Analysis of Factors Influencing Soil Classification Using Normalized Piezocone Tip Resistance and Pore Pressure Parameters
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 11
Abstract
This paper discusses the development of a framework for classifying soil using normalized piezocone test (CPTU) data from the corrected tip resistance and penetration pore-water pressure at the shoulder . Parametric studies for normalized cone tip resistance and normalized excess pressures as a function of overconsolidation ratio during undrained penetration are combined with piezocone data from clay sites, as well as results from relatively uniform thick deposits of sands, silts, and varietal clays from around the globe. The study focuses on separating the influence of yield stress ratio from that of partial consolidation on normalized CPTU parameters, which both tend to increase and decrease the pore pressure parameter . The resulting recommended classification chart is significantly different from existing charts, and implies that assessment of data in space is superior to space when evaluating piezocone data for a range of soil types. Still, there are zones of overlap for silty soils and heavily overconsolidated clays, thus requiring that supplementary information to and be obtained in unfamiliar geologies, including variable rate penetration tests, dissipation tests, CPT friction ratio, or soil sampling.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The first writer would like to thank Rolf Sandven of NTH for data and discussions of the Halsen silt site, as well as Rolf Larsson of SGI for discussion on piezocone tests at silt sites in Sweden. Professor Rodrigo Salgado of Purdue Univ. is thanked for use of the program CONPOINT. Support for the first writer from the Australian Research Council (ARC), an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, and a University Postgraduate Awards from the University of Western Australia is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Amundsen, T., Lunne, T., and Christophersen, H. P. (1985). “Advanced deep-water soil investigation at the Troll East field.” Advances in underwater technology, offshore site investigation, Vol. 3, Grahan & Trotman, London, 165–186.
ASTM. (2000). “Standard test method for performing electronic friction cone and piezocone penetration testing of soils.” D5778-95, ASTM book of standards, Vol. 04–09, Philadelphia.
Axelsson, G. (2000). “Long term setup of driven piles in sand.” Ph.D. thesis, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Baligh, M. M. (1986). “Undrained deep penetration. II: Pore pressures.” Geotechnique, 36(4), 487–501.
Bond, A. J., and Jardine, R. J. (1991). “Effects of installing displacement piles in a high OCR clay.” Geotechnique, 41(3), 341–363.
Burns, S. E., and Mayne, P. W. (1998). “Monotonic and dilatory porewater pressures during piezocone dissipation tests in clay.” Can. Geotech. J., 35(6), 1063–1073.
Campanella, R. G., Robertson, P. K., and Gillespie, D. (1983). “Cone penetration testing in deltaic soils.” Can. Geotech. J., 20(1), 23–35.
Chen, B. S. Y., and Mayne, P. W. (1994). “Profiling the overconsolidation ratio of clays by piezocone tests.” Rep. No. GIT-CEEGEO-94-1, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.
Chen, B. S. Y., and Mayne, P. W. (1996). “Statistical relationships between piezocone measurements and stress history of clays.” Can. Geotech. J., 33(3), 488–498.
Chung, S. F., Randolph, M. F., and Schneider, J. A. (2006). “Effect of penetration rate on penetrometer resistance.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 132(9), 1188–1196.
Ebelhar, R. J., Young, A. G., and Stieben, G. P. (1988). “Cone penetrometer and conductor pullout tests in carbonate soils offshore Africa.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Calcareous Sediments, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 155–163.
Erbrich, C. T. (2005). “Australian frontiers—Spudcans on the edge.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Frontiers Offshore Geomechanics, Taylor & Francis, London, 49–74.
Fahey, M., and Lee Goh, A. (1995). “A comparison of pressuremeter and piezocone methods of determining the coefficient of consolidation.” Proc., 4th Int. Symp. on the Pressuremeter and Its New Avenues, Telford, London, 153–160.
Finke, K. A., and Mayne, P. W. (2002). “Closure to piezocone penetration testing in Atlantic Piedmont residuum.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 128(5), 443–446.
Finke, K. A., Mayne, P. W., and Klopp, R. A. (2001). “Piezocone testing in Atlantic Piedmont residuum.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 127(1), 48–54.
Finnie, I. M. S. (1993). “Performance of shallow foundations in calcareous soil.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia.
