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Undrained shear strength of clays from piezocone tests: A

database approach

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DOI: 10.1201/9781003308829-78

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Undrained shear strength of clays from piezocone tests: a database
approach
P.W. Mayne
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
J. Peuchen
Fugro, Nootdorp, The Netherlands

Mayne, P.W. and Peuchen, J. (2022). Undrained shear strength of clays from piezocone tests: a database approach.
Proceedings, 5th Intl. Symposium on Cone Penetration Testing (CPT'22, Bologna), Paper ID 1107: 546-551.

ABSTRACT: Deriving undrained shear strength of clays from piezocone tests (CPTU) suits the use of a data-
base approach, particularly because good correlations are expected on the basis of theoretical correspondence.
Benefits of a database approach include a minimal environmental footprint and field schedule shortening, pri-
marily because of reduced borehole sampling and laboratory testing focused on verification rather than devel-
opment of comprehensive site-specific data sets. This paper expands on the classic expression su = qnet/Nkt
where su is a reference undrained shear strength obtained by laboratory testing, qnet is the net cone resistance
and Nkt is a cone bearing factor that is noted to decrease with increasing values of CPTU pore pressure ratio Bq.
The database includes CPTU results and high-quality laboratory triaxial compression tests from 70 different
clay deposits, of which 8 represent new case studies. The clays are allocated to 5 main categories: (a) soft-firm
offshore; (b) soft-firm onshore; (c) soft sensitive; (d) stiff overconsolidated intact; and (e) stiff fissured clays.
Organic clays and cemented clays are excluded.

