Development of a new calibration chamber for conducting cone penetration tests in unsaturated soils

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Pournaghiazar ◽  
Adrian R. Russell ◽  
Nasser Khalili
Keyword(s):  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Bottom Plate ◽  
Cone Penetration ◽  
Rubber Membrane ◽  
Cone Penetration Tests ◽  
Horizontal Pressure ◽  
Calibration Chamber ◽  
Penetration Tests

A calibration chamber has been developed to conduct laboratory-controlled cone penetration tests in unsaturated soils. The chamber allows independent application of lateral and vertical pressures to an unsaturated soil specimen. Horizontal pressure is applied by cell water pressure pushing on a rubber membrane enclosing the specimen, while vertical pressure is maintained by a hydraulic loading ram at the base of the specimen. Suction is controlled using the axis-translation technique. Air pressure is applied to the top of the chamber where it spreads uniformly across the top of the specimen. Pore-water pressure is applied through eight high air-entry value porous disks embedded in the bottom plate. A particularly original aspect of the chamber design is the specimen formation system comprising four moveable cylinder quarters, which enables the creation of specimens of repeatable properties from a variety of soil types. The results of typical cone penetration tests conducted on dry, saturated, and unsaturated sand specimens are presented and highlight the contribution of suction to cone penetration resistance.

scholarly journals Cone penetration tests in a virtual calibration chamber

Géotechnique ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 525-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. ARROYO ◽  
J. BUTLANSKA ◽  
A. GENS ◽  
F. CALVETTI ◽  
M. JAMIOLKOWSKI
Keyword(s):  
Cone Penetration ◽  
Cone Penetration Tests ◽  
Calibration Chamber ◽  
Penetration Tests

Cone penetration tests in unsaturated silty sands

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongwei Yang ◽  
Adrian R. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Effective Stress ◽  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Penetration Resistance ◽  
Silty Sand ◽  
Cone Penetration ◽  
Confining Stress ◽  
Cone Penetration Tests ◽  
Hydraulic Hysteresis ◽  
Cone Penetration Resistance ◽  
Penetration Tests

Very little is known about how to interpret cone penetration tests (CPTs) when performed in unsaturated soils. The few published studies on CPTs in unsaturated soils have focused on either clean sands or silt. In this study, new results of laboratory-controlled CPTs in an unsaturated silty sand are presented. Silty sand exhibits hydraulic hysteresis and suction hardening. Suction is observed to have a pronounced effect on measured cone penetration resistance. For an isotropic net confining stress of 60 kPa, it is observed that higher suctions give rise to cone penetration resistances that are 50% larger than those for lower suctions. A semi-theoretical correlation is presented that links measured cone penetration resistances to initial relative density and mean effective stress. Suction has an influence on cone penetration resistances through suction hardening, as well as its contribution to effective stress. For this silty sand, it is shown that failing to account for suction may result in significant overestimations and unsafe predictions of soil properties from measured cone penetration resistances.

Prediction of pile shaft resistance using cone penetration tests (CPTs)

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 74-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hassan Baziar ◽  
Armin Kashkooli ◽  
Alireza Saeedi-Azizkandi
Keyword(s):  
Cone Penetration ◽  
Shaft Resistance ◽  
Pile Shaft ◽  
Cone Penetration Tests ◽  
Penetration Tests

scholarly journals Using CPTs to derive thermal properties of soil

2020 ◽  
Vol 205 ◽  
pp. 04005
Author(s):  
Philip J. Vardon ◽  
Joek Peuchen
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Capacity ◽  
Laboratory Tests ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Volumetric Heat Capacity ◽  
Cone Penetration ◽  
Cone Penetration Tests ◽  
Penetration Tests ◽  
Properties Of Soil

A method of utilizing cone penetration tests (CPTs) is presented which gives continuous profiles of both the in situ thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity, along with the in situ temperature, for the upper tens of meters of the ground. Correlations from standard CPT results (cone resistance, sleeve friction and pore pressure) are utilized for both thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity for saturated soil. These, in conjunction with point-wise thermal conductivity and in situ temperature results using a Thermal CPT (T-CPT), allow accurate continuous profiles to be derived. The CPT-based method is shown via a field investigation supported by laboratory tests to give accurate and robust results.

scholarly journals Impact of the moisture content in medium sands on CPTU test results

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Zawadzki ◽  
Marek Bajda
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Time Dynamic ◽  
Tip Resistance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Resistance Value

Abstract Soils occurring in the soil “active zone” are in contact with the surface and are directly influenced by external factors (mainly climatic changes) that cause variation in their parameters over time. Dynamic and uncontrolled changes of soil properties e.g. due to rainfall and evapotranspiration processes may affect field test results leading to the misinterpretation of the obtained data. This paper presents investigations on the influence of moisture content changes in sandy soils on CPTU results. For this purpose, a field ground model has been constructed and five CPTU tests with a different moisture content of soil were carried out. During the investigations, the tip resistance (qc), friction on sleeve (fs), and pore water pressure (u2) were measured. Moreover, a TDR probe was applied to determine the distribution of the moisture content in the studied soil columns. Differences between CPT results obtained in saturated and unsaturated soils have been shown. Furthermore, a simple equation to correct the tip resistance value due to the impact of the degree of saturation has been proposed.

scholarly journals The architecture of the Kattendijk Formation and the implications on the early Pliocene depositional evolution of the southern margin of the North Sea Basin

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jef DECKERS ◽  
Stephen LOUWYE
Keyword(s):  
Cone Penetration ◽  
Early Pliocene ◽  
Cone Penetration Tests ◽  
The North ◽  
Lower Oligocene ◽  
Deep Incision ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Depositional Evolution ◽  
Penetration Tests ◽  
East West

An east-west correlation profile through the upper Neogene succession north of Antwerp, based on cone penetration tests, reveals the architecture of the lower Pliocene Kattendijk Formation. It shows a basal incision of the Kattendijk Formation down to 20 m in Miocene sands and locally even Lower Oligocene clays. The incision is part of a much larger gully system in the region at the base of the Kattendijk Formation. The strongest gully incision is observed along the western profile, and coincides with increases in the thickness of the Kattendijk Formation from its typical four to six meters thickness in the east towards a maximum of 15 m in the west. Correlations show that this additional thickness represents a separate sequence of the Kattendijk Formation that first filled the deepest part of the gully prior to being transgressed and covered by the second sequence deposited in a larger gully system. Both sequences of the Kattendijk Formation have basal transgressive layers, and are lithologically identical. Initial, deep incision at the base of the Kattendijk Formation might have been the result of the constriction of early Pliocene tidal currents that invaded and expanded fluvial or estuarine gullies that had developed during the latest Miocene sea-level low. A similar mechanism had been proposed for the development of late Miocene gully system at the base of the Diest Formation further southeast in northern Belgium. As the wider area was transgressed and covered by the second sequence of the Kattendijk Formation, flow constriction ended, currents weakened and gully incisions were reduced in size.

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