Finnie, I. M. S., and Randolph, M. F. (1994). “Punch-through and liquefaction induced failure of shallow foundations on calcareous sediments.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Behavior of Offshore Structures, BOSS ’94, Elsevier Science Ltd., Tarrytown, N.Y., 217–230.
Fugro Engineers, B. V. (Fugro). (1995). “Factual report on reduced scale pile load tests, Jamuna Bridge, Bangladesh.” Rep. No. K2380-206, Leidschendam, The Netherlands.
Hight, D. W., Georgiannou, V. N., and Ford, C. J. (1994). “Characterization of clayey sands.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Behavior of Offshore Structures, BOSS ’94, Elsevier Science Ltd., Tarrytown, N.Y., 321–340.
Hight, D. W., and Leroueil, S. (2003). “Characterisation of soils for engineering purposes.” Characterisation and engineering properties of natural soils, Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse, The Netherlands, 255–360.
House, A. R., Oliveira, J. R. M. S., and Randolph, M. F. (2001). “Evaluating the coefficient of consolidation using penetration tests.” Int. J. Phys. Modell. Geotech., 1(3), 17–25.
International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE). (1997). International reference test procedure for cone penetration test (CPT), Linköping, Sweden.
Jamiolkowski, M., Ladd, C. C., Germaine, J., and Lancellotta, R. (1985). “New developments in field and lab testing of soils.” Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 1, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 57–154.
Jefferies, M. G., and Davies, M. P. (1991). “Soil classification by the cone penetration test: Discussion.” Can. Geotech. J., 28(1), 173–176.
Jones, G., and Rust, E. (1982). “Piezometer penetration testing.” Proc., 2nd European Symp. on Penetration Testing, Vol. 2, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 607–613.
Karlsrud, K., Nowacki, F., and Kalsnes, B. (1993). “Response in soft clay and silt deposits to static and cyclic loading based on recent instrumented pile load tests.” Offshore site investigation and foundation behavior, Society for Underwater Technology, London, 549–584.
Keaveny, J. M., and Mitchell, J. K. (1986). “Strength of fine-grained soils using the piezocone.” In-Situ ’86, GSP 6, ASCE, Reston, Va., 668–685.
Klotz, E. U., and Coop, M. R. (2001). “An investigation of the effect of soil state on the capacity of driven piles in sands.” Geotechnique, 51(9), 733–751.
Kolk, H. J., Baaijens, A. E., and Vergobi, P. (2005). “Results of axial load tests on pipe piles in very dense sands: The EURIPIDES JIP.” Proc., Int. Symp. Frontiers Offshore Geomechanics ISFOG, Taylor & Francis, London, 661–667.
Konrad, J. M. (1998). “Sand state from cone penetrometer tests: A framework considering grain crushing stress.” Geotechnique, 48(2), 201–215.
Konrad, J.-M., and Law, K. T. (1987). “Preconsolidation pressure from piezocone tests in marine clays.” Geotechnique, 37(2), 177–190.
Kulhawy, F. H., and Mayne, P. W. (1990). “Manual on estimating soil properties for foundation design.” Rep. No. EL-6800, Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif.
Lacasse, S., and Lunne, T. (1982). “Penetration testing in two Norwegian clays.” Penetration testing, Vol. 2, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 607–613.
Larsson, R. (1997). “Investigations and load tests in silty soils.” Rep. No. 54, Swedish Geotechnical Institute, Linköping, Sweden.
Lehane, B. M. (1992). “Experimental investigations of pile behavior using instrumented field piles.” Ph.D. thesis, Imperial College, London.
Lehane, B. M., and Jardine, R. J. (1994). “Displacement-pile behavior in a soft marine clay.” Can. Geotech. J., 31(2), 181–191.
Lehane, B. M., O’Loughlin, C. D., Gaudin, C., and Randolph, M. F. (2008). “Rate effects on penetrometer resistance in kaolin.” Geotechnique, in press.
Leroueil, S., Demers, D., La Rochelle, P., Martel, G., and Virely, D. (1995). “Practical applications of the piezocone in Champlain sea clays.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Cone Penetration Testing, CPT-95, SGI, Linköping, Sweden, 515–522.
