Kwang Sing Engineering Pte Ltd is at the fore front of the industry and have delivered some of the most complex and technical challenging site investigations undertaken in Singapore as well as in neighbouring South East Asia countries. The department is led by an experienced management team supported by a large team of geotechnical and geo-environmental engineers, site supervisors, field technicians and skilled drilling crews.

Technical capabilities of the site investigation team include:-

Borehole drilling, coring, sampling and reporting

As the company operates various drilling rigs and associated equipments, an investigation can normally be designed to suit the client's requirement and obtain information in the most efficient and cost effective manner. Our tracked mounted and/or drilling rigs are used to sink boreholes up to 100m depths through a variety of soil and rock layers with rotary drilling techniques, obtaining soil and rock samples for further laboratory testing. Report for geotechnical, underground conditions and environmental reports are produced after performing in-situ testing and in-situ monitoring. Our exploratory capabilities are supported by our teams of engineers and geologists, our laboratory technicians on site and head office. The site investigation data can be presented as either factual or interpretive reports relating to both geotechnical and/or environmental considerations. Site investigation data can be provided in AGS format with the report supplied in PDF format in CD.

Trial pitting, trenching and hand augering

Trial pitting and trial trenching is carried out by a variety of methods from hand dug pits to machine excavated trenches. All trial pit and trial trench investigations are supervised by experienced engineers with a thorough understanding of geology and soil mechanics.  The purpose is to locate and record the exact position of existing underground services and buried foundation. Hand augering is used to obtain disturbed samples for visual description or lab tests and to confirm the absence of any underground services.

Environmental baseline study

The objective of the baseline study is to evaluate the level of toxic contamination in the soil and groundwater by comparing the concentrations of certain chemicals of concern to a schedule of allowable standards (Dutch Target and Intervention Values). This establishes the soil and groundwater quality beneath the site and assesses any soil and/or groundwater contamination that may have resulted from the past activities. A groundwater study for trade effluent discharge is also carried out to evaluate the level of toxic contamination in the groundwater by comparing the concentrations of certain chemicals of concern to a schedule of allowable standards (NEA Trade Effluent Discharge).

In-situ testing

The packer or lugeon test is used to assess the amount of grout that rock accepts, to check the effectiveness of grouting, to obtain a measure of the amount of fracturing of rock, or to give an approximate value of the permeability of the rock mass local to the borehole. The apparatus for this test consists of packers, water pump, water tank, stability tank, flow meter and pressure gauge. It comprises the measurement of the volume of water that can escape from an uncased section of borehole in a given time under a given pressure. Flow is confined between two packers in the double packer test, or between one packer and the bottom of the borehole in the single packer test.

The objective of in-situ vane shear testing is to measure the resistance to rotation of a vane installed in soft fine soil for determination of the undrained shear strength and the sensitivity of the soil. The test is carried out a using geonor type self penetrating vane shear equipment. A rectangular vane, consisting of four plates fixed at 90º angles to each other, pushed into the soil to the desired depth and rotated by a torque head. After extensive rotation of the vane, whereby the soil along the failure surface becomes thoroughly remoulded, the remoulded shear strength value can be obtained and the soil's sensitivity can be calculated.

The purpose of the pressuremeter test is to measure the in-situ deformation of soil and soft rock caused by the expansion of a cylindrical flexible membrane under pressure. Pressuremeter testing is carried out a using Oyo-Elastmeter-2 type instrument. The test consists of inserting the probe containing a cylindrical membrane into the ground into a pre-formed borehole. Once at a predetermined depth the membrane is expanded under pressure and readings of pressure and expansion are recorded until a maximum expansion for the device is reached. It can obtain strength and/or deformation parameters of the ground or specific pressuremeter parameters. It can also present stress-strain curves of fine soil and soft rock.

Cover meter survey on concrete/mortar is done using Profoscope cover meter, a sophisticated device for the non destructive locations of re-bars and for the measurements of concrete cover and bar diameters, using the eddy current principle with pulse induction as the measuring method.

Ultrasonic pulse velocity testing covers the determination of the velocity of propagation of pulses of ultrasonic longitudinal waves hardened concrete.

Rebound hammer test is carried out to find out the compressive strength of concrete by using Proceq rebound hammer as per SI:13311 (part 2)-1992.

The determination of in-situ permeability tests in borehole involves the application of a hydraulic pressure in the borehole different from that in the ground, and the measurement of the flow due to the difference. The pressure in the borehole may be increased by introducing water into it, which is commonly called a falling-head or inflow test, or it may be decreased by pumping water out of it in a rising-head or outflow test. The pressure may be held constant during a test (a constant-head test) or it may be allowed to equalize to its original value (a variable-head test).

Mackintosh Probe Testing

The purpose of carrying out the Mackintosh Probe Test is to achieve a reasonable accurate value of the soil bearing capacity at different location within the site. It is a convenient method to use for any site inaccessible to conventional testing equipments.

Dynamic/ static , seismic cone penetration test

The objective is to determine the resistance of soil and soft rock to the penetration of a cone and the local friction on a sleeve. The CPT consists of pushing a cone penetrometer vertically into the soil using a series of push rods. The cone penetrometer is pushed into the soil at a constant rate of penetration. Continuous readings of cone resistance (qc), local friction (fs), pore water pressure (u2) and friction ratio (Rf) are recorded during the test. The 20 ton medium weigth track mounted penetrometer system consists of a self propelled hydraulic remote controlled CPT with enhance computer acquisition system designed for rough terrain of areas. Pore pressure dissipation test can also be performed in soil later defined by CPT.

It is now possible to measure downhole shear wave propagation during cone soundings. Performing seismic sone penetration test during CPT soundings is much quicker and less expensive than standard crosshole tests or downhole tests.

Plate loading test

The objective of the plate loading test is the determination of the vertical deformation and strength properties of soil and in-situ rock mass by recording the load and the corresponding settlement when a rigid plate modelling a foundation is loaded onto the ground. The plate loading test is carried out on a thoroughly levelled and undisturbed surface either at ground level or on the bottom of an excavation at a certain depth of the bottom of an exploration shaft or gallery.

Geophysical surveying

The purpose is to determine the depth of the soil layer and the bedrock level. The seismic refraction method, due to its versatility, is one of the most commonly used geophysical methods in engineering, mining, groundwater exploration and environmental site investigation. Based on density contracts that generally exist between geological materials, the refraction method is utilized to provide detailed information on the distribution and thickness of subsurface layers with characteristic seismic velocities.

The crosshole seismic method is also carried out because it can provide valuable information about near-surface seismic properties and in between boreholes.

Resistivity testing

Resistivity test is carried out to investigate the resistivity on ground. The Sting R1 earth resistivity meter is a field data acquisition unit which measures the resistivity of soils. The electrodes are used to send electricity current into the soil and measure the voltage between them.

Concrete coring , hacking and cutting

Concrete coring is carried out by the use of a portable thin wall core-barrel and obtained core samples and test for strength. The Purpose of concrete hacking and cutting is to reveal the reinforcement pattern/ brick band/ steel connection/ embedded details and select samples for further testing.

Slope stabilization

In many cases, engineered slopes required stabilization to ensure their long-term viability and reduce localized slope failure (which includes erosion and rock fall). Scaling, grouting, rock bolting, shortacreting, soil nailing, and other procudures are used to improve tensile and shear strength of the slope. Geotextiles are porous, flexible, man-made fabrics which act to reinforce and increase the stability of structures such as earth fills.

All works are carried out in accordance with ISO standard and in compliance to Health, Safety and Environmental protocols in ensuring high quality, efficiency, effectiveness and timely completion.