GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING SURVEYS

The whole complex of engineering surveys consists of separate types of surveys and studies. The scope of work and types of required surveys are usually selected and applied based on the type of a project (highway, interchange, bridge, building or structure), the level of liability of the project and the expected geological, hydrogeological and seismic conditions of the construction site. The selected geological engineering surveys are then completed in full compliance with the regulatory requirements.

Geological engineering surveys are performed by us, as a rule, according to the standards of the country in which the work is performed or according to generally accepted European or American standards (EN, BS, ASTM and others).

Types of geological engineering surveys performed by our company cover a wide range of geological tasks and include:

• Drilling and mining operations on land and in the waters of reservoirs;
• Cone penetration test;
• Dynamic probing;
• Probing by SPT, CPT, DPT, DCPI;
• Stamp tests of soil;
• Testing of all types of piles by static and dynamic loads;
• Monitoring of dangerous geological processes and phenomena;
• Geophysical surveys;
• Experimental filtration studies of soils;
• Hydrological surveys;
• Environmental surveys;
• Search and exploration of building materials and its stock assessment and calculation;
• Forecasting changes in geological conditions under the influence of natural and man-made factors;
• Determining the allowable impact on the elements of the geological environment and ways to achieve the desired state of the environment;
• Assessment of the risk of human life in specific areas;
• Development of projects for the protection of territories and individual objects from adverse and dangerous processes;
• Assessment of the study of the territory;
• In-house processing of materials and issuance of a technical report.

To perform geological engineering surveys, our company has a fleet of modern machinery and equipment.

Drilling of exploratory wells is performed by self-propelled drilling rigs with the use of the following drilling methods (depending on soil conditions):

• Shock-rope drilling;
• Core drilling, including diamond tips;
• Shock -rotary drilling;
• Screw drilling.

Field methods of studying the properties of soils

Drilling and sampling is one of the main methods of soil research, but in addition to drilling directly on the site of future construction we widely use field research methods.

Our company has a wide range of field methods of soil research according to both domestic and foreign procedures.

Among domestic methods, methods of static and dynamic sounding of soils, stamp tests, impellers, pile tests and others are widely used.

When working abroad or making assessments for foreign customers, we usually use the methods of standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetration test (CPT), dynamic penetration test (DPT), determination of Dynamic Cone Penetration index (DCPI), determination of the California bearing ratio (CBR) , Wayne’s field test and others.

Hydrological engineering and meteorological engineering surveys are carried out in order to comprehensively study the natural conditions of the surrounding area and local conditions of the projected object. Those surveys are then used to determine the calculated climatic and hydrological characteristics for further modeling.

Hydrological engineering surveys include:

• Determination of the hydrological regime of water bodies (temporary watercourses, rivers, lakes, reservoirs) in the construction area, water levels and flow regimes, flow velocity, high water levels, etc.;
• Assessment of the probability of impact on the territory of the object of dangerous hydrological phenomena and processes (intensive slope runoff and erosion, high floods and floods on rivers, erosion of shores and foundations of hydraulic structures, bridges, villages, avalanches, etc.), forecast of dangerous phenomena and risk assessment.

Monitoring of geological hazards and phenomenaGeological hazards (e.g. landslides, mudflows, avalanches, karsts, deformations of buildings and structures) are considered to be adverse geologic conditions, which can cause severe damage, destroy property and endanger life. However, geological hazards can be appropriately monitored and surveyed. Our company effectively performs monitoring and surveys various geological hazards. Depending on a problem, we use a wide range of instruments and equipment (geodetic, geophysical instruments, inclinometers, piezometers, extensometers and strain gauges of various types and purposes). As a rule, several methods are used simultaneously to solve one type of problem, which allows us to obtain reliable results of monitoring and optimize forecasting.

Geophysical engineering surveys

Geophysical engineering surveys are performed for the construction of buildings and structures in seismic areas. A wide range of geophysical methods is used to perform this type work, depending on the tasks to be solved and the complexity of the geological conditions.

In our work we often use express methods that allow us to get quickly, accurately and at low cost the first characteristic data on the area of work. This primarily data directs us to effective selection of a large set of methods and determination of the density of the study. The methods include:

• Method of vertical electric sounding (SEZ);
• Seismoacoustic resonance method (SAR);
• The method of the natural pulsed electromagnetic field of the Earth (PIEMPZ);
• Passive electromagnetic resonance method.