Stronger, Cost-Conscious ASTRA CPT System

When Geoprobe^® announced manufacturing their own ASTRA CPT cone, Todd Ives, drilling operator for Amdrill in Florida, initially hesitated on pursuing a purchase.

“I’m not sure why I was leery, because if Geoprobe^® puts out a product you know it’s going to be top notch,” Ives said. “We got down to one CPT cone and needed to buy another. Geoprobe^® let us try out the ASTRA set up for a month or two, and we decided to replace our old systems with Geoprobe^® ASTRA.”

Ives approaches his work with the mindset that it’s not whether you’ll break a cone, but when, advising his boss to expect an average of one break per year. Through his use of Geoprobe^® ASTRA CPT system, he has discovered enhanced strength to withstand difficult geologies.

“I just try to go as deep as I can as efficiently as I can without breaking it. I’ve definitely put the ASTRA cone in situations where other manufacturer’s cones would have had a breakage, and I’ve yet to break the Geoprobe^® ASTRA,” Ives said. “I’ve put it in dense soils and limestone. With the Geoprobe^® ASTRA cones, I’m more comfortable pushing the envelope if I’m confident in the data I’m getting, and I’m anchored well.”

Without realizing it, Ives actually pushed his ASTRA CPT cone a little too far.

“Instead of breaking, it flexed causing an undetectable crack,” Ives said. “Moisture intrusion caused the pore pressure to act up.”

He valued being able to send the cone back to the Geoprobe^® experts to diagnose and repair the problem.

“We can send our cones back to Salina, Kansas, for repairs versus overseas. We can stay on site and keep working with the backup cone while they get it repaired and back to me quickly,” Ives said.

Sending it to Salina saved him both time and money.

“We were able to remove and repair the sensor, which performed and calibrated like normal in the end. Being capable of performing a cone repair in-house is part of our mission,” said Troy Schmidt, Direct Image^® product line manager. “At the end of the day, this was a several hundred dollar repair with a 3-day turnaround. Our goal is to manage cost and minimize the time a CPT probe is in-house for repair.”

Ives also relies on the Geoprobe^® seismic module CPT system for his shear wave logging.

“We use the seismic module, which is much cheaper than the older model and is super easy to use,” Ives said. “The seismic and CPT coexist all bundled in the same software.”

CPT System Advantages

He depends on Geoprobe^® for his CPT system because:

• Quality product: “They always have good quality tooling.”
• Support: “Geoprobe^® support is always fantastic.”
• Simple operation: “New software is super easy to use. Someone who’s never done CPT could get trained on it.”
• Cost conscious: “More economical from initial investment to upkeep.”
• Durable: “I put them through the paces, sometimes a little overboard. I’m taking a risk, but to me it’s just wear and tear.”