Application of Seismic Refraction Tomography in Karst Terrane
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 7
Abstract
Seismic refraction tomography field data were collected on several bridge foundation sites in Pennsylvania, in close proximity to geotechnical boring locations. Profiles determined from these field measurements were plotted against drilling data, and these comparisons revealed the ability of seismic wave velocities to differentiate overburden soil from rock. In addition, foundation construction data were collected at each of the sites and compared with refraction test results determined prior to construction. In particular, top of rock revealed by an excavation, and pile tip elevations at driving refusal, were compared with refraction test results. From these data it appears that seismic wave tomograms can characterize the soil/rock interface, and that it is possible to predict expected design pile lengths based upon a measured -wave velocity tomogram. It can be concluded from these site comparisons that geophysical techniques such as seismic refraction tomography can provide important additional information to site characterization for bridge foundations in karst terrane. However, these techniques should not be viewed as a replacement, but should be conducted during design stage site investigation to aid selection of borehole locations and other testing needs.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge that the research described herein was funded by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation via the University Based Research, Education, and Technology Transfer Program Work Order 82, Geotechnical Site Investigation for Bridge Foundations.
References
Benson, R. C., and Yuhr, L. (1993). “Spatial sampling considerations and their applications to characterizing fractured rock and karst systems.” Applied Karst Geology, Proc., 4th Multidisciplinary Conf. on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, 99–113.
Burger, H. R. (1992). Exploration geophysics of the shallow subsurface, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Carpenter, P. J., Higuera-Diaz, I. C., Thompson, M. D., Atre, S., and Mandell, W. (2003). “Accuracy of seismic refraction tomography codes at karst sites.” Geophysical Site Characterization: Seeing Beneath the Surface, Proc., Symp. on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems, 832–840.
Cooper, S. S., and Ballard, R. F. (1988). “Geophysical exploration for cavity detection in karst terrain.” Geotechnical Aspects of Karst Terrains: Exploration, Foundation Design and Performance, and Remedial Measures, Geotechnical Special Publication No.14, ASCE, Reston, Va., 25–39.
Cramer, B. J., and Hiltunen, D. R. (2004). “Investigation of bridge foundation sites in Karst terrane via seismic refraction tomography.” 83rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers (CD-ROM), Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Fernandez, A. L. (2000). “Tomographic imaging the state of stress.” Ph.D. dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.
Fisk, P., Holt, R., and Jones, G. (1987). “Strength of material in and around sinkholes by in situ geophysical testing.” Karst Hydrogeology: Engineering and Environmental Applications, Proc., 2nd Multidisciplinary Conf. on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, 153–156.
Hardin, B. O., and Richart, F. E., Jr. (1963). “Elastic wave velocities in granular soils.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 89(1) 33–65.
Hayashi, K., and Takahashi, T. (2001). “High resolution seismic refraction method using surface and borehole data for site characterization of rocks.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 38(6), 807–813.
Hiltunen, D. R., and Cramer, B. J. (2006). “Geophysical characterization of bridge foundation sites in Karst terrane.” 85th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers (CD-ROM), Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Jansen, J., Anklam, J., Goodwin, C., and Roof, A. (1993). “Electromagnetic induction and seismic refraction surveys to detect bedrock pinnacles.” Applied Karst Geology, Proc., 4th Multidisciplinary Conf. on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, 115–122.
Menq, F.-Y. (2003). “Dynamic properties of sandy and gravelly soils.” Ph.D. dissertation, The Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex.
Oyo Corporation. (2001). SeisImager/2D refraction analysis software for Windows, Tsukuba, Japan.
Redpath, B. B. (1973). “Seismic refraction exploration for engineering site investigations.” Technical Rep. No. TR E–73-4, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station Explosive Excavation Research Laboratory, Livermore, Calif.
Richart, F. E., Jr., Hall, J. R., Jr., and Woods, R. D. (1970). Vibrations of soils and foundations, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Sheehan, J., Doll, W., and Mandell, W. (2003). “Evaluation of refraction tomography codes for near-surface applications.” Proc., 73rd Annual Meeting of Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Dallas.
Sheehan, J., Doll, W., and Mandell, W. (2005). “An evaluation of methods and available software for seismic refraction tomography analysis.” J. Environ. Eng. Geophys., 10(1), 21–34.
Venkatanarayana, B., and Rao, T. V. (1989). “Geological and geophysical investigations for delineating Karstic structures in southwestern portion of Cuddapah Basin, Andhra Pradesh, India.” Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Sinkholes and Karst, Proc., 3rd Multidisciplinary Conf. on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, 59–64.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 7 • July 2008
Pages: 938 - 948
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: May 16, 2006
Accepted: Mar 7, 2007
Published online: Jul 1, 2008
Published in print: Jul 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.