ISSN: 1945-7545
CODEN: GTJODJ
Published Online: 16 February 2010
Page Count: 13

Recommended Practice for Full-Flow Penetrometer Testing and Analysis

DeJong, Jason
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, CA

Yafrate, Nicholas
Senior Staff Engineer, Geosyntec Consultants, Acton, MA

DeGroot, Don
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Massachusetts—Amherst, Amherst, MA

Low, Han Eng
Dept. of Civil and Resource Engineering, Univ. of Western Australia, Crawley, Perth,

Randolph, Mark
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Western Australia, Crawley, Perth,

(Received 14 April 2009; accepted 24 November 2009)

Abstract

The increasing use of full-flow penetrometers for estimating the undrained and remolded shear strength as well as soil sensitivity of soft sediments by both industry and researchers has resulted in a rather rapid maturation of this new in situ test method over the past decade. Experimental, analytical, and numerical analysis results for full-flow penetrometers are now sufficient to provide recommended practices regarding equipment design, testing procedures, and data analysis. Equipment design must consider both physical attributes of the penetrometers and electronic design and data acquisition. The testing procedures presented are modified from standard test methods for the piezocone with additions for evaluation of remolded strength by cycling and rate effects through variable penetration rate testing. Data reduction includes methods for normalizing the penetration resistance data for comparison between test sites and depths and methods for estimating undrained and remolded shear strength as well as soil sensitivity. All recommendations are summarized in a guidance table.

Keywords:
full-flow, T-bar, ball, CPT, undrained strength, remolded strength, sensitivity, load cell design

Paper ID: GTJ102468
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ102468
ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.