ISSN: 0149-6115
Page Count: 8

Design of an Instrumented Flat Dilatometer

Stetson, KP
Geotechnical engineer,Sanborn, Head & Associates,MA,

Benoît, J
Professor and Chair,University of New Hampshire,NH,

Carter, MJ
Associate professor,University of New Hampshire,NH,

(Received 25 May 2001; accepted 14 August 2002)

Abstract

To better understand the mechanics of the flat plate dilatometer expansion, a probe has been developed to measure the continuous pressure-displacement soil response during the test. This paper presents details of a specially designed Marchetti dilatometer with sensors to record the continuous displacement of the membrane, unload-reload cycles, the pore water pressure, the total pressure, and the penetration thrust. With minimal impact on the original blade design, the resulting instrumented dilatometer was tested at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst National Geotechnical Experimentation Site.

Keywords:
Marchetti, dilatometer, flat, DMT, expansion, pressures, unload-reload, modulus, soft clay, NGES

Paper ID: GTJ11303J
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ11303J
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