Unit Skin Friction from the Standard Penetration Test Supplemented with the Measurement of Torque
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 5
Abstract
The standard penetration test (SPT) supplemented with the measurement of torque (SPT-T) may be used to obtain a direct measurement of unit skin friction between the sampler and the surrounding soil. The test is performed after the standard SPT procedure and does not compromise conventional SPT results. In order to perform the SPT-T, the split-barrel sampler is rotated after driving the ASTM specified distance and the maximum torque is measured using a calibrated torque wrench or transducer mounted to the top of the drill string. The measured torque is used along with the known geometry of the split-barrel sampler to determine a value of unit skin friction. SPT-T test results at 12 sites are presented. The results also show that the unit skin friction values obtained from the SPT-T generally correlate well with SPT values. The results may be valuable for making preliminary estimates of unit skin friction for driven piles and provide some rationale for reported correlations between and skin friction from piles.
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Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Feb 11, 2003
Accepted: Jul 18, 2003
Published online: Apr 15, 2004
Published in print: May 2004
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