Geotechnical
It’s what lies beneath that tells the whole story.
So, we dig right in, exploring the subsurface soils, bedrock, and groundwater conditions on the project site to determine the best practices for site development for your proposed project.
At Olsson, our team of in-house experts offers a full spectrum of investigative services for your projects, from roller coasters to hydroelectric power plants. We can handle small to large-scale horizontal and vertical construction—from roadways, bridges, and dams, to convenience stores, multistory office buildings, retaining walls, and high-rise hospitals. There’s truly no project we can’t tackle.
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Investigation and Design
Desktop studies
Peer reviews
Shallow and deep foundations
Slope stability, seepage, and settlement studies
Commercial, industrial, and residential developments
Utility and treatment plant infrastructure
Design-build
Rail and roadway embankments, bridge foundations, and pavement design
PCI (Pavement Condition Index) studies
Dams, levees, and embankments
Elevated and at-grade towers and tanks
Lagoon investigations/percolation tests
Soldier, tangent, and secant pile wall design
Soil Nail and MSE retaining wall design
Post tensioned rock anchors
Geotechnical forensic studies
Instrumentation design and installation
In-situ testing
Geophysical surveys
Seismic site classifications (ReMI, MASW)
Thermal and electrical resistivity
Pre- and post-construction video survey
Asphalt Laboratory Services (AASHTO and DOT accredited, USACE certified)
Asphalt Binder Content and Aggregate Gradation
Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity
Volumetric Properties of Compacted Paving Mixes
- Marshall
- HVEEM
- Superpave
Concrete, Masonry, and Cement Laboratory Services (AASHTO and DOT accredited, USACE certified)
Compressive Strength
- Hardened concrete
- Destructive
- Nondestructive
- Block and block prisms
- Cement, mortar, and grout
- Drilled cores and sawed beams
Sampling
- Fluid/plastic concrete, grout, and mortar
- Hardened concrete (cores/beams)
- Concrete masonry and related units
- Aggregates for concrete
Flexural Strength
- Third-point loading
- Center-point loading
- Splitting-tensile
Length Change of Hardened Concrete
Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR) Testing
Soil and Aggregate Laboratory Services (AASHTO and DOT accredited, USACE certified)
Soil Classification and Identification (USCS/Visual-Manual/AASHTO)
Atterberg Limits
Particle Size Distribution (Sieves and Hydrometer)
Specific Gravity of Soils
Moisture Content, Density, Void Ratio, and Saturation of Intact Specimens
Moisture-Density Relationship (Proctor)
- Standard effort
- Modified effort
- Soil-chemical mixtures (cement, lime, fly-ash, etc.)
One-Dimensional:
- Consolidation
- Swell
- Collapse
Unconfined Compressive Strength
Triaxial Compression
- Unconsolidated-undrained
- Consolidated-undrained
- Consolidated-drained
Direct Shear
- Consolidated-drained
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
Dispersive Characteristics
- Crumb
- Pinhole
Organic Matter
- Organic (ash) content of soil
- Organic impurities in aggregates
Permeability
- Flexible wall permeameter
- Permeability of granular soils
Aggregate Quality Testing
- Soundness – magnesium sulfate
- Abrasion – Los Angeles
- Specific gravity and absorption
- Clay lumps and friable particles
- Percentage of fractured faces
- Lightweight particles in aggregate