Applications of Geophysical Methods

To Engineering Problems

Buried
Pipe

Water Filled Tubes Image Courtesy of Sensors & Software Inc.

Ground Penetrating Radar

Drilled Shaft
Signal goes
around defect
Image Courtesy of Olson Instruments or is blocked
Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves
Transmitter Receiver

Crosshole Sonic Logging Current Measured

Source Potential

Lines of
Equal Potential
Current Flow
Lines
Electrical Resistivity Imaging
Geophysical Methods Offer Means
of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
z NDT methods can be utilized in a wide
variety of settings with little or no impact
on the structures being tested
z NDT can be applied to a variety of
materials including:
¾Earth: Soil and Rock
¾Concrete
¾Steel
¾Wood
Primary Methods

z Electrical Resistivity Imaging

¾2-Dimensional
¾3-Dimensional
z Ground Penetrating Radar
z SASW (Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves)
¾Earth Materials
¾Concrete
z MASW (Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Waves)
z Crosshole Sonic Logging
Secondary Methods

z Electromagnetic Induction (EM, Terrain

Conductivity)
z Seismic Refraction
z Microgravity
z Impact Echo
Electrical Resistivity

z The property of a material to inhibit or

resist the flow of electric current
Popular Arrays
I

∆V z Wenner
C1 P1 P2 C2
a a a

∆V z Schlumberger
C1 P1 P2 C2
r ∆r r

I ∆V z Dipole-Dipole
C1 C2 P1 P2
a n·a a
Schematic Diagram of
Dipole-Dipole Array
Voltmeter

Battery
Ammeter

Steel Current Steel Potential

Electrodes Electrodes

Distance a Distance n•a Distance a

Equipotential Lines

Current Flow Lines

Electrode attached to
multiconductor cable

~30 cm (12 in)

Resistivity Meter with Laptop
Computer
2-Dimensional Array

Electrodes Attached to
Multi-conductor Cable
Urban Environments
Shallow Data Acquisition

Applied Measured
Current Voltage

50

45
Soil
40

35

30

25

20

15
Bedrock
10

-5

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340
Deep Data Acquisition
Measured
Applied
Voltage
Current

50

45
Soil
40

35

30

25

20

15
Bedrock
10

-5

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340
Apparent Resistivity
Earth Model after Inversion

Meters

Water Table
Meters

Bedrock Interface
Irregular Bedrock Surface
Example: Excavation Profile

Ground Surface Distance (m)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
0
Subsurface depth (m)

-5
Soil
-10

-15

-20
Bedrock
-25

-30
Example: Excavation Profile

Ground Surface Distance (m)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
0

-5
Subsurface depth (m)

-10

-15
Soil
-20 Bedrock
-25

-30
Underestimation of Rock

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
0
Subsurface depth (m)

-5

-10

-15
Soil
-20
Bedrock
-25

-30
Overestimation of Rock

Boreholes (red)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
0
Subsurface depth (m)

-5

-10

-15
Soil
-20
Bedrock
-25

-30
Synthetic Resistivity
Section Based on our Example
Ground Surface Distance (m)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
Subsurface depth (m)

-5

-10

-15
Soil
-20
Bedrock
-25

30
Subsurface depth (m)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
0

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30
Resistivity in Ohm-m
Underestimation of Rock with
Limited Borings
Ground Surface Distance (m)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
Subsurface depth (m)

-5

-10

-15
True Rock Area
-20
Soil 810 m2
-25
Bedrock
-30

Boreholes (red)
Subsurface depth (m)
(m)
depth(m)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
0
Subsurfacedepth

-5

-10
Rock Area from
Subsurface

-15 Borings
-20
Soil
Soil 420 m2 (-48% error)
-25
Bedrock
-30
Bedrock Resistivity in Ohm-m
Overestimation of Rock with
Limited Borings
Ground Surface Distance (m)
Subsurface depth (m)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
0

-5

-10
True Rock Area
-15
Soil 810 m2
-20

-25
Bedrock
-30
Subsurface depth (m)

Boreholes (red)
Subsurface depth (m)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
0

-5

-10 Rock Area from

-15 Borings
-20
Soil 1861 m2 (130% error)
-25
Bedrock Resistivity in Ohm-m
-30
 Comparison of True Soil Area vs.
Area Interpreted from Resistivity
Ground Surface Distance (m)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
Subsurface depth (m)

-5

-10

-15
True Rock Area
-20
Soil 810 m2
-25
Bedrock
-30

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
Subsurface depth (m)

-5

-10 Rock Area from

-15 Resistivity
-20 880 m2 (9% error)
-25

-30

Resistivity in Ohm-m
0 50 500 1000 5000 20000
Karst Features/Voids

Mud Filled Void

Competent Bedrock

Resistivity in Ohmmeters
Air-Filled Voids:
Abandoned Coal Mine
Mine opening

Air shaft
Resistivity and Ground Truth
Resistivity Along Dip
Entrance Shaft

Projected Coal Seam

Resistivity Along Strike

Mined Room

Projected Coal Seam

Landfill or Other Fill Materials

Edge of Landfill
Edge of Landfill
Contaminant Plumes

Base of landfill

Leachate plume

Resistivity in Ohmmeters
Relative Soil Moisture
Dry clayey silt
(brown-red)
Saturated, flowing sand
(dark blue)

Moist clayey silt Top of Bedrock

(green) (white dashed line)
 Fault Zones

Meters
Meters

Quartzite
Quartzite
Phyllite
Lithologic Changes
Metagraywacke Greenstone

Marble and Metasediments Metabasalt (Greenstone)

Diabase Dike
Fracture Zones

Fracture Zone

Meters
Meters

Unfractured
Rock
Unfractured
Rock
Previous Conceptual Model of
Piedmont and Blue Ridge Aquifers
(Heath 1984, LeGrand, 1967)

z Shallow water table aquifer

in saprolite
z Downward vertical flow from
shallow aquifer to fractures
in deep bedrock
z Water storage primarily in
saprolite
z Similar hydraulic
conductivities in saprolite
and bedrock fractures
z Recharge occurs over
majority of land surface
Expected Results from Resistivity
Profiles in a Crystalline Rock Terrane

z thin shallow low resistivity zone (blue-yellow) in regolith

z massive high resistivity zone (red-dark red) in bedrock

Unexpected Results from Resistivity
Profiles in a Crystalline Rock Terrane

On the edge of the Blue Ridge Fault

near Salem,Va.
 50 Ground surface
10 90

Fault zone
(light gray) Well W-02
Well W-10 Top of Bedrock (dot-dash line)
850

840 Well W-07

830 Ground surface
Elevation in m

820

810

800

790

780

770

760

750

740

730

720
Resistivity logs (low resistivity zones in black)
710

700
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
m
Steeply Dipping
Fault/Fracture Zones
Conceptual Model for Groundwater
Flow in the Blue Ridge Province
Water table aquifer
Shallow aquifer in saprolite
Confining unit
above and below
saprolite
Low transmissivity
fractured bedrock aquifer
Recharge
Breach zone from
surface water

Low perme
High transmissivity fault zone abilityfault
Low permeability faplane
u
lt plane
aquifer
3-Dimensional Resistivity

2-D Resistivity measures

Z in the X-Z plane

Y 3-D Resistivity measures

Z X in:
¾X-Z Plane
¾X-Y Plane
¾Y-Z Plane
Two Possible Approaches

z Quasi 3-D: A series of 2-D resistivity

sections collected in parallel lines;
modeled using 3-D methods

z Explicit 3-D: Electrodes placed in a grid

pattern
3-D Results
Example

Erosional Outflow

Detention Pond

Flow Direction

Underground drain pipe

Drainage
0 40 Ft
00 6
20 12
40
grating
Looking Northwest
Looking North

Erosional Outflow

Engineered Outflow
Looking West

Engineered Outflow

Erosional Outflow
Horizontal Depth Slice at 3.4 Feet

160

140

120

100

80

60

00 6
20 12
40
Feet
40

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210

Resistivity in Ohm-m
20

Depth = 3.4 feet

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Horizontal Depth Slice at 7.4 Feet

