ABSTRACT
The structure and mineralogy of rocks and soils imposes a limit upon the improvements that can be achieved within them by ground treatment. These limits must be assessed, often by using special tests. A record should be made of horizons from which samples could not be recovered, or levels at which the bore-hole collapsed, or depths at which the fluid, used in drilling, drained from the hole. Such information implies that the ground in these zones may be in need of treatment and support. Treatment and support are frequently combined so that a small amount of treatment, which may easily be provided, enables economic support to achieve the overall saving required in either design or construction. Dewatering is normally undertaken to improve conditions in surface excavations and to assist the construction of structures founded at, or near ground level. Open fractures provide rock with a permeability that permits the drainage of water to ditches, wells, drainage holes and adits.