Lu, Q., Randolph, M. F., Hu, Y., and Bugarski, I. C. (2004). “A numerical study of cone penetration in clay.” Geotechnique, 54(4), 257–267.
Lunne, T., Eidsmoen, T. E., Powell, J. J. M., and Quarterman, R. S. T. (1986). “Piezocone testing in overconsolidated clays.” Proc., 39th Canadian Geotechnical Conf., CGS, Ontario, Canada, 209–218.
Lunne, T., and Lacasse, S. (1999). “Geotechnical characteristics of low plasticity Drammen clay.” Characterization of soft marine clays, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 33–56.
Lunne, T., Robertson, P. K., and Powell, J. J. M. (1997). Cone penetration testing in geotechnical practice, Blakie Academic and Professional, Melbourne, Australia.
Mayne, P. W. (1992). “In situ determination of clay stress history by piezocone model.” Predictive soil mechanics, Telford, London, 483–495.
Mayne, P. W. (2001). “Stress-strain-strength-flow parameters from enhanced in-situ tests.” Proc., Int. Conf. on In-Situ Measurement of Soil Properties and Case Histories (In-Situ 2001), Parahyangan Catholic University Publishers, Bandung, Indonesia, 27–47.
Mayne, P. W., and Bachus, R. C. (1988). “Profiling OCR in clays by piezocone.” Penetration testing 1988, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 857–864.
Mayne, P. W., Brown, D., Vinson, J., Schneider, J. A., and Finke, K. A. (2000). “Site characterization of Piedmont residual soils at the National Geotechnical Experimentation Site, Opelika, Alabama.” National geotechnical experimentation sites, GSP 93, ASCE, Reston, Va., 160–185.
Mayne, P. W., and Kulhawy, F. H. (1982). “ -OCR relationships in soil.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 108(GT6), 851–872.
Mayne, P. W., Kulhawy, F. H., and Kay, J. N. (1990). “Observations on the development of pore-water stresses during piezocone penetration in clays.” Can. Geotech. J., 27(4), 418–428.
Mayne, P. W., Robertson, P. K., and Lunne, T. (1998). “Clay stress history evaluated from seismic piezocone tests.” Geotechnical site characterization, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1113–1118.
McNeilan, T. W., and Bugno, W. T. (1985). “Cone penetration test results in offshore California silts.” Strength testing of marine sediments: Laboratory and in situ test measurements, ASTM STP 833, ASTM, Philadelphia, 55–71.
Moss, R. E. S. (2003). “CPT-based probabilistic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction initiation.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif.
Moss, R. E. S., et al. (2006a). “CPT-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of in situ seismic soil liquefaction potential.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 132(8), 1032–1051.
Moss, R. E. S., Seed, R. B., and Olsen, R. S. (2006b). “Normalizing the CPT for overburden stress.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 132(3), 378–387.
Olsen, R. S., and Mitchell, J. K. (1995). “CPT stress normalization and prediction of soil classification.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Cone Penetration Testing, CPT’95, SGF Rep. No. 3(95), SGI, Vol. 2, Linköping, Sweden, Geotechnical Society, 257–262.
Olson, R. E., and Shantz, T. J. (2004). “Axial load capacity of piles in California in cohesionless soils.” Deep Foundations 2002, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 116, ASCE Reston, Va., 1–15.
Parkin, A. K. (1988). “The calibration of cone penetrometers.” Penetration testing 1988, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 221–243.
Powell, J. J. M., Quarterman, R. S. T., and Lunne, T. (1988). “Interpretation and use of the piezocone test in UK clays.” Penetration testing in the UK, Telford, London, 151–156.
Ramsey, N. (2002). “A calibrated model for the interpretation of cone penetration tests (CPTs) in North Sea quaternary soils.” Offshore site investigation and geotechnics—Diversity and sustainability, Society for Underwater Technology, London, 341–356.
Randolph, M. F. (2004). “Characterisation of soft sediments for offshore applications.” Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Site Characterization (Proc. ISC’2, Porto), Vol. 1, Millpress, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 209–232.
Randolph, M. F., Carter, J. P., and Wroth, C. P. (1979). “Driven piles in clay—The effects of installation and subsequent consolidation.” Geotechnique, 29(4), 361–393.
