Bahan poster tekbor

1) Purpose and Principles

The first purpose of site investigation is to acquire the data needed to create a threedimensional
geotechnical model of the ground that will be encountered and affected by the construction of the project. This
model must represent:
the sizes and shapes of the different bodies of materials in the ground,
the geotechnical properties of those materials that are relevant to the project,
the distribution, orientation and engineering characteristics of the structural discontinuities in the mass,
and
the location and behaviour of groundwater.
The second purpose of site investigation is to use this information for predicting the reaction of the ground
to the construction of the project. Access to the ground must be obtained to gain information on the factors
required to establish the model.

This is mostly done by opening some form of excavation, by

describing the materials and features encountered, and by taking samples to be tested
in the laboratory. Significant data regarding boundaries, discontinuities and mass properties
may also be obtained by geophysical surveys.
The excavation may be in the form of a trial pit, a shaft or a tunnel, although the
first is usually employed for minor projects, such as small uncomplicated housing
developments, while the last two are usually associated with in situ tests for major
projects. Most commonly, access is provided by boreholes which provide both descriptive
data and samples. Samples taken are commonly described as either disturbed or
undisturbed, the former being generally useful only for identification (or simple tests
leading to identification) and the latter for formal description and testing. No sample
is truly undisturbed because of the process of sampling and the fact that its stress
condition must have been changed by removal from its confined condition in the
ground. Various classes of sample may be defined according to the method of collection,
and the class required should be defined in the site investigation specification.
Generally, the higher the class required, the more expensive it is to sample, and a high
class should not be specified if a lower would be adequate for the purpose. Conversely,
if design parameters are to be based on the results of a sophisticated testing
programme, high classes of sample are necessary. No matter how sophisticated the test,
the results can be no better than the quality and representativeness of the sample obtained.

2) Drilling Tools
The ideal objective when core drilling is to achieve 100% recovery of sample. In general
terms, the larger the core diameter the better the possibility of maximum recovery,
so at shallow depths in the weathered and weakened rock mass coring begins using
a fairly large size, perhaps S (113 mm diameter). The size may be reduced as the
rock mass improves with depth, perhaps to H (76 mm diameter) and thence to N
(54 mm diameter). To do this, sizes of drill rod, casing etc. have also to be reduced so
that B casing fits inside N casing which fits inside H casing and so forth. There is a
general telescopic reduction in sizes from Z to R. Table 5.3. shows the diameters of
drilling tools for N and H sizes.

5.3.1 Core Bits

Bits used for coring are cylindrical and annular. The edge is studded with hard abrasive materials, sometimes
tungsten carbide, but more usually diamond. There is a large variation in the design and cost of core bits,
reflecting their relative performance and durability in different rock types.

With diamond bits, the most important variations concern the shape of the abrasive
face, which is called the kerf or sometimes the crown (and which may be anything
from planar to fully rounded), the width of the kerf, the arrangement of the diamonds
and the nature and composition of the matrix into which the diamonds are
set. The matrix usually consists of sintered metal which may be impregnated with diamonds
in a cheaper bit, or the diamonds may be hand set in a specific pattern of different
sizes in more expensive types. The diamonds set into the matrix may be varied
in size and quality depending on the rock type to be cut. Soft weak rocks can be cut
with large diamonds of low quality while hard strong rocks require smaller high quality
diamonds for efficient cutting. (Here soft and hard are used in the strict sense of
Table 5.3. Dimensions (in mm) of drill rods, casing, coring equipment and cores. Hole and core diameters
are a few mm depending on wear of the equipment
140 CHAPTER 5 Recovery of Samples
relative abrasivity). Coring bits become worn and may reach the point where continued
use is inefficient or diamonds may fall out of the matrix. They should then be
withdrawn from service and returned to the manufacturer who may extract, and give
credit for, those diamonds that can be re-used.
Other variations in design concern the shape and arrangement of waterway ports.
The face discharge design has ports which discharge the flushing fluid at the cutting
edge of the bit, significantly reducing erosion of the core. Unfortunately these ports
also weaken the bit which may become damaged when drilling in hard rock.

5.3.2 Core Barrels

Details of the design of barrels vary from one manufacturer to another, but they come in three types single,
double and triple tube. The requirement of the barrel is to retain the core and protect it as much as possible from
damage caused by rotation of the barrel, contact with the flushing medium, raising the core to the surface and
removing it from the barrel.

