Estimación Corte No Drenado

ESTIMATING UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH OF CLAY
FROM CONE PENETRATION TESTS
By
JAMES WILLIAM GREIG
B.A.Sc, The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1981
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCE
in
THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
(Department o f C i v i l Engineering)
We accept this t h e s i s as conforming
to the r e q u i r e d standard
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
September 1985
© James W i l l i a m Greig, 1985

In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced
degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it
freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive
copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my
department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or
publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written
permission.
Department of
The University of British Columbia

1956 Main Mall
Vancouver, Canada
V6T 1Y3
Date O^+vUz^ / S~ /<?0±'
DE-6(3/81)
i i
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses several proposed methods for
estimating u n d r a i n e d shear s t r e n g t h from cone p e n t r a t i o n tests.
T h i s c o r r e l a t i o n h a s been s t u d i e d in the past, however, most
have focussed only on the cone bearing. In addition to
discussing these traditional methods, this paper evaluates
recently proposed methods of estimating Su from CPT pore
pressure data.
The r e s u l t s o f f i e l d vane and cone p e n e t r a t i o n tests from
five lower mainland sites are presented in relation t o the
different proposed c o r r e l a t i o n t e c h n i q u e s . The r e s u l t s show t h a t
t h e r e i s no u n i q u e c o n e f a c t o r f o r e s t i m a t i n g Su from CPT for
all clays, h o w e v e r , a r e a s o n a b l e e s t i m a t e o f Su can be made by
comparing the p r e d i c t i o n s from s e v e r a l of the proposed methods.
With l o c a l c o r r e l a t i o n s t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s c a n be q u i t e reliable.
The r e s u l t s a l s o show t h a t t h e e s t i m a t i o n of Su from CPT is
influenced by various factors relating to: the c h o i c e of a
r e f e r e n c e Su, c o n e d e s i g n , CPT test procedures and the soil
characteristics. In p a r t i c u l a r , t h e e s t i m a t i o n o f Su f r o m CPT i s
strongly influenced by s u c h s o i l parameters as s t r e s s history,
s e n s i t i v i t y and s t i f f n e s s . I n c r e a s e s i n OCR and s e n s i t i v i t y were
r e f l e c t e d by i n c r e a s e s i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l c o n e factors Nc and
Nk.
The use of pore p r e s s u r e d a t a a p p e a r s t o be a p r o m i s i n g
means o f e s t i m a t i n g . S u f r o m CPT. E x p r e s s i o n s h a v e been d e v e l o p e d
that p r e d i c t excess pore p r e s s u r e s based on cavity expansion
t h e o r y and a t t e m p t t o i n c l u d e t h e e f f e c t s of s e n s i t i v i t y , stress
h i s t o r y and stiffness.
In addition, comparisons between friction sleeve
m e a s u r e m e n t s and Su a n d a method f o r e s t i m a t i n g sensitivity from
friction ratios are presented.
Lastly, recommended procedures f o r estimating Su from CPT
are given.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT i i
L I S T OF TABLES viii
L I S T OF FIGURES ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xiv
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 I n s i t u Measurement o f U n d r a i n e d S h e a r Strength 1
1.2 R e p o r t O r g a n i z a t i o n 5
CHAPTER 2. EQUIPMENT 7
2.1 Introduction 7
2.2 R e s e a r c h V e h i c l e 7
2.3 P e n e t r o m e t e r s 8
2.4 Data A c q u i s i t i o n Systems 11
2.5 F i e l d Vanes 14
CHAPTER 3. TEST PROCEDURES AND DATA REDUCTION 18
3.1 Introduction 18
3.2 C a l i b r a t i o n 18
3.3 S a t u r a t i o n 20
3.4 F i e l d Cone P e n e t r a t i o n Testing ... 21
3.5 CPT D a t a R e d u c t i o n 23
3.5.1 Unwanted D a t a 23
3.5.2 T e m p e r a t u r e Corrections 24
3.5.3 P o r e Pressure Corrections 24
3.5.4 F r i c t i o n Ratio 27
3.5.5 D i f f e r e n t i a l Pore P r e s s u r e R a t i o 27
3.6 F i e l d Vane T e s t i n g 28
3.7 R e d u c t i o n o f Vane D a t a 29
V
CHAPTER 4. A REVIEW OF THE VANE SHEAR TEST 32
4.1 Introduction 32
4.2 E v a l u a t i o n of U n d r a i n e d Strength 32
4.3 E f f e c t s o f A n i s o t r o p y 37
4.4 R a t e E f f e c t s 41
4.5 D i s t u r b a n c e Due t o Vane Insertion 42
4.6 C o r r e c t i o n F a c t o r s 45
4.7 Summary 50
CHAPTER 5. A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE CONE PENETRATION TEST 51
5.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n 51
5.2 S o i l Classification 52
5.3 S o i l Profiling 54
5.4 Dynamic Pore P r e s s u r e Response 64
CHAPTER 6. METHODS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN CPT AND Su 67
6.1 Introduction 67
6.2 T r a d i t i o n a l Methods o f C o r r e l a t i o n 68
6.3 R e c e n t l y P r o p o s e d Methods o f C o r r e l a t i o n 76
6.3.1 Using Effective Bearing to Estimate Su 77
6.3.2 Use o f E x c e s s P o r e P r e s s u r e s and C a v i t y
Expansion Theory 78
6.3.3 Use o f V a r i o u s Pore P r e s s u r e P a r a m e t e r s and
Cone F a c t o r s 80
6.4 U s i n g Friction Sleeve Measurements t o E s t i m a t e Su .. 85
6.5 E v a l u a t i n g Stress History from CPT 87
6.6 E s t i m a t i n g Sensitivity 94
CHAPTER 7. F I E L D PROGRAMME AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 95
7.1 Introduction 95
vi
7.2 M c D o n a l d Farm R e s e a r c h S i t e 95
7.2.1 G e n e r a l G e o l o g y and S i t e D e s c r i p t i o n 95
7.2.2 C o r r e l a t i o n s Between Su and CPT 98
7.3 B.C. H y d r o R a i l w a y C r o s s i n g Site 106
7.3.1 General Geology and S i t e D e s c r i p t i o n 106
7.4 Upper 232nd S t . S i t e 114
7.5 Lower 232nd S t . S i t e 123
7.5.1 G e n e r a l G e o l o g y and S i t e D e s c r i p t i o n 123
7.6 Haney Slide Site 125
7.7 A Summary o f t h e R e s u l t s f o r the Five
Lower M a i n l a n d Sites 138
7.8 C o r r e l a t i o n s Between Su and S l e e v e F r i c t i o n 146
7.9 E s t i m a t i n g Sensitivity from CPT 146
CHAPTER 8. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 152
8.1 Summary of F a c t o r s I n f l u e n c i n g the
Estimation o f Su 152
8.2 C o n c l u s i o n s 155
8.2.1 A c c u r a c y o f CPT D a t a 155
8.2.2 I n f l u e n c e of Layer Boundaries 156
8.2.3 D e t e c t i o n of Thin Layers 156
8.2.4 E s t i m a t i n g Su From Cone B e a r i n g 157
8.2.5 U s i n g CPT P o r e P r e s s u r e D a t a t o E s t i m a t e Su 157

vii
8.2.6 Use o f F r i c t i o n S l e e v e Measurements 158
8.3 Recommended Procedure f o r Estimating Su
From CPT 159
8.3.1 Use o f CPT D a t a W i t h o u t Pore P r e s s u r e s 159
8.3.2 Use o f CPT D a t a W i t h Pore P r e s s u r e s 159
REFERENCES 161
APPENDIX A 1 67
viii
L I S T OF TABLES
Table No. Table Title Page
1.1 PERCEIVED APPLICABILITY OF

INSITU TEST METHODS 2
6.1 SUMMARY OF CONE FACTORS (Nc) DETERMINED

FOR DIFFERENT CLAY DEPOSITS 69
6.2 SUMMARY OF CONE FACTORS (Nk) FOR

SCANDANAVIAN CLAYS 71
6.3 SUMMARY OF EXISTING THEORIES OF CONE

PENETRATION IN CLAYS 73
7.1 SUMMARY OF THE F I E L D PROGRAMME 97
7.2 SUMMARY OF MATERIAL PROPERTIES AT

THE DIFFERENT SITES 97
7.3 SUMMARY OF CONE FACTORS FOR 5 LOWER

MAINLAND SITES 139
7.4 SUMMARY OF CORRELATIONS WITH FRICTION

SLEEVE DATA FOR 4 LOWER MAINLAND SITES 149
ix
L I S T OF FIGURES
Figure No. Figure Title Page
1.1 L I K E L Y VARIATION IN UNDRAINED STRENGTH RATIO

AND THEIR HIERARCHY FOR VARIOUS TEST METHODS .. 2
2.1 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF CONE PENETROMETERS
USED FOR THIS REPORT 9
2.2 POROUS FILTER LOCATION AND T I P DESIGN 10
2.3 F I E L D VANE SYSTEMS 15
2.4 NILCON F I E L D VANE AND S L I P COUPLE 16
3.1 SATURATION PROCEDURE 22
3.2 TEMPERATURE AND PORE PRESSURE
EFFECTS ON CONE BEARING 25
3.3 EXAMPLE OF A NILCON TEST RECORD 30
4.1 STANDARD ANALYSIS OF THE VANE SHEAR TEST 34

4.2 SHEAR STRESS DISTRIBUTION ON A PLANE
MIDWAY BETWEEN VANE BLADES USING A
3D F I N I T E ELEMENT ANALYSIS 35
4.3 DISTRIBUTIONS OF EQUIVALENT SHEAR STRESS
ON A VERTICAL AND A HORIZONTAL BLADE EDGE 35
4.4 VARIOUS VANE CONFIGURATIONS USED

TO MEASURE STRENGTH ANISOTROPY 39
4.5 VANE SHEAR STRENGTHS ON PLANES

AT VARIOUS ANGLES 39
4.6 PLOT OF RATIO OF UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTHS

IN HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL DIRECTIONS v s
P L A S I T I C I T Y INDEX 40
4.7 VARIATION WITH DEPTH OF UNDRAINED SHEAR

STRENGTH AT DIFFERENT RATES OF ROTATION 43
4.8 CORRELATION BETWEEN SHEAR STRESS LEVEL AND

TIME TO FAILURE FROM UNDRAINED TRIAXIAL
COMPRESSION TESTS ON DRAMMEN CLAY 43
4.9 CORRECTION FACTOR FOR UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH

DETERMINED FROM FIELD VANE TESTS 47
4.10 EMPIRICALLY ESTABLISHED CORRECTION FACTORS

FOR RESULTS OF VANE SHEAR TESTS 47
X
4.11 RATIO OF UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH TO VANE

SHEAR STRENGTH FOR THREE TYPES OF CLAY 48
4.12 VANE SHEAR TEST REDUCTION FACTOR AS A

FUNCTION OF THE LIQUID LIMIT ACCORDING TO
THE SWEDISH GEOTECHNICAL INSTITUTE 48
5.1 CPT SOIL BEHAVIOUR TYPE CLASSIFICATION CHART .. 53
5.2 UBC SIMPLIFIED CPT SOIL BEHAVIOUR TYPE

CLASSIFICATION CHART FOR THE ELECTRONIC
FRICTION CONE 53
5.3 SIMPLIFIED EXAMPLES OF CONE BEARING

PROFILES SHOWING LIKELY AND POSSIBLE
INTERPRETATIONS FOR SOIL TYPES AND
CONDITIONS 55
5.4 CONE PENETROMETER BEARING RESPONSE

IN A LAYERED MEDIA 58
5.5 COMPARISON BETWEEN A CPT BEARING PROFILE

AND A CONTINUOUS SAMPLE LOG 60
5.6 RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF THE 10cm CONE

2
PENETROMETER, PROBABLE ZONE OF INFLUENCE

FOR CPT, UBC STANDARD SAMPLING RATE
AND LARGE, MEDIUM AND SMALL F I E L D VANES 63
5.7 . CONCEPTUAL PORE PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION IN

SATURATED SOIL DURING CPT BASED ON F I E L D
MEASUREMENTS 65
6.1 EMPIRICAL CONE FACTOR Nk v s DEPTH

FOR DIFFERENT CLAY DEPOSITS 70
6.2 SUMMARY OF CONE FACTORS (Nk) FOR

SCANDANAVIAN CLAYS 71
6.3 E F F E C T OF RIGIDITY INDEX AND CONE ANGLE

ON THE PENETRATION RESISTANCE OF CLAY 74
6.4 SELECTION OF SOIL STIFFNESS 75
6.5 PROPOSED METHOD FOR OBTAINING Su

FROM EXCESS PORE PRESSURE MEASURED
DURING CPT 79
6.6 PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER Bq v s

OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO 82
6.7 CONE FACTOR Nkt v s PORE PRESSURE

PARAMETER Bq 83
6.8 PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER NAu v s PORE

PRESSURE PARAMETER Bq 84
xi
6.9 CONE FACTOR Nk vs PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER Bq .. 86

6.10 NORMALIZED Su/P' RATIO vs OVERCONSOLIDATION
RATIO FOR USE I N E S T I M A T I N G OCR 89
6.11 S T A T I S T I C A L R E L A T I O N BETWEEN Cu/avo

RATIO AND P L A S T I C I T Y INDEX FOR NORMALLY
CONSOLIDATED CLAYS 89
6.12 E X T R A P O L A T I O N OF THE Qc P R O F I L E AS A N
A L T E R N A T I V E METHOD TO E S T I M A T E OVER-
CONSOLIDATION I N T H I C K , HOMOGENEOUS C L A Y
LAYERS 91
6.13 THE EFFECT OF DENSER O V E R L Y I N G M A T E R I A L

ON THE EXTRAPOLATED Qt P R O F I L E FOR A
NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED C L A Y L A Y E R 93
7.1 GENERAL L O C A T I O N OF RESEARCH S I T E S 96
7.2 T Y P I C A L CPT P R O F I L E AT McDONALD FARM 99
7.3 P R O F I L E S FROM 4 CPT SOUNDINGS
I N MCDONALD FARM C L A Y E Y S I L T 100
7.4 F I E L D VANE STRENGTH AND S E N S I T I V I T Y

P R O F I L E S AT Mc DONALD FARM 100
7.5 Qc/Su AND Qt/Su vs DEPTH

AT MCDONALD FARM 101
7.6 (Qc-cr, )/Su a AND (Qt- <T,o )/Su vs DEPTH

7.7 (Qc-Ut)/Su AND (Qt-Ut)/Su vs DEPTH

7.8 AU/Su vs DEPTH FOR D I F F E R E N T POROUS
ELEMENT L O C A T I O N S AT MCDONALD FARM 104
7.9 Nkt, N A U and Nke vs Bq AT McDONALD FARM 105
7.10 T Y P I C A L CPT P R O F I L E AT B . C . HYDRO
RAILWAY S I T E 108
7.11 INDEX P R O P E R T I E S , F I E L D V A N E STRENGTH
AND S E N S I T I V I T Y P R O F I L E S AT B . C . HYDRO
RAILWAY S I T E 108
7.12 Qc/Su AND Qt/Su vs DEPTH AT

B . C . HYDRO RAILWAY S I T E 109
7.13 (Qc- Co )/Su and (Qt-^ )/Su vs DEPTH AT

B . C . HYDRO RAILWAY S I T E 110
xii
7.14 ( Q c - U t ) / S u AND ( Q t ~ U t ) / S u v s DEPTH AT

B.C. HYDRO RAILWAY SITE 111
7.15 AU/Su v s DEPTH AT B.C. HYDRO

RAILWAY S I T E 112
7.16 N k t , N A U a n d Nke v s Bq AT B.C. HYDRO
RAILWAY SITE 113
7.17 TYPICAL CPT PROFILE AT UPPER 232nd S t . S I T E ... 116

PROFILES AT UPPER 232nd S t . S I T E 116
7.19 COMPARISON BETWEEN CONE BEARING, VANE SHEAR
STRENGTH AND OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO AT
UPPER 232nd S t . SITE 117
7.20 Qc/Su AND Q t / S u v s DEPTH AT

UPPER 232nd S t . S I T E 118
7.21 ( Q C - C T , O )/Su a n d (Qt-o- TCl )/Su v s DEPTH AT

7.22 ( Q c - U t ) / S u AND ( Q t - U t ) / S u v s DEPTH AT

7.23 AU/Su v s DEPTH AT UPPER

232nd S t . S I T E 121
7.24 N k t , N A U a n d Nke v s Bq AT UPPER
232nd S t . S I T E 122
7.25 TYPICAL CPT PROFILE AT LOWER 232nd S t . S I T E ... 124

PROFILES AT LOWER 232nd S t . S I T E 124
7.27 Qc/Su AND Q t / S u v s DEPTH
AT LOWER 232nd S t . SITE 126
7.28 (Qc-oVo )/Su a n d ( Q t - cr,o )/Su v s DEPTH AT

LOWER 232nd S t . SITE 127
7.29 ( Q c - U t ) / S u AND ( Q t " U t ) / S u v s DEPTH AT

LOWER 232nd S t . S I T E 128
7.30 AU/Su v s DEPTH AT LOWER

232nd S t . S I T E 129
7.31 N k t , N A U a n d Nke v s Bq AT LOWER

232nd S t . S I T E 130
7.32 TYPICAL CPT PROFILE AT HANEY SLIDE S I T E 131

x i i i

PROFILES AT HANEY SLIDE S I T E 131
7.34 Qc/Su AND Qt/Su v s DEPTH AT

HANEY SLIDE S I T E 133
7.35 ( Q c - C s o )/Su and (Qt-av„ )/Su v s DEPTH AT

7.36 ( Q c - U t ) / S u AND ( Q t ~ U t ) / S u v s DEPTH AT

7.37 AU/Su v s DEPTH AT HANEY

SLIDE S I T E 136
7.38 N k t , NAU and Nke v s Bq AT HANEY

SLIDE S I T E 137
7.39 USE OF EXCESS PORE PRESSURE FOR ESTIMATING

UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH 140
7.40 Bq v s OCR FOR 5 LOWER MAINLAND SITES 142
7.41 Nkt v s Bq FOR 5 LOWER MAINLAND SITES 143
7.42 N AU vs. Bq FOR 5 LOWER MAINLAND SITES 144
7.43 Nke v s Bq FOR 5 LOWER MAINLAND SITES 145
7.44 VANE SHEAR STRENGTH v s SLEEVE

FRICTION FOR 4 LOWER MAINLAND
SITES 147
7.45 Su/Fs v s DEPTH FOR 4 LOWER

MAINLAND SITES . .• 147
7.46 REMOLDED SHEAR STRENGTH v s

SLEEVE FRICTION FOR 4 LOWER
MAINLAND SITES 1 48
7.47 S u r / F s v s DEPTH FOR 4 LOWER

MAINLAND SITES 148
7.48 ESTIMATING SENSITIVITY FROM CPT 150

xiv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to my research
supervisors, Dr. R.G. Campanella and D r . P.K. R o b e r t s o n , f o r
their excellent guidance and support during the course of this
study. I would also like to thank Don Gillespie for his
invaluable a s s i s t a n c e and many h e l p f u l suggestions.
Thanks a r e e x t e n d e d to C l i f f o r d Tsang, M i c h a e l Davies, Alex
Sy and K a r l Mokkelboost for their help in collecting data.
I am a l s o g r a t e f u l f o r the s k i l l f u l work of A r t B r o o k e s and
t h e many h o u r s o f a s s i s t a n c e with the computer equipment by
Glenn Jolly.
Special thanks go to my w i f e K a r e n f o r h e r p a t i e n c e and
support during the p r e p a r a t i o n of t h i s thesis.
Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation f o r the
tremendous support from my parents, to whom t h i s thesis i s
dedicated.
The Nilcon field vane equipment was kindly provided by
Klohn Leonoff L t d .
The financial support p r o v i d e d by N.S.E.R.C. i s g r a t e f u l l y
acknowledged.
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 I n s i t u Measurement o f U n d r a i n e d Shear S t r e n g t h
I n r e c e n t y e a r s t h e r e h a s been a g r o w i n g tendancy towards
the use of i n s i t u testing techniques for evaluating engineering
s o i l parameters. W r o t h 1984 a t t r i b u t e d t h i s growth t o the rapid
increase in the variety and quality of insitu testing
instruments i n addition to our better understanding of the
behaviour of real s o i l s and t h e subsequent r e a l i z a t i o n o f some
of t h e l i m i t a t i o n s a n d i n a d e q u a c i e s o f conventional laboratory
testing. The h i g h c o s t of o f f s h o r e g e o t e c h n i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s
and the d i f f i c u l t i e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e r e c o v e r y of u n d i s t u r b e d
s a m p l e s make t h e u s e o f i n s i t u testing techniques particularly
attractive. For routine investigations, selection of borehole
l o c a t i o n s c a n be more efficiently planned by employing cone
penetration t e s t s during p r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . With local
e x p e r i e n c e b o r e h o l e s may n o t e v e n be n e c e s s a r y .
The soil p r o p e r t y most o f t e n m e a s u r e d i n t h e f i e l d i s the
undrained shear s t r e n g t h (Su) of c l a y s (Schmertmann 1975, W r o t h
1984). U n f o r t u n a t e l y , Su i s n o t a u n i q u e parameter a s i t depends
significantly on t h e t y p e o f t e s t u s e d , the r a t e of strain and
the o r i e n t a t i o n of the f a i l u r e planes (Robertson and Campanella
1983). B a s e d on l i m i t e d t e s t d a t a a n d a s p e c u l a t i v e a p p r o a c h to
a n a l y s i s , W r o t h 1984 i n d i c a t e d the l i k e l y variation i n undrained
strength r a t i o (Su/P') w i t h f r i c t i o n a n g l e and t h e h i e r a r c h y f o r
various test methods ( i l l u s t r a t e d i n figure 1.1). These i d e a s ,
he a d d e d , were s u p p o r t e d by t e s t r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d by G h i o n n a et
2
(S /C7 )
U V
DSS FV KJC
a) L i k e l y v a r i a t i o n (n u n d r a i n e d b) L i k e l y h i e r a r c h y of undrained
strength ratio for different strength ratio f o r different
t e s t methods t e s t methods
TEST TYPES
PM - Pressure meter
K TC- Kg consol 1 dated t r i a x i a l
Q compression
FV - F i e l d Vane
DSS - D i r e c t s i m p l e s h e a r
Figure 1.1 LIKELY VARIATION IN UNDRAINED STRENGTH RATIO

AND THEIR HIERARCHY FOR VARIOUS TEST METHODS
(adapted from Wroth 1984)
METHOD RATING
Dynamic Cone c
Static
MechaC
nonical
e: B
Elec. Friction B
Elec. Pie zo
Elec. Piezo/Friction B
B
c
Acoustic P
Dilatometer robe B
Vane Shear A
Standard Penetration Test C
Resistivity Probe C
Screw Pla
Impact Conete B
C
Borehole S hear
Menard Pressuremeter B
B
Self Boring Pressuremeter A
Self Boring Devices:
Lateral
Shear Va Pnee
netrometer B
A
Plate Load Tests C
A - High applicability
B - Moderate applicability
C - Limited applicability
Table 1.1 PERCEIVED APPLICABILITY OF INSITU TEST METHODS
(adapted from Campanella and Robertson 1982)

3
al. 1983. Figure 1.1 also illustrates the importance of
documenting the source of undrained shear s t r e n g t h d a t a .
There are several methods available f o r measuring the
undrained shear strength of clay insitu. Campanella and
Robertson 1982 p r e s e n t e d a t a b l e listing various insitu test
methods a n d t h e i r p e r c e i v e d a p p l i c a b i l i t y . A l i s t o f t h e methods
relevant to the measurement o f Su i s r e p r o d u c e d i n t a b l e 1.1.
The s u i t a b i l i t y o f e a c h method i s i n d i c a t e d by a r a t i n g o f A, B
or C indicating high, moderate and limited applicability,
r e s p e c t i v e l y . Campanella and Robertson based their grade on a
q u a l i t a t i v e e v a l u a t i o n of the c o n f i d e n c e l e v e l a s s e s s e d f o r each
method.
Of the e i g h t e e n e n t r i e s o n l y two d i f f e r e n t methods have a
r a t i n g of high a p p l i c a b i l i t y ; t h e s h e a r vane (VST) a n d t h e self
boring pressuremeter (SBPMT). T h e i r h i g h r a t i n g i s a r e s u l t of
their being the only t e s t s that allow a d i r e c t e v a l u a t i o n of Su.
The SBPMT, however, is a specific test (as described by
Campanella and Robertson 1982) b e i n g r e l a t i v e l y expensive and
slow and not a l i k e l y candidate f o r routine s o i l profiling. On
the other hand, t h e vane shear t e s t o r t h e f i e l d vane (FV) is
currently t h e most common i n s i t u method f o r measuring undrained
shear strength. The FV h a s p r o v e n t o be a r e l i a b l e a n d h i g h l y
r e p e a t a b l e t e s t method. One o f i t s m a i n a d v a n t a g e s i s the great
deal of experience that has been developed over i t s long
h i s t o r y . However, i t does s u f f e r some s e r i o u s d i s a d v a n t a g e s . The
VST i s incremental with tests usually being conducted a t 1 meter
i n t e r v a l s . The m a t e r i a l type i n which the test i s performed must
be s p e c u l a t e d f r o m t h e t e s t r e s u l t s o r must be c o n f i r m e d by an
4
adjacent borehole. Verticality is not e n s u r e d n o r c a n i t be
measured, p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h the Nilcon equipment. To prevent
damage t o t h e vane b l a d e s , p r e b o r i n g i s usually required through
coarse grained material.
There are nine entries having a rating of moderate
applicability. T h r e e o f w h i c h w o u l d be classified as specific
tests; borehole shear, Menard pressuremeter, and t h e l a t e r a l
p e n e t r o m e t e r . Two are incremental tests; t h e d i l a t o m e t e r and t h e
s c r e w p l a t e . The r e m a i n i n g f o u r methods relate to the static
cone (CPT). Of these, the e l e c t r i c piezo/friction cone i s t h e
most promising.
P i e z o / f r i c t i o n cone p e n e t r a t i o n t e s t s p r o v i d e a continuous
profile of cone bearing, sleeve friction and dynamic pore
pressure response. The t e s t has proved to be rapid, highly
repeatable and cost efficient. R o b e r t s o n and C a m p a n e l l a 1983
report that s i g n i f i c a n t advances i n research, development and
applications of cone penetration testing have been made i n
recent y e a r s . The a d d i t i o n o f pore pressure measurements has
greatly increased our understanding a n d p o t e n t i a l o f t h e CPT.
The t e s t i s unequalled in i t s ability to define soil layer
boundaries and qualitatively evaluate m a t e r i a l types. However,
b e c a u s e of t h e complex behaviour of soils and the complex
changes in stress and strain around the cone t i p , soil
parameters are n e c e s s a r i l y determined from e m p i r i c a l and semi-
empirical correlations.
The estimation of undrained shear s t r e n g t h i s one such
e x a m p l e . The c o r r e l a t i o n h a s been s t u d i e d by s e v e r a l researchers
i n t h e p a s t , however, most have focussed only on the cone

5
bearing as a means of e s t i m a t i n g Su. The correlations usually
employ a c o n e f a c t o r Nk o r Nc whose values have exhibited a
tremendous range (from 5 t o 70) but are often r e l a t i v e l y well
d e f i n e d at individual s i t e s . The a d v e n t of t h e piezo cone has
permitted a semi-empirical approach using cavity expansion
t h e o r y and t h e dynamic p o r e p r e s s u r e response to be used to
estimate Su. N o n - d i m e n s i o n a l p a r a m e t e r s b a s e d on the excess pore
pressures generated during penetration have been found to
provide a promising means of i n t e r p r e t i n g CPT data.
1.2 Report Organization
The research described in this r e p o r t was undertaken i n an
attempt to better understand the effects of various soil
p r o p e r t i e s on t h e many methods that have been proposed for
estimating undrained shear s t r e n g t h from cone p e n e t r a t i o n tests.
In addition to the traditional methods, recently proposed
methods of e s t i m a t i n g Su from p o r e p r e s s u r e data are discussed.
Test results from five lower mainland s i t e s are presented and
compared t o r e s u l t s reported for other sites. Because the field
vane is the most common method o f e v a l u a t i n g Su, v a n e shear
t e s t s were u s e d as a reference for this study. This report
presents the r e s u l t s of t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n and is divided into
the seven f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r s :
Chapter 2 d e s c r i b e s the equipment used for this study.
Brief d e s c r i p t i o n s of t h e U.B.C. r e s e a r c h v e h i c l e , the different
cone penetrometers, the data a c q u i s i t i o n s y s t e m s and the field
vane e q u i p m e n t a r e presented.
A summary of t h e v a r i o u s t e s t p r o c e d u r e s u s e d i s presented
6
in chapter 3. In particular, a d e s c r i p t i o n of the methods of
calibration, s a t u r a t i o n and actual field testing are given. In
addition, details of the cone penetration and field vane data
reduction are presented. Specific details of the two tests are
also included in other chapters, where appropriate.
A review of the vane shear test (VST) i s given in chapter
4. Various methods of analyzing vane test results and some of
the f a c t o r s that affect such results are discussed.
Chapter 5 presents a brief review of the cone penetration
test. Such topics as soil classification, soil parameter
interpretation, generation of dymanic pore pressure and factors
affecting cone penetration test results are discussed.
Chapter 6 reviews traditional empirical methods of
correlating cone penetration test results with the undrained
shear strength of cohesive materials. In addition, recently
proposed techniques using CPT pore pressure data are presented.
Methods for estimating vane sensitivity and overconsolidation
ratio from CPT are also discussed.
Chapter 7 describes, in detail, the field programme
conducted for this study and presents the results of the field
vane and cone penetration tests. A comparison i s made between
the correlations discussed in chapter 6 and the measured values.
Chapter 8 summarizes the investigation and presents
conclusions and suggestions for further research.

7
CHAPTER 2
EQUIPMENT
2.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n
The design o f e q u i p m e n t i s an i m p o r t a n t aspect o f any t e s t .
In order t o make a p r o p e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the t e s t r e s u l t s the
e f f e c t s and l i m i t a t i o n s of the apparatus must be understood.
Several types o f e q u i p m e n t were u s e d f o r t h i s report: four types
of cones, two data acquisition systems, a n d two f i e l d vane
borers. This chapter briefly describes the important details of
the equipment used.
2.2 R e s e a r c h V e h i c l e
The U.B.C. geotechnical research v e h i c l e was u s e d f o r a l l
cone p e n e t r a t i o n t e s t s performed f o r t h i s report. The vehicle,
described in detail by C a m p a n e l l a a n d R o b e r t s o n 1981, i s a self-
contained insitu testing unit housing an hydraulic loading
system and both analog and d i g i t a l electronic data acquisition
systems. The loading system consists of a p a i r of h y d r a u l i c
p i s t o n s which a r e l o c a t e d symmetrically about the penetrometer
and cone rods and a r e capable o f a p p l y i n g a c o m b i n e d maximum
l o a d o f 160 kN. H y d r a u l i c c o n t r o l v a l v e s a r e used to manually
control p e n e t r a t i o n and a d j u s t a b l e flow c o n t r o l valves regulate
the rate of p e n e t r a t i o n .
8
2.3 Penetrometers
Four t y p e s o f cone p e n e t r o m e t e r s were used:
1) U.B.C. 5 c h a n n e l 10 c m bearing
2
- friction
p i e z o m e t e r - i n c l i n a t i o n - t e m p e r a t u r e c o n e (UBC#4)
2) U.B.C. 6 channel 10 c m amplified 2

bearing
f r i c t i o n - piezometer - s e i s m i c - i n c l i n a t i o n
t e m p e r a t u r e cone (UBC#6)
3) U.B.C. 5 c h a n n e l 15 c m bearing - friction -

2
piezometer - i n c l i n a t i o n - temperature - seismic

c o n e (UBC#5)
4) M o d i f i e d H o g e n t o g l e r 10 c m amplified 2
bearing
friction - piezometer - i n c l i n a t i o n - temperature
cone
The four cones are illustrated in figure 2.1 and their
s i m i l a r i t i e s and important d i f f e r e n c e s a r e d i s c u s s e d below.
All four cones have a 60° apex a n g l e , e q u a l end a r e a
friction s l e e v e s , and r e l o c a t a b l e p o r e pressure elements. The
different porous element l o c a t i o n s a r e i n d i c a t e d i n f i g u r e 2.2.
The modified Hogentogler, UBC #4, a n d UBC #6 c o n e s e a c h have a
10 cm 2
projected base a r e a a n d a 150 c m 2
friction s l e e v e . The
UBC #5 c o n e h a s a 15 c m 2
projected base area and a 225 cm 2
friction sleeve. The 10cm 2

cones use a f r i c t i o n r e d u c e r (an
e n l a r g e d s e c t i o n o f cone r o d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 cm. in length)
approximately 1 meter behind the f r i c t i o n s l e e v e . The 15 c m 2
c o n e i s i t s own f r i c t i o n reducer.
The t h r e e U.B.C. c o n e s a r e similar i n mechanical design
featuring independent t i p and friction l o a d c e l l s and e a s i l y
r e p l a c a b l e pore pressure transducers which are located just
behind the t i p . The U.B.C. design permits load c e l l s and
transducers of different capacities to be used thereby
optimizing the s e n s i t i v i t y of t h e i n d i v i d u a l measurements.

9
F i g u r e 2 . 1 - SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF CONE PENETROMETERS

USED FOR THIS REPORT
10
1. Standard UBC filter
b) P o r o u s F i l t e r Locations
gure 2 . 2 - POROUS F I L T E R LOCATIONS AND T I P DESIGN

11
The design o f t h e UBC #4 c o n e h a s been d e s c r i b e d i n g r e a t e r
detail by Campanella and Robertson 1981. The UBC #6 c o n e i s a
UBC #4 s t y l e c o n e m o d i f i e d t o i n c o r p o r a t e a geophone (velocity
transducer) o r an a c c e l e r o m e t e r a n d an a m p l i f i e r board. The UBC
#5 cone c o n t a i n s a t r i a x i a l geophone p a c k a g e a n d i s d e s c r i b e d i n
greater d e t a i l by R i c e 1984.
The s e i s m i c aspects of the U.B.C. cones are beyond the
scope of this r e p o r t . The r e a d e r i s referred t o Rice 1984 a n d
Campanella and Robertson 1984 f o r more details.
The Hogentogler design i s known a s a s u b t r a c t i o n cone. It
features the b e a r i n g and f r i c t i o n load c e l l s placed in series.
The load c e l l nearest t h e t i p r e c o r d s t h e cone b e a r i n g w h i l e t h e
other load c e l l measures both the bearing and friction. To
determine the f r i c t i o n load a d i f f e r e n t i a l amplifier circuit i s
used t o e l e c t r o n i c a l l y s u b t r a c t t h e two m e a s u r e m e n t s . A serious
consequence of this design i s that both l o a d c e l l s must be o f
comparable c a p a c i t y which can r e s u l t in poor sensitivity and
resolution o f t h e much l o w e r (typically 0.5% t o 10% o f b e a r i n g )
friction r e a d i n g s . The c o n e was originally designed with an
unequal end a r e a friction s l e e v e , however, t h e H o g e n t o g l e r cone
used f o r t h i s r e p o r t was m o d i f i e d t o accommodate an equal end
area friction sleeve. In addition, the f r o n t end ( t i p end)
d e s i g n was made s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f a U.B.C. c o n e to allow for
r e l o c a t a b l e pore p r e s s u r e elements.
2.4 D a t a A c q u i s i t i o n Systems
Two data acquisition s y s t e m s were u s e d t o c o l l e c t t h e CPT
data forthis r e p o r t . Data from the non-amplified cones were

12
recorded on a s i x c h a n n e l Watanabe s t r i p c h a r t r e c o r d e r . Signals
from the amplified cones were recorded using a Hogentogler
digital data acquisition system. Both systems used a 16
conductor cable and a 10 volt excitation. The cable was
c o n n e c t e d t o a j u n c t i o n box mounted i n t h e t r u c k directing the
s i g n a l s t o the a p p r o p r i a t e data c o l l e c t i o n system.
The non-amplified signals were routed through a signal
c o n d i t i o n i n g box c o n t a i n i n g b a l a n c e and attenuation resistors.
In order to c h a n g e r a n g e s on t h e s t r i p c h a r t r e c o r d e r without
i n t r o d u c i n g an o f f s e t v o l t a g e i n d i v i d u a l balance resisitors were
used t o zero each transducer. Variable attenuation resistors
permitted the chart recorder to plot the data d i r e c t l y i n
engineering u n i t s . A more c o m p l e t e d e s c r i p t i o n of this analog
data r e c o r d i n g s y s t e m i s g i v e n by C a m p a n e l l a a n d R o b e r t s o n 1 9 8 1 .
The a m p l i f i e d c o n e s were u s e d i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h a d i g i t a l
data acquisition s y s t e m m a n u f a c t u r e d by H o g e n t o g l e r & Co., Inc.
of G a i t h e r s b u r g , M a r y l a n d . A t y p i c a l Hogentogler system c o n s i s t s
of:
1) 5 c h a n n e l a m p l i f i e d cone
2) 10 c o n d u c t o r c a b l e
3) d a t a c o l l e c t i o n and s t o r a g e unit
4) printer
5) H e w l e t t Packard HP 7470A plotter
Some modifications were made to the system i n order to
accommodate t h e e x t r a d e v i c e s p r e s e n t i n t h e U.B.C. c o n e s . '
Internal components of the digital data collection unit
i n c l u d e a power s u p p l y , a m i c r o c o m p u t e r , a 12 b i t analog to
digital (A/D) c o n v e r t e r , ROM ( r e a d o n l y memory) b a s e d software,
and electronic interface circuits. The external components
include a 16 c h a r a c t e r LED ( l i g h t e m i t t i n g d i o d e ) d i s p l a y a n d
13
alphanumeric touchpad, a digital c a s s e t t e t a p e d r i v e , an analog
single channel thermal strip chart recorder, analog BNC
c o n n e c t o r s and s e r i a l and p a r a l l e l i n t e r f a c e p o r t s f o r use with
peripheral devices.
During a sounding a l l parameters (bearing, friction,
friction r a t i o , pore p r e s s u r e , pore p r e s s u r e r a t i o , inclination
and temperature) are l i s t e d by t h e p r i n t e r . Since the f r i c t i o n
sleeve i s located behind the t i p there is a lag between the
current depth of penetration and that f o r which the data i s
listed on t h e p r i n t e r . Because of t h e l a g i n t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n of
the data the thermal s t r i p c h a r t r e c o r d e r i s r e q u i r e d in order
to d i s p l a y the instantaneous bearing.
The r e c o r d i n g system i s t r i g g e r e d when m e t a l event markers
p a s s a p r o x i m i t y s w i t c h . The e v e n t m a r k e r s a r e e q u a l l y s p a c e d on
the c i r c u m f e r e n c e of a rubber wheel which i s placed in contact
with the cone rods. As t h e r o d s a r e a d v a n c e d t h e e v e n t wheel
r o t a t e s thereby t r i g g e r i n g the system. Three sampling r a t e s were
available: 2.5 cm.; 5 cm.; a n d 10 cm. The d i g i t a l data collected
f o r t h i s r e p o r t were s a m p l e d e v e r y 2.5 cm.
Graphical presentation of the data is provided by a
plotting routine stored in ROM a n d t h e HP 7470A p l o t t e r . The
program p l o t s each v a r i a b l e to fixed s c a l e s , some o f which are
inappropriate f o r t h e range of data c o l l e c t e d i n soft soils. To
overcome t h i s problem t h e author has w r i t t e n a f l e x i b l e graphics
routine (CONEPLOT) t o be u s e d on a m i c r o c o m p u t e r . In addition,
CONEPLOT makes the necessary c o r r e c t i o n s (discussed i n chapter
3) t o t h e d a t a p r i o r to plotting.
14
2.5 Field Vanes
Two t y p e s of f i e l d v a n e s were u s e d ; t h e N i l c o n vane borer
and t h e Geonor f i e l d v a n e . They d i f f e r primarily in their method
of recording and i n t h e i r method o f v a n e i n s e r t i o n . B o t h vane
borers use s i m i l a r v a n e s . The two systems are illustrated in
figure 2.3.
The Nilcon borer consists of a t o r q u e loading/recording
u n i t mounted on a j a c k i n g f r a m e , 20 mm. vane r o d s , and a special
s l i p couple. Reaction is provided by augers located in the
corners of the frame b a s e . The loading head a p p l i e s the torque
through a c l u t c h assembly and a deflection arm scribes the
torque-rotation curve on a wax p a p e r d i s k . To determine the.
torque required t o overcome r o d friction the s l i p couple, placed
just behind the vane, permits 15° of rod rotation before
transferring the load to the vane. The friction can be
d e t e r m i n e d from the test record. The s l i p couple i s illustrated
in figure 2.4.
The vane is advanced using a m a n u a l c r a n k and a chain
d r i v e n y o k e . The vane rods a r e pushed d i r e c t l y i n to the ground
without ' a protective casing or sheath. The capacity of the
loading s y s t e m i s 9900 Newtons f o r p e n e t r a t i o n and 113 Newton-
meters f o r torque.
The Geonor v a n e i s h o u s e d w i t h i n a p r o t e c t i v e m e t a l sheath
during penetration. A ball screw mechanism i s used to advance
the s h e a t h and the casing that follows i t t o a d e p t h j u s t above
that desired f o r the t e s t . An inner s e t of rods are then used to
push the vane t o t h e r e q u i r e d d e p t h . To apply and record the
load a torque head is connected t o the t o p of t h e casing. A

a) Geonor System b) N i l c o n System
Figure 2.3 - FIELD VANE SYSTEMS

cn
a) F i e l d Vane and S l i p C o u p l e b) S l i p Couple Detail
Figure 2.4 - NILCON F I E L D VANE AND SLIP COUPLE

17
deflection n e e d l e and f o l l o w e r indicate t h e maximum t o r q u e on an
arbitrary scale. There i s no permanent record of the test.
Calibration charts provide the correlation between t h e scale
r e a d i n g and t h e u n d r a i n e d strength.
18
CHAPTER 3
TEST PROCEDURES AND DATA REDUCTION
3 .1 Introduct ion
Another important aspect o f any t e s t is the procedure by
which i t i s c o n d u c t e d . The u s e o f n o n - s t a n d a r d methods c a n make
the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the r e s u l t s d i f f i c u l t , i f not impossible.
It is important t o f o l l o w a r i g o r o u s s e t of t e s t procedures t o
achieve repeatable t e s t s and t o gain c o n f i d e n c e i n the results.
In this respect, c o n e p e n e t r a t i o n c a n be t h o u g h t o f a s having
four d i s t i n c t steps (Gillespie 1981): calibration; saturation;
field testing; and data reduction. This chapter describes the
t e s t p r o c e d u r e s u s e d f o r t h e cone p e n e t r a t i o n a n d t h e f i e l d vane
t e s t s performed f o r t h i s report.
3.2 C a l i b r a t i o n
To maintain a high level of accuracy the various
instruments were periodically calibrated. In addition to
checking the l i n e a r i t y and stability of the instrument, the
i n f l u e n c e of each channel on t h e o t h e r cone c h a n n e l s ( c r o s s t a l k )
was recorded. The cone load cells were calibrated i n the
research vehicle using a configuration i d e n t i c a l to that used
during field testing. For the non-amplified c o n e s i t was o f
prime importance to calibrate the cone using the same 16
conductor cable used during a sounding. The vane torque
recorders were c a l i b r a t e d i n the laboratory using a hanging
weight and p u l l e y assembly.

19
A 7 t o n l o a d i n g frame a n d a 10 t o n h i g h q u a l i t y reference
l o a d c e l l were u s e d f o r c a l i b r a t i o n of t h e b e a r i n g and friction
load c e l l s . A pressure chamber h y d r a u l i c a l l y c o n n e c t e d t o a d e a d
weight pressure t e s t e r was u s e d t o c a l i b r a t e the pore pressure
transducers. Large volume constant temperature water baths
served as references f o r t h e t h e r m i s t o r s and t h e i n c l i n o m e t e r s
were c a l i b r a t e d a g a i n s t an a d j u s t a b l e s e t s q u a r e a n d p r o t r a c t o r .
The outputs from t h e r e f e r e n c e l o a d c e l l and the non-amplified
cone channels were m o n i t o r e d on a 6 d i g i t multimeter having a 1
microvolt r e s o l u t i o n a n d were r e c o r d e d on a s i x channel strip
chart recorder. Data from the amplified cones were listed
directly i n engineering u n i t s on t h e p r i n t e r .
Calibration adjustments f o r the U.B.C. cones, when
r e q u i r e d , were r e l a t i v e l y e a s y t o make c o m p a r e d t o t h o s e f o r the
Hogentogler c o n e . The n o n - a m p l i f i e d cones r e q u i r e d only changes
in the attenuation r e s i s t o r s e t t i n g s . Changes t o t h e c a l i b r a t i o n
o f t h e UBC #6 c o n e were made by a d j u s t i n g the individual gain
potentiometers. The H o g e n t o g l e r system uses f i x e d gain resistors
and fixed c a l i b r a t i o n constants s t o r e d i n ROM m a k i n g calibration
adjustments d i f f i c u l t .
It was found that the calibration of t h e cones d i d not
change a p p r e c i a b l y u n l e s s t h e y were l o a d e d near c a p a c i t y . There
was no s i g n i f i c a n t c r o s s t a l k i n a n y o f t h e c o n e s . C a m p a n e l l a a n d
Robertson 1982 r e p o r t t h a t when t h e c o n e i s s u b j e c t e d t o an a l l
round p r e s s u r e the measurement of friction and bearing is
commonly in error. For friction, unbalanced forces due t o
u n e q u a l end a r e a s of the f r i c t i o n sleeve result i n a net force.
Therefore, only equal e n d a r e a c o n e s were u s e d f o r t h i s report.

20
Even w i t h an equal end area s l e e v e , however, a net friction load
can exist i f the pore p r e s s u r e distribution around the sleeve is
uneven. B e i n g a t o t a l s t r e s s element the tip should record a
bearing equal to the a l l round p r e s s u r e . A close examination of
any cone w i l l reveal that some t r a n s f e r of t h e load takes place
resulting in a recorded tip stress less than the applied
pressure. Corrections f o r these pore pressure effects can be
made and are discussed i n more d e t a i l i n s e c t i o n 3.5.3.
Campanella and Robertson 1981 also pointed out that load
cells are often temperature dependent. Using large volume
constant temperature water baths the c o n e s were c a l i b r a t e d f o r
temperature. A f t e r reaching temperature e q u i l i b r i u m i n the bath
the cones were quickly loaded from zero l o a d t o near working
c a p a c i t y . The UBC #6 cone was the only one used that was
significantly s e n s i t i v e t o t e m p e r a t u r e . The data from t h i s cone
were c o r r e c t e d using the p r o c e d u r e s d e s c r i b e d i n s e c t i o n 3.5.2.
An adjustable set square was used to calibrate the
inclinometers. The c o n e s were p l a c e d on the s e t s q u a r e and the
o u t p u t of t h e inclinometers were monitored as the angle of
i n c l i n a t i o n was changed. Because a l l p e n e t r a t i o n t e s t s performed
for t h i s r e p o r t were n e a r v e r t i c a l c o r r e c t i o n s were u n n e c e s s a r y .
3.3 Saturation
For proper interpretation of the pore p r e s s u r e profiles
c o m p l e t e s a t u r a t i o n of t h e p i e z o m e t e r t i p was essential. Prior
to each s o u n d i n g t h e p o r o u s e l e m e n t and the c a v i t y between the
filter and the transducer were carefully saturated with
glycerin. Because it develops a high a i r entry t e n s i o n and is

21
m i s c i b l e w i t h w a t e r , g l y c e r i n has been used as a saturating
fluid a t U.B.C. f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s . In p r e p a r a t i o n for saturation
a cup was placed over the i n v e r t e d c o n e and s e a l e d w i t h an o-
r i n g . With the filter, t i p , and access screw removed, the cup
was filled w i t h g l y c e r i n . A i r b u b b l e s were e x p e l l e d by injecting
t h e c a v i t y w i t h g l y c e r i n f r o m a h y p o d e r m i c s y r i n g e . When no more
bubbles could be seen the filter was put i n t o p l a c e and the
screw and tip were replaced. Figure 3.1 illustrates the
saturation system used.
3.4 F i e l d Cone P e n e t r a t i o n Testing
Prior to saturating the cone and after allowing the
electronic systems to warm up, each channel (except for
temperature) was checked by a p p l y i n g small loads to the cone.
After s a t u r a t i o n t h e c o n e was attached to the first cone rod and
hung f r o m t h e l o a d i n g chuck f o r a l i g n m e n t . When the cone was
p r o p e r l y a l i g n e d i t was lowered t o j u s t above the ground surface
and held there until t h e c o n e came i n t o e q u i l i b r i u m w i t h the
surrounding a i r t e m p e r a t u r e . Once i n e q u i l i b r i u m , t h e excitation
v o l t a g e was c h e c k e d and t h e c o n e c h a n n e l s were z e r o e d . For the
amplified cones the baseline readings were t a k e n . Penetration
began a f t e r the zero l o a d i n f o r m a t i o n was recorded.
All t e s t s were p e r f o r m e d a t a p e n e t r a t i o n r a t e of 2 cm/s.
Rod changes occurred a t one meter i n t e r v a l s d u r i n g which time
pore pressure d i s s i p a t i o n s were recorded.
An important detail i n the t e s t p r o c e d u r e was to check the
zeroes for each channel after the c o m p l e t i o n o f a h o l e . To do
this, t h e e l e c t r o n i c s were l e f t on as the rods were withdrawn.

