Estimation of In-situ Bearing Capacity of Soil b~ a . ---_-_ --Specially Designed Hand .

_ _ Penetrometer
0 -

. -

___.I__

C -

I
31
"
I
:--

'!.At- vzc ofa ximple oed i n c ~ ~ e . a t i v r ) . ~ m a l p e n e ~ r o Jor m e fajair e~ wst?~~rnknr if in-sifrr benz;rtg capncily c?!'~saU ~ X L B bee^ de.rcribad, Currelm~g with rllrk. aundwd prmtraliurs leu!, N Palun /rule been worked mt ofid a fn!>le A m been prc'pnrrd for txriri~~ding bearing capacities o f c d r s i v e and ,qrciriulnr saib t Jionr the 'PIH' voI~(es obtain~d by ihe k;.rrrd pme/romctcr. The torrelafed values ore irr c l o ~ rJgrecZ~ . G P Vwfrk I 114e 'EJK';valsrt.s d t o i n d at a majt~rcnnrfmcfiun sire.

n!;mhcr of b l o w required tion uf S E T cquiptnent

for 30 crn

pen-tia-

PifI

-=.

nur;?l-p,r a F blows required for 30 cm jxnctza-'

I
I

r.i,n uf hand wnctromctcr

quic!kly a:Mhcr tbe spcifjcd v d u t is avaiiabie or not. lllntlisturlnd soil samples could undoubtedly be iakcn for htwr~tory tests. but the time involvtd in the p r w u wo11Jd d e it rather impractiml. Besides, odw sn or : ? , : sci! cxckvatiun is wadc, i t wmnot 'bc lefi wollld deteriorate duc to rain, seepage, etc. Moreover,

I
I

-1

c,

= .

pnetzsiion per Mow for' hand pzmclrornctcr

:or grznuiar' soiir. undisrur*mcixamr;ie-, arc ;;;,I posriiii~. lm-.~jtuLCSLI such a 3 SPI" (Standard Pcoc!ratioa '6czi), Hate hati Tesl' arc cven more timc-cons~lrr,iingaarl Car tnc) expensive to make t k l n a practical proposition.
'

Eleras, tosvercomc these rPi&ullics. tkauehor has de.rig o l d la spc~&l hid penetromcter qxbir-la in extremely siniple to hslndlc z,md operate. -la can &o bc uwd for any typs of soil.

k,
it,

2-

ki<>p of h m n ~ e r for SF[ equipma.nt = 75

C7n

(.Elk

.-:

drop o l wcipht for Ra11d pnetromettr = 34.5

--.

YJ.';.== v;etgt~t or kmrnmsr for S P T equ:pment

,-.

: : , " , weight of s t e t 1 disc = 10 kg /dl . scclinml arca of SFT Goon19.6 cma /. A, . sectional arm o f t h e MS rob of hand pnrtr-+

65Lg

meicr = 4.9 cma

Thc penetromctcr is made from a 25 rnm dia h'lS rod 1.5 m in length (Fig I ) . On? end OF the rod is b p i ~ c dtu a ~-oacwlrilc the othcr end is thrcadcg. The length of the thiead:e<i portion .isaround 20 cm aud tlrat of the tnpercd portion is 5 cm. A collar is wcld~td to the middle third of the rod. A, circular stml di.sc weighing 10 E r g is allowed to slide frcely through the rod. A.n adjuiabIe nut is then plar;.cd oa the top t h d r d p~rlion. Tke bottom 5 0 crn of thr: rod including tile brprcd portion is allcrgatcly p i a t e d yello~vaurl Mack f i x 5c m s?.pmita.

I
'

'1%:~ s;ite: cr~ginceri!: nlPtn faced with the problcrln o f of $oil. A never r:.jver ax cnrirs ~ i t c , T& rwmxu.mcd;lbiom obtained I r m ,Gb@5;3iS il.iw~$g:,:i~p. 2x.a t.km$a@j of+ m&ze, E c h J oa rbc 3zr;;r~~rzix oWa.lor.l a&! tnw&
~ 3 ~ 2 i ~ l r i i lt i rh 1~ ~ (n-sdrw h a r i n g capcity p(?ii ayrvcy, 1.113 PIIC!~C.T 3 1 0 ~ dctaiied, can

I?..BODEOF ORFXATIOlY
The
Test 00 W l k b tb & t&g~ 9 p g &

!
!

