A set of 7 leaflets on in-situ ground testing:

Part 1: What is it and why do it?

Part 2: Cone penetration testing

Part 3: Flat dilatometer testing

Part 4: Dynamic probing

Part 5: Pressuremeter testing

Part 6: Large-diameter plate loading tests

Part 7: Geophysical testing

There is still reluctance amongst many practitioners to utilise the full potential of in-situ testing. This guide discusses the background and argues for the increased use of in-situ testing.

The main advantages of in-situ testing over the more traditional ways of sampling and laboratory testing are:

● Speed - Drilling and sampling, protecting samples from deterioration during transportation to the laboratory, and laboratory testing can all be time-consuming and can introduce many sources of difference from the undisturbed ground. By contrast, many in-situ tests are quite quick and give real-time information on the ground properties which is generally more representative of reality.

● Quantity - In-situ testing generally delivers more information about a profile of the ground, often with near-continuous information down the profile.

● Quality - Undertaken correctly, in-situ testing can offer much more consistent and repeatable information than routine sampling and laboratory testing.

Part 1 contains a table that lists available techniques and their usefulness in different ground conditions. Parts 2-7 outline the potential of specific in-situ testing techniques. Each part is 4 or 6 pages long, and the set is a total of 32 pages in all.