Although many engineering projects require assessment of the thermal properties of soils for use in heat transfer calculations, geotechnical engineers are often unfamiliar with procedures for measuring these properties. A simple test for measuring the thermal properties of soils, called the “thermal needle” test is described. The apparatus and procedure have been refined to allow measurement of the thermal resistivity of sands for conditions of elevated temperature, water content reduction by stage, drying, and long‐term saturation. Laboratory thermal needle tests were conducted using surge sand, silica sand, and Monterey 60 Sand; it was found that the thermal resistivity decreased with increasing temperature and increasing compaction water content. Also, the thermal resistivity of silica sand decreased with time of saturation. The test results are not only useful for study of thermal geotechnical problems, but could be used to interpret other structural and mechanical property characteristics of sands.

TWO rockfill embankments were constructed as sites for building refinery structures in western Colorado. The fills ranged in maximum thickness from 80‐155 ft (25‐48 m). Test fills were done to develop construction‐method specifications that would produce an economic yet dense fill. It was assumed that if dense fills were constructed, long‐term settlement of the fills could be minimized. The specifications developed called for a maximum 2‐ft (0.6‐m) lift thickness compacted by six passes of a smooth‐drum vibratory compactor. Settlements of the fills were monitored for 44‐70 months after construction. The results of the monitoring indicated that the majority of settlement occurs within nine to 18 months after construction. Interior fill points settled less on a percentage basis than points near the fill crest. Overall, the total settlement of the fills was 0.05‐0.10% of the fill height for interior points and 0.10‐0.20% of the fill height for crest points. The results of the settlement monitoring confirmed that the test‐fill program and method specifications provided for the construction of fills in which long‐term settlements were minimized.

The use of very fine cement grouts for injection into fine to medium sands has been proposed recently to circumvent problems associated with the permanence and toxicity of chemical grouts and the inability of ordinary cement grouts to permeate soil formations finer than coarse sand. The results of a laboratory investigation conducted on a commercially available very fine cement grout indicate that this grout has better flow properties and bleed characteristics than ordinary portland cement grputs. Very fine cement grouts with a water‐to‐cement ratio as low as two can permeate several feet into well‐compacted fine sands with $D_{15}$ in the range of 0.15 mm. The groutability ratio is not a universally applicable criterion, and experimental evidence suggests that the grain‐size distribution of the fine sand, and especially the amount of fines in the sand, may control the grouting operation. The granulometry of the fine sand influences the effectiveness of the grouting operation in terms of permeability and strength.

Upgrading of extant shallow foundations by bored piles is examined by field tests. Tests include single piles in tension and compression, plate‐load tests, and tests on groups consisting of a central plate and two adjacent piles. All tests are carried out in sand until bearing‐capacity failure occurs. The effect of spacing between the plate and the piles on the ultimate load and load transfer is determined. By analysis of test results, a clear understanding of the interference between the shear zones of the test plate and the bored piles, and its effect on reducing the pile load capacity is reached. The results indicate that the load‐carrying capacity of shallow foundations can be substantially improved by bored piles. And if the piles are installed at a spacing of one‐and‐a‐half to two times the diameter of the footing, no reduction in load due to interference of shear zones will occur. For closer spacing, the efficiency of the group depends on the size, depth, and spacing of its components.

The filtration mechanism of broadly graded soils is different from that of uniform soils. The well‐known filter criteria have been found unsatisfactory in selecting filters to retain the former soils. It is obvious that in such cases, the filter criteria must take into account the self‐filtration process taking place at the base‐filter interface, as well as the internal stability of the base soils. Cohesionless broadly graded soils were selected to quantify the potential migration of base particles, the self‐filtration layer, and the quantity of particles carried away. Results indicated that the quantity of fines carried away and the thickness of the selffiltration layer could be related to the gradation curve profile and to the soil broadness coefficient. Compatibility tests were also performed to evaluate the representative grain size of the base promoting the self‐filtration process. The representative grain size of linearly graded soils was found to be equal to $d_{50}\text{.}$ For gap‐graded soils, the test results indicated that $d_{\mathrm{SF}}$ corresponds to the lower size of the gap.

An improved interpretation method of the pressuremeter test is presented. The geometric nonlinearity of soil behavior is accounted for by adopting a nonlinear strain‐displacement relationship (Eulerian form). Also, the volume changes of the soil surrounding the pressuremeter occurring during the expansion are incorporated according to actual experimentally observed patterns. The method does not require an a priori constitutive model. Using the proposed method, the stressstrain curve and deformation characteristics can be derived knowing the measured soil response from a self‐boring pressuremeter test, provided that adequate information on volume change behavior is secured. The analysis indicates the importance of the nonlinear geometric behavior and volume change characteristics.

A general procedure for stress‐path‐dependent correction of the effects of membrane penetration has been developed. The correction procedure makes use of an analytical description of membrane‐penetration behavior incorporated into a constitutive model for granular soil. The procedure, which recognizes and explicitly accounts for the partially drained nature of a test in which membrane compliance occurs, can be applied to conventional (solid sample), hollow cylinder, or cubical triaxial tests with static or cyclic loading. The accuracy of the correction procedure was verified by a laboratory testing program. Since the procedure is formulated so that any constitutive model capable of representing the stress‐path‐dependent behavior of interest may be used, its accuracy will further increase as improved constitutive models are developed.