In the midst of planning a construction project? Whether you’re building a road, a bridge, a commerce centre, or a dam, the earth you’ll be working with can have a profound impact on the success of your project.
Geotechnical services consist of many different types of studies and tests on a particular site that delve into the area’s geological and soil conditions. They are crucial for any infrastructure project, as they give builders and engineers the data they need to make decisions about any preparations they need to make, the best materials to use, and the smartest ways to design and build their projects.
There are many different types of geotechnical services to choose from–so how do you know which ones you’ll need to book? This article will go through some of the major types of services and explain what they are, how they work and when you’ll need them.
If you’re looking for geotechnical engineering in Melbourne, you’ll want to go with a provider that can offer everything you need under one roof. Here is a snapshot of some of the services that we offer here at SITE Geotechnical.
An in-depth geotechnical site investigation can help you discover a lot about a particular aspect of your project. Here are some of the types of investigations that professional geotechnical engineers will offer.
Geotechnical engineers will perform these investigations to discover important information regarding the physical properties of the soil or rocks in question. They can include a walkover investigation of the surface as well as drilling to examine the subsurface.
A geotechnical investigation is a must when building any type of structure. A thorough investigation can lead to a safer project that has less risk of running overtime due to complications.
A geotechnical investigation can involve:
These are similar to geotechnical investigations but are used for existing pavements for rehabilitation or upgrading or for new developments or widenings and are more shallow, as pavement tends to sit close to the surface of the soil. The surface and subsurface will be tested, as well as existing pavement to see if it can be reused or stabilised.
A pavement test can save you a lot of money in the long run, as it will inform you of the best design and materials to use for your project’s pavement. If you are developing any paved surfaces in your project, this test must be ordered.
Unexpected groundwater can bring your project to a grinding halt, so knowing if there is any under the surface of your site, and how deep it goes, is critical. By ordering this investigation early, you can create a design that takes it into account and ensures the groundwater won’t weaken the stability of your structure or give an indication of how groundwater may affect construction or long-term performance.
This also applies to infrastructure like sewers and stormwater systems–knowing how to safely excavate these is vital to beginning your project on solid ground.
When building a dam or artificial wetland, you’ll need to make sure the soil to be used can resist washing away and keep the water where it needs to be. A wetland or dam investigation will involve:
Do you have a project that is going to happen on land that hasn’t been used before and hasn’t been impacted by any prior infrastructure? Then you’ll need to order a greenfield investigation. This investigation will make sure the land is safe and viable for your project, as the lack of prior construction means there will probably be no existing data to work off.
If the project involves an area prone to landslides then a landslide investigation can be very helpful. Sometimes, the need for this type of investigation is obvious (for example very steep sites) and sometimes, sites are located in areas within an erosion management overlay that calls for a landslide risk assessment. These investigations can involve:
As you can see, geotechnical investigations are incredibly useful and can give you valuable information about a wide range of soil-related factors.
Do you need soil testing in Melbourne? SITE Geotechnical is accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA) in Infrastructure and Asset Integrity.
Need something designed specifically for your project’s success? Here are some of our services that can help.
Does your project need construction work done on soft or unworkable ground? A working platform will need to be constructed. Our designed working platforms can be made out of materials like geofabrics and textiles, quarry rubble, sand drainage blankets and cement-treated crushed rock.
Once it has been put in place, we will test the platform using a roller or loaded truck and with a falling weight deflector test if a high level of assessment is required.
Planning on using a crane during your project? Make sure it has a safe and durable surface to work on with the right type of platform. An engineer can inspect your current platform to make certain it is suitable and provide a bearing capacity report, or they may recommend a new platform be designed.
Crane platforms are an important factor in any risk assessment, as the ground conditions they are used on can vary greatly.
By using our CPS Design services, you can make sure your project has exactly what it needs to get off to a great start.
Professional lab testing allows you to find out exactly what you’re dealing with in the soil, and construction materials you’re using in your project. Here is a sample of some of the types of tests we can perform.
Many construction materials and earthworks need to meet certain criteria, and we can help with these by performing classification tests. Construction materials often need to meet set criteria in order for them to safely bear the load of your project.
