List of practical geotechnical and geological skills

Geotechnical and geophysical site investigation show / hide

  • Site investigation planning
  • Soil, rock & mineral identification
  • Rock mass classification: RMR & Q-System
  • Rock slope stability assessment: SMR, SSPC & kinematic/stereographic method
  • Rock core logging
  • Borelog interpretation
  • Soil boring & soil sampling (e.g. Kopecky ring, Ackermann sampler, Piston sampler)
  • Field vane test
  • Equotip & Schmidt rebound hammer test
  • Pocket penetrometer test
  • Standard penetration test (SPT)
  • Totalsondering
  • Cone penetration test (CPT)
  • Electrical resistivity survey (ER, ERT, ERI)

Laboratory techniques show / hide

  • Triaxial test
  • Direct shear & simple shear test (DS & SS)
  • Uniaxial/unconfined compressive strength test (UCS)
  • Brazilian tensile strength test (BTS)
  • Point load test (PLT)
  • Micro-Deval, Los Angeles abrasion, aggregate impact test
  • Porosity: dry (gas expansion pycnometer) & wet (vacuum pump) methods
  • Permeability: dry (gas permeameter) & wet (constant head & falling head) methods
  • Sieving & grain size distribution
  • Oedometer compression test
  • Atterberg limits
  • Methylene blue test
  • Optical mineralogy / thin section analysis

Geological fieldwork show / hide

  • Geological outcrop investigation & measurement
  • Geological mapping and cross-section drawing
  • Stereoscopic aerial photography analysis
  • In situ rock & mineral identification
  • Rock mass classification & slope stability assessment (refer to Site investigation)