CONE PENETRATION TESTS

The cone penetration test (CPT) is an in situ testing method used to determine the geotechnical engineering properties of soils and delineating soil stratigraphy. It was initially developed in the 1950s at the Dutch Laboratory for Soil Mechanics in Delft to investigate soft soils. Based on this history it has also been called the "Dutch cone test". Today, the CPT is one of the most used and accepted in situ test methods for soil investigation worldwide. Cone penetration testing (CPT ) is the most versatile device for in situ soil testing. Without disturbing the ground, it provides information about soil type, geotechnical parameters like shear strength, density, elastic modulus, rates of consolidation and environmental properties. Further, as it can be seen as a small scale test pile, it is the best and most cost-effective device to design piled foundations and sheet piles. The test method consists of pushing an instrumented cone tip first into the ground at a controlled rate (usually 2 centimeters/second). The resolution of the CPT in delineating stratigraphic layers is related to the size of the cone tip, with typical cone tips having a cross-sectional area of either 10 or 15 cm, corresponding to diameters of 3.6 and 4.4 cm.

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT The early applications of CPT mainly determined the soil geotechnical property of bearing capacity. The original cone penetrometers involved simple mechanical measurements of the total penetration resistance to pushing a tool with a conical tip into the soil. Different methods were employed to separate the total measured resistance into components generated by the conical tip (the "tip friction") and friction generated by the rod string. A friction sleeve was added to quantify this component of the friction and aid in determining soil cohesive strength in the 1960s (Begemann, 1965). Electronic measurements began in 1948 and improved further in the early 1970s (de Reister, 1971). Most modern electronic CPT cones now also employ a pressure transducer with a filter to gather pore water pressure data. The filter is usually located either on the cone tip (the so-called U1 position), immediately behind the cone tip (the most common U2 position) or behind the friction sleeve (U3 position). Pore water pressure data aids determining stratigraphy and is primarily used to correct tip friction values for those effects. CPT testing which also gathers this piezometer data is called CPTU testing. CPT and CPTU testing equipment generally advances the cone using hydraulic rams mounted on either a heavily ballasted vehicle or using screwed-in anchors as a counter-force. One advantage of CPT over the Standard

Penetration Test (SPT) is a more continuous profile of soil parameters, with CPTU data recorded typically at 2cm intervals. CF CONE (CONE PENETRATION TEST) 2.0

The test is performed using a cylindrical penetrometer with a conical tip (cone) penetrating the ground at a constant rate. During the penetration, the forces on the cone and the friction sleeve are measured. The measurements are carried out using electronic transfer and data logging, with a measurement frequency that can secure detailed information about the soil conditions. Figure 3 shows an electrical friction cone with cut-away friction sleeve.

The results from a cone penetration test can in principle be used to evaluate: stratification soil type soil density and in-situ stress conditions shear strength parameters.

The results from cone penetration tests may also be used, directly, for design of piled foundations in sand and gravel. Indirectly, it can be used(shear strength) for piles in clay. The test results are presented as shown in Figure 2. From left to right, the CPT plots show cone (tip) resistance, sleeve friction, friction ratio and inclination of the cone while pushing the cone into the ground. Thefriction ratio,Rf=(fs/qc).100%, can be used to identify the soil type shown at the righthand side of the plot.

PIEZOCONE (PIEZOCONE TEST)

PIEZOCONE The piezocone test (CPTU) is a cone penetration test (CPT) with additional measurement of the porewater pressure at one or morelocations (U1, U2 and U3) on the penetrometer surface

Cone penetration testing, with porewater pressure measurements, gives a more reliable determination of stratification and soil type than a standard CPT. In addition, CPTU provides a better basis for interpreting the results in terms of mechanical soil properties. Mechanical properties to be evaluated are: shear strength parameters deformation and consolidation characteristics.

The results from a CPTU can be used, directly, for the design of piled foundations in clay.

Testresults are presented as shown in Figure 9. The porewater pressure in the top 11 m of sand is more or less hydrostatic. Then the porewater pressure increases very quickly in the underlaying clay.

DISSIPATION TEST
In a Dissipation Test the porewater pressure change is obtained by recording the values of the pressure against time during a pause in pushing and while the cone penetrometer is held stationary.It is practical to use either a logarithmic or square root scale for the time factor(Figure10). Dissipation tests are often presented with the normalisedexcess porewater pressure plotted against the log or square root of the time (Figure 11).

Rate of consolidation parameters may be assessed from the piezocone test using the value t50. In this case, t50 is the time for 50%dissipation of excess porewater pressure. Figure 12 shows one of many charts available for determining the consolidation factor, ch.