Evalutiaon of site characterization methods for sinkholes in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

摘要

This study addresses the question of what is thestate-of-the-practice of site characterization methods for locatingsinkholes or potential sinkholes in the Great Valley Section ofeastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey. This geographicarea has recently experienced the failures of a large officebuilding and a number of residential structures. Sixty engineeringfirms practicing in this area were asked to respond to a surveyconcerning the methods currently being employed for locatingsinkholes. Twelve firms responded. This paper provides asummary of the 12 methods used to detect voids, the percentageof firms using the different methods and a description of thereliability of each methods. Recommendations concerning sitecharacterization methods for the Great Valley area are also given.