Digital Site Investigation for Geotechnical Engineers: Drone Surveys, LiDAR Mapping, Geophysics, and Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) for Modern ... (Practical Geotechnical Engineering)

Boreholes Show You Points. Your Project Needs the Whole Site.

A borehole tells you exactly what the ground is at one spot. Everything between the holes is inference. On a typical one-hectare site, five boreholes physically sample only a few parts per million of the ground an engineer must understand.

When drone surveys, geophysics, boreholes, and cone penetration tests are run as separate jobs, their results can quietly disagree. A resistivity section places rock at one depth and a borehole log at another. A clean 3D model looks certain while resting on sparse data. A design value is hard to trace back to the test that produced it. Those gaps tend to appear late, as redesign, delay, and dispute.

Digital Site Investigation for Geotechnical Engineers is a complete working guide to doing it as one connected investigation. It shows you how each method works, what it can and cannot see, and how to combine them into a ground model you can defend.

How the workflow runs, step by step:

• Plan: desk study, walkover, depth and spacing rules, and a budget tied to the decisions the project must make
• Survey: UAV, photogrammetry, and LiDAR capture the surface and show where to investigate
• Image: seismic, resistivity, electromagnetic, radar, and microgravity methods reveal the ground between points
• Prove: boring, sampling, in-situ tests, and CPT calibrate and verify what the indirect methods suggest
• Integrate: reconcile conflicting evidence, apply geostatistics, and quantify uncertainty in a 3D ground model
• Deliver: derive characteristic and design values and issue traceable reports, GIS, and BIM data

What you will find inside:

• 20 chapters in five parts, from planning to the delivered ground model
• Worked examples with given data, step-by-step working, and a closing discussion that builds engineering judgment
• 30 exercises per chapter, with an answer key and full solutions to the calculation problems
• Four case studies: a linear corridor, an active slope, an urban site with voids, and an integrated workflow capstone
• Formula and parameter tables, a standards quick reference, method-selection matrices, and a glossary
• Key Insight, Field Note, Common Mistake, and Warning call-outs in every chapter

Why readers choose this approach:

• Digital and classical methods are taught as one sequence, not as separate specialisms
• Every continuous method is tied back to ground truth, with its common error modes explained
• Measured fact is kept distinct from professional interpretation in reporting
• Uncertainty travels with the model, so smooth graphics are not mistaken for measured ground

Who it is for: Practising geotechnical and civil engineers, engineering geologists, and site-investigation and survey professionals, as well as senior undergraduate and postgraduate students. A first course in soil mechanics and basic statistics is assumed. No prior photogrammetry or geophysics experience is needed. Units are SI, with US customary equivalents where commonly used.

Please note: This book focuses on investigation and ground characterization rather than foundation, wall, or slope design, and it is not tied to any one software package. Standards are paraphrased and cited, not reproduced, so readers should confirm current editions before relying on them. It is an independent educational reference and does not replace the judgment of a qualified professional engineer.

Ready to plan, run, and report a digital site investigation with confidence? Click the Buy Now button to get your copy.