18 MARCH 2023 WorldWide Drilling Resource® www.starironworks.com 257 Caroline Street Punxsutawney, PA 15767 800-927-0560 • 814-427-2555 Fax: 814-427-5164 SERVINGTHECONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Serving the Drilling Industry Investigative Soil Borings vs. Geotechnical Borings Adapted from Information by Talon LPE Reasons for clients to seek help from an environmental drilling company can vary a great deal. Sometimes they need to find out if contaminants are present in the soil on a piece of property. Other times, they need to know what the geological landscape looks like below the surface. The drilling project will differ based on their needs. Two of the most common projects are investigative soil borings and geotechnical borings. While they may seem the same to a casual observer, the way borings are taken and reasons behind them are quite different. Investigative Soil Borings - Some environmental drilling projects are focused on finding out what might be in the soil, instead of what the soil structure is. These are investigative soil borings. This is the most common type of sampling taken by engineers and geologists. With investigative borings, the sample is often disturbed by the sampling method, meaning the soil can be a mix of soils from different levels. This kind of boring looks at soil texture, moisture content, and the kind of soil. It can also be used to look at soil’s nutrient and contaminant levels. Sampling near the surface is easy with a hand auger or backhoe. For greater depths, a drilling crew will use an auger or other drilling method to get down to the desired depth. Samples can be taken with a split spoon or other extraction method. Geotechnical Borings - When it is critical to know what the soil structure looks like down below, a geotechnical boring is the appropriate method. This method requires digging a borehole with as little soil disturbance as possible. With geotechnical borings, the choice of sampling method is crucial to retrieving samples as undisturbed as possible, so soil samples represent the level where they are taken. This kind of boring helps engineers and geologists know about the soil bearing pressure; active soil load; location of the groundwater table; and characteristics of each layer of soil. These samples are often done on building sites and places where finding groundwater depth is necessary. Common sampling methods for gaining geotechnical borings include long split spoon or piston samplers. Geologists or engineers will usually advise clients on which sampling method they need. ENV
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDk4Mzk=