Generally, the greater the complexity of the barrel the greater

the protection, but more complex barrels are more expensive and are subject to higher
maintenance costs as well as being more prone to breakdown.
The triple tube core barrel affords extra protection to the core and may be used where
necessary, for example in coring of extremely friable rocks, such as Quaternary sequences
and fault gouges, but it is not generally used in most site investigations, and
may not be available for that reason. It is expensive and more subject to breakdown
because of the additional complexity, but the principles of design remain the same.
Designs of core barrel vary but largely aim to reduce disturbance of the core once
drilled. M design core barrels have an inner tube extension which incorporates the
core spring and reduces flushing fluid erosion of the core.
The inner tube may be lined with a cylindrical semi-rigid plastic liner into which
the core passes. This considerably aids the successful extraction of the core from the
inner tube (Binns 1998) and is particularly valuable in soft ground.
5.3.3 Flushing Media
With the exception of power auger drilling, all machine rotary drilling is carried out with the aid of a flushing fluid
which may be air, water, drilling mud, polymers or a chemically based foam. The flushing fluid has the primary
purpose of transporting the rock cuttings out of the borehole so that drilling may proceed in newly presented rock
at the bottom of the borehole. The other important function of the flushing medium is to cool and lubricate the bit.

Water is the flushing medium most used because of its low cost and general availability,
although of course this may not be the case in arid countries. It is dense enough
to transport cuttings if the flow rate is reasonably high, and it is effective as a coolant
and lubricant. The main disadvantages are the damage it does to the rock core by softening
and erosion, and its loss in permeable strata.
Drilling mud is a mixture of water and sodium montmorillonite (bentonite), often
with additives like barite (barium sulphate) to give the required properties of density
and viscosity. Because of its high density, drilling mud transports cuttings at quite low
velocities, and it also provides support for the sides of the borehole by counterbalancing
the overburden pressure. In addition, it cakes the sides of the hole and seals any
discontinuities which might otherwise reduce the fluid return. However, for obvious
reasons, if the hole is to be tested for permeability, drilling mud should not be used as
a flushing fluid.
Within the last decade a wide range of specialist drilling products has been developed
which could, if desired, replace conventional bentonite as a flushing medium.
Different types are produced (often polymers) to suit different techniques, including
bio-degradable types to reduce pollution of aquifers, and others which can be rapidly
degraded to solve the problem of permeability testing described above.
Core drilling may be carried out using stable foam as the flushing medium. The
foam may be used to condition conventional drilling mud, or more usually, it can be
used on its own by either high velocity or low velocity injection. The two main ingredients
in the foam mix are a very strong wetting agent, called the foaming surfactant,
and a high molecular weight polymer. Air is used to move the foam up and down the
hole. Foam may be used without the polymer, but once water has been encountered
or when it is necessary to support the sides or the hole, the polymer must be added.
The foam works by providing the necessary cooling and lubrication, and the foam
bubbles carry the rock cuttings up to the surface. It is also effective in sealing and supporting
the hole.
There are many advantages in using stable foam when good quality samples in weak
rocks or even unconsolidated sediments are required. The low velocity of the foam
does not produce as much erosion and therefore less disturbance than other media,
and the foam is degradable in a short time. Its use for site investigation work seems
assured, and good results have been attained in areas where sampling is usually very
difficult by other methods, for example in Hong Kong where samples must be taken
of highly weathered or decomposed granites, and where sampling disturbance alters
significantly the properties of the material. The main disadvantage is the relatively high
cost, but if the whole purpose of the drilling is to obtain good samples, then the additional
cost must obviously be worth while. In addition, much smaller quantities of water
are required than for conventional mud.

5.3.4 Core and Core Barrel Sizes

Core barrels are usually 3 metres or 10 feet in length, and unless drilling is stopped for some specific reason, the
length of the core barrel is the length of the core run. The size of core which it is necessary to obtain is usually
governed by the purpose for which it is intended.

There may be special testing requirements which demand a certain size, but in most rocks a diameter of not less
than 70 mm (approximately H size) is adequate for good recovery, proper examination and testing. In massive,
strong rocks, a diameter of 55 mm (N size) is usually adequate, while for very weak and/or friable rocks it may
be necessary to obtain 100 mm or even 150 mm diameter (S, U, or Z size) core. It is worth noting that if large
diameter core is specified from considerable depth, the lifting capacity of many drilling rigs may be exceeded,
and it will be necessary to use more powerful rigs simply to enable the full core barrel to be lifted.
5.3.5 Extraction and Storage of Cores
Rock core is expensive to obtain, and it should therefore be very obvious that careful extraction from the core
barrel is an absolute necessity. Careless handling and consequent core damage frequently occurs at this
stage, and all suggestions to loosen the core by tapping the barrel with a crowbar or club hammer should be
firmly rejected.

