New Geoprobe Drill Rig

Brian Mott, P.G.

DLZ is expanding its’ conventional drilling capabilities with a compact, multi-function Geoprobe drill rig. Our new, all-terrain mounted drill rig, a Geoprobe 3126GT, broadens our subsurface investigation abilities. Although small in size and weight, the new rig allows us to access locations our larger and heavier rigs could not easily reach. Its articulated mast gives us the ability to drill on uneven terrain or at odd angles, which would typically be difficult with a conventional rig. Equipped with numerous safety features, including an inline drilling system to eliminate aligning the automatic hammer over the drill rod, a common pinch point, the Geoprobe 3216GT comes packed with all the capabilities of our larger, conventional geotechnical rigs, but in a small package.

CONE PENETRATION TESTING

For over 50 years, DLZ has offered traditional auger and mud rotary with standard penetration test (SPT), undisturbed tube sampling, piston, and Dennison sampling, as well as NQ, HQ, PQ wireline, and conventional rock coring. We are delighted to bring state-of-the-art, wireless Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) (ASTM D5778) to our subsurface investigation offerings. The CPT system is used in conjunction with our conventional drilling to rapidly characterize subsurface conditions and estimate the geotechnical parameters of the materials in the subsurface. The rig is factory equipped with integrated CPT head-feed rate controls and cone overload protection. It has a maximum of 36,000 pounds of downforce and 48,000 pounds of retraction force. The operator uses a laptop computer to monitor and collect the CPT data, including cone tip pressure, sleeve friction, pore pressure, and tilt angle from the CPT tool string. The rig can also add sensors like seismic or other geo-environmental logging tools.

A MAINSTAY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLING

After 20 years, we are very excited to announce that Direct Push (ASTM D6282) sampling is back at DLZ. This drilling method is a mainstay of environmental sample collection. Fast and efficient, Direct Push sampling has a small borehole diameter and generates no waste soil cuttings for later disposal. Plastic liners inside the tooling capture the soil and minimize the potential for cross-contamination of the sample. Additional capabilities include in situ discrete water sampling used to profile a groundwater aquifer and installing conventional monitoring wells and prepacked monitoring well screens through the tool string. We have several experienced Direct Push operators on our staff, including our first operator from 25 years ago.

After 20 years, we are very excited to announce that Direct Push (ASTM D6282) sampling is back at DLZ. This drilling method is a mainstay of environmental sample collection. Fast and efficient, Direct Push sampling has a small borehole diameter and generates no waste soil cuttings for later disposal. Plastic liners inside the tooling capture the soil and minimize the potential for cross-contamination of the sample. Additional capabilities include in situ discrete water sampling used to profile a groundwater aquifer and installing conventional monitoring wells and prepacked monitoring well screens through the tool string. We have several experienced Direct Push operators on our staff, including our first operator from 25 years ago.

DECADES OF DRILLING SERVICES

DLZ has provided geotechnical drilling services for a wide range of structures. With this new Geoprobe drill rig, we now maintain 11 drill rigs, various support vehicles, and equipment capable of providing most types of rotary, coring, and auger drilling throughout the Midwest.