Recycled materials are a great choice for construction and industrial projects if you want to save on raw resources. These materials can include crushed brick and concrete, reclaimed asphalt pavement, crushed glass and slag.
If you need to find out what the particle size distribution of your soil or construction material is, then a sieve analysis will get the job done. By passing materials through a series of differently-sized sieves, it can assist in classifying the soil or class of material. For instance, crushed rock in roads often requires the distribution of particles to be uniformly distributed with a limited amount of fines to be suitable.
Atterberg Limits
If you need to find out what the Atterberg Limits of the soil or construction material is, then Atterberg analysis will get the job done by testing the soil’s Liquid Limit (LL) and the Plastic Limit (PL) to determine Plasticity Index (PI). Other tests can include Linear Shrinkage (LS) all can assist in classifying the soil or class of material. This testing assists in determining the soil’s reactivity.
This test can be used to determine the strength of the rock materials at your site, classifying them in a range from Very Low (VL) strength to Extremely High (EH) strength. The sample will be sampled from undertaking rock core samples from your site using a machine or from blocks and irregular specimens with a minimum dimension in the range of 25mm to 100mm.
Our high-quality lab testing services will ensure that you know exactly what the rock at your site is capable of withstanding.
We can visit your project to provide on-site inspections and data you can use immediately. Sometimes, data and samples will need to be taken back to our lab for analysis.
During construction, our team can visit and make sure that the data taken during a geotechnical investigation is being adhered to. We can sometimes provide advice on the spot if needed.
Our geotechnical engineers can make sure that the foundation of your project has been excavated correctly. This is especially important for large or more complex builds, where the types of soil and its bearing capacity can have a real and lasting impact on the projects’ viability and success.
This test will make sure that the soil at your site can be filled on or compacted without springing back or visibly deforming. We do this using smooth-wheeled rollers or impact rollers to identify any weak zones in the soil.
If weak zones are discovered, we can provide advice on how improvements can be made.
If it’s on-site assistance and analysis you need, our site visits and inspections can help.
Whether it’s the concrete path, an artificially surfaced sports ground or a concrete or asphalt road, pavement tests are always needed during civil construction. Here are some of the pavement-based services we offer.
By improving and repairing an existing paved surface, you can save money and refresh the looks and durability of your pavement. Rehabilitation can consider reuse of the existing pavement materials. Depending on the condition, treatments can vary from a simple resurfacing to insitu stabilisation using stabilisation additives and new surfacings. We have saved millions of dollars using effective stabilisation/rehabilitation techniques as compared to conventional reconstruction.
Recycled or reuse of existing pavement materials makes an excellent choice for use in pavement rehabilitation.
The CIRCLY software we use is designed for pavement analysis, and we use it extensively for pavement design projects. This software is used in both Australia and New Zealand, and can calculate the overall damage induced by the traffic spectrum to help us design our pavement, thanks to its advanced pavement material properties and performance models.
We are strong advocates for the use of recycled materials, as they offer fantastic strength and durability without having to draw on raw, natural resources. They can be used on existing pavement to help rehabilitate it, or it can be used within new constructions.
The materials used in pavement recycling tend to include flexible pavements (recycled asphalt), rigid pavements (recycled concrete) and solid waste materials (steel slag, glass, fly ash and plastic).
The quality and longevity of sports greens don’t usually depend on managing loads, but rather on minimising the movement of the ground underneath the field.
We can do this by creating appropriate drainage systems for the soil, covering the soil with the correct type of material and overcoming poor ground materials during the field’s build, which are often encountered inside sporting reserves.
Are you looking for geotechnical services in Beveridge, Gippsland or Wyndham Vale? SITE Geotechnical can provide you with high-quality and detailed assessments you can trust.
No matter the type of construction project you are planning, geotechnical services need to play a part in it. The right geotechnical engineering service you choose can help save you project costs, prevent time blowouts and contribute to a smoother and more successful process and end result.
At SITE Geotechnical, we offer all of these services, and more! To chat with one of our team and find out which services are best for your needs, call us on 1300 557 260 or get in touch using our online contact form. We can offer you a free quote to help you know what to expect from our work.
We can help with everything from earthwork supervision to detailed geotechnical reports. Contact SITE Geotechnical today, and let us set up your next project for enduring success!
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