ABSTRACT
The investigation of the suitability and characteristics of sites as they affect the design and construction of civil engineering works and the security of neighbouring structures is laid out in British Standard Code of Practice for site investigations. The systematic exploration and investigation of a new site may involve five stages of procedure. These stages are preliminary investigation; a detailed geological survey; applied geophysical surveys; boring, drilling and excavation; and testing of soils and rocks. In a major engineering project, each of these stages might be carried out and reported on by a consultant specialising in geology, geophysics or engineering. The systematic testing of the engineering properties of soils and rocks lies between classical geology and the older disciplines of engineering as geological structures. The distribution of rocks at the Earth's surface is found by making a geological survey and is recorded on geological maps. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
