For the design of basis and foundations of buildings and facilities, soils must meet a number of characteristics defined by the requirements of SP 22.13330.2016. Technical regulations for engineering surveys and design prescribe the determination of soil characteristics by laboratory methods and experimentally – directly in the field. Laboratory soil study is the modeling of natural and man–made processes in a different environment, limited space and with a number of assumptions. Therefore, laboratory conditions do not accurately reproduce natural and man-made environment. This is especially noticeable for soils exploration in hard-to-reach regions of Russia. Field testing of soils is a complex of works that includes research in conditions of natural occurrence of soils using special devices and installations. Accordingly, field methods are more correct and most closely simulate the behavior of loaded foundations with a soil massif. The authors consider the possibility of determining deformation characteristics in a soil massif using the semi-sphere stamp method. Semi-sphere stamp soil testing involves measuring the settlement of a stamp under a constant load. As a part of the project Semi-sphere stamp 1205 cm2, specialists of NK Rosneft-NTC LLC modified a flat stamp with an area of 600 cm2 into a semi-sphere stamp of 1205 cm2. Based on design documentation, experimental equipment was manufactured. Comparative analysis of field and laboratory tests showed high convergence of results. According to the results obtained the field test method with a semi-sphere stamp is recommended for determining the deformation characteristics in a soil massif.
