Layered effects on soil displacement around a penetrometer

Abstract

The interpretation of cone penetration test (CPT) data is important for the in-situ characterisation of soils. Interpretation of CPT data remains a predominately empirical process due to the lack of a rigorous model that can relate soil properties to penetrometer readings.Interpretation is especially difficult in layered soils, where penetrometer response can be affected by several horizons of soil with different properties. This paper aims to provide some insight into the mechanisms of soil displacement that occur as a penetrometer is pushed into layered soils. Data is presented from centrifuge modelling of probe penetration in layered soils in an axisymmetric container where soil deformation patterns around the probe can be measured.Results obtained from uniform soil tests are also presented to illustrate the effects of soil density and stress level (i.e. centrifuge acceleration). A large influence zone is found to relate to the higher penetration resistance obtained in a denser soil. Differing soil displacement patterns at low and high stresses are related to the tendency of the soil to dilate, with the well-known consequence of a non-linear increase of penetration resistance with stress level. Layered soil tests show a clear difference of soil deformation patterns compared to uniform tests, especially for vertical displacements. The peak value of vertical displacement of the soil occurs at denseover-loose interfaces, while a local minima occurs at loose-over-dense interfaces. Parameters are proposed to quantitatively evaluate the layered effects on soil deformations and a deformation mechanism is described for penetration in layered soils based on the transition of displacement profiles.

Assessment of the Posttunneling Safety Factor of Piles under Drained Soil Conditions

“…For displacement piles, jacking of the pile in-flight allows for the creation of a reasonably realistic stress profile within the ground around the pile compared to field installations of driven or jacked piles. For non-displacement piles, a degree of soil disturbance is induced by the jacking process at 1 g which tends to densify the soil (Mo et al, 2017b); this does not allow for stress relief in the ground that would happen in a bored pile. Despite this disparity, the tests still capture the more important features which are under investigation; i.e.…”

Experimental Study on Bearing Behavior and Soil Squeezing of Jacked Pile in Stiff Clay

“…With a focus on the penetration resistance of jacked piles, previous research has investigated the effects of time [31], soil plugging [32], friction fatigue [33], the pile-bearing layer [34], pile diameters [16], etc. With a focus on the soil-squeezing effect, various test methods and techniques have been employed, including the half-model test [35,36], X-ray radiography tomography [32]), computed tomography (CT) [19], and transparent soils [37][38][39], which are quite expensive when applied to monitoring soil deformation.…”