22
F i g u r e 3.1 - S A T U R A T I O N P R O C E D U R E
23
After removing the cone from t h e h o l e i t was h e l d vertically
j u s t above t h e ground s u r f a c e i n o r d e r t o r e c o r d t h e zero load
information. Zero shifts were occasionally encountered. The
t h e r m i s t o r data i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e s h i f t s were p r i m a r i l y due to
temperature changes. Corrections were made to the data t o
account f o r the temperature effects.
3.5 CPT D a t a Reduction
The method o f d a t a r e d u c t i o n was d e p e n d e n t upon t h e t y p e o f
data a c q u i s i t i o n system used. The d i g i t a l l y collected data was
transferred from the Hogentogler unit t o an IBM XT m i c r o c o m p u t e r
f o r m a n i p u l a t i o n a n d p l o t t i n g . The a n a l o g r e c o r d s were digitized
using a graphics t a b l e t a n d t h e U.B.C. m a i n f r a m e c o m p u t e r . I n
addition to correcting f o r temperature and pore pressure
effects, the data required manipulation to eliminate incorrect
data a t r o d breaks and s p u r i o u s data due to electrical power
spikes. For interpretation of t h e data v a r i o u s parameters also
needed to be calculated. A discussion of the different
corrections applied to the data and the various c a l c u l a t e d
parameters follows.
3.5.1 Unwanted D a t a
At each r o d break the analog data recorded the drop in
bearing load a s t h e l o a d i n g h e a d was l i f t e d o f f the rods. This
d a t a was s i m p l y i g n o r e d d u r i n g d i g i t i z i n g . Due t o power surges
and f o rother e l e c t r i c a l reasons the d i g i t a l system occasionally
recorded spurious d a t a . A t e x t e d i t o r was u s e d t o remove these
data from the record.

24
3.5.2 T e m p e r a t u r e C o r r e c t i o n s
B e c a u s e t h e c o n e s h a d been c a l i b r a t e d f o r the effects of
temperature, corrections to the data were e a s i l y made. The
temperature c a l i b r a t i o n s indicated that the load c e l l s underwent
a zero shift r a t h e r than a change i n t h e i r c a l i b r a t i o n . For the
most part, only bearing v a l u e s were a f f e c t e d . To c o r r e c t t h e
analog data, t h e d e p t h a x i s was s i m p l y shifted the appropriate
amount during d i g i t i z i n g . The d i g i t a l d a t a were c o r r e c t e d u s i n g
a program (CPTCORR) w h i c h a d j u s t e d t h e data f o r each channel
according to the load c e l l temperature c a l i b r a t i o n , the recorded
temperature, and t h e b a s e l i n e temperature.
Temperature corrections were quite substantial i n soft
soils a s i n d i c a t e d i n f i g u r e 3.2.
3.5.3 P o r e P r e s s u r e Corrections
B o t h b e a r i n g and f r i c t i o n measurements were affected by
pore pressure. As discussed p r e v i o u s l y , the bearing load cell
does not r e c o r d a l l of t h e pore p r e s s u r e a c t i n g on t h e t i p and
the friction sleeve readings c a n be i n e r r o r b e c a u s e o f end a r e a
effects.
Bearing
The configuration of t h e f r i c t i o n s l e e v e and b e a r i n g load
cell l e a d s t o an i n c o r r e c t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e s t r e s s applied
to t h e t i p due t o p o r e p r e s s u r e . A l t h o u g h the load c e l l records
t h e c o r r e c t f o r c e a c t i n g on i t , i t i s i n c o r r e c t l y assumed t o be
acting over an a r e a equal t o that of the t i p area (10 c m 2

o r 15
cm 2
d e p e n d i n g on t h e c o n e u s e d ) . An e x a m i n a t i o n of figure 2.1
F i g u r e 3.2 - TEMPERATURE AND PORE PRESSURE
EFFECTS ON CONE BEARING
26
indicates t h a t t h e e f f e c t i v e a r e a of t h e l o a d c e l l i s less than
t h a t of the t i p because of the p r e s e n c e of the f r i c t i o n sleeve.
The bearing load due to soil stress i s , however, correctly
interpreted. During c a l i b r a t i o n t h e c o n e i s s u b j e c t e d t o an a l l
round pressure to determine the ratio of t h e t o t a l a p p l i e d
p r e s s u r e t h a t i s r e c o r d e d by t h e t i p . T h i s r a t i o h a s been termed
'the net area r a t i o ' by C a m p a n e l l a and Robertson 1981. One needs
o n l y t o add to the recorded pressure t h a t f r a c t i o n which was not
r e c o r d e d . C a m p a n e l l a and Robertson term the corrected bearing,
Qt, and calculate i t a c c o r d i n g to the f o l l o w i n g e x p r e s s i o n :
Qt=Qc+(1-a)-U 3.1
where Qt = corrected bearing

Qc = recorded bearing
a = net area r a t i o
U = pore p r e s s u r e measured behind the t i p
To properly correct the bearing the pore p r e s s u r e must be
recorded behind the t i p . I f pore p r e s s u r e s are measured on the
f a c e t h e y must be c o n v e r t e d t o an e q u i v a l e n t b e h i n d the t i p pore
pressure before calculating Qt. S e c t i o n 5.4 d e s c r i b e s how one
m i g h t make t h i s conversion.
P o r e p r e s s u r e c o r r e c t i o n s were s i g n i f i c a n t in soft normally
c o n s o l i d a t e d s o i l s a s shown i n f i g u r e 3.2.
Friction
I f t h e two ends of the f r i c t i o n sleeve are of different
cross s e c t i o n a l areas the pore pressures w i l l a p p l y a net force
on t h e s l e e v e . D e p e n d i n g upon w h i c h end i s larger, the net force
may incorrectly be attributed to soil friction or i t may
subtract from the a c t u a l friction. I n t h e l a t t e r -case, negative
f r i c t i o n v a l u e s h a v e been o b s e r v e d . Even if the ends of the

27
friction s l e e v e a r e of e q u a l a r e a , a net f o r c e can r e s u l t i f the
pore pressure d i s t r i b u t i o n about the s l e e v e i s not u n i f o r m . The
distribution of pore p r e s s u r e s about the cone is discussed in
section 5.4.
3.5.4 Friction Ratio
Friction ratio (Rf) i s a c a l c u l a t e d parameter t h a t i s used
a s an i n d i c a t o r of s o i l behaviour type. I t is a dimensionless
r a t i o and i s d e f i n e d a s :
Rf=Fs«100% 3.2
Q
where F s sleeve f r i c t i o n
Q c o n e b e a r i n g Qc o r Qt
The exact location of where the friction a c t s i s unknown,
h o w e v e r , i t i s u s u a l l y assumed t o act at the center of the
sleeve, approximately 1Ocm behind t h e t i p . The H o g e n t o g l e r unit
assumes t h e f r i c t i o n / b e a r i n g o f f s e t t o be 1Ocm and a u t o m a t i c a l l y
makes t h i s a d j u s t m e n t when recording the data. Because the
digital data is recorded at discrete i n t e r v a l s the friction
r a t i o s a r e e a s i l y c a l c u l a t e d . The a n a l o g bearing, friction and
pore pressure records are d i g i t i z e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e p e a k s and
valleys in their respective records and, thus, the three
parameters are not necessarily digitized at corresponding
d e p t h s . The f r i c t i o n r a t i o s were c a l c u l a t e d a t t h e d e p t h s of the
offset friction values using linearly interpolated bearing
values.
3.5.5 D i f f e r e n t i a l Pore Pressure Ratio
Although pore pressure is an indication of s o i l type,

28
Campanella and R o b e r t s o n 1981 suggested that differential pore
pressure was more f u n d a m e n t a l . The differential pore p r e s s u r e i s
defined as:
AU=Ud-Ue 3.3
where Ud = t h e dynamic p o r e p r e s s u r e ( i . e . t h a t
measured d u r i n g a s o u n d i n g )
Ue = e q u i l i b r i u m pore p r e s s u r e
An equilibrium pore pressure profile can be determined by
conducting complete pore pressure dissipations at selected
depths. As a f i r s t approximation, a hydrostatic distribution is
often assumed. C a m p a n e l l a and R o b e r t s o n 1981 report that the
differential pore pressure ratio (AU/Q) i s a good indicator of
soil t y p e and p o s s i b l y stress history. The differential pore
pressure ratios calculated from t h e a n a l o g r e c o r d s were done so
at t h e d e p t h s o f t h e p o r e p r e s s u r e measurements using linearly
interpolated bearing values.
3.6 Field Vane Testing
The Geonor field vane t e s t s a t M c D o n a l d Farm (Richmond,
B.C.) were p e r f o r m e d by t h e National Research Council (NRC),
Division of Building Research under the supervision of t h e
a u t h o r . Vane t e s t s were c o n d u c t e d at 1 meter intervals with
remolded tests b e i n g performed at each t e s t depth a f t e r 20 turns
of the vane r o d s . The Nilcon vane t e s t s were p e r f o r m e d by the
author and a s s i s t a n t s . The majority of t h e t e s t s were performed
at 0.5 meter intervals at shallow depths ( <l0m ) and a t 1 meter
intervals at greater depths. Remolded tests were usually
performed at a l t e r n a t e t e s t s depths a f t e r 20 t u r n s of the vane
rods. All vane tests were conducted at a strain rate

29
approximately equal to the g e n e r a l l y accepted standard rate of
6° per minute. Because the s l i p couple was designed to return
the vane to the c o r r e c t p o s i t i o n after 1 meter of penetration,
special attention was paid to rotating the vane rods to regain
the 15° slip before advancing t h e v a n e . Two to three vane tests
were recorded on a single wax disk. To avoid confusion i t was
very important to document each test record on the disk
immediately following a test.
3.7 Reduction of Vane Data
All undrained strengths were determined using the standard
expression:
Su= 6T 3.4
7TTD 3
where Su = undrained shear strength

T = a p p l i e d torque
D = diameter of the vane
This expression applies only for a vane having a height to
diameter ratio of 2. There has been much discussion by
researchers (see chapter 4) as to the c o r r e c t interpretation of
the vane test, however, most engineers use the above expression.
Correlation charts based on the above expression were used
to determine the undrained strength from the peak readings on
the Geonor equipment.
An example of a N i l c o n test record i s shown in figure 3.3.
The radial distance from the outer zero line multiplied by a
calibration constant (K) g i v e s the a p p l i e d torque. The distances
Mf and Mp represent the rod friction and t h e peak applied
torque, respectively. The value (Mf-Mp)«K represents the torque

30
Su = (Mf - Mp) x K x a
where: Su - undrained strength

Mf - a s shown i n f i g u r e
Mp - a s shown i n f i g u r e
K - t o r q u e head s p r i n g c o n s t a n t
a - vane c o n s t a n t (6/(77rD )) 3
F i g u r e 3.3 - EXAMPLE OF A NILCON TEST RECORD