.----__ -.-ZL S % o ? a l k i s i l h ?A iJj:h$$,luaanidC~ : p d ~ 3 L l l b * Q l c & ~ 3 . ,. iX1,3:-n;w?w-slrr+r.:!rrid 03 Dsetzx~&eyS, Lfr'&:$, s,%Jvar 3 r g s . s t d :tiid81wugd a! 1 % ~ ~ ~ ~ i - A o o n F6@s k S , M&?+F~'^J BZ:4 $ 4 h - e zz-y;& i p > - T .

----

r i: w h fiuiv,-qf:v~nljyeltr.-ilied in t bc - ' r s w i o p . But tk:~: u r d ;srob!/.rt., l I c s witla tkc si%eeii.;:;sr.~r who h . 8 ~ lo vr.iiCy

p . 5a

$&

pt?-v;nt rnovemnnt oC the: arigind nvt.. Tbe iz~tru~t1rr.11 !hus r e t ia tRr.il t~clrl vcrtica.lly by nr?c petson ( 0 the
-.

~FC&.IA~. d i m i s ilk3 t8sotq;b. the rod LO. w t l M wllrr. Thc nut Ir thtx nrfjnttA .pi:, ~ c m from the tog aS khc *:?4c (Fig I) h a tbs a ~ 1. r eW:ly 37.3 cm. A s b ; k OD & ~ p of t j ~ e p t v i ~ u onc s ia prefer,~.b!e. %re will
L U &

&,'.4.b$, 9'8E7

PLAN A &

R u t the rcsisLznce of soil. that 15. rh,: ul:ilnnrc bearing upacity of soil m u 1 be the same for bolt: rhc C.C!SCS Tbcrcfore,

spot w:lcrc the test is requircd A second persoil i s thcn required ro lift rhe disc slowly up to the b ~ t t ( ~ m 06 the n u t and allow it to F ~ l ifreely from thne lirig.ht t a thc Pop oi ?he coiinr. Sh;s y r o ~ e d u r e i s repa!ca ~ n t i the l rod has penrir~ted45 crn into the soil. A record wi!l h e : kept for the number of blows req~lircd Sase!! on this relationsliip, t t ~ r :iu:nbcr ol bitj..vs 5:dr n For each IS cm pcnctration of the rod. The nunher of reguireci Lrom the band pcncrromelcr 1';:~ a g ~ ~ , c blows required for the initial 15 cm penetration is t r i ~ r i n g capacity of a par~icu1a.rhutldatian i:; yrese~s(cii i.q 'Table I. The type o f soil and the corresvorjdi~,g ignorcd to allow for any soil disturbance. The number of blows requircd for the pcnctratioa of the last 30 cm 5 . U ,V values required are also pccscntcd. of the rod is taken as rhc :vH value of the particular pnctromcter.
CORRELATION %VlI'H SrANDAUD PENETR.4TION TFST
TAB1.E I CORRELATION W I T l i - S A F E BEn.tl?lr: ~ ' A P . I ( : I T ~ I'OR 1.5 k l S Q U A U OR VJIDE FOCl\;D:I;I'.O?.i

.srrr

s si-:

x i
d,

The Standard Penetration Test (SBT) is ~ndispensablr f o r any soil investigation and its usefulness cannot be overcmphasited. This tcst is carried out basically Very l o o x t o ascertain the relative density and bearing capacity of granular dcposit~'.~. However, correlations also LmsZ exist Between SIT N values and U o c o d n e d Comprcssivc Strengths of cohesive soils. Thus, an idea of the b.idiuin dcc3r: d c bearing capacity of any rype of roil o n be obtained f r 6 6 i - 6 SIT N values o f the mil. A comhaioo arc:~a between thc SET hTvalucs and tbc NA'vaIuas ohbinnl Vriy from the poablc' hand pnctromcter is prcseoted. Using thc Dutch formulaa, which msumcs that tbc driving encrgyic absorbd by the penetrometer,
7 w fl
Piam

.<lj

;>.3.! ,

,)I.!;:$
-7-

..

I.'

;Y.'.'

,.,>.

<7
7-i3

%iB

'
wlatiuns ms bc I ~ c I ~ .

I:j.s!B
<;-+J

where P is the .weight of penetronl P deyends on the weight of . depth foe n SET equipment, f;. considering t h e penetromcter~ botb cases, P is elim:nated Iruh;

.;r.

Since ihc term aud varics with y shallaw depth weightless for 'cn (I).

I-in rb

.> 93

il(M& : C o r - ~ i a t i c m s Pro B.irzn for purely E ~ a r l i l i r . rsou' ; , : ~ ; c l ~ c o l % ~ ~soils o only. For intcrxnedi~ico ~ i lyp?::, i irilci'-

44
?, I

ii

rABLE
5

2 COMPARISON OF SPT A ' VALUE; TITI{ ,vtf VALUES

V H VALL'?

