will be
approximately the following, according to Sowers and
Sowers (1970):
No. of stories Boring depth (m)
1 3.5
2 6
3 10
4 15
5 24

Figure 1.0 Determination of the minimum depth

of boring For hospitals and office buildings, they also use the following
rule to determine boring depth.
Db=3S0.7 (for light steel or narrow concrete buildings) Db=6S0.7 (for heavy steel or wide concrete buildings)

Where: Db=depth of boring, in meters S=number of stories

When deep excavations are anticipated, the length of boring should be at least 1.5 times the depth of excavation.
Sometimes subsoil conditions require that the foundation load be transmitted to bedrock. The minimum depth of core
boring into the bedrock is about 3 m (10 ft). If the bedrock is irregular or weathered, the core borings may have to be
deeper.
The engineer should also take into account the ultimate cost of the structure when making decisions regarding the extent
of field exploration. The exploration cost generally decisions regarding the extent of field exploration. The exploration
cost generally should be 0.1-0.5% of the cost of the structure. Soil borings can be made by several methods, including
auger boring, wash boring, percussion drilling, and rotary drilling.

EXPLORATORY BORINGS IN THE FIELD

Making bore holes into the ground with a view to obtaining soil or rock samples from specified or known depths is called
boring.

Auger boring is the simplest method of making exploratory boreholes. It is for soils with sides of the hole can remain
unsupported in dry state. The soil auger is advanced by rotating it while pressing it into the soil at the same time. As soon
as the auger gets filled with soil, it is taken out and the soil sample is collected.
Augers can be classified into two:
1. Hand Operated Auger
2. Power Driven Auger

Hand augers cannot be used for advancing holes to Portable power Driven helical augers (76-2 mm to 304.8 mm
depths exceeding 3-5 m. However, it can be used for in diameter) are available for making deeper boreholes.
soil exploration work for some highways and small The soil samples obtained from such borings are highly
structures. It is generally suitable for all types of soil disturbed. This method may be used in all types of soil
including sandy soils below the water table but is not
above the water table but suitable only in clayey soil
suitable if the soil is mixed with gravel, cobbles etc.
below the water table. It is not suitable in very stiff The central stem of the auger flight may be hollow or
to hard clay nor in granular soils below the solid. A hollow stem is sometimes preferred since
water table. It is not practicable in dense sand nor standard penetration tests or sampling may be done
in sand mixed with gravel even if the strata lie above through the stem without lifting the auger from its
the water table. position in the hole. Besides, the flight of augers serves
the purpose of casing the hole. The hollow stem can
be plugged while advancing the bore and the plug
can be removed while taking samples or conducting
standard penetration tests as shown in Fig 2. The drilling
rig can be mounted on a truck or a tractor. Holes may be
drilled by this method rapidly to depths of 60 m or more.
 Soil exploration below the ground water table is usually very difficult
to perform by means of pits or auger-holes. Wash boring in such
cases is a very convenient method provided the soil is sand, silt, or
clay. The method is not suitable if the soil is mixed with gravel or
boulders.
In this method, a casing about 23 m (6-10 ft) long is driven into the
ground. The soil inside the casing is then removed by means of a
chopping bit attached to a drilling rod. Water is forced through the
drilling rod and exits at a very high velocity through the holes at the
bottom of the chopping bit (Fig 3). The water and the chopped soil
particles rise in the drill hole and overflow at the top of the casing
through a T connection. The washwater is collected in a container. The
casing can be extended with additional pieces as the borehole
progresses; however, that is not required if the borehole will stay open
and not cave in.
Figure 2.0 Hollow-stem auger
(a) Plugged while advancing the auger, and
(b) plug removed and sampler inserted to
sample soil below auger

Rotary drilling is a procedure by which

rapidly rotating drilling bits attached to the
bottom of drilling rods cut and grind and
soil and advance the boreholes. There are
several types of drilling bit. Rotary drilling
can be used in sand, clay, and rocks (unless
badly fissured). Water, or drilling mud, is
forced down the drilling rods to the bits,
and the return flow forces the cuttings to
the surface. Boreholes with diameters of
50.8-203.2 mm (2-8 in.) can be easily
made by this technique. The drilling mud is
slurry of water and bentonite. Generally it
is used when the soil encountered is likely
to cave in. When soil samples are needed,
the drilling rod is raised and the drilling bit Figure 3.0 Wash Boring
is replaced by a sampler.

Percussion drilling is an alternative method of advancing a borehole, particularly through hard soil and rock. A heavy
drilling bit is raised and lowered to chop the hard soil. The chopped soil particles are brought up by circulation of
water. Percussion drilling may require casing.
Coring Bits. These bits are less expensive but normally used to core overburden soil and very soft rocks only. The three
basic categories of coring bits in use are diamond, carbide insert, and saw tooth. Diamond coring bits may be of the
surface set or diamond impregnated type.
Review on Soil Mechanics 11. Settlement in soils can be the result of various
processes. The most important of these is
1. Soil is a particulate material, which means it is an consolidation, which is the rearranging of particles
assemblage of individual particles. Its engineering into a tighter packing.
properties are largely dependant on the interactions Consolidation settlement analyses are based on data
between these particles. from a consolidation test, which is performed in the
laboratory.
2. Soil can potentially include all three phases of matter
(solid, liquid, and gas) simultaneously. It is helpful 12. Soils in the field can be either normally consolidated
to measure the relative proportions of these three or overconsolidated, depending on the difference
phases, and we express these proportions using between the current vertical effective stress and the
standard weight-volume parameters. preconsolidation stress, which is the greatest past
value of this stress.
3. The relative density is a special weight-volume
parameter often used to describe the void ratio of 13. The degree of overconsolidation may be expressed
sands and gravels. using the overconsolidation margin or the
overconsolidation ratio.
4. The particle sizes in soil vary over several orders of
magnitude, from sub-microscopic clay particles to 14. Shear strength in soil has two sources: frictional
gravel, cobbles, and boulders. strength and cohesive strength:

5. Clays are a special kind of soil because of their 15. Shear strength analyses may be based on effective
extremely small particle sizes and because of the stresses or on total stresses. Effective stress analyses
special interactions between these particles and are more accurate models of soil behavior, but are
between the solids and the pore water. difficult to perform when excess pore water
pressures are present.
6. Plasticity describes the relationship between moisture
content and consistency in clays and silts. These 16. The drained conditions are present when the rate of
relationships are quantified using the Atterberg loading is slow compared to the rate of drainage.
limits. This is the case in sands and gravels. The undrained
condition occurs when the reverse is true, which
7. Various soil classification systems are used in civil occurs in silts and clays.
engineering. The most common system is the
Unified Soil Classification System, which uses a 17. Various tests are available to measure shear strength
standard system of group symbols and group names. in the laboratory.

8. Groundwater has a profound impact on soil properties.

Groundwater conditions can be very complex, but in
this book, we will consider only the simple case of a
horizontal groundwater table.

9. The pore water pressure is the pressure in the water

within the soil voids. There are two kinds:
hydrostatic pore water pressure is due solely to
gravity acting on the pore water, while excess pore
water pressure is due to the squeezing or expanding
of the soil voids. Excess pore water pressures are
always temporary.

10. Soils have both normal and shear stresses. They have
two sources: Geostatic stresses are those due to the
force of gravity acting on the soil mass, while
induced stresses are due to applied external loads,
such as foundations.