Soil sampling is a vital aspect of geotechnical engineering, allowing engineers to evaluate essential soil properties for design and stability analysis.
Disturbed soil samples do not retain the in-situ properties of the soil. The structure is altered during the collection process. Disturbed samples are commonly used to test soil type, texture, particle size analysis, moisture content and many more. These samples can be collected with tools like shovels, backhoes, hand augers or drill rigs.
Undisturbed soil samples on the other hand maintain the soil’s structural integrity, preserving its natural state as much as possible. Taking undisturbed samples are essential for geotechnical properties analysis, such as strength, permeability, compressibility amongst others. These samples are collected using specialised tools like piston samplers, split-spoon samplers, and pitcher barrel samplers and the process is more precise.