.\RT G

AT r H F F ~;A?S~-I~ f -Y '~b .l ; ~ f l ~ r l t ~ % :m ' I.FVFL

L)rrlc:u 4 R~ ~ A L~I V U

.V V&LI!E
I
I

UJO(:IRFD/
I H t I

C.,H~FLA~~II
D I r ( ; > SHU
FOR TIIP

Arcir I

!,I
:li.

:I

and :J

C.4 n>ilrna~nlr cnllcrtrc Mos~ly granular Granular

a , :

Area

:.c

:'I and 5 3

Area ?

:I,

R
:I

103

C-+ mil
Cohuivt to1l

:O

IS R*
I6 51)

35
211

Granular Cohesive
C-+ soil

20

-.-

* R denole3 refusal, that is, moro than LOO blows for 25 mm penzrn~inn. --Z ? . IS : 18RB..IC)82. 'Method o f Load 'la~ or~ Soils'. Srurdordr inriiru/ion, 2nd rcvlslon, 1982.

-lndion

P R A m C U APPLICATION

The penetrometer has been a m3j0r construction site for verifying the specified safe bearing capacity of various foundations. The results are given i n Table 2. They are in close agreement with the correlated values presented in Tablc I.

3. H J G i b b and W G H.7ltz. ' R e a r c h on Dc~cr.rnii~inp :he De:~siiyof S - L ~ G Sby s9wn Penetration Testing'. frh I C S ~ ~ F E . v~11 1, 1957, P 35. 4. .i.amitii Mcchlnia i n fn..inec:ing Precticu', k h t r m k y t sons, 2nd edirion, 1967.
5.. J

CONCLUSION

E Bnsles. 'Founjation Analysis a n d %in', hir HillB~wkCu. :nJedi!iori. p 8 6 .

~k~
P ~ T ~ : I ~ , ~ - - ~ : ~2:;.: .

Cirnw

The hand penetrometer is an useful tool for a reason- 4. slnptr .21. ably good assessment of the bearing capacity . ; :~ i < : . - S i;ubit'iin,<. G:. slr,w:Cc:a! dcpuhirs. Ir is particularly useful to the s i t 0 cuginccr to determine the btxring capacity of the
excavated strata. It can also be used for compaction control and in highway engineering for the determination of suitable subgrade. However, it m u t be empbsized that the hand penetrometer should not be used without a prior ipvestigation of the subsoil. It is a complimentary tool only to be used in areas where the depth and thicknesses of various soil strata have been determined by proper soil investigations. More. over, care should be taken in the interpretltion of Table 2 as the results are sensitive to the type of soil encountered. For lightly loaded s h l l o w foundations, the instrument can be useful.

S.,ri

i:X~)lL,~~~~(t~,.'

Cbwony. p 2IV.

,he

k'u,hor

Stri K L s . 0 ~ 1 1 Shri Sanyal obtained BE (Cinl) rram Sc B ~ ! @ Enginwring alles. .Mechanics)and M Phil from Vnivtrslly of LondonKing.sCollegein 1964,1971 and I9SD.rcs~1i~ely. He hasbeenatfociatcdfrom I Y ~ J ~lv67 O with W SAlklns & Partners(1ndia)ttd, and from 1967 to 1971 with M/s L G Moucheland Partners & Grnpany (UK). and Ballour B u t ~ y Ho has been the Engineer-inCharge of soil invcsi ation, iocluding geolshnical
stat1 plant and tba Principal Soils &

'

ACI(FJ0WLEDCMENT
T h c author is thankful to his colleagues, particularly .to Shri S R KuIkarni and Shri C P Nazir, for their

vlluable comments.
R m l m m C l B
.~ I- i

~~~~~~,go'i,ondon-Cambrid~mo~orwry, Alwrirn ial plant, Vtncruelan

1. IS :2131-1981. 'Motbod for S I . a d ~ . R w t n r i o oT e a for Soilr'. I d a n Sfardor& h r r i l ~ u mIR , remaon, 1981.

M h a h EnJossr for road pmjsir in F k s m r i , Lib=. Presrbnrly la is bRc.&ht Soils E o & m with M I ! X I N r)ragl,m and Ltd and rerpowbk f o r In slrv boarlna c a p m t r e a of p i l a and major foundations for tha Visikhamtnan Stocl

~~

Proj~t.