Technical Papers
Aug 7, 2013

State-Based Overburden Normalization of Cone Penetration Resistance in Clean Sand

Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 2

Abstract

Interpretation of experimental and field cone penetration test (CPT) data from across a broad range of stress conditions requires defining the dependence of the measurements on overburden stress and other influencing factors. This paper examines three possible methods for overburden normalization of CPT tip resistance in sand at the same state parameter or same relative state parameter. The three methods for determining state-based normalized tip resistance at a reference overburden stress of 101.3 kPa (1 atm) are evaluated against calibration chamber test data for four well-studied clean sands. The CPT data from the calibration chamber tests are corrected for chamber boundary effects using two different methods to illustrate the effect this step has on derived relationships. The CPT data are further normalized to a common lateral earth pressure coefficient to illustrate the effect of this step. The three methods for state-based overburden normalization were evaluated for bias and dispersion against the calibration chamber data, including their dependence on the applied chamber correction relationship. The dependence of state-based overburden normalized tip resistances on the crushing behavior of the clean sand was evaluated by examination of one-dimensional limiting compression curves for these four sands. Finally, correlations for estimating the state parameter or relative state parameter from the state-based overburden normalized tip resistance were developed and evaluated based on the examined data.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the funding provided by the California Department of Water Resources, the calibration chamber data provided by Jefferies and Been (2006) through Golder and Associates, and the helpful comments of the anonymous reviewers.

References

Baldi, G., Bellotti, R., Ghionna, N., Jamiolkowski, M., and Pasqualini, E. (1986). “Interpretation of CPTs and CPTU’s, 2nd part.” Proc., 4th Int. Geotechnical Seminar, Nanyang Technological Institute, Singapore, 143–156.
Baldi, G., Bellotti, R., Ghionna, V., Jamiolkowski, M., and Pasqualini, E. (1982). “Design parameters for sand from CPT.” Proc., 2nd European Symp. on Penetration Testing, ESPOT II, Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 425–432.
Been, K., Crooks, J. H. A., Becker, D. E., and Jefferies, M. G. (1986). “The cone penetration test in sands: Part I, state parameter interpretation.” Geotechnique, 36(2), 239–249.
Been, K., Crooks, J. H. A., Becker, D. E., and Jefferies, M. G. (1987). “The cone penetration test in sands: Part II, general inference of state.” Geotechnique, 37(3), 285–299.
Been, K., and Jefferies, M. G. (1985). “A state parameter for sands.” Geotechnique, 35(2), 99–112.
Been, K., and Jefferies, M. G. (1986). “A state parameter for sands: Discussion.” Geotechnique, 36(1), 123–132.
Bellotti, R., Jamiolkowski, M., Lo Presti, D. C. F., and O’Neill, D. A. (1996). “Anisotropy of small strain stiffness in Ticino sand.” Géotechnique, 46(1), 115–131.
Bolton, M. D. (1986). “The strength and dilatancy of sands.” Geotechnique, 36(1), 65–78.
Boulanger, R. W. (2003a). “High overburden stress effects in liquefaction analyses.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1071–1082.
Boulanger, R. W. (2003b). “Relating Kα to relative state parameter index.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 770–773.
Boulanger, R. W., and Idriss, I. M. (2004). “State normalization of penetration resistances and the effect of overburden stress on liquefaction resistance.” Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, and 3rd Int. Conf. on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, D. Doolin et al., eds., Vol. 2, Stallion Press, Berkeley, CA, 484–491.
Campanella, R. G., Gillespie, D., and Robertson, P. K. (1982). “Pore pressure during cone penetration testing.” Proc., 2nd European Symp. on Penetration Testing, ESPOT II, Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 507–512.
Collins, I. F., Pender, M. J., and Wang, Y. (1992). “Cavity expansion in sands under drained loading conditions.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 16(1), 3–23.
Cubrinovski, M., and Ishihara, K. (1999). “Empirical correlation between SPT N-value and relative density for sandy soils.” Soils Foundations, 39(5), 61–71.
DeSouza, J. M. (1958). “Compressibility of quartz sand at high pressure.” M.Sc. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
Golder Associates. (2011). “CPT database.” 〈http://www.golder.com/cn/en/modules.php?name=Publication&sp_id=200&page_id=212〉 (Oct. 1, 2011).
Harada, K., Orense, R. P., Ishihara, K., and Mukai, J. (2010). “Lateral stress effects on liquefaction resistance correlations.” Bull. New Zealand Soc. Earthq. Eng., 43(1), 13–23.
Harman, D. E. (1976). “A statistical study of static cone bearing capacity, vertical effective stress, and relative density of dry and saturated fine sands in a large triaxial testing chamber.” M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Hird, C. C., and Hassona, F. (1986). “A state parameter for sands: Discussion.” Géotechnique, 36(1), 123–132.
Houlsby, G. T., and Yu, H. S. (1990). “Finite element analysis of the cone pressuremeter test.” Pressuremeters, Thomas Telford, London, 221–300.
Huntsman, S. R. (1985). “Determination of in situ lateral pressure of cohesionless soils by static cone penetrometer.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.
Jaeger, R. A. (2012). “Numerical and experimental study on cone penetration in sands and intermediate soils.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of California, Davis, CA.
Jefferies, M. G., and Been, K. (2006). Soil liquefaction—A critical state approach, Taylor & Francis Group, New York.
Konrad, J.-M. (1988). “Interpretation of flat plate dilatometer tests in sands in terms of the state parameter.” Geotechnique, 38(2), 263–277.
Konrad, J.-M. (1998). “Sand state from cone penetrometer tests: A framework considering grain crushing stress.” Geotechnique, 48(2), 201–215.
Liao, S., and Whitman, R. (1986). “Overburden correction factors for SPT in sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 373–377.
Lo Presti, D. C. F., Jamiolkowski, M., Pallara, O., Cavallaro, A., and Pedroni, S. (1997). “Shear modulus and damping of soils.” Geotechnique, 47(3), 603–617.
Maki, I. M. (2012). “State normalization of cone penetration resistance.” M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of California, Davis, CA.
Mayne, P. W. (2006). “Undisturbed sand strength from seismic cone tests. The 2nd James K. Mitchell lecture.” Geomech. Geoeng., 1(4), 239–258.
Parkin, A., Holden, J., Aamot, K., Last, N., and Lunne, T. (1980). “Laboratory investigations of CPTs in sand.” NGI Rep. S2108–9, Oslo, Norway.
Parkin, A., and Lunne, T. (1982). “Boundary effects in the laboratory calibration of a cone penetrometer in sand.” Proc., 2nd European Symp. on Penetration Testing, ESPOT II, Vol. 2, Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 761–768.
Pestana, J. M., and Whittle, A. J. (1995). “Compression model for cohesionless soils.” Geotechnique, 45(4), 611–631.
Pestana, J. M., Whittle, A. J., and Salvati, L. A. (2002). “Evaluation of a constitutive model for clays and sands. I: Sand behavior.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 26(11), 1097–1121.
Pournaghiazar, M., Russell, A. R., and Khalili, N. (2012). “Linking cone penetration resistances measured in calibration chambers and the field.” Geotech. Lett., 2(April–June), 29–35.
Roberts, J. E. (1964). “Sand compression as a factor in oil field subsidence.” Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
Robertson, P. K. (2009). “Interpretation of cone penetration tests—A unified approach.” Can. Geotech. J., 46(11), 1337–1355.
Salgado, R., Bandini, P., and Karim, A. (2000). “Shear strength and stiffness of silty sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 451–462.
Salgado, R., Boulanger, R. W., and Mitchell, J. K. (1997a). “Lateral stress effects on CPT liquefaction resistance correlations.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 726–735.
Salgado, R., Mitchell, J. K., and Jamiolkowski, M. (1997b). “Cavity expansion and penetration resistance in sands.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 344–354.
Salgado, R., Mitchell, J. K., and Jamiolkowski, M. (1998). “Calibration chamber size effects on penetration resistance in sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 878–888.
Saxena, S. K., and Reddy, K. R. (1989). “Dynamic moduli and damping ratio for Monterey No 0 sand by resonant column tests.” Soil Found., 29(2), 37–51.
Schnaid, E., and Houlsby, G. T. (1991). “An assessment of chamber size effects in the calibration of in-situ tests in sand.” Geotechnique, 41(3), 437–445.
Schneider, J. A., Mayne, P. W., McGillivray, A. V., and Konrad, J.-M. (2001). “Discussion: Sand state from cone penetrometer tests: A framework considering grain crushing stress.” Geotechnique, 51(7), 651–652.
Shuttle, D. A., and Jefferies, M. G. (1998). “Dimensionless and unbiased CPT interpretation in sand.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 22(5), 351–391.
Sladen, J. A. (1989). “Problems with interpretation of sand state from cone penetration test.” Geotechnique, 39(2), 323–332.
Tringale, P. T. (1983). “Soil identification in situ using an acoustic cone penetrometer.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.
Yu, H. S. (2004). “In situ soil testing: From mechanics to interpretation—The First J. K. Mitchell Lecture.” Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterisation, Vol. 1, Millpress, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 3–39.
Yu, H. S., Schaid, F., and Collins, I. F. (1996). “Analysis of cone pressuremeter tests in sands.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 623–632.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140Issue 2February 2014

History

Received: Aug 4, 2012
Accepted: Aug 5, 2013
Published online: Aug 7, 2013
Published in print: Feb 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Apr 15, 2014

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Ian P. Maki [email protected]
Project Engineer, GEI Consultants, 2868 Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670 (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]
Ross W. Boulanger, M.ASCE [email protected]
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616. E-mail: [email protected]
Jason T. DeJong, M.ASCE [email protected]
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616. E-mail: [email protected]
Robert A. Jaeger [email protected]
Project Engineer, GEI Consultants, 2868 Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670. E-mail: [email protected]

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.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share