The major needs of soil exploration are:-
1. To identify the nature of the soil deposits, the depth and thickness of the various soil layers, and the
location of the groundwater table.
2. To collect soil and rock specimens for testing and to identify the engineering qualities of the rocks
and soil layers by laboratory or field assessments that influence the performance of the structural
system positioned on it.
Objectives of Soil Exploration
Following are some of the objectives of soil exploration:-
•Identification of the type of soil deposits.
•Determination of the depth and thickness of distinct soil strata and their extent in the horizontal direction.
•The location of groundwater as well as variations in groundwater level.
•Collecting soil and rock samples from the various strata.
•Determination of engineering parameters of soil and rock strata that affect structural performance.
•To choose an appropriate type of foundation.
•To calculate the most likely and largest differential settlements.
•To determine the soil's bearing capacity.
•To forecast lateral earth pressures acting on retaining walls and abutments.
•To choose appropriate soil improvement practices.
•To predict the problems that can occur in the foundation of the structure and find its remedy.
Purpose of Soil Exploration
Some of the purposes or necessity of soil exploration are as follows:-
•To determine the fundamental soil attributes, such as compressibility, strength, and hydrological condition, that
influence construction design and safety.
•To choose the proper foundation type and depth for a certain structure.
•To determine the quantity and quality of the materials that will be used in the construction.
•To determine the load-bearing capacity of the foundation.
•To ascertain the depth of the groundwater as well as any potential corrosive impact of water and soil on the foundation
material.
•Predicting how much a building is likely to settle.
•To investigate why existing works have failed.
•To develop construction strategies for changing subsurface conditions.
•To assess the ground pressure exerted laterally on retaining structures and abutments.
Stages of Soil Exploration
Different stages of Soil Exploration are:-
•Site Reconnaissance
•Preliminary Site Exploration
•Detailed Exploration
Site Reconnaissance
• The first stage of a site assessment is primarily reconnaissance. The primary purpose of this stage of exploration is to gain
an understanding of the local soil type.
• The reconnaissance phase, also known as the initial stage, consists of acquiring fundamental information about the site and
is the most significant activity for conducting a site investigation.
• It entails visiting the location and reviewing maps and other important documents. This research intends to establish a
basic soil profile as well as representative samples of the main soil layers and groundwater conditions in order to decide on
future exploration plans.
• This research must be accomplished at the lowest possible cost, and no large-scale exploration work is often undertaken at
this stage.
Preliminary Site Exploration
For smaller constructions, light structures, roadways, and air bases, preliminary site research is carried out. The fundamental
purpose of preliminary exploration is to offer a rough picture of subsoil conditions at the lowest possible cost. The subsoil
knowledge acquired should be sufficient for designing and building light structures.
The basic information gathered during the preliminary site exploration is mentioned below:-
•The compressive strength of the soil.
•The location of the level of groundwater.
•The extent and depth of the layers of soil.
•Composition of the layers of the soil.
•The depth of the hard stratum from the ground surface.
•Soil engineering characteristics.
Detailed Soil Exploration
• Digging, sampling, and testing are used to determine the engineering qualities of the soil for a detailed investigation.
• A detailed investigation is essential for complex projects, big engineering tasks, and massive constructions such as dams,
high-rise structures, and bridges.
• The detailed site research would be extremely expensive, making it unsuitable for minor engineering projects with
restricted funds.
• The information acquired during the initial site assessment is sufficient for small engineering tasks.
Depth of boring Depends upon
• Type of structure
• Intensity of Loading
• Soil profile
• Physical characteristics of soil
When dynamic loads are applied on silty and fine sandy soils in saturated state the pore pressure in such soil will not
be in a position to get dissipated due to low permeability. Hence, during dynamic loading (i.e. application of blows)
the pore water will offer a temporary resistance to dynamic loads. This leads to higher value of N-value which is
unsafe. Therefore when SPT is performed in saturated silts and fine sands and if the observed N-value is more than
15, a correction has to be applied to reduce the observed values. This correction is applied on the N-value corrected
for over burden pressure (N’).
In the SPT, as the sample tube is driven into the ground, the overburden pressure can influence the energy
transfer from the hammer to the soil. The overburden pressure tends to compact the soil, making it denser and
potentially affecting the measured N-value.