Geophysical and Geotechnical Studies of a Proposed Structure at Akure, Southwestern Nigeria

Geophysical and geotechnical studies were carried out at a proposed location for the construction of a multi-storey structure in Akure, Southwestern, Nigeria. The aim was to ascertain the suitability of this location for both Founding and Engineering structures. The geophysical investigation involved the Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) technique using the Schlumberger configuration, Dipole-Dipole Horizontal Profiling and a geotechnical investigation. A total of twenty-one (21) VES and five (5) Cone Penetration Test (CPT) locations were occupied within the study site. Dipole-Dipole Horizontal Profiling was occupied along traverses 1 and 2 within the investigated area. The electrode separation varies from 1 to 75 m. The investigation delineated three major layers which are topsoil, which is excavated before any foundation is laid. The second layer delineated was lateritic and the last was weathered layer. From the result obtained, depth to lateritic layer ranges from 1.1 to 9.0 m while resistivity defining the lateritic layer ranges from 150 Ωm to 792 Ωm. Some of the sounding curves generated over the VES stations and Dipole-Dipole Horizontal Profiling fairly correlated with those of the CPT profile. The high cone penetration resistance recorded at CPT point 4 and 5 is manifested as high geoelectric resistivity values recorded at VES 13. This shows that the soil has fairly low clay content. It also seen from the study that the geophysical studies has a greater depth penetration, and it also provide better layer characterization compared to geotechnical studies. The choice of foundation material, clay content and topography elevation should be taken into cognizance, since the load bearing capacity of the lateritic layer was appreciably high.