Soil Sampling | Disturbed and Undisturbed soil samples

Soil sampling:

A soil sample is the representative of the whole lot from which it is taken. It completely represents all the characteristics of the lot from which it is recovered. Following are some of the types of samples which are generally retrieved in geotechnical engineering:

1. Disturbed soil samples (DS):
2. Undisturbed soil samples (UDS):

a)      Disturbed soil sample (DS):

When the natural conditions of a sample such as its structure, texture, density, natural water contents or the stress conditions are disturbed then the sample is called as disturbed soil sample. By using shovel from auger cutting these samples can be recovered.

b)      Undisturbed soil samples:

Without disturbing the natural conditions of a soil sample such as its structure, texture, density, natural water contents or the stress condition the sample obtained is called undisturbed soil sample. This type of soil sample cannot be recovered and it retains the original properties of the soil mass as much as possible.