Geotechnical Investigation

Geotechnical engineering is a specialized branch of Civil Engineering which deals with the properties, behavior and use of earth materials (soil and rock) in engineering works. The successful practice of geotechnical engineering requires integrations of knowledge from several fields, such as geology, material science and testing, mechanics and hydraulics. Soil and rock are naturally occurring, highly complex materials with variable ingredients and various properties. The process of estimating the strength and various properties of soil and rock is known as geotechnical investigation.

Application of Geotechnical Investigation (Soil Testing) in the selection of type of foundation:

The use of the foundation is to support the superstructure. The foundation must support the superstructure without undue settlement or without causing cracks either in the foundation stratum or in the superstructure. Since the foundation is essentially of the hidden, some idea and knowledge about the properties and the characteristics of the hidden substrata is essential so that the foundation could be designed safe, sound and economically viable. This is what exactly the job of Soil Testing.

THE AIM OF THE SOIL TESTING IS TO DETERMINE:

• Sequence and extent of soil and rock stratum in the region likely to be affected by proposed work (i.e. Exploring soil properties up to the influence depth of proposed foundation).
• Nature of each available stratum and the engineering properties of soil and rock, which may affect the design and mode of construction of proposed structures and their foundation
• Location of ground water and possible corrosive effects of soil and water on foundation materials.