31
applied to the vane and is substituted for T in equation 3.4.
The d e t e r m i n a t i o n of u n d r a i n e d strength is sensitive to the
ability to accurately define the r o d f r i c t i o n . It is therefore
important t o use t h e largest possible vane to maximize the
output on t h e d i s k .
32
CHAPTER 4
A REVIEW OF THE VANE SHEAR TEST
4.1 Introduct ion
The field vane t e s t was introduced i n Sweden 60 years ago
(Bjerrum and F l o d i n 1960) and has been u s e d by e n g i n e e r s in i t s
present form since 1948 ( C a d l i n g and O d e n s t a d 1950). B e c a u s e of
its simplicity, repeatability and relatively low cost of
operation i t has f o u n d wide s p r e a d use i n p r a c t i c e . A g r e a t deal
of experience has been g a i n e d with its use in the design of
slopes, embankments, foundations and other engineering
structures. I t has o n l y been i n the last decade or two that
engineers have begun to c r i t i c a l l y study t h e vane s h e a r test;
Aas 1965, F l a a t e 1966, B j e r r u m 1972 and 1973, Arman e t a l . 1975,
Schmertmann 1975, D o n a l d e t a l . 1977, Menzies and Merrifield
1980, Wroth 1984 and o t h e r s . T h e s e s t u d i e s have l e d t o a b e t t e r
appreciation o f some of t h e factors that influence the vane
test, however, the a b i l i t y to incorporate a l l of t h e s e factors
and other unquantifiable soil characteristics i n t o the analysis
of the vane is still incomplete. In l i g h t of t h i s relatively
recent research i t i s felt that a brief review of the main
factors i n f l u e n c i n g vane r e s u l t s i s appropriate.
4.2 Evaluation of U n d r a i n e d Shear Strength
The traditional method of interpreting the vane test
assumes that failure occurs over the cylindrical surface
circumscribed by t h e vane w i t h the shear s t r e s s being uniformly

33
distributed on t h e t o p , bottom, and s i d e s of the cylinder. The
material i s assumed t o be isotropic; t h e peak shear stress being
equal to the undrained s t r e n g t h , Su. These b a s i c assumptions
lead t o e x p r e s s i o n 4.1, the d e r i v a t i o n of which is shown in
figure 4.1.
Su= 6M 4.1
TTD H(3+D/H)
2
where Su - u n d r a i n e d s h e a r s t r e n g t h
M - measured peak t o r q u e
D - d i a m e t e r of vane
H - h e i g h t of vane
(consistent units)
The most commonly used vane, and that which i s the recommended
standard according to ASTM (ASTM D2573), has a height to
diameter ratio (H/D) of 2. E x p r e s s i o n 4.1 thereby reduces to the
standard e x p r e s s i o n shown e a r l i e r as 3.4 and repeated here:
Su= 6M 3.4
7TTD 3
It is equation 3.4 that is implied in t h e method of vane
interpretation described by ASTM D2573 and in the manuals
a c c o m p a n y i n g vane equipment.
It has recently been showen by Donald e t a l . 1977 and
M e n z i e s and Merrifield 1980 that the distribution of shear
stress is likely t o be non-uniform, particulary on t h e ends of
the vane. Using a three dimensional linear elastic finite
element formulation, Donald et al. derived the stress
distribution shown i n f i g u r e 4.2 f o r a p l a n e midway between the
blades. Their results indicate that a uniform distribution of
shear stress i s a reasonable assumption on the vertical plane,
however, the shear stresses on the h o r i z o n t a l plane increase
from z e r o at the a x i s of rotation to a maximum at the blade

34
On End (Horizontal Plane) On V e r t i c a l Surface
dM =r Q rdrd0«r dM =r dA «R v v
fdM =T jVdrdSa a JdM = i;R / ; "dSdh 2 H S

v
o o
M = r R_2jr
a a
3
M =r R 2TTH
v v
2
r =Su
a at peak T =Su
V a t Peak
M = 7rD3
e S u
M = irD HSu
v
J
12 2
M=M +2M
v e
M=SuirD H(3+D)
2
6 H
Figure 4.1 - STANDARD A N A L Y S I S OF T H E V A N E SHEAR TEST

35
Figure 4.2 - SHEAR STRESS DISTRIBUTION ON A PLANE

MIDWAY BETWEEN VANE BLADES USING A
3D FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS
(adapted from Donald et a l . 1977)
a - vertical blade edge _ horizontal blade edge
Note: shear s t r e s s e s have been s c a l e d

to g i v e equal torque
Figure 4.3 - DISTRIBUTIONS OF EQUIVALENT SHEAR STRESS

ON A VERTICAL AND A HORIZONTAL BLADE EDGE
(adapted from Menzies and M e r r i f i e l d 1980)

36
edge. Menzies and Merrifield instrumented a vane w i t h c l o s e
fitting strain gauged c a n t i l e v e r s a l o n g the top edge of one
blade and along the vertical edge o f a n o t h e r . They u s e d this
vane t o p e r f o r m tests in a fine sand a n d i n an overconsolidated
clay. Their results, shown in figure 4.3, a p p e a r t o be s i m i l a r
to those of Donald et a l . i n d i c a t i n g that the d i s t r i b u t i o n along
the t o p of the blade i s indeed non-uniform. I t i s encouraging t o
see t h e a g r e e m e n t between t h e a n a l y t i c a l a n a l y s i s and t h e field
testing, however, one might expect the elastic analysis to
adequately predict the behaviour of an overconsolidated clay
and, thus, i t would be very interesting t o see r e s u l t s from
tests i n a soft normally consolidated clay.
As W r o t h 1984 points out, the results just presented
suggest that the shear stress distribution on t h e h o r i z o n t a l
p l a n e s c a n be a p p r o x i m a t e d by t h e e x p r e s s i o n :
n
•T =
R
where T - shear s t r e s s
T M - maximum s h e a r s t r e s s
R - r a d i u s o f vane
r - r a d i a l d i s t a n c e from a x i s of r o t a t i o n
Using t h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n e x p r e s s i o n 4.1 becomes
Su= 2M(3+n) 4.3

TTD H( (3+n)+D/H)
2
F o r t h e u s u a l c a s e where H/D=2, e q u a t i o n 4.3 r e d u c e s t o :
Su= 2(3+n)M 4.4

TTD (2) (3.5+n)
3
B a s e d on t h e r e s u l t s o f M e n z i e s and M e r r i f i e l d 1980, Wroth 1984
reported that n i s approximately 5. E x p r e s s i o n 4.4 t h e r e b y
yields:
Su= 16M 4.5

177TD 3
37
Comparing e q u a t i o n 4.5 to 3.4 there is an almost 10%
underestimation of the undrained shear strength using the
standard a n a l y s i s i f one a c c e p t s that n i s 5.
Several other a s s u m p t i o n s a r e made i n t h e a n a l y s i s of the
vane and a r e d i s c u s s e d i n the f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n s :
1) S t r e s s c o n d i t i o n s remain unchanged d u r i n g vane

i n s e r t ion
2) t h e s o i l a r o u n d t h e vane remains undisturbed
3) s h e a r i n g t a k e s p l a c e under u n d r a i n e d conditions
4) t h e s h e a r s t r e n g t h i s f u l l y m o b i l i z e d ( s i m u l t a n -
e o u s l y ) on a l l s u r f a c e s
5) t h e s o i l i s i s o t r o p i c with respect to strength
6) t h e r e i s no p r o g r e s s i v e f a i l u r e
4.3 E f f e c t s o f A n i s o t r o p y
The effect of anisotropy is one of t h e most commonly
studied aspects o f t h e vane t e s t . The r e s i s t a n c e t o s h e a r c a n be
separated into the contributions by each surface of the
cylinder. Denoting t h e shear strength on t h e h o r i z o n t a l surface
as Sh and t h a t on the vertical face as Sv equilibrium is
satisfied by t h e e q u a t i o n :
_2M_ = Sv + Sh-D 4.6

7rD H2
(3+n)H
Equation 4.6 indicates that f o r the standard vane (H/D=2) t h e
vertical face c o n t r i b u t e s 86% t o 94% o f t h e s h e a r resistance for
values of n=0 (uniform shear distribution) and n=5,
respectively. In other words, the vane test is strongly
d o m i n a t e d by t h e a v a i l a b l e s t r e n g t h on t h e v e r t i c a l plane.
By u s i n g vanes of v a r i o u s proportions several researchers
have studied the e f f e c t s of a n i s o t r o p y ; A a s 1965 and 1967, E i d e
1968, B l i g h t 1970, W i e s e l 1973, B j e r r u m 1973, R i c h a r d s o n et a l .

38
1975, Donald et a l . 1977, and Poplin et a l . 1978. At least two

torque measurements using vanes of different H/D ratios are
required at each test depth to solve for Sh and Sv in equation
4.6. Wiesel 1973 recommends using vanes of equal diameter but
different lengths to eliminate the problem of the peak strengths
not being simultaneously mobilized on the horizontal and
v e r t i c a l planes. Richardson et al. 1975 used diamond shaped
vanes (figure 4.4) to determine the anisotropy on planes at
various angles. The results from their tests are shown in figure
4.5 and they indicate that the greatest strengths are observed
on the vertical plane and the minimum strengths occur on the
horizontal planes. They reported that the strengths observed on
planes at various angles describe an e l l i p s e having Sv as the
radius on the major axis and Sh the radius on the minor axis.
Bjerrum 1973 plotted the r a t i o of Sh/Sv for several clays

against their plasticity index concluding that the ratio
decreases with increasing p l a s t i c i t y . In his state of the art
address Bjerrum 1973 presents a rationale as to why this
relationship should e x i s t . Richardson et a l . 1975 added their
data to Bjerrum's figure and t h i s i s shown in figure 4.6. The
trend of decreasing Sh/Sv ratio with increasing PI was also
observed, however, they suggest that Bjerrum's curve should be
adjusted.
Donald et a l . 1977 attempted to analyse the effect of
anisotropy by recording the full torque-rotation curves for
vanes of various H/D ratios but of equal diameters. From two
curves they inferred the side resistance (and thus the end
resistance) by multiplying the difference between the two curves
39
© ©
F i g u r e 4.4 - VARIOUS VANE CONFIGURATIONS USED
TO MEASURE STRENGTH ANISOTROPY
(adapted f r o m R i c h a r d s o n e t a l . 1975)
Vane sheer strength ( kg /cm)

0. OPS OIO 0J5 0 20 0_25
F i g u r e 4.5 - VANE SHEAR STRENGTHS ON PLANES

AT VARIOUS ANGLES
(adapted f r o m R i c h a r d s o n e t a l . 1975)
40
1 1 "I
Symbol Cloy Reference
1 Manglerud (Silty Quick) Bjerrum (1973)
2 Lierstranda ( — d o — ) do
.3 KjeU a s ( Quick ) — do .
Lean Drammen (Silty Sens) do —
Plastic Drammen do
Loan Drammen ( D«ep ) — do
Bangkok ( Eioe ) do—
Ska-Eck^(Avg.&xribJctt)Wiesel (1973).
Bangpli ( Silty- Sens ) Memon (1973)
CO ©
.C
tn Bjerrum'* Relationship
* 7
40 60 80 100
Plasticity Index (%)
Figure 4.6 - P L O T OF R A T I O OF U N D R A I N E D S H E A R STRENGTHS

IN HORIZONTAL AND V E R T I C A L DIRECTIONS VS
PLASTICITY INDEX
(adapted from Richardson et a l . 1975)

41
by the r a t i o of the length of the f i r s t vane to the difference
in the lengths of the two vanes. Their analysis indicated that
the ends reached their peak strengths before the sides which
would mean that the peak torque would be dominated by the
strength of the v e r t i c a l plane even more than considered
previously. However, their a b i l i t y to reasonably estimate the
Sh/Sv ratio met with limited success suggesting that this method
is unreliable.
Most methods used to estimate the Sh/Sv ratio assume a
uniform d i s t r i b u t i o n of stress on both planes. As shown e a r l i e r ,
this may be a reasonable assumption on the v e r t i c a l planes but
is probably not very accurate for the horizontal planes. This
assumption has a significant effect on the Sh/Sv r a t i o . By
solving expression 4.3 simultaneously for tests that have
recorded different torques T, and T , used vanes of different

2
diameters D, and D , and d i f f e r e n t vane heights H, and H

2 2 i t can
be shown that:
Sh = (3+n)0 4.7
Sv = 2T, - fD,| 0 4.8
where 0= / 2T 2 - 2T, \ H H,
2
^D, H, 2
TTD^H" j'H,D -H D
2 2 1
The value of n does not affect the estimation of Sv but i t does
have a s i g n i f i c a n t effect on Sh.
4.4 Rate Effects
It has been commonly found that the undrained shear
strength i s dependent upon the rate of shear; Aas 1965, Flaate
1966, Blight 1968, Bjerrum 1972, Berre and Bjerrum 1973, Wiesel
42
1973. T h i s effect is illustrated i n f i g u r e s 4.7 a n d 4.8. Figure
4.7 shows the variation in undrained strength with depth a t
different rates of vane r o t a t i o n whereas figure 4.8 shows the
correlation between shear stress level and t i m e to failure f o r
undrained triaxial compression tests established by Berre and
Bjerrum 1973 f o r Drammen c l a y . B j e r r u m 1972 s t a t e s that the rate
effect is associated with the cohesive component of shear and
that there a r e good r e a s o n s to assume that the rate effect
should increase with increasing p l a s t i c i t y of the c l a y . Tests by
Aas 1965, Flaate 1966, T o r s t e n s s o n 1977, a n d K i m u r a and S a i t o h
1983 i n d i c a t e that the shear strength can vary with the time
delay between vane i n s e r t i o n and t h e s t a r t of shearing. In t h e
results p r e s e n t e d by F l a a t e 1966 a t i m e d e l a y of only 15 m i n u t e s
led t o an i n c r e a s e i n the undrained strength by more than 10%.
This e f f e c t i s r e l a t e d t o the d i s s i p a t i o n of the pore pressures
generated during insertion of the vane resulting in the
consolidation of the surrounding clay. Blight 1968 p r o p o s e d a
method by w h i c h t h e p r e s e l e c t i o n of a t e s t d u r a t i o n c a n be made
to ensure that t h e vane t e s t in s i l t y soils i s c o n d u c t e d under
undrained conditions.
4.5 D i s t u r b a n c e Due t o Vane Insertion
It i s generally assumed that the s o i l remains undisturbed
during vane i n s e r t i o n , however, i t has been d o c u m e n t e d that high
pore pressures can be g e n e r a t e d and t h a t t h e i n s e r t i o n of the
blades can p a r t i a l l y destroy the n a t u r a l soil s t r u c t u r e . Both of
t h e s e e f f e c t s c a n r e s u l t i n a measured u n d r a i n e d shear strength
less than t h e a c t u a l insitu value.

