Sonic core drilling - geotechnical application

[earth321]

I want to find out if anyone has used sonic core drilling for soil sampling for geotechnical purposes. I know its used a lot for environmental work but I am interested in its usefulness for geotechnical subsurface characterization. Conventional drilling and sampling will be done (this is s tunnelling project in soils). Can sonic drilling provide good startification that might be useful? Is that the only use of this technique for geotechnical purposes?

Thanks for your help.

 

[jdonville]

earth321,

I was involved with a project that used a sonic rig. We used the rig because we could get a continuous sample and because in the hard till we were going through, it would not have been possible to use hollow-stem augers (we were setting groundwater monitoring wells), i.e., it was faster. Like waaaaaay faster. It was also expensive, but worth it due to the time savings.

The logistics were a little more complicated as the sonic trucks were heavier than conventional rotary rig trucks, but being able to plow through 50-odd feet of some very hard till and set casing was well worth it.

Jeff


Jeffrey T. Donville, PE
TTL Associates, Inc.

http://www.ttlassoc.com