A Study on Critical Assessment of Geotechnical Investigation Practice in Ethiopia In Light of Pertinent Building Code Provisions
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Date
2017-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Geotechnical investigation is the process by which geological, geotechnical, and other relevant information, which might affect the construction or performance of a civil engineering or building project, is acquired. The geotechnical investigation phase of any structure design plays a vital role, where inadequate characterization of the subsurface conditions may contribute to either a significantly over-designed solution which is not cost-effective, or an under designed one, which may lead to potential failures. One of the site investigation objectives is to help to overcome any possible difficulties and delays that may arise during construction period due to ground and other local conditions.
In this research the geotechnical investigation practice in Ethiopia is critically assessed and compared with the pertinent codes available. Most ground investigations are carried out by soil investigation firms or the ground investigation program is designed by structural engineers from design offices.
Primary data is collected from professionals, who are geotechnical engineers and structural engineers. Responses are collected using a self-administered questionnaires and interview. Criteria from different codes are used to compare and evaluate the findings. The primary data collected is analyzed and a comparative research type is used.
Different criteria are selected and different provisions/requirements from the pertinent codes are reviewed to come up with a complete soil investigation system. Provisions/requirements for every criterion are evaluated to give the necessary information to draw a conclusion. The quality of soil exploration practice in Ethiopia is compared with these pertinent codes and result shows that for the geotechnical engineers, the percentage of compliance is 43% .For the structural engineers, the percentage of compliance is 29% .In general, the local soil investigation practice is poor as can be seen from the percentage of compliance calculated.
Key Words:
Geotechnical investigation
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Keywords
Geotechnical investigation