THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRATIGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION FOR GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION

In current geotechnical engineering practice, soil or rock stratigraphy is usually obtained from borehole data. Interpolation between boreholes is performed by projecting borehole data on a cross-sectional plane, either by hand drawings or by using computer aided drafting (CAD) or geographic information system (GIS) software, then manually interpolating between the boreholes. This methodology for obtaining the geology of a site does not truly represent the three-dimensional nature of the data, and it does not capture the uncertainties in the interpolation. This study describes NOMAD, a three-dimensional ground profiler developed for education and research that runs on the UNIX platform. The focus is on features available in NOMAD for visualizing uncertainties, creating ground profiles from site data, and updating the model with new subjective and objective data. One such feature, which will be described in detail, is the ability to modify a cross section of the site and have this modification automatically propagated to the site model and other cross sections, allowing users to visualize how changes in one cross section affect other cross sections. Also discussed is a model incorporated in NOMAD for creating ground profiles from borehole data. This model makes use of Indicator CoKriging and Bayesian Updating for modeling both the subjective and objective information about a site, taking into account the true three-dimensional nature of the data.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198196152600124
• Record URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=THREE-DIMENSIONAL+STRATIGRAPHIC+CHARACTERIZATION+FOR+GEOTECHNICAL+EXPLORATION&author=P.+Kinnicutt&author=H.+Einstein&author=C.+Noack&publication_year=1996
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309062209
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1526, Emerging Technologies in Geotechnical Engineering.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Kinnicutt, P
  • Einstein, Hebert H
  • Noack, C
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 183-190
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1526
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Computer models; Computer programs; Geotechnical engineering; Mathematical models; Stratigraphy; Uncertainty; Visualization
• Uncontrolled Terms: Site investigation
• Old TRIS Terms: Borehole data; Ground profiles
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; I41: General Soil Surveys;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00730333
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309062209
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 30 1997 12:00AM