Assessing ground compaction via time lapse surface wave analysis

Abstract

Through a case study, the paper presents an example of application of surface-wave analysis for the assessment of the ground compaction process accomplished in order to stabilize a harbour bank. After briefly recalling the fundamental points characterizing the adopted technique, seismic data acquired before and after the soil compaction are analyzed by means of the Full Velocity Spectrum approach and compared also with the penetrometer data commonly adopted to assess the performances of the compaction process. The results demonstrate that the analysis of surface-wave propagation represents an efficient and non-invasive tool for efficiently and reliably determining the near-surface characteristics also in a time-lapse perspective.