The Journal of the Deep Foundations Institute

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees]
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]
Site Investigation

Question 1
Section a
Steps involved in the site investigations
Part I
1) Desk study
2) Site reconnaissance
3) Exploration and sampling of the site:
4) In situ/field tests
5) Laboratory Testing
6) Report writing
Part II
i. Desk study: It involves collection or gathering of information related to the site including
the maps, geological maps among others
ii. Site reconnaissance: It is usually desirable to have early examination of the site by the
qualified experts. These may include land surveyors, geologists, and soil engineers
among others. The collection of the information should be done entirely as per the layout
of the site.
iii. Exploration and sampling of the site: Detailed geology investigation as well as conditions
of the subsoil through the use of surveys of the surface, headings, trial pits, boreholes
among others

iv. In situ/field tests: This includes the tests which is carried out on the site before or during
the process of the construction; ground tests like standard penetration, shear vane, cone
penetration, pressure metre, plate bearing etc (Ko et al.2019).
v. Laboratory Testing: This will include tests on the undisturbed and disturbed samples
which have been submitted by the team from the site; tests on the soils for quality,
classification, shear strength, permeability among others
vi. Report writing: It is the last stage of site investigation. It involves compilation of the
details of the study geologically including the results of boring, structures, stratigraphy
and mapping.
Section b
Part I
Geotechnical method commonly used:
Direct Shear Test
Part II
Advantages
 The preparation of the sample is usually very easy
 Drainage is very quickly since the sample’s thickness is very less
 It is the best option for carrying out the drained tests for the cases of soils which are
cohesion less
 The used apparatus are cheap relatively

Disadvantages
 The conditions of the stress will only be known at failure.
 The distribution of stress on the planes of failure is never uniform
 The shear area gradually reduces as the progresses are noted on the tests
 There is fixed orientation of the plane of failure
 It is very difficult to control the conditions of the drainage.
Part III
Potential use of test results in geotechnical engineering design
Apparatus
The activities of the tests are carried out on the specimen of the soil which has been placed in the
shear box. The shear box is split into at least two halves along the plane horizontally. The shear
box’s sizes is actually 60X60X50mm. The horizontal division of the box is done in such a way
that the plane of division passes through the centre. The two halves will be held together by the
use of locking pins or they will be perforated according to the conditions for testing
(Moghaddam et al.2018).
Testing Procedure
The specimen of soil of size 60 x 60 x 25 mm would be taken. This sample is placed directly into
the shear box directly before it is compacted. The porous stone, upper grid plate as well as
pressure pad is placed on the specimen. The shear loads and normal loads is then applied until
the point of failure.
The presentation of the results will then be done in the form of: