Strength Measurement for Near-Seabed Surface Soft Soil Using Manually Operated Miniature Full-Flow Penetrometer
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 11
Abstract
A manually operated penetrometer (DMS) fitted with cylindrical (T-bar) and ball penetrometer tips was developed for measuring the profiles of undisturbed and remolded undrained shear strength within box-core samples. This paper summarizes the findings of a series of miniature penetrometer tests and vane shear tests that were carried out on reconstituted clay from a local site in Western Australia. The aim of the tests was to evaluate the potential of the DMS in characterizing the shear strength of seabed surficial sediments. It was found that the DMS gave essentially identical T-bar and ball penetration resistances but these were up to 17% lower than the net cone resistance. From the comparison between the T-bar and ball penetration resistance and the shear strengths measured from vane shear tests, average factors of 11 and 14 were obtained for intact and fully remolded conditions, respectively. The test results suggest that the DMS is a reliable and efficient means of obtaining intact and remolded shear strength profiles.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded primarily by the joint industry project: Shear Strength Parameters Determined by In Situ Tests for Deep-Water Soft Soils, undertaken jointly by NGI and COFS; grateful acknowledgment is made to the sponsors of that project: BG, BP, Benthic Geotech, ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, Fugro, Geo, Lankelma, Seacore, Shell Oil, Statoil, Subsea 7, Teknik Lengkap, Total and Woodside. The work also forms part of the ongoing activities of COFS, which was established under the Australian Research Council’s Research Centres Program and is currently supported as a Centre of Excellence by the State of Western Australia and through Grant Nos. UNSPECIFIEDFF0561473 and UNSPECIFIEDDP0665958 from the Australian Research Council. The first writer is also grateful for support from an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship and University Postgraduate Award from the University of Western Australia and Benthic Geotech Ph.D. Scholarship from Benthic Geotech Pty. Ltd.UNSPECIFIED
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 11 • November 2010
Pages: 1565 - 1573
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 10, 2008
Accepted: Apr 27, 2010
Published online: Apr 30, 2010
Published in print: Nov 2010
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