Fugro Engineering Services Limited: Interpretation of Static Cone Penetration Tests

Fugro Engineering Services Limited
INTERPRETATION OF STATIC CONE PENETRATION TESTS
0 0 0
4 .1
Cone resistance q c MPa

8 12 .3 16
Pore pressure u MPa

0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1
20 .5
-.5
Exc. pp ratio du/qnet (bq) Friction ratio (%)

0 .5 1 0 4 8
Sleeve friction f s MPa
.2
.4
loose silty SAND 2 medium dense SAND firm becoming soft silty CLAY medium dense SAND
Depth (m)
soft to firm silty CLAY

medium dense SAND with clayey bands medium dense SAND firm to stiff silty CLAY with sandy bands
10
12
14
dense or hard material
16
Figure 1 - Typical Cone Test Graph with Estimated Soil Type
INTERPRETATION OF STATIC CONE PENETRATION TESTS BY USE

OF THE FRICTION RATIO
Extensive research has indicated that the ratio of local side friction to cone end resistance (friction ratio) assists in identifying the soil type. The results of various research studies (Meigh 1987) have been produced in graphical form and a modified version for British soils is presented in Figure 2, where the soil type is given as a function of cone end resistance and friction ratio.
THE USE OF PORE

PRESSURE READINGS
The additional measurement of pore pressure with the piezocone assists in identifying the soil types. Variations in pore pressure reflect changes in stratification that cannot always be determined with qc or fs. For instance, in Figure 1, changes in pore pressure response in the clay layers indicate the permeable seams or lenses that can greatly influence the drainage characteristics of the stratum. Furthermore, the excess pore pressure ratio could give an indication of the stress history of the soil.
60
CLAY, SILT, SAND MIXTURES
Increasing density
Coarse Grained
40 20 10 6 4
CONE RESISTANCE (MPa)
SAND
Silty
Silty
CLAY
Insensitive Inorganic Sandy

CLAY CLAY
Hard
SAND
Very Stiff Stiff Organic Firm Soft

CLAY
2 1 0.6
VERY SILTY SAND
PEAT
0.2 0 0
Very Soft
FRICTION RATIO (%)
The Fugro Group is an international organisation with around seven thousand staff in over fifty countries. Our major disciplines are Geotechnics, Environmental Services and Survey.
Figure 2 - Guide for Estimating Soil Type
GRANULAR SOILS
Correlation of qc and Dr and
CONE RESISTANCE, qc (MPa)

0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
EFFECTIVE VERTICAL STRESS, v (KPa)
Table 1, below provides a guide for the relation between cone end resistance and the angle of internal friction in fine sand. It should be noted that the guide table applies to unaged, uncemented sands up to about 10 to 15 metres depth. A more recent correlation between qc and Dr is presented in Figure 3, which takes account account of the effect of the effective stress (Lunne and Christophersen, 1983).
50 100 150 200 250 300

Dr=20% 40% 60% 80% 90% 100%
COHESIVE SOILS
Bearing capacity theory indicates that, in simple terms for =0, the cone resistance qc should be related to overburden pressure Po and the undrained shear strength Su in the following way (Sanglerat et al 1972): qc = SuNk + Po (1)
350
RELATIVE DENSITY , Dr
400
Figure3 - Suggested Relationship between v, qc and Dr for unaged uncemented fine to medium quartz sand
where Nk is a bearing capacity factor or cone factor. However, in some circumstances, Fugro use a modified expression in which the effect of overburden pressure is included in the cone factor. qc = SuNk + Po (2)
CORRELATION OF qc WITH
SPT-N VALUE
Many comparative studies have been carried out by various researchers and it is known that the particle size distribution has an important influence on the correlation. It is generally accepted that the conversion factors given below may be used. (ESOPT1, 1982 and Meigh, 1987). In the following qc is in MPa.
Soil Description Silts, sandy silts and slightly cohesive siltsand mixtures Fine to medium sands and slightly silty sands sand mixtures Coarse sands and sands with some gravel Sandy gravels and gravel
qc / N 0.2 -0.3 0.4 - 0.5
To use either equation, the cone factor must be determined empirically, or be known from correlations based on previous investigations in the same clay. The value of the cone factor depends on the stress-strain properties of the clay and is frequently found to lie in the range 15 to 20, although it should be noted that values outside this range have been observed.
Cone Resistance (qc) (MPa) <2 2-4 4-12 12-20 >20 Compaction of Fine Sand very loose loose medium dense dense very dense SPT (N) <4 4-10 10-30 30-50 >50
0.6 - 1.0 1.1 - 1.8
Table 1 - Correlation of Cone resistance and angle of internal friction Relative Density Dr(%) <20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100 Angle of Internal Friction (degrees) <30 30-35 35-40 40-45 >45 Copyright March 2005
The SPT N-value can be influenced by many factors such as the quality of the equipment, the performance of the test, the depth of test and the groundwater (CIRIA News, No4, 1986; BRE Report 1979). For foundation design purposes, direct use of the more repeatable CPT results is preferred to conversion to SPT.
Details of services and specifications may change without notice.
Ref: Interpretation of Static Cone Penetration Tests
Fugro Engineering Services Limited

Fugro House Hithercroft Road Wallingford Oxfordshire OX10 9RB Tel: +44 870 4021 400 Fax: +44 870 4021 499 Email: wallingford@fes.co.uk Armstrong House, Unit 43 Number One Industrial Estate Medomsley Road, Consett Co. Durham DH8 6TW Tel: +44 1207 581120 Fax: +44 1207 581609 Email: consett@fes.co.uk

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INTERPRETATION OF STATIC CONE PENETRATION TESTS

Cone resistance q c MPa

Pore pressure u MPa

Exc. pp ratio du/qnet (bq) Friction ratio (%)

Sleeve friction f s MPa

soft to firm silty CLAY

dense or hard material

Figure 1 - Typical Cone Test Graph with Estimated Soil Type

INTERPRETATION OF STATIC CONE PENETRATION TESTS BY USE

THE USE OF PORE

CONE RESISTANCE (MPa)

Insensitive Inorganic Sandy

Very Stiff Stiff Organic Firm Soft

FRICTION RATIO (%)

Figure 2 - Guide for Estimating Soil Type

CONE RESISTANCE, qc (MPa)

EFFECTIVE VERTICAL STRESS, v (KPa)

50 100 150 200 250 300

qc / N 0.2 -0.3 0.4 - 0.5

0.6 - 1.0 1.1 - 1.8

Details of services and specifications may change without notice.

Ref: Interpretation of Static Cone Penetration Tests

Fugro Engineering Services Limited

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