Land Drilling
Impact Geotechnical offer a comprehensive range of land Drilling and insitu testing services to get the data your project requires.
Windowless Sampling
This is a reliable and popular mid-range soil investigation technique, with a usual depth capability of 5-8m. Drilled using a mobile and relatively lightweight rig, this type of drilling uses a drop hammer to drive 1m long samplers into the ground to recover good quality samples in plastic liners. The same drop hammer can be used to complete strength testing such as Standard Penetration Tests and Dynamic Probing.
Dynamic Probing
This is a technique for providing a rapid log of soil strength. Usually used alongside window samples or correlative boreholes, Heavy or Super Heavy Dynamic Probing is completed using mobile drilling rigs and employs a drop hammer to drive steel rods vertically into the ground – the number of hammer drops for each 100mm drive is recorded and related to soil strength.
Handheld Window Sampling
Where access is a real issue and for working on slopes, the Handheld window sampling equipment is ideal for providing a log of the subsoils. The equipment is light weight and can be carried to the drilling location.
Sampler tubes of 1-2m length are driven into the ground using a hydraulic or electric breaker using a series of metal extension rods. The sample is then recovered using a set of 12t hydraulic jacks to be logged and sampled by the attending Engineer.
Cable Percussive Drilling
A traditional and reliable technique for investigations in soils, the Cable Percussive (or ‘Shell and Auger’) drilling rig uses drop tools controlled by a winch to cut and bail through the underlying soils. Insitu strength tests and undisturbed samples are taken throughout drilling.
Although messier than window sampling, with a depth range of up to 40m this method is right if you might need a piled foundation. Our team can help you to choose whether this type of drilling is right for your site.
Rotary Percussive Drilling
For site with soils and rocks, these versatile drilling rigs can switch between percussive ‘Dynamic’ Windowless Sampling and Rotary Drilling.
Download Rotary Drilling RAMS
Both dynamic sampling and rotary cored samples are recovered in plastic liners, with in-situ tests and undisturbed samples also possible. Compact and powerful, these rigs can drill to depths of 40m+.
The tracked rigs are less mobile than most other techniques, and this form of drilling can be messy, contact one of our team if you need more information.
Trial Pitting
Mechanically excavated trial pits
are a great way to investigate a large area quickly and so are really useful for mid to large scale housing developments. Typically pits will reach a depth of 2-3m, so they are most applicable to sites where shallow foundations are going to be used or if lots of coverage is needed for a Geo-environmental investigation. It is best to use these along side some windowless samples or dynamic probe tests to give more information on soil strength.
Hand excavated trial pits
are usually used to uncover buried foundations and structures; these are also a quick and easy way to check the ground conditions in areas which will be used as gardens in a proposed development.