Randolph, M. F., and Hope, S. (2004). “Effect of cone velocity on cone resistance and excess pore pressures.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Engineering Practice and Performance of Soft Deposits, Yodagawa Kogisha Co., Ltd., Japan, 147–152.
Randolph, M. F., Joer, H. A., Khorshid, M. S., and Hyden, A. M. (1996). “Field and laboratory data from pile load tests in calcareous soil.” OTC 7992, Proc. 28th Offshore Tech. Conf., OTC, Houston, 327–336.
Robertson, P. K. (1990). “Soil classification using the cone penetration test.” Can. Geotech. J., 27(1), 151–158.
Robertson, P. K. (1991). “Soil classification by the cone penetration test: Reply.” Can. Geotech. J., 28(1), 176–178.
Robertson, P. K., and Campanella, R. G. (1983). “Interpretation of cone penetration tests. I: Sand.” Can. Geotech. J., 20(4), 718–733.
Robertson, P. K., Campanella, R. G., Gillespie, D., and Grieg, J. (1986). “Use of piezometer cone data.” Use of in situ tests in geotechnical engineering, GSP 6, ASCE, Reston, Va., 1263–1280.
Salgado, R. (1993). “Analysis of penetration resistance in sands.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif.
Salgado, R., Mitchell, J. K., and Jamiolkowski, M. (1997). “Cavity expansion and penetration resistance in sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 123(4), 344–354.
Sandven, R. (1990). “Strength and deformation properties of fine grained soils obtained from piezocone tests.” Ph.D. thesis, Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Sandven, R. (2002). “Geotechnical properties of a natural silt deposit obtained from field and laboratory tests.” Characterisation and engineering properties of natural soils, Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse, The Netherlands, 1237–1276.
Schneider, J. A., Lehane, B. M., and Schnaid, F. (2007). “Velocity effects on piezocone tests in normally and overconsolidated clays.” Int. J. Phys. Modell. Geotech., 7(2), 23–34.
Schneider, J. A., Mayne, P. W., and Rix, G. J. (2001). “Geotechnical site characterization in the greater Memphis area using cone penetration tests.” Eng. Geol. (Amsterdam), 62, 169–184.
Senneset, K., and Janbu, N. (1985). “Shear strength parameters obtained from static cone penetration tests.” Strength testing of marine sediments: Laboratory and in situ test measurements, ASTM STP 833, ASTM, Philadelphia, 41–54.
Silva, M. F., White, D. J., and Bolton, M. D. (2006). “An analytical study of the effect of penetration rate on piezocone tests in clay.” Int. J. Numer. Analyt. Meth. Geomech., 30(6), 501–527.
Teh, C. I., and Houlsby, G. T. (1991). “An analytical study of the cone penetration test in clay.” Geotechnique, 41(1), 17–34.
Tomlinson, M. J. (2001). Foundation design and construction, 7th Ed., Longman Group, London.
Tveldt, G., and Fredriksen, F. (2003). “N18 Ny motorvegbru I Drammen Prøvebelasting av peler.” Conf. on Rock and Blasting and Geotechnics, Oslo, Norway, 37.1–37.32.
Watson, P. G. (1999). “Performance of skirted foundations for offshore structures.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Resource Engineering, Univ. of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
Watson, P. G., and Humpheson, C. (2005). “Geotechnical interpretation for the Yolla A platform.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Frontiers Offshore Geomechanics (ISFOG), Taylor & Francis, London, 343–349.
Wroth, C. P. (1984). “The interpretation of in situ soil tests.” Geotechnique, 34(4), 449–489.
Wroth, C. P. (1988). “Penetration testing—A more rigorous approach to interpretation.” Penetration Testing 1988, (Proc. ISOPT, Orlando), Vol. 1, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 303–311.
Wroth, C. P., and Houlsby, G. T. (1985). “Soil mechanics: Property characterization and analysis procedures.” Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, ICSMFE, Vol. 1, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1–56.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 11 • November 2008
Pages: 1569 - 1586
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 12, 2007
Accepted: Mar 3, 2008
Published online: Nov 1, 2008
Published in print: Nov 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.