Soil-mechanical laboratory

Baugrundinstitut Franke-Meißner has a well-equipped soil-mechanical laboratory at the company headquarters in Wiesbaden. As part of project execution, the employees (graduate engineers/graduate geologists/construction materials testers/drilling machine operators/technicians) carry out drilling, sounding and sampling operations, field tests, metrological examinations as well as laboratory tests and other check tests.

Well-equipped equipment buses, multiple all-terrain vehicles and two transport crawlers that ensure the required flexibility all year round and even under difficult operating conditions are available for performing the fieldwork-

In addition to the sample storage and equipment rooms, the laboratory also accommodates the test stands for the classic soil-mechanical tests. The employees can also draw on equipment and measuring methods that were developed in-house.

Due to decades of experience in quality monitoring in groundwork, landfill and tunnel construction,

BFM not only has the expertise, but also extensive mobile equipment for setting up construction site laboratories on site.

Taking ground air samples, on-site analysis

  • Exhausting ground air from existing gas measuring points
  • Measuring highly volatile hydrocarbons on site using a PID device
  • Semiquantitative proof of mineral oil content on site

Water permeability determination in the field 

  • Packer and percolation tests
  • Pumping tests
  • Infiltration rate according to DIN 19682-7

Development of measuring points (groundwater, ground air)

  • Development of small-bore drillings to groundwater measuring points
  • Development of small-bore drillings to ground air measuring points

Taking water samples, field parameters

  • Calibrating the groundwater level with an electric contact gauge or well whistle
  • Sampling from measuring points with a diameter of 1¼" with a bailer
  • Determination of the field parameters: temperature, pH value, conductivity, O2 content

Field examinations

Drilling and sounding:

  • Concrete drilling with a core drill down to a depth of 70 cm (wet and dry drilling methods)
  • Cable detection pit up to a maximum of 1.5 m below ground level
  • Line detection by means of an electromagnetic transmitting and receiving unit
  • Sounding with a sampling tube, 22-23 mm diameter
  • Small-bore drilling with a percussion drilling probe, 35-80 mm diameter
  • Undrained shear strength with a field vane penetrometer
  • Zero-emission drilling and sounding on contaminated sites or closed rooms, also with a mobile extraction/cleaning system

Density determination in the field (DIN 18125)

  • Density determination in the field (DIN 18125)
  • Special sampling with a sampling cylinder
  • Density determination with the calibrated sand method
  • Density determination with the densitometer method
  • Density determination with the test pit method

Plate bearing tests (DIN 18134, TPBF-StB (technical test specifications for soil and rock in road construction))

  • Plate bearing test according to DIN 18134, 30 cm and 60 cm diameters
  • Dynamic plate bearing test according to TPBF-StB (technical test specifications for soil and rock in road construction)
  • Sounding with a light-weight ram penetrometer (DPL)
  • Sounding with a heavy-weight ram penetrometer (DPH)
  • Undrained shear strength with a field vane penetrometer
  • Zero-emission drilling and sounding on contaminated sites or closed rooms, also with a mobile extraction7cleaning system

Sampling of solid matter samples, soil assessment

  • Special sampling, sampling of drill cores, undisturbed samples
  • Sampling from debris, test pits and collecting basins according to LAGA PN 98

Laboratory examinations

Laboratory examinations on soil samples

  • Grain-size distribution (DIN 18123)
  • Water content and consistency limits according to DIN 18121 and DIN 18122
  • Lime content, water absorption and organic fractions according to DIN 18129, DIN 18132 and DIN 18128
  • Particle shape, fracture surface and the degree of particle destruction according to DIN EN 933 and the GDA recommendation
  • Density determination according to DIN 18124, 18125 and 18126
  • Proctor-tests according to DIN 18127 in a Proctor mould with a diameter between 10 and 25 cm
  • Permeability and erosion resistance according to DIN 18130, 18035
  • Consolidation tests (DIN-E 18135-K), determination of swelling pressure, bending tensile strength
  • Compression resistance and shear strength (DIN 18136, 18137)

Laboratory examinations on rock samples

  • Sample preparation
  • Strength and deformation behaviour
  • Point-load tests
  • Mineralogical examinations
  • Analysis of thin-ground sections