Influence of Partial Consolidation during Cone Penetration on Estimated Soil Behavior Type and Pore Pressure Dissipation Measurements
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 7
Abstract
Estimation of soil behavior type from cone penetration testing, and the interpretation of dissipation tests, is complicated in intermediate soil types, such as silty sands, sandy silts, etc., where partial consolidation occurs during penetration. This issue is investigated in this paper using results from cavity expansion and finite element analyses as well as field and centrifuge piezocone data. The implications for soil classification are examined using analytical expressions to explore the effect of normalized shear strength, rigidity index, and overconsolidation ratio relative to the influence of partial consolidation and viscous effects under fully undrained conditions. It is shown that partial drainage conditions can affect where data plots on soil behavior charts, thus complicating soil classification. The effect on dissipation tests following partial consolidation during cone penetration is shown to create errors in interpretation using experimental and numerical data. A new approach is developed based in part on manipulation of solutions for pore pressure dissipation (following undrained penetration) to account for these errors when interpreting dissipation tests. Errors can become significant during standard cone penetration testing when the dissipation time is less than about 50 s. Guidelines, including equations and a chart, are presented for practical use. Finally, implementation of this approach is demonstrated in a brief case study.
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Acknowledgments
Funding from the National Science Foundation (OISE 0530151) is appreciated. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The work was undertaken while J.T.D. held a Gledden Senior Visiting Fellowship at the University of Western Australia (UWA). The study forms part of the activities of the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems at UWA, which was established under the Australian Research Council’s Special Research Centre scheme and is now supported by the State Government of Western Australia through the Centre of Excellence in Science and Innovation program. Additional support for M.R. was provided under the ARC’s Federation Fellowships and Discovery programs. The collaborations and sharing of data from Marcelo Silva, James Schneider, and Fernando Schnaid are greatly appreciated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 7 • July 2012
Pages: 777 - 788
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 16, 2010
Accepted: Oct 17, 2011
Published online: Jun 15, 2012
Published in print: Jul 1, 2012
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