43
SHEAR STRENGTH, kN/m 2
0 10 20 30
Figure 4.7 - V A R I A T I O N WITH D E P T H OF UNDRAINED SHEAR

S T R E N G T H A T D I F F E R E N T R A T E S OF R O T A T I O N
(adapted from Wiesel 1973)
Figure 4.8 - C O R R E L A T I O N BETWEEN SHEAR S T R E S S L E V E L AND

T I M E TO F A I L U R E FROM UNDRAINED TRIAXIAL
C O M P R E S S I O N T E S T S ON DRAMMEN CLAY
(adapted from Berre and Bjerrum 1973)

44
La Rochelle et a l . 1973 performed tests using four
different thicknesses of vane blades to evaluate the effect of
disturbance due to vane insertion. By plotting the measured Su
values against the vane perimeter ratio (ratio of 4 times the
blade thickness e to the vane perimeter - 4e/7rD) he was able to
extrapolate the results to estimate the shear strength
corresponding to a zero blade thickness. His results indicated
that the disturbance due to the insertion of the standard vane
reduced the apparent strength by about 16%. It is important to
note that La Rochelle was testing Champlain clay, a highly
sensitive and b r i t t l e glacial marine clay characterised by
chemical bonds between the clayey platelets. Clays from two
different sites were used for his study; one having an average
sensitvity of 50, the other having an average sensitivity of 20.
He presented the results for only the most sensitive site and
stated that the results from the other site were not as marked.
This suggests that the effects of vane insertion ' are probably
not as significant in less b r i t t l e and less sensitive soils.
Kimura and Saitoh 1983 instrumented a laboratory vane and a
t r i a x i a l c e l l with pore pressure transducers to investigate the
effects of vane insertion. They found that high pore pressures
in the order of 75% of the consolidation pressure were generated
during vane insertion. They also found that the pore pressure
changes during vane rotation were very small. Evidence of the
generation of high pore pressures and their subsequent
dissipation confirms that the time delay between vane insertion
and the start of rotation can be a controlling factor i-n the
measured undrained strength.

45
Flaate 1966 also indicated that an unknown degree of
disturbance can be caused by s o i l sticking to the vane blades
thereby increasing the area ratio of the vane (ratio of the
actual vane blade area to the projected area of the vane 7rD )
2
for tests at other depths.
4.6 Correction Factors
Several papers appear in the l i t e r a t u r e in which attempts

have been made to correlate the results of vane shear tests to
those obtained from laboratory tests. These laboratory tests
have included unconfined compression, consolidated undrained, K 0
consolidated undrained, direct shear and simple shear among

others. Rightly so, no single c o r r e l a t i o n has been established
between the vane and laboratory tests which would help in
'correcting' the vane strength. The discrepencies are not
surprising since the f a i l u r e mechanism of the vane test is
unlike that of any other test. More importantly, however, i s the
fact that there are many examples of vane tests producing non-
conservative stability c a l c u l a t i o n s . Back calculations from
actual f a i l u r e s should y i e l d the true i n s i t u undrained strength
and i t has been found that in many cases the vane strength
overpredicted the value at f a i l u r e . This problem has led to the
concept of applying correction factors to the vane strength.
Bjerrum 1972 reviewed 14 known failures (FS=1) and

discovered that the theoretical factors of safety differed from
1 and varied with the p l a s t i c i t y index of the clay. He therefore
introduced a correction factor, n, with which the vane strength
46
should be multiplied before it is introduced into a stability
analysis. Bjerrum's correction factor is illustrated in figure
4.9. He speculated that the d i s c r e p a n c y was d u e p r i m a r i l y to
rate effects and s o i l strength anisotropy. He d i d consider that
progressive failure may also be a c o n t r i b u t i n g factor but he
concluded that it is only a minor one.
Bjerrum 1973 a t t e m p t e d to separate the two effects and this
is shown in figure 4.10. He i n t r o d u c e d two factors M R and M 3
representing the factors for rate effects and anisotropy
respectively and s t a t e d that the shear strength to be u s e d in a
stabilty analysis should be:
Suf= SuvM M r a 4.9
where Suf - f i e l d Su
Suv - vane Su
MR - correction factor for rate effects
MA - correction factor for anisotropy
Bjerrum 1973 p o i n t s out that LL T (figure 4.10) represents a
correction factor for cases where the minimum factor of safety
will be reached in a matter of weeks or months after
construction. A different v a l u e may be required for shorter time
periods. He a l s o indicates that the value of M A will vary along
the expected failure surface depending on its inclination and
can be e s t i m a t e d from figure 4.11.
Azzouz et al. 1983 p r o p o s e d a new field vane correction
curve to be used in the d e s i g n of embankments to account for
their three d i m e n s i o n a l mode o f failure.
The S w e d i s h G e o t e c h n i c a l I n s t i t u t e (SGI) uses a reduction
factor n based on the liquid limit (W| ) o f the soil. The SGI
correction curve is compared to Bjerrum's curve (as plotted
against W|) in figure 4.12.

47
Figure 4.9 - CORRECTION F A C T O R FOR U N D R A I N E D SHEAR STRENGTH

DETERMINED FROM F I E L D V A N E T E S T S
(adapted from Bjerrum 1972)
Figure 4.10 - E M P I R I C A L L Y E S T A B L I S H E D CORRECTION FACTORS

FOR R E S U L T S OF V A N E SHEAR T E S T S

48
0.0-1—.—.—.—.—.—I—,—,—,—,—,—
90' 60* 30* 0* 30* 60* 90*
| PASSIVE " ACTIVE
m. OFCIAV Ip IH.) it f.
»«
t>»
Om
tOW PLASTIC 10 O.SO 0.0 3 JO' '1 0.30
MEDIUM PLASTIC S 0 a«s 0.15 1 5* 1.8 o.ts
HIGHLY PLASTIC 100 a so 0.30 10* 2.0 O.SO
Figure 4.11 - RATIO OF UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH TO VANE

SHEAR STRENGTH FOR THREE TYPES OF C L A Y
Figure 4.12 - VANE SHEAR TEST REDUCTION FACTOR A S A

FUNCTION OF THELIQUID L I M I T ACCORDING
TO T H E S W E D I S H G E O T E C H N I C A L INSTITUTE
(adapted from Helenelund 1977)

49
Helenelund 1977 presents several different methods f o r
reducing the undrained shear strength of c l a y .
Some e n g i n e e r s a r e o p p o s e d to the a p p l i c a t i o n of c o r r e c t i o n
factors t o vane s t r e n g t h s . Schmertmann 1975, a f t e r r e v i e w i n g the
different factors affecting the vane test, stated that any
engineer who d e s i r e d t o apply these state-of-the-art corrections
would probably be at a l o s s a s how t o u s e h i s p a r t i c u l a r Suv
d a t a and he t e r m e d t h i s the "current correction c r i s i s " . Kenney
and Folkes 1979 considered the problem of s o f t Canadian soils
and their u n i q u e b e h a v i o u r and c o n c l u d e d that i n t h e absence of
sufficient empirical information, i t would be f o o l hardy t o
accept t h e a p p r o a c h of e q u a t i o n 4.9.
This writer has o b s e r v e d that correction factors are often
applied without regard t o t h e p r o b l e m a t hand and how i t r e l a t e s
to the conditions for which the correction factors were
introduced. F o r example, i t does not seem correct to apply
Bjerrum's correction to field vane data when it i s t o be
compared t o CPT r e s u l t s . B j e r r u m ' s c o r r e c t i o n i s used t o reduce
the measured strength to account for the effects of the
relatively high r a t e of s t r a i n associated with t h e VST. However,
the rate of s t r a i n during cone p e n e t r a t i o n i s greater than that
in a vane t e s t . I f anything, the s t r e n g t h should be increased.
Although the effects of anisotropy should vary along the
expected failure plane, depending on i t s o r i e n t a t i o n , a s i n g l e
correction factor i s often applied t o vane s t r e n g t h data.

50
4.7 Summary
The use of the f i e l d vane test has a long history and

engineers have attained a great deal of experience in the
interpretation of VST r e s u l t s . Recent work has shown, however,
that the standard method of analysis is likely incorrect.
Laboratory studies and f i n i t e element analyses suggest that the
d i s t r i b u t i o n of shear stress i s not uniform, p a r t i c u l a r l y on the
ends of the vane. It has also been shown that the v e r t i c a l face
contributes up to 90% of the shear resistance. Using vanes of
various shapes and dimensions to study the e f f e c t s of strength
anisotropy, tests indicate a trend of decreasing Sh/Sv with
increasing plasticity. The calculation of this r a t i o , however,
is highly sensitive to the assumed shear stress d i s t r i b u t i o n on
the ends of the vane. F i e l d vane results are dependent upon the
rate of strain with greater strengths being measured at higher
rates of s t r a i n . Delays between vane insertion and the start of
shearing also influence VST results due to the consolidation of
the surrounding soil that takes place as the pore pressures
induced during vane insertion dissipate.
Because of these problems and due to our lack of complete

understanding of the VST, some consider the test to be nothing
more than a strength index test (Schmertmann 1975). Despite t h i s
feeling, the VST is s t i l l used extensively because it is a
quick, inexpense and highly repeatable method of determining
undrained shear strength.
51
CHAPTER 5
A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE CONE PENETRATION TEST
5.1 I n t r o d u c t ion
The cone p e n e t r a t i o n test is unequalled in its ability to
indentify soil layer boundaries and qualitatively evaluate
material t y p e s . Because of the complex behaviour of soils and
the complex changes in stress and s t r a i n around the cone t i p ,
correlations between CPT data and material parameters are
necessarily empirical. However, t h e highly repeatable nature of
the test has led to a g r e a t deal of confidence in the various
correlations.
Comprehensive r e v i e w s of the use and interpretation of cone
penetration tests have been presented by Schmertmann 1978,
R o b e r t s o n and Campanella 1984, Wroth 1984, Campanella et al.
1985 and Jamiolkowski et a l . 1985. Although Schmertmann's report
is primarily concerned with the interpretation and application
of m e c h a n i c a l cone d a t a , there are many good discussions that
are applicable to electronic cone data. These reviews have
discussed such t o p i c s as equipment design, test procedures,
interpretation techniques, applications to geotechnical design
and the factors affecting test results and their interpretation.
Hence, t h i s review w i l l present only some of the important
aspects of cone penetration testing that are relevant to the
estimation of undrained shear strength and cone testing in
clays.
52
5.2 Soil Classification
The current method of interpreting soil type from CPT is
based on the cone b e a r i n g (Qc) and the friction ratio (Rf).
Experience has shown t h a t high bearing values and low friction
ratios are a s s o c i a t e d with coarse grained noncohesive materials
and lower bearing values and increasing friction ratios are
associated with fine grained cohesive materials of increasing
plasticity. Douglas and Olsen 1981 describe their work i n
developing the classification chart illustrated in figure 5.1.
They c o n s i d e r that the chart essentially c o n s i s t s of three zones
of different soil type: cohesionless coarse grained soils,
ductile fine grained soils and mixed soils. Their chart
indicates the effect of v a r i o u s soil i n d i c e s on the penetrometer
response. From a practical point of v i e w , D o u g l a s and Olsen's
chart i s not a very easy one to use. Figure 5.2 shows a
simplified v e r s i o n used by U.B.C. f o r i n t e r p r e t i n g CPT data.
Douglas and Olsen correctly i n d i c a t e that cone penetration
tests reflect an aggragate behaviour of the soil and that a more
appropriate description for soil classification is soil
behaviour type rather than just soil type. The cone responds to
an interaction of the soil composition, fabric, local stress
conditions and soil behaviour within a zone of influence that
e x t e n d s ahead and behind the cone (discussed i n more detail in
section 5.3).
It should also be pointed out that the classification
charts developed to date are all based on uncorrected cone
bearing Qc. This is not a s e r i o u s problem in coarse grained
materials (except perhaps offshore), however, it may be of