1 INTRODUCTION Here, an empirical database approach is consid-

ered for Nkt. The database approach uses data from
When a geotechnical exploration discovers that clay high quality piezocone penetration test (CPTU) re-
forms all or a portion of the subsurface environment, sults matched at the same elevations as high quality
the magnitude of the undrained shear strength (su) pa- samples subjected to laboratory testing.
rameter is generally sought for input into calculation
models involving ground stability, particularly re- 2 DATABASE PARAMETERS
lated to shallow foundations, pilings, and slopes. Un-
drained shear strength can also be important for tran- 2.1 Triaxial compression tests
sitional soils and sands, where combinations of
geometry and loading rate can lead to undrained soil The reference undrained shear strength was defined
response. as a triaxial compression mode, designated suc:
Undrained shear strength is not a unique property of ● Derived value (Eurocode 7) of suc from laboratory
clays but affected by many variables, including mode tests on Class 1 samples (ISO 22475-1:2006);
of shearing, rate of loading, shear direction, initial ● Anisotropically-consolidated undrained triaxial
stress state, failure criterion and other factors (Mayne compression tests (CAUC or CK0UC) according to
2008). This paper expands on the most common ex- ISO 17892-9:2018 or equivalent; Note for fissured
pression su = qnet/Nkt where su is a reference undrained clays, often only CIUC tests were available;
shear strength, qnet is net cone resistance and Nkt is a ● Recompression to the estimated in-situ stress con-
cone bearing factor according to classical bearing ca- ditions, using conventional back pressures for
pacity theory. Values of Nkt can be obtained from an- specimen re-saturation;
alytical, theoretical, or numerical solutions, such as ● suc = ½(σ1-σ3)max defined as failure criterion or
those based on limit plasticity, cavity expansion, fi- (1'/3')max as failure criterion when (σ1-σ3) pro-
nite elements, and strain path method. Well over 50 vides no distinct maximum (Ladd & DeGroot
solutions are available for Nkt (e.g., Lunne, et al. 2003; Lade 2016), where σ1' and σ3' are the effec-
1997; Yu & Mitchell 1998; Colreavy 2016; Agaiby tive principal stresses.
2018).
2.2 Piezocone penetration tests ure 1 and Equation 1 (Mayne & Peuchen 2018), for
For the CPTU (ISO 22476-1:2012), three separate when Bq > -0.1:
measurements are obtained: (a) corrected cone re-
sistance, qt; (b) sleeve friction, fs; and (c) pore pres- Nkt = 10.5 - 4.6 ∙ lne (Bq + 0.1) (1)
sure, u2. These measurements are acquired at depth
intervals of between 10 mm and 50 mm during a con- Comments are as follows:
stant vertical push rate of 20 mm/s.
For each elevation, values of qnet and pore pressure ● An advantage of this approach over many other so-
ratio Bq were derived: lutions for Nkt is that the CPTU provides all the
necessary input;
● qnet = qt - vo, where vo = total vertical overburden ● The methodology covers a wide range of clays
stress; showing Bq > -0.1, including soft to firm to stiff
● Bq = u2/qnet, where u2 = u2 - u0 and u0 = hydro- clays which vary from sensitive to insensitive, and
static pressure. intact to fissured;
● The approach does not apply to organic or ce-
Of further note, fs can be used to provide an evalu- mented clays.
ation of the soil unit weight () needed in the calcula-
tion of vo (Mayne et al. 2010a, 2010b; Mayne & Since the initial database findings, a number of new
Peuchen 2012). Consequently, all three readings (qt, case studies have become available that permit a val-
fs, u2) are utilized in the assessment of suc of clays. idation of Equation 1. Herein, triaxial and CPTU data
from 8 clays from Europe, Asia, and North America
are presented. Three sites are from offshore locations
3 TRIAXIAL - PIEZOCONE DATABASE and five clays are onshore deposits.
A total of 62 natural clays that were subjected to
CAUC lab testing (n = 407) provided the initial basis 4 NEW CASE STUDIES
for this study (Mayne 2014). The majority of clays
were deposited in a marine environment, although a 4.1 Luva, Norwegian Sea
few were lacustrine or alluvial or deltaic in origin. A Luva is an offshore gas reserve located in 1300 water
few sensitive clays were originally formed as sedi- depth of the Norwegian sea. The site consists of very
ments in salt-water and later exposed to leaching by soft plastic clays having sensitivities in the range of 2
freshwater. to 5. Index testing indicates a natural water content
The clay sites were classified into 5 separate groups wn ≈ 65 % to 75 %, liquid limit wL ≈ 70 %, plastic
(Mayne & Peuchen 2018), including: (a) 17 offshore limit wP ≈ 29 %, and plasticity index Ip ≈ 41 % (Lunne
clays that were normally-consolidated (NC) to et al. 2014). Series of consolidation tests indicate that
lightly-overconsolidated (LOC); (b) 29 onshore clays the site has not been mechanically overconsolidated,
that were also NC - LOC, (c) 6 soft sensitive clays; showing yield stress ratios (YSR = p'/vo') in the
(d) 5 intact overconsolidated clays (OC); and (e) 5 fis- general range of 1.2 to 1.7, primarily due to ageing.
sured OC clays. Figure 2 shows qt and u2 with depth below the sea-
From the database approach, the general trend of floor, pore pressure ratio Bq, and derived profile of suc
the relationship for evaluating Nkt is presented in Fig from the Nkt relationship. In the last graph, the CPTU
results are shown in comparison with 42 CAUC tri-
axial tests with good agreement.

4.2 Sipoo, Finland

Sipoo is located about 30 km north of Helsinki. The
site consists of a homogeneous soft clay deposit be-
tween 2 and 9 m depth and water table near the sur-
face (DiBuò et al. 2019). Index tests on the clay in-
clude: wn = 101 ± 12 %, wL = 79 ± 10 %, wP = 30 ±
1 %, Ip = 50 ± 9 %, and clay fraction CF = 79 ± 11 %.
Laboratory CRS consolidation tests give a mean YSR
= 1.76 and sensitivity by laboratory fall cone ranges
from 15 to 44 with a mean St = 25 ± 8.
Results from a representative CPTU at Sipoo are
shown in Figure 3. The CPTU-evaluated profiles of
suc compare well with the four laboratory CAUC test
Figure 1. Trend of Nkt with Bq (Mayne & Peuchen 2018) values on high-quality samples taken from the site.
 1.83. Mean values of laboratory index parameters in-
clude: wn = 107 ± 20 %, wL = 88 ± 20 %, wP = 38 ±
4 %, and Ip = 54 ± 13 %.
Using the aforementioned consolidation data and
normalized undrained strength ratios from triaxial
compression tests on Saga clay reported by Samang
and Miura (2005), a profile of undrained shear
strength was developed using the SHANSEP method
(Ladd & DeGroot 2003). Figure 4 shows the compar-
ison of the laboratory reference profile of suc in very
good agreement with the CPTU derived values.

