The Work Flow and Operational Model for Geotechnical Investigation Based on BIM

Geotechnical investigation is essentially a process of information acquisition, analysis, and application. Informatization is an attractive way to improve the efficiency of geotechnical investigation. Typical approaches divide the process of geotechnical investigation into isolated stages and only focus on the local informatization of the entire process. This leads to limitations in the improvement of geotechnical investigation efficiency, misuse of geotechnical data, and interpreted results that are incorrect. Therefore, a work flow and operational mode to address the informatization throughout the overall process of geotechnical investigation is particularly important in developing a software designed for efficient and precise geotechnical investigations. In this paper, we design a work flow and operational mode for geotechnical investigation based on a geotechnical BIM model and database. Within this work flow, the construction of a 3-D geotechnical information model and BIM-based database is taken as the main line. The constantly updated model and the database are the platform for working and analysis. As this strategy can link every stage in the whole process of geotechnical investigation, all the work can be done based on the BIM model and database in a 3-D environment, so improvement in the overall efficiency of geotechnical investigation is possible. Furthermore, the integrative center combined by the BIM model and database is targeted to reduce data errors, data conversions, and the abstractness of geotechnical data, which can improve the interpreted accuracy of these data. Finally, we use the process of geotechnical investigation at a hydropower station for experimental studies to verify the proposed work flow and operational mode. The result shows that it is feasible to design the software for an efficient and more accurate geotechnical investigation based on the proposed work flow and operational mode.