Methods of Boring and Probing

Methods of Boring and
Probing
Methods of Boring and Probing

Soft ground
Window sampling
Percussion sampling
Trenching
Hand Augers
Power Augers (hollow stem, continuous flight or short
helical auger)
rotary core drilling

Choose a technique.
2.1.3
2.1.3

The purpose of sampling

Hand augers
A light portable method

for sampling of soft to
stiff soils near the ground
surface. At least six types
of auger are normally
available.
The most commonly used

is the Posthole auger

Problems with augers
Most commonly used instrument is the
Posthole Auger (diameters between 100
and 200 mm);
Hand augering is slow in stiff or very stiff
clays;
depths are normally limited to about 5 m
coarse sands, gravels and cobbles it may
be impossible to advance the hole.
It is not possible to advance hand-auger
holes beyond the water table as casing
cannot be used (the hole will collapse)
A window sampler is a
steel tube usually 1 or 2
metres long with a series
of windows cut in the
wall of the tube through
which to view or take
samples of the soil;
The sampler is driven

into the ground by a
percussion hammer and
extracted using manual
or hydraulic jacks.
Samplers come in a
range of diameters.
Percussion sampling systems
Used in general site and foundation
investigation, subsidence investigations,
contaminated land assessment
Suitable ground conditions include clay,
sand, finer gravels, glacial tills and made
ground above and below the water table.
Typically disturbed samples suitable for soil
profiling and classification
Sampling is dependant on ground
conditions but depths of 10m can be
achieved routinely and depths of 20m have
been reported.
Piston Sampler
Casing sizes will decrease in

depth because of friction with
the wall of the borehole. The
final casings may be:
0-14 m: 300 mm diameter
150 mm is minimum casing

diameter allowed in the UK as
the standard sampler size is
100 mm.
Left: a light percussion drilling rig
which consists of:
1. A collapsible A-frame;
2. A diesel engine based on hand
operated friction clutch;
a winch pump which provides
pulling power to the rig rope and
can be held still with a brake.
The boring tool is then driven by

percussion.

For sampling clays
Cohesive i.e. clay rich

soils a claycutter is
used.
Soil is removed through

a slot in the claycutter
when the tube is
withdrawn

For cohesionless soils
A shell is used
at least 2 m of water is put in the borehole and the shell is
then surged (moving up and down by about 300 mm)
The upward stroke draws water into the hole and forces the
soil into suspension;
the downstroke captures the soil past a non-return valve

Augering is
limited by
depth. If a
deeper hole is
needed than a
continuous
flight auger can
be used.
Such
instruments
however give
Methods of Boring and Probing poor sample for
Gun Wharf, Quays, Portsmouth
Carried out by Southern
Testing in 1997
Development was worth
100 million
It will contain on completion
over 300 houses
together
bars and restaurants
14 screen multiplex
Picture provided by CJW Photography
cinema
and southern Testing Laboratories
two hotels
tall ships berth
and the 165 Millennium
Tower

Expected ground conditions
made ground
drift deposits of medium dense sand and gravel
soft alluvial clays
Bracklesham Beds: stiff silty clays and clayey silts of Tertiary
age
London Clay of Tertiary age
Potential problems: Unexploded Ordnance; contamination from

diesel and other military fuel oils; Heavy metals

Methods used
29 cable percussion boreholes to depths up to 50m
11 rotary cored boreholes through the former harbour
walls
In situ shear strength and permeability testing
8 downhole gas monitoring wells
47 trial pits and trenches to establish the location of the
former harbour wall, tide mill gates and other buried
Archaeology
25 over water jet probes and five over water window
samples to establish the depth of marine mud deposits
two sub-horizontally (2o) drilled rotary boreholes 12.25
m long and 1.55 m deep through the railway
embankment

Investigating rock masses

Rotary methods are generally used in rock to
produce a hole
A flush fluid must be used in order to reduce
friction and cool the core bit.
Flush fluids may be:
Water based (bentonite
-water mix)
oil based
air
Stable foam
Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud
Why use flush fluid ??
Used to cool drill bit

reduce mechanical abrasion of tools
holds cuttings in suspension and
removes
help to keep the hole open without
casing

Choice of fluid flush
Air Water
only used when water cheap
would cause serious allows lower flush
softening of the rocks velocity due to higher
poor lubrication viscosity (24-50 m /
properties min)
low viscosity means that unsuitable for arid
high flush velocity is zones due to volumes
required (1000m/min) so of water required
that cuttings do not fall make cause serious
back into the borehole degradation of
(termed loss of return) mudrocks
can result in erosion of
the rocks making the hole
unsuitable for in situ tests

Choice of fluid flush
Mud Modified stable foam
water- bentonite mix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp30M_OqBaw
more viscous so lower flush low flush velocity (as

velocity is required to remove low as 15 m / min)
cuttings low erosion
Eliminates water seepage low uphole velocity
from the borehole means that a smaller
Fluid may be re-circulated into air compressor is
a settling tank required
in mudstones and clays a has an advantage
thin mix is used while for that it cakes of shales
drilling in gravels a thick mix and other weak rocks
is required and prevents loss of
return by expanding
Barytes can be used to
into pores and voids
increase density to keep holes
open

Bibliography
Bell, F. G. 1993. Engineering Geology.
Blackwell Scientific Publications. Oxford.
(chapter 7)
Clayton, C. R. I., Simons, N. E. & Matthews, M.
C. 1982. Site Investigation a handbook for
engineers. Granada, London.
Johnson, R. B. & DeGraff, J. V. 1988. Principles
of Engineering Geology. John Wiley & Sons,
Chichester (chapters 6 and 7)

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