4.4 Tiller-Flotten, Norway

Figure 2. Profiles in clay at offshore Luva site, Norwegian Sea
(data from Lunne et al. 2014) Tiller-Flotten near Trondheim, Norway serves as the
experimental grounds involving quick clay research
(L'Heureux et al. 2019). Groundwater is subjected to
drawdown so that the hydrostatic pressure is consid-
erably lower than normal.
Figure 5 shows a representative piezocone sound-
ing (Mayne et al. 2019). The uppermost 2.5 m of soil
is interpreted as a dry/desiccated layer of stiff over-
consolidated sandy clay. Beneath this crust, through-
out the sounding depths up to 30 m lies a soft fine-
grained soil. The clay is extremely sensitive to quick
from approximately 7.5 m below the surface (sensi-
tivity > 100). In the quick clay zone below 7 m depth,
typical index parameters are wn = 45 %, wL = 35 %,
Figure 3. Profiles at Sipoo soft clay test site, Finland (data from
DiBuò et al. 2019) wP = 20 %, and Ip = 15 %, with CF ≈ 45 %.
Figure 5 shows very good agreement from the
CPTU-derived suc values with those obtained from 7
benchmark CAUC series on high-quality block sam-
ples.

Figure 4. Profiles in soft clay at Saga, Japan (data from Hossain

& Chai 2014) Figure 5. Profiles in highly sensitive clay at Tiller-Flotten re-
search site, Norway (data from L'Heureux et al. 2019)
4.3 Saga, Japan
The Saga TB site is located at the south of Japan next
to the Ariake Sea. The upper 4 to 5 m is comprised of 4.5 Sainte-Monique, Canada
sandy silty clay while the underlying 12 m is a silty Locat et al. (2015) detail the results of ground inves-
clay. Groundwater is encountered at a depth of 0.6 m. tigations for a major landslide involving firm to stiff
Figure 4 shows profiles from a representative sensitive nearly normally-consolidated plastic grey
CPTU at the site (Hossain & Chai 2014). Nine con- silty clay. The site is located some 130 km northeast
solidation tests on this clay indicated a mean YSR = of Montreal near the Nicolette River. Index tests show
56 ≤ wn ≤ 77%, 53 ≤ wL ≤ 65 % , 28 ≤ IP ≤ 40%, 72
< CF < 85%, and liquidity index 1.1 ≤ LI ≤ 1.4. Sen- 4.7 Martin's Point Bridge, United States
sitivities derived from fall cone indicate 39 ≤ St ≤ 55. A field case study with CPTU soundings in natural
Laboratory consolidation tests gave YSR between 0.9 overconsolidated intact clays of the Presumpscot For-
and 1.2. mation is presented using data from Martin's Point
Figure 6 shows the piezocone profile in an undis- Bridge, near Portland, Maine (Hardison & Landon
turbed area outside of the limits of the landslide. The 2015). The general stratification of the site (Figure 8)
high value of Bq gives a low value of Nkt which in turn consists of a shallow organic silt layer underlain by
compares well with two CAUC and three CIUC tri- stiff OC Presumpscot clay that extends from depths
axial tests performed on undisturbed samples. to 2 to 14 m and overlies glacial outwash sand and
bedrock.
Shelby tube samples of the clay were collected at
the site from different elevations and tested for index
properties, consolidation parameters, and triaxial
strength characteristics. The results of laboratory in-
dex testing on the clay gave an average unit weight 
= 16.5 kN/m3, natural water contents wn ≈ 30 to 40 %,
liquid limits in the range of 20 ≤ wL ≤ 45 %, and plas-
ticity indices (Ip) between 10 and 20 %. Sensitivities
derived from field vane and fall cone were generally
in the range of 2 to 9.
The groundwater table is located at a depth of 2 m.
Figure 6. Profiles in sensitive clay at Sainte Monique, Quebec The stress history profile was determined by a series
(data from Locat et al. 2015) of 13 constant-rate-of-strain (CRS) consolidation
tests that showed YSRs decreasing from 11 at 2 m
depth to YSR = 3 at 14 m depth.
A total of 15 CAUC triaxial tests were performed,
including both recompression and SHANSEP type
methods (Ladd & DeGroot 2003). The derived profile
of suc from the CPTU is presented in Figure 8 with
values increasing from about 35 to 100 kPa in the de-
posit and shown to be in reasonably good agreement
with the triaxial series.

Figure 7. Profiles in soft plastic clay at Liwan offshore site,

South China Sea (data from Palix et al. 2013)

4.6 Liwan, South China Sea

A deepwater geotechnical investigation was per-
formed at the Liwan 3-1 offshore site in the Pearl
River Mouth Basin of the South China Sea involving
geophysics, sampling, piezocones, T-bars, vane, dis-
sipation tests, and advanced laboratory testing (Palix
et al. 2013). The site is underlain by soft highly-plas- Figure 8. Profiles in firm OC clay at Martin's Point Bridge,
tic clays. Liquid limits decrease from 130 % at sea- Maine (data from Hardison & Landon 2015)
floor to 80 % at 10 m below seafloor, with corre-
sponding Ip going from 85 % to 50 % over the same 4.8 Offshore Denmark
depth interval. Clay fractions range between 25 to
50 %. Natural water contents vary from over 200 % This case study considers the Danish sector of the
at seafloor to about 90 % at 20 m depth. Measure- North Sea. The site has a water depth of about 45 m
ments of calcium carbonate content range from 6 % and includes about 3 m of Holocene sands which are
to 25 %. underlain by hard Pleistocene age clays of the Dog-
Figure 7 shows a piezocone profile and the corre- gerbank formation. Laboratory index tests on the clay
sponding and reasonable profiles of suc from the rep- indicate mean values: wn = 34 %, wL = 49 %, Ip =
resentative CPTU sounding and 6 CAUC triaxial 27 % and γ = 19.4 kN/m3. Calcium carbonate contents
tests.
average 19 % for the clay. Consolidation tests indi- DeGroot, D., Lunne, T. and Tjelta, T.I. (2011). Recommended
cate the clay to be overconsolidated with YSR de- best practice for geotechnical site characterization of cohe-
sive offshore sediments. Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics
creasing from about 9 to 4 in the depth interval from II (Proc. ISFOG, Perth), Taylor & Francis Group, London:
3 to 15 m below the seafloor. 33-57.
Figure 9 shows low Bq values averaging 0.08, the DiBuö, B., D'Ignazio, M., Selãnpaã, J., Länsivaara, T. and
Nkt-Bq algorithm gave a high mean value of Nkt = 21 Mayne, P.W. (2019). Yield stress evaluation of Finnish clays
for the clay and the corresponding profile of suc com- based on analytical CPTu models. Canadian Geotech. Jour.
pares reasonably with the values from only two 57 (11): 1623 - 1638; doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0427.
Hardison, M.A. and Landon, M.L. (2015). Correlation of engi-
CAUC tests on undisturbed samples from the site. neering parameters of the Presumpscot formation to SCPTU.
Report No. ME 15-12, prepared by Univ. of Maine for Maine
DOT, Augusta, 394 p.
Hossain, J. and Chai, J. (2014). Estimating coef. of consolidation
and hydraulic conductivity from piezocone test results. Geo-
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Figure 9. Profiles in stiff fissured OC Doggerbank clay at Dan- CPTU interpretations based on block samples. Proc. Nordic
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5 CONCLUSIONS L'Heureux, J-S., Lindgård, A. and Emdal, A. (2019). The Tiller-
Flotten research site: geotechnical characterization of a very
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ratio (Bq = u2/qnet). The underlying database in- Ladd, C.C. and DeGroot, D.J. (2003). Recommended practice
cludes statistical analyses of 407 CAUC triaxial tests for soft ground site characterization. Soil & Rock America
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