There have been many papers published on the topic of evaluating unknown foundations by nondestructive or noninvasive means. Unfortunately, many of the techniques discussed have remained theoretical or academic curiosities because of the complexities of putting them into practice on real sites, rather than research sites or laboratories, with the consequent increase in the number of unknowns that must be considered when interpreting the test data, particularly where deep foundations are involved. A significant factor in the acceptance and adoption of a nondestructive test (NDT) method is the level of understanding, or the expectations, of the prospective adopter. An often overlooked fact is that no single method is likely to provide all of the information that the engineer or owner is seeking. It is often necessary to combine the data from two or more NDT methods with more mundane methods such as review of historical documents or maintenance records from prior owners or operators. This paper reviews the nondestructive test methods that have been proven capable of making useful contributions to the process of evaluating unknown deep foundations. The known capabilities and limitations of each method are discussed, and case histories are presented that illustrate a variety of successful applications.
展开▼
