Geotechnical Investigation

Geotechnical Services

Geotechnical investigation and exploration is the root of any construction, where the design inputs are highly required in accurate precise measures for constructing any building. Such design data will benefit the owner for having a well secured building for long term ownership. Similarly, the engineering consultants office will benefit in a good outstanding for providing the correct designs according to the soil investigation results.

Our Geotechnical department provides variety of services against reasonable fees for fulfilling the needs of properties’ owners, engineering consultants offices, construction contractors, governmental sectors and private companies.

In addition, our Geotechnical Department participates in environmental research and exploration.

Our Geotechnical Department offers geotechnical engineering services such as bearing capacity analysis, foundation analysis, settlement analysis, slope stability analysis and other related engineering analysis.

INCO-LAB is capable to carry out the following geotechnical services:

Soil Drilling (on-shore – off-shore)

Rock core drilling

Water well drilling

Monitoring well drilling

Groundwater survey drilling

Environmental drilling

Geotechnical Engineering & Consultancy

Drilling Fleet

INCO-LAB is capable of undertaking work for drilling of soil , rocks and environmental exploration programs utilizing the following equipment for drilling up to 120 m depth:

D-120 drilling rig mounted on 4x2 GMC truck 2004, capable of boring with or without casing to depth more than 120 meters with 115 mm diameter, and 60 meters with 300 mm diameter

CME-55 drilling rig mounted on 4x4 GMC truck 1997, capable of boring with or without casing to depth more than 80 meters with 115 mm diameter, and 40 meters with 300 mm diameter

D-50 drilling rig mounted on 4x2 GMC truck 2002, capable of boring with or without casing to depth more than 60 meters with 115 mm diameter, and 30 meters with 300 mm diameter

D-50 drilling rig mounted on Light Weight Aluminum Marsh Buggy, boring with or without casing to depth more than 40 meters with 115 mm diameter, and 20 meters with 150 mm diameter from the sea bed level

CME-45 drilling rig mounted on 4x2 TATA truck 2003, capable of boring with or without casing to depth more than 40 meters with 115 mm diameter, and 20 meters with 300 mm diameter

Mobile B-24 light-weight drilling rig mounted on 4x2 GMC pick-up 1996, capable of drilling up to 25 meters depth with 115 mm diameter

20-Tons capacity Electrical Cone Penetration Test (CPT) unit is mounted on light-weight crawler with testing capabilities up to 25 meters depth or refusal of 20-tons load capacity

Marsh Buggy

INCO-LAB presents the latest technology for accessing mud and sea watery areas for soil and rock drilling by using Marsh Buggy specially made from light weight aluminum in order to minimize the surface contact pressure against mud and watery areas. The marsh buggy has the ability to travel in land with speed of 8 Km/Hour, and maneuvering in water with speed of 5 Km/Hour. The D-50 drilling rig mounted on the marsh buggy has the ability of off-shore soil drilling up to 60 meters with 115 mm diameter, and on-shore soil drilling up to 40 meters with 115 mm diameter. The marsh buggy is capable to perform drilling in sea water level up to 4 meters from the sea bed level by using four spuds installed at the corners of the Marsh Buggy.

Cone Penetration Test Unit

In Europe and United States, the static Cone Penetration Test (CPT) has been providing a rapid and economical investigation technique for subsurface ground investigation. With a pore pressure transducer to provide a record of pore water pressure, excellent geological and hydrogeological stratigraphic profiles are obtained.

INCO-LAB proudly announces the introduction of the latest technology in CPT that is unmatched as a technique for accurate and cost effective method of ground investigation

CPT Application

Cone Penetration Testing can be used to provide the following:

Profiling and determining soil stratas

Estimating soil-bearing capabilities

Estimating in-situ soil permeability

Determining ground water levels

Pore water pressure

Relative densities

Coefficient of consolidation

Internal friction angle

Coefficient of permeability

CPT Capabilities

INCO-LAB has used the CPT techniques since 1998 in major projects with great success

CPT is suitable for wide range of soil types including: Loose to dense sand - Soft ground condition such as the ones found in Shuwaikh and Subiya area

Verification of ground improvements CPT is an ideal control test procedure because of its speed of operation, ability to assess undrained shear strength in cohesive soils and relative density in granular soils and continuity of measurement

The savings by using CPT as compliance testing method makes it more attractive than using the conventional method of borings and SPT testing.

CPT Operation

INCO-LAB CPT unit is mounted on a lightweight crawler where it can gain access to most difficult sites. The CPT unit is operated by using 20-tons hydraulic system pressure to push a computerized cone probe into ground at constant rate.

The Memocone (wireless) will perform measurement of three parameters, namely tip resistance, sleeve friction and pore water pressure. After completion of test, the Memocone is pulled up from ground. It is then connected to a geoprinter on board to down load the results into a floppy disk. The results can then be printed at site in form of curves show the readings of tip resistance, pore water pressure, friction and friction ratio varies according to the depth.

CPT Advantages

CPT has three main advantages over the traditional combination of borings, sampling and other testing as per the following remarks:

Continuous or near continuous data

Reliable penetration data

Cost savings

Field Testing Instrumentation

INCO-LAB has the commitment to supply the accurate precise data to the clients. Therefore, our geotechnical department is equipped with the following instruments:

Seismic cross & downhole test: shear wave survey for determination of soil mechanical parameters at field up to depth of 50 meters from the ground level with intervals up on the clients’ request. The measurement includes Poison’s Ratio (µ), Shear Modulus (G), Young’s Modulus (E), and Bulk Modulus (K).

Pressure Meter Test: Determination of soil properties up to 50 meters depth from the ground level with intervals specified as required by the client. The soil properties include settlement and strength parameters of soil (stress –strain), bearing capacity of shallow or deep foundations, and at rest pressure (Ko).

Geotechnical Engineering & Consultancy

Our Geotechnical experienced staff is capable for performing bearing capacity analysis, foundation analysis, slope stability analysis, settlement analysis, soil & rocks mechanics studies, soil erosion studies, raw materials exploration programs, geotechnical assessments and site investigation, and geological studies.

INCO-LAB is a professional organizational member of the following international organizations: