Relating Cone Penetrometer Test Information to Geophysical Data: A Case Study

Abstract

An analysis of data from a recent experiment at Dover Air Force Base (AFB) has revealed a relationship between soil types determined from the mechanical properties measured by cone penetrometer tests (CPT) and the electrical properties that influence geophysical methods. This correlation connects two distinctly different types of physical properties and provides a petrophysical basis for combining information obtained from CPT and geophysical techniques governed by electrical properties. We observed this relationship through the use of semi-logarithmic crossplots of dielectric permittivity versus electrical resistivity where it was found that CPT soil types cluster in a systematic manner to form a linear trend from clay-prone to sand-prone lithologies. We obtained improved segregation of soil types when other factors, such as location relative to the water table and stratigraphy, were used to refine the analyses of these data. In addition, our results indicate that the ratio of permittivity to the logarithm of resistivity is a good geophysical discriminator of the engineering soil classification.

Correlation between Electrical Resistivity and Cone Penetrometer Test Data for Geotechnical Site Investigation

“…Published works that relate electrical resistivity with CPT data are therefore rare. Endres and Clement (1998) observed a relationship between soil types determined from mechanical properties measured by cone penetrometer tests (CPT) and electrical properties by using semi-logarithmic crossplots of dielectric permittivity versus electrical resistivity. The analysis revealed that CPT soil types cluster in a systematic manner to form a linear trend from clay-prone to sand-prone lithologies.…”