Rock Coring
Continuous bedrock core recovery for environmental fractured rock investigations, geotechnical foundation studies, and RQD assessment — delivering the subsurface data critical for complex site characterization.
Applications
- Bedrock characterization for environmental investigations
- Fracture mapping in contaminated rock aquifers
- Geotechnical foundation investigation
- Rock quality designation (RQD) determination
- Bedrock groundwater monitoring well installation
- Rock mass classification for engineering projects
- Dissolution feature and karst investigation
- Mining and mineral exploration support
Key Advantages
- Provides continuous, intact rock samples for detailed analysis
- Enables direct assessment of rock strength and fracturing
- Essential for contaminated fractured rock investigations
- Supports packer testing and hydraulic fracture analysis
- Identifies preferential groundwater flow pathways
- Meets DOT and structural engineering geotechnical requirements
About Rock Coring
Rock coring uses diamond-tipped or carbide core barrels to recover continuous cylindrical samples of bedrock as the drill bit advances. These intact core samples provide irreplaceable information about rock type, fracture frequency and orientation, degree of weathering, and hydraulic properties — data that is essential for both environmental and geotechnical investigations in bedrock settings.
IET's drilling teams have extensive experience with NQ, HQ, and PQ rock coring programs for contaminated fractured rock investigations, where the distribution of contaminants in bedrock fractures must be mapped in detail. We also perform rock coring for geotechnical foundation studies, DOT bridge and highway projects, and karst investigations in carbonate rock terrain. All cores are photographically logged, described, and stored per project-specific requirements.
Rock Coring Projects
