FARWESTERN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
University Central Campus
Civil Engineering Department
Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur

A REPORT OF FOUNDATION ENGINEERING

Submitted To:
Submitted By:
Subject lecturer : Jaya ram
Name: Aadarsh Joshi
Panthi
Semester :VII
Civil Engineering Department
Symbol no: 8171636
School of Engineering, FWU

2081/12/25
 1.BORING
Boring in the context of foundation refers to a geotechnical investigation technique used to
determine the condition of the soil or rock beneath a proposed construction site. It's a crucial
step in foundation design and helps engineers understand what type of foundation is suitable
for the structure.
Boring is the process of drilling into the ground to collect soil or rock samples and assess
subsurface conditions. It provides data like soil type, strength, groundwater level and bearing
capacity.

Types of Boring Methods

1.Auger Boring:
 Uses a hand or mechanical auger.
 Suitable for soft soil.
 Quick but limited to shallow depth.
 This method is used for soils above the water
table.

2. Wash boring
 Commonly used for exploration below ground water table for which the auger
method is unsuitable.
 Used for all kinds of soil except those mixed with gravel and boulders.
 Water is pumped down a pipe to loosen the soil.
 Soil is brought up through the borehole with water.
 Common for cohesive soils.

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 3. Rotary drilling
 Same as that of wash boring but only difference is that cutting bit is rotated
continuously by means of power connection.
 Suitable for deep boreholes and various soil types.
 Unsuitable for gravelly soils, as gravel do not break easily but rotate beneath the
bit.

4. Percussion drilling
 Used for making holes in rocks, boulders and other hard strata.
 The materials are reduced to fine particles (pulverized).
 Water is added which forms slurry and is removed by a sand pump or a bailer at
intervals.
 Difficult to get good quality undisturbed sample.

Why is Boring important in Foundation?

 Determines soil bearing capacity.
 Identifies water table level.
 Detects problematic soils like expansive clay or loose sand.
 Helping in choosing between shallow or deep foundation.

2. BOREHOLE
Boreholes are narrow, deep holes drilled into the ground to collect information about the soil,
rock and groundwater beneath a construction site. To create a borehole, specialized drilling
equipment is used. Borehole data is essential for assessing site conditions before starting any
construction project.
The following general guidelines help in determining the borehole specifications:
1.Borehole Depth
 The depth of the borehole largely depends on the type of investigation (e.g.
foundation design, groundwater exploration etc).
 Method suggested by sowers and sowers (1970)

Depth of boring = 3S0.7 (for light steel or narrow concrete buildings)

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Depth of boring = 6S0.7 (for heavy steel or wide concrete buildings)
where, S = number of stories
2.Number of Boreholes
 No hard and fast rules.
 In areas where soil conditions are expected to be different.
 More uniform strata – less no. of Borehole
 Erratic Variation – more no. of Borehole
 Borehole must be sunk close to the proposed foundation.
 Very small buildings – 1 BH (in center)
 Compact buildings – At least 5 BH ( 4 at corner and 1 at center)

3.Borehole Spacing
 Borehole spacing is generally determined by the size of the site and the soil
variability across the area.
 For smaller sites, boreholes are spaced at regular intervals.
 For larger sites, the spacing can be closer or the number of boreholes can increase
to capture variations in the soil.

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4.Borehole Diameter
 The diameter is typically 100 mm to 200 mm for standard geotechnical boreholes.
 For larger investigations, the diameter could be larger, typically 300 mm to 400
mm.

3. Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is an in-situ test of soil used to determine various
engineering properties of soil like the relative density and the angle of shearing resistance.
This test is a necessary prerequisite for the design of building foundations.
It is most commonly used for cohesionless soils which cannot easily sampled. It is also a
simple and an inexpensive test.
The requirements to conduct an SPT soil test are:
 Split spoon sampler
 Drop Hammer weighing 65 kg
 Guiding rod
 Rope for hammer
 Driving head (anvil)
Procedure :
 The borehole is advanced to the required depth and the bottom cleaned.
 The split-spoon sampler attached to standard drill rods of required length is lowered
into the borehole and rested at the bottom.
 The split-spoon sampler is driven into the soil for a distance of 450 mm by blows of a
drop hammer (monkey) of 65 kg falling vertically and freely from a height of 750
mm.
 The number of blows required to penetrate every 150 mm is recorded while driving
the sampler.
 The number of blows required for the last 300 mm of penetration is added together
and recorded as the N value at that particular depth of the borehole.
 The number of blows required to effect the first 150 mm of penetration called the
seating drive is disregarded.
 The split – spoon sampler is then withdrawn and is detached from the drill rods.
 The split-barrel is disconnected from the cutting shoe and the coupling.

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  The soil sample collected inside the split barrel is carefully collected so as to preserve
the natural moisture content and transported to the laboratory for tests.

Corrections in Standard Penetration Test:

N = N2 + N3
N needs to be corrected, the corrections are –
i. Dilatancy Correction:

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  Silty fine sands and fine sand below the water table develop pore pressure which is
not easily dissipated. Pore pressure increases the resistance of the soil thus,
penetration number (N) also increases.
 If N (recorded value) ˃ 15, Terzaghi and Peck (1967) recommended the following
correction,

Nc = 15 + 0.5(N – 15)
where, Nc = corrected penetration number

 If N< 15, then Nc = N.

ii. Overburden Pressure Correction:

 In granular soil, overburden pressure affects the penetration resistance.
 When two granular soils have the same relative density, soil with a higher confining
pressure will have a higher "N" value.
 As the depth of the soil increases, the confining pressure also gets increased.

Nc = N (350/(S + 70))
where, S = Overburden pressure less than 280 KN/m²

Precautions:
 Split spoon sampler must be in good condition.
 The height of the fall of the hammer must be 750 mm. Any variation will significantly
affect the discarded.
 Bent drill rod should be discarded.
 The borehole must be well-cleaned before conducting the test.
 The drop hammer must be of right weight and the fall should be free, frictionless and
vertical.

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 4. SAMPLING
Sampling is the process of obtaining samples of soil from the desired depth at the desired
location in a natural soil deposit in order to assess the engineering properties of the soil.
Soil samples, in general can be classified into 2 categories:

a. Disturbed Samples
 Natural structure of the soil gets modified partly or fully during sampling.
b. Undisturbed Samples
 Original soil structure is preserved.
 It is nearly impossible to obtain a truly undisturbed sample of soil.
Sampling after SPT
i. Collection of disturbed soil sample
ii. Storage and labeling
iii. Transport to laboratory
iv. Data integration
 Soil profiling
 Bearing capacity estimation
 Settlement analysis
 Liquefaction potential assessment

Here are the key precautions for sampling:

 Ensure the tools used for sampling are clean and are in good condition.
 Handle the samples gently to avoid disturbing their natural structure.
 Ensure the sampler is driven to the required depth.
 Preserve moisture.
 After the SPT is performed, ensure that the borehole remains stable for sample
retrieval.
 Each sample should be carefully labeled with the corresponding depth, location,
date and other relevant information.
 Do not mix the sample form different depths as this can invalidate the test results.