Civil Engineering Testing Laboratory ¡¤ SANAS T1018
+27 11 477 1045

Know the ground

What lies beneathshapes what rises above.

Site investigation, sampling and laboratory testing turn hidden ground conditions into evidence for foundation, pavement and development decisions.

Site investigationsMaterials testingEngineering recommendations

Field investigation

Clarity from the ground up.

Investigation programmes can combine test-pit excavation and profiling, sampling, in-situ testing and laboratory classification to build a practical understanding of ground conditions.

  • Test-pit excavation and profiling
  • DCP and in-situ assessment
  • Disturbed and undisturbed sampling
Clarity from the ground up.
Measured engineering behaviour.

Laboratory

Measured engineering behaviour.

Specialist laboratory work supports classification and assessment of soil behaviour under loading, drainage and shear conditions.

  • Particle-size distribution by sieve and hydrometer
  • Soil-paste pH and conductivity
  • Triaxial, oedometer and direct-shear testing

Detailed capability

What this service covers.

01

Classification

  • Sieve particle-size distribution
  • Hydrometer analysis
  • Soil pH
  • Electrical conductivity
02

Engineering properties

  • Triaxial stress and strain
  • Oedometer consolidation
  • Direct shear
  • Material profiling
03

Project outputs

  • Ground model inputs
  • Laboratory certificates
  • Investigation records
  • Recommendations when requested

Public test guide

Choose a test to understand what it does.

Each test opens a plain-language page explaining what is used, what is measured and how the result supports a project decision.

01

Collapse potential

Checks whether an unsaturated soil may suddenly compress when it becomes wet under load.

02

Cone penetration testing

Pushes an instrumented cone into the ground to obtain a continuous profile of resistance with depth.

03

Constant-head permeability

Measures water flow through a relatively permeable soil while a constant hydraulic head is maintained.

04

Direct shear test

Measures the resistance of soil to sliding along a controlled horizontal plane.

05

Double oedometer

Compares matching soil specimens tested at different moisture conditions to assess wetting-related settlement behaviour.

06

Dynamic cone penetrometer testing

Uses repeated hammer blows to measure how easily a cone penetrates the ground or pavement layers.

07

Falling-head permeability

Measures how readily water flows through relatively low-permeability soil.

08

Free swell and swell pressure

Assesses how much an expansive soil may increase in volume and the pressure it can develop when wetted.

09

Hydrometer particle-size analysis

Measures the very fine silt and clay particles that are too small to separate accurately with normal sieves.

10

In-situ density testing

Measures the density and moisture of compacted material at its constructed position.

11

Moisture content

Measures the amount of water present in a soil or construction-material sample.

12

Oedometer consolidation

Measures how a confined soil specimen compresses with time under vertical loading.

13

Particle-size distribution by sieve

Separates a soil or gravel sample into size ranges to show how much coarse and fine material it contains.

14

Plate-bearing test

Applies controlled load to a rigid plate on the ground and measures the resulting settlement.

15

Soil bulk density

Measures how much dry soil mass is contained in a known total volume.

16

Soil electrical conductivity

Measures how readily a soil extract conducts electricity, which indicates the level of dissolved salts.

17

Soil pH

Shows whether a soil-water mixture is acidic, neutral or alkaline.

18

Test-pit excavation and profiling

Opens the ground so soil layers, moisture, fill and other visible conditions can be logged and sampled directly.

19

Triaxial testing

Loads a cylindrical soil specimen under controlled confining pressure to measure its strength and deformation.

20

Undisturbed soil sampling

Recovers soil with as little disturbance as practical so its structure can be tested in the laboratory.

Make informed project decisions

Connect with Bakgoni.

Discuss the testing or investigation your project needs.
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