provide superior information at competitive dollars. Improved information implies potentially higher bearing values and lower construction costs, while maintaining an adequate and better-known factor of safety.

Main benefits of geotechnical investigations utilizing these technologies are:

• Less turnaround time, from Alberta-One-Call stage to completed report

• Better definition of shallow soil changes, fill, and topsoil depth.

• Ground water table is initially measured at the end of drilling with no standing time. A piezometer standpipe is then installed for post drilling measurements.

• The soil strength is measured, not estimated as with conventional equipment. This allows for potential higher bearing values, tempered with engineering judgments, potentially reducing construction costs.

MacroCore removes a low disturbance uncontaminated soil core continuously from the surface to the bottom of the test location within the soils. This allows routine clear definition of the soil profile, topsoil, A, B, and C-horizons and fill. Saturation, capillary rise, evaporate, partial saturation, and surface effected zones are often visible.

Soil mass structure is visible from the surface down; hence, the geology of the foundation strata is often apparent. This allows for better estimates of the settlement potential of any foundation, in addition to other soil parameters. Portions of the core may further be tested for moisture content, plasticity, unit weight, and even compressive strength. Even a good estimate of the unit weight of sand is available. Discrete samples of up to 1.2 metres in length can be obtained. 

Traditional moisture contents, Atterberg limits, and sulphate tests can be conducted on the recovered samples.