160

140

120

100

80

60

00 6
20 12
40
Feet
40

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210

Resistivity in Ohm-m
20

Depth = 7.4 feet

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Horizontal Depth Slice at 12 Feet

160

140

120

100

80

60

00 6
20 12
40
Feet
40

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210

Resistivity in Ohm-m
20

Depth = 12 feet
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Summary of Resistivity
Applications
z Bedrock mapping-more comprehensive
than borings alone.
z Water Table Mapping
z Lithology Changes
z Subsurface Voids
z Fracture Zones in Rock
z Contaminant Plumes
z Fill Materials
Ground Penetrating Radar
(GPR)
z Location of Buried
drums or tanks
z Location of Buried
Utilities
z Archeological-
forensic studies
z Delineation of
Landfills and
trenches
 Principles
z Transmitter emits pulses
of high-frequency radio Tx Rcv
waves.
z Waves are reflected off of
subsurface objects and
travel back to a receiver.
z The greater the contrast
in electrical properties
between materials the
stronger the reflection.
 Penetration vs. Resolution
z Frequency: Lower frequencies penetrate deeper
but have lower resolution.
¾ 200 MHz to 300 MHz will generally penetrate 6 to
12 feet- Buried utilities and Archaeological
Studies
¾ 1000 MHz will penetrate 1 to 2 feet- Concrete
testing
z Electrical Conductivity of Material: Penetration is
inversely proportional to the conductivity of the
material.
 GPR in Cross-Section

Buried pipe or other conduit

0
USTs
1
2
Depth_in_feet

3
4
5
6

7
8

0 10 20 30 40 50

Position_in_feet
Horizontal distance (feet)

-25000 -12500 0 12500 25000

Archaeological Studies
40
Marked 19th-Century Graves

35

30

Unmarked Grave
25

20

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
USTs

0 Feet 20
Concrete Reinforcement
and Utilities

Rebar/wire mesh
Depth 2.5 -7.5 inches

Utilities below
concrete slab
Depth 10-14 inches

0 Feet 5
Other
160

Old Roadway
140

120

100

Average Amplitude 0 to 2 Feet

80

60 0 250 500 750 1000 1250

40

20

Depth = 0 to 2 feet
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

00 6
20 12
40
Summary of GPR
Applications

z Utility detection
z Underground storage tank detection
z Reinforcement in concrete
z Graves/Archaeological applications
SASW Applied to Earth
Materials
z Stiffness/Velocity profiles: Meets IBC 2000
Section 1615.1.5.

z More accurate and less conservative than

pressure methods (N-value, triaxial tests, etc.)
Pressure
Methods
Under-
Predict
Stiffness
SASW Equipment
Wave Types
Primary (P) Wave

Secondary (S) Waves

Love Wave

Rayleigh Wave
Rayleigh Wave Properties
z In a homogeneous material, the speed of the Rayleigh
wave is independent of its wavelength.
z In non-homogeneous materials, low-frequency (long
wavelength) waves extend deeper than high-
frequency (short wavelength) waves.
z This behavior is described as “dispersive” in
seismological terms.
z A curve of velocity versus wavelength (or depth) is
called a dispersion curve.
SASW Dispersion Curve
Shear Wave Velocity (ft/s)
0 500 1000 1500
0

10
Depth below surface (feet)

20
30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120
SASW Earth Model
Shear Wave Velocity (ft/s)
0 500 1000 1500
0

10
Depth below surface (feet)

20
30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Model Shear Wave Velocity (ft/sec)
Comparison of SASW and
SPT results
N (blows per foot)
0 10 20 30

