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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Foundations and Soil

Borehole

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

/ˈbɔːrhoʊl/nounAdvanced term

In civil engineering & construction, borehole means: A narrow hole drilled into the ground during a site investigation to take soil and rock samples, carry out tests and measure groundwater levels.

In Turkish: sondaj kuyusu, sondaj

How it is used

Boreholes are drilled, logged and backfilled, and the results appear in borehole logs that show each soil layer with its depth. Standard penetration tests (SPT) are often carried out in them.

Example sentences

  1. Borehole BH4 shows rock at twelve metres, but BH5 doesn't reach it even at twenty.

  2. They drilled six boreholes across the site for the bridge foundations.

Common collocations

  • drill a borehole
  • borehole log
  • borehole samples
  • standpipe piezometer
  • site investigationThe study of ground conditions before design, using boreholes, trial pits and field and laboratory tests to find out what the soil and rock are like.
  • groundwaterWater held underground in the soil and in cracks in rock. Its upper surface is called the water table.
  • pileA long column of concrete or steel that is driven or drilled deep into the ground to carry a structure's load down to stronger soil or rock.
  • bearing capacityThe maximum pressure the ground can safely carry from a foundation without failing or settling too much, usually given in kilopascals (kPa).

More terms: Foundations and Soil

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