Core can often be successfully extracted from the barrel using a piston extruder, provided
it is done carefully. However, even this may damage the core. Alternatively split
inner tubes for core barrels may be used; these open longitudinally to allow examination
and measurement of the core without the need to remove it. Plastic liners for
barrels may also be obtained so that the core is effectively sealed prior to removal. In
all cases the barrel should be held horizontally, and when the core is extracted it should
be slid on to a rigid plastic sheet corrugated to the same size as the core diameter. The
core can then be placed in the channel of the core box, preferably after sealing with
plastic wrapping.
Ideas on the storage of cores vary (the writer was once presented with cores in a
sack) but good practice indicates that a properly constructed core box must be available
for the immediate receipt of the core. Such a box must have a hinged lid and channels
of a size to fit core with plastic wrapping. The capacity of the channels should be
enough to take the whole core run, usually 3 metres, plus wooden blocks which may
be necessary to mark particular points in the run or to mark the top and bottom of a
run if it is contained in more than one box, as is sometimes necessary. The cores should
be put in the box so that they can be examined as a book is read. Boxes with core should
not be so heavy that they cannot be easily lifted by two men, otherwise they will be
dropped; larger diameter cores may be stored in single row boxes 1 to 1.5 m long.
Ideally, the first examination of the core should take place on site before any transportation,
but this is not always possible. In that case, the core should be transported
with great care to be stored in a suitable environment protected from the weather and
without drying-out or being heated or cooled, until it can be logged and described
accurately.

3) Drilling and Sampling in Rock

Very weak rocks may be drilled with a power auger using a fish tail bit which overcomes
the shear strength of rock during rotation. All rocks may be drilled by the percussive
down hole hammer which can achieve penetration rates superior to any other
method. With this method the percussive bit is driven by compressed air, with the drive
unit located in the hole immediately above the bit. In this case the samples of rock
consist of small chips about the size of a finger nail which are carried to the surface
by the exhaust air. In the previous case the samples are of similar size, but a flushing
medium like water must be used to wash the cuttings to the surface. Such samples can
really be used only for identification of the strata penetrated.
In most circumstances, including those described above, rock is drilled by a rotary
method. Rotary rigs using a toothed roller bit overcome the compressive strength of
the rock; the rock chips must be driven to the surface by a flushing medium which
may be air, water or drilling mud (which can be a clay suspension or one of many
polymers now available). Such a method may be employed for reconnaissance or when
no samples are required for testing, as where drilling is undertaken to determine
whether cavities exist beneath the site. When rock samples are required for inspection
and testing, core must be obtained. For this purpose a rotary drill with an annular
bit is employed.

Drilling and Sampling in Soil

A hole may be made by repeatedly dropping a pointed pole on the ground. If the pole
is hollow, soil will enter the pipe and a sample will be recovered. Thus the most common
method of recovering a sample of soil is to push or hammer a tube into the ground.
One of the earliest forms of drilling rig to do this was the Banka drill, which was entirely
man powered and used to prospect for alluvial minerals and, in the writers experience,
for gold and diamonds. Casing was driven into the ground and samples extracted
from within it using a sampling tool (the shell) raised and dropped to depths
of the order of 10 m by man power. Drillers came sometimes from families devoted to
this work and started at an early age; by maturity they had achieved a physique suggesting
that it would be unwise to quarrel with them.
However, today, while drilling is still heavy work, it is usually undertaken by a
motorised light percussion rig, properly called a cable tool percussion rig, but often
still referred to by the traditional shell and auger name, despite the fact that the bucket
auger is now rarely used. A typical site investigation light percussion rig with tools is
illustrated in Fig. 5.3a. The essential features are the collapsible quadruped A-frame
with a pulley at the top, an engine to provide the power, and a winch to raise and lower
the wire cable to which the tools are connected. The A-frame is equipped with wheels
so that the whole machine can be towed as a trailer behind a light truck or 4-wheel
drive vehicle. Such rigs may be obtained in several sizes, each bigger and more powerful
than the last.
 4) Sample Quantity and Quality
Samples of geological materials are difficult and expensive to obtain. There should be
a specific reason for requesting samples, such as needing values for strength that can
only come from the laboratory testing samples, in order to analyse stability of the structure
to be built. The quantity and quality of samples required for that purpose should
be defined before boring starts. No advantage can be gained if, for the tests intended,
inadequate quantities or qualities are recovered. Guidelines for British site investigation
practice are shown in Table 5.4. The amounts given are the amounts required to
be recovered. The actual test may be performed on smaller fractions of the original, provided the smaller
fraction is representative of the whole.

Sample class is descriptive of the quality, which in turn defines the degree of disturbance
of the material during the process of recovery. The German Standard
DIN 4021 defines five classes (Table 5.5). Every sampling procedure produces some
disturbance, and, generally, for any given material the cost of recovery rises with the
increase in class. The table shows the class of sample which it is possible to obtain,
according to the nature of the material and the method adopted.