0
N-Value
Resulting in IBC
Depth below surface (feet)

20
2000 Site Class D

40

60

SASW Earth Model

80
Resulting in IBC 2000
Site Class C
100

0 1000 2000 3000

Model Shear Wave Velocity (ft/sec)
Resistivity with SASW

High-resistivity soils (~0-30 ft)

SASW Profile

20

40

60

80

Weathered rock 100

0 1000 2000 3000
(~800 ohmm and
higher)
SASW Applied to Concrete

z Concrete integrity testing

z Location of voids or defects in concrete
z Concrete thickness measurement
 Detecting Voids Beneath
Slabs
Slab response Slab response
with subgrade voids with competent subgrade
8000 8000

7000 7000

SASW Velocity (feet/second)

SASW Velocity (feet/second)

6000 6000

5000 5000
Smooth
Oscillating
dispersion
4000 dispersion 4000
curve
curve
3000 3000

2000 2000
0.1 1 10 0.1 1 10
Wavelength (feet) Wavelength (feet)
Ground Subsidence Resulting
in Structural Damage
Area of greatest
observed structural
damage to walls and
floor (dashed rectangle)

Feet
0 5 10 15 20 25
Mapping Subgrade Voids
with SASW
18 5 32 33 34
2 3 4 28 30 39
3 4 2.5 2
4 3.5 27 4

Poor
3.5 4 3.5 57 4
26 2.5
56
19 8 6 7 3 31
3.5 3 3.5 3.5 3.5
29
3 35
3.5
20 9 10 11 21 55
3.5 58 38
4 4
3 3.5
53
3.5 4
12 25 2
15 16 3 40
3.5 22
2 3
3.5 24 59 2
2.5 52 1 36 37
13 14 17 2.5 1.5
Continuity
23 2 2
2 2 2.5 3 54
3.5 41 3
50 4
51
3.5
3.5
between
Feet 3
42
2 slab and
0 5 10 15 20 25
47 48
subgrade
1.5 1 1
43
3 49
1

1
46
3
44 Good
45
1.5
Summary of SASW
Applications

z More accurate IBC site classification

z Evaluation of concrete integrity
z Mapping subgrade voids
z Concrete thickness measurements
MASW
Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Waves

z Uses surface waves like the SASW

method
z SASW - a single channel method with
acquisition of shear wave velocities
beneath a single point on the surface
z MASW - a multi-channel method that can
create a 2D cross-sectional view of
subsurface shear wave velocities
MASW Field Equipment

Energy Source
10’s to 100’s of feet

Soil
Surface Wave Propagation

Bedrock
 Geologic Cross-Section of True Subsurface Conditions
0 feet 500 1000 1500 2000
0

20
Soil
Depth 40
(feet)
60
Bedrock
Fractured 80

Rock 100

Inversion Model Illustrating Soil and Rock Zones

0 feet 500 1000 1500 2000
0

20

Depth 40
(feet)
60
Base of
rippable 80

material 100

Shear Wave Velocity in Feet per second

MASW Applications

z IBC 2000 Site Specific Seismic

Classification
z Rippability
z Depth to bedrock studies
z Detect presence of subsurface voids,
caves, fractures,etc
Cross-Hole Sonic Logging
(CSL)

z Tests the integrity of newly placed concrete

¾Drilled shafts
¾Seal footings
¾Slurry walls
CSL Equipment
CSL Data

Weak Zones in Concrete

Depth Plot of
First Arrival Times
Cross-Sectional CSL
Tomography
0

-5

-10
15

-15 14
13
-20 12
Z feet

11 Velocity
-25
10 (Kft/sec)
-30 9
8
-35 Defects 7
6
-40
5
-45

-50
0 2 4 6 8
X feet
In Conclusion

z Geophysical Methods Offer Means of Non-

Destructive Testing

z Wide Variety of Tools and Applications

z Technology is Constantly Advancing

Thank You!
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