53
FRICTION R A T 13 ['/.)
F i g u r e 5.1 CPT SOIL BEHAVIOUR TYPE CLASSIFICATION CHART
(adapted from Douglas and O l s e n 1981)
F i g u r e 5.2 UBC SIMPLIFIED CPT SOIL BEHAVIOUR TYPE

CLASSIFICATION CHART FOR THE ELECTRONIC
FRICTION CONE
54
significance when i n t e r p r e t i n g d a t a from soundings i n m a t e r i a l s
that tend to generate high excess pore pressures. These
materials generally have low cone b e a r i n g s and plot i n the lower
left portion of the c h a r t . Future c l a s s i f i c a t i o n charts should
be b a s e d on c o r r e c t e d bearing Qt.
S i n c e most c l a s s i f i c a t i o n c h a r t s have been developed from
soundings that are generally less t h a n 30m, interpretation of
data from deep s o u n d i n g s may also p r e s e n t a p r o b l e m . The effect
of high overburden pressure i s to increase t h e cone bearing,
consequently, a clay from a deep s o u n d i n g may be interpreted as
a s a n d . I t i s recommended that future classification charts use
normalized parameters.
S e v e r a l p r o p o s a l s have been made t o i n c l u d e pore pressure
data in the interpretation of s o i l types ( J o n e s e t a l . 1981,
Senneset e t a l . 1982, J o n e s and R u s t 1982 and Senneset and Janbu
1 9 8 4 ) . However, u n t i l a standard is developed for the pore
pressure element location(s) the a c c e p t a n c e of a classification
system based on p o r e p r e s s u r e i s u n l i k e l y .
5.3 Soil Profiling
An evaluation of m a t e r i a l t y p e and i t s stress history can
often be obtained by considering the e n t i r e bearing profile.
Some m a t e r i a l s a r e characterized by typical profile shapes.
Schmertmann 1978 p r e s e n t e d some s i m p l i f i e d examples of typical
profiles and indicated the l i k e l y and possible interpretations.
These examples are reproduced i n f i g u r e 5.3. Of special interest
for this report are the t y p i c a l shapes of b e a r i n g profiles in
clay deposits. Figure 5.3a indicates that the t i p r e s i s t a n c e in

55
F i g u r e 5.3 SIMPLIFIED EXAMPLES OF CONE BEARING

PROFILES SHOWING LIKELY AND POSSIBLE
INTERPRETATIONS FOR SOIL TYPES AND
AND CONDITIONS
(adapted from Schmertmann 1978)

56
a normally consolidated clay deposit typically increases

l i n e a r l y with depth ( i f groundwater conditions are hydrostatic).
An extrapolation of the p r o f i l e should extend through the origin
(this idea i s modified in section 6.4). Robertson and Campanella
1983 report that for most young clays where overconsolidation
has been caused by erosion or dessication, the cone bearing may
remain constant or may decrease with depth u n t i l the depth where
the deposit is normally consolidated. This can be seen in the
CPT p r o f i l e shown in figure 7.3. For aged clays where the OCR is
constant with depth, the t i p resistance may continue to stay
constant with depth.
It has also been found that the friction ratio for some
fine grained soils may decrease with increasing overburden
stress (Robertson and Campanella 1983). Evidence of this can be
seen in the various CPT p r o f i l e s presented in chapter 7. This
result may lead to d i f f i c u l t y when interpreting deep soundings.
Penetration tests performed in a multilayered media by
Treadwell 1976 indicated that a t r a n s i t i o n zone exists at layer
boundaries within which the t i p resistance is affected by the
soil properties of an adjacent layer. It was observed that the
t i p resistance i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y influenced by the material ahead
and behind the t i p . Treadwell considers that this transition
zone consists of upper and lower parts; the upper portion being
the depth over which the t i p resistance is influenced by the
next layer and the lower portion being the distance that the t i p
must advance beyond the layer interface for i t s resistance not
to be affected by the overlying material. Treadwell reports that
the upper portion of the t r a n s i t i o n zone t y p i c a l l y begins 3 to 4
57
cone diameters above the layer interface. The • lower portion

appears to depend on density, depth and the relative s t i f f n e s s
between the two layers. With regards to the lower portion of the
t r a n s i t i o n zone, he found that the t r a n s i t i o n was made quickly
(in 3 to 5 diameters) when penetrating from a dense layer to a
loose layer. However, when penetrating from a loose layer to a
dense layer the t r a n s i t i o n zone was significantly larger,
increasing in size with increasing depth. These effects are
illustrated in figure 5.4. It can be seen that at a shallow
depth the t i p resistance in the dense material i s almost equal
to that for a uniformly dense deposit, however, at greater depth
the cone bearing does not a t t a i n i t s f u l l resistance. On the
other hand, the t i p resistance in the loose layers i s equal to
or slightly greater than that in a uniformly loose material.
Similar work by Schmertmann 1978 shows that the influence of the
soil layer interface i s f e l t from a distance of 5 to 10 cone
diameters on either side of the layer boundary. Schmertmann
found that the greater the difference in strength and
compress.ibilty between the layer to be sensed and the adjacent
soil the thinner the layer that can be detected. He added that
the smaller the cone diameter the more sensitive the t i p i s to
local variations with depth.
These effects are of great importance when interpreting

strength parameters from CPT data. It must be recognized that
the cone bearing w i l l not reach its full resistance in thin
layers of sand. This can lead to d i f f i c u l t y when estimating such
parameters as r e l a t i v e density, modulus and f r i c t i o n angle. On
the other hand, much thinner layers of clay are required to
58
F i g u r e 5.4 CONE PENETROMETER BEARING RESPONSE

IN A LAYERED MEDIA
(adapted from Treadwell 1976)

59
record the true bearing. When estimating shear strength of
cohesive materials in s t r a t i f i e d deposits, i t i s best t o use the
minimum b e a r i n g values ( i . e . the v a l l e y s i n the bearing record)
rather t h a n an average line drawn t h r o u g h the profile since the
local v a r i a t i o n s in bearing are a reflection of the non-cohesive
materials.
These r e s u l t s r a i s e the question as to how thin a layer
cone penetration tests can detect. A recent report by Davies
1985 reveals that t h i s can be of i n t e r e s t i n the identification
of shear planes. Schmertmann's r e s u l t s s u g g e s t that a l a y e r must
be at least 10 to 20 cone d i a m e t e r s thick (36cm t o 72cm f o r a
10cm 2
cone) to attain full penetration resistance. Clearly,
penetration t e s t s can detect layers thinner than 36cm, however,
the interpretation of material parameters may be seriously
affected.
The ability of CPT to d e f i n e soil layers is illustrated in
figure 5.5. A portion of a CPT bearing profile is presented
alongside a continuously sampled b o r e h o l e log obtained at the
B.C. Hydro r a i l w a y crossing site (described in chapter 7). The
borehole log i s based solely on a visual classification of the
sampled a f t e r i t had been e x t r u d e d from the sample tube and
split in half lengthwise. The complete bearing/continuous sample
log i s included i n a p p e n d i x A, and reference will be made t o i t
in the f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n . The modified H o g e n t o g l e r cone (see
chapter 2) was used for the CPT and a GMF 67mm d i a m e t e r
continuous sampler was used for the borehole. The CPT was
performed 1m f r o m the borehole. During logging of the borehole
sample o n l y l a y e r s of thickness 1cm or greater were r e c o r d e d as

CONE BEARING
CONTINUOUS BOREHOLE LOG
Qt (bar)
14
5. 0
grey silty clay, occasional sand lense
fine sand
1 grey s iIty clay
layered silty clay and s i l t y fine sand
(layers approx. 1cm) ^ f i n e sand
)
(A grey s11ty clay
L
a
+>
a CTi
E
I
O
silty fine sand
D_
Ul
/ laminated silty fine sand and s i l t y clay
a grey silty c1 a y
f i ne sand
grey s 11ty c1 a y
silty fine sand
grey s i 1ty clay
7. 5
Figure 5 . 5 COMPARISON BETWEEN A CPT BEARING PROFILE

AND A CONTINUOUS SAMPLE LOG
61
individual layers. It i s quite clear from figure 5.5 that layers

of the order 10cm thick were easily detected by the t i p
resistance. There are some examples of thinner layers, possibly
as thin as 1cm thick being detected. This can be seen in the
layered s i l t y clay and s i l t y fine sand at 5.58m in figure 5.5.
The layers of sand were approximately 1cm thick, alternating
with layers of s i l t y clay. The increased bearing, however, may
be a result of the influence of several thin sand layers that
are r e l a t i v e l y close together. Had there been only a single sand
layer the response of the bearing may not of been as pronounced.
The detection of layers less than 10cm thick can also be seen at
depths of approximately 9.47m (figure A.1c - inclined sand
lense), 11.52m (figure A.1d - sandy clay) and 13.5m (figure A.1e
- s i l t y fine sand).
A pore pressure p r o f i l e should be of considerable help in

detecting different layers, unfortunately, the standard
Hogentogler porous element used for the CPT at t h i s site had a
very small average pore size (approximately* 20 microns) which
tended to . clog, resulting in a poor pore pressure response
(Hogentogler & Co. has since changed the material for their
porous elements, the new material having an average pore size of
120 microns).
The detection of thin layers i s complicated by the sampling
rate used during CPT. The p r o f i l e presented in figure 5.5 was
sampled at the U.B.C. standard rate of 2.5cm. Although thin
layers may be detected at t h i s rate, many can e a s i l y be missed.
The a b i l i t y to confidently identify thin layers also depends
upon the r e l a t i v e stiffness between the thin layer and the
62
surrounding material. For example, it may be difficult to
identify a thin clay layer within a silt deposit since a small
drop i n the cone bearing may be attributed to the natural
variability of the silt. On the other hand, a t h i n cemented sand
layer may easily be detected. Figure 5.6 illustrates the
relative proportions of the 10cm 2

cone, the likely transition
zone required to attain full penetration resistance and the
standard U.B.C. sampling rate. For comparison, the three
commonly u s e d s i z e s of field vanes a r e also shown.
Estimating the thickness of a layer (as opposed to
detecting a thin layer) is highly dependent upon the sampling
rate. I t can be shown t h a t the estimation of layer thickness for
layers thinner than the sampling rate i s highly speculative and
can often be i n e r r o r . Sampling at discrete intervals can also
lead t o subdued p e a k s i n the CPT profile. One s o l u t i o n might be
to d i g i t i z e a continuous record obtained from a strip chart
recorder. However, this a u t h o r ' s e x p e r i e n c e has shown t h a t the
resolution of the digitizing pad can be of the same o r d e r as the
minor v a r i a t i o n s of i n t e r e s t i n the CPT profile and that the
minor variations are often ignored during the digitizing
process.
The pore pressure profile can be of considerable use in
detecting stratigraphic details. Robertson 1985 indicates that a
fully saturated piezometer cone can usually respond to pore
pressure changes w i t h i n a t i p advancement of 5mm at the standard
r a t e or p e n e t r a t i o n of 2cm/sec. However, i f the thin layers are
discontinuous the drainage conditions may be such t h a t pore
pressure response i s i n h i b i t e d . The same s a m p l i n g rate problems

63
PROBABLE ZONE OF INFLUENCE

FOR CONE BEARING
10D
V
10cm 2
60° cone
55 x 110mm
65 x 130mm
80 x 160mm
10D
STANDARD NILCON AND GEONOR FIELD VANES
STANDARD UBC
SAMPLING RATE
(2.5cm)
F i g u r e 5.6 RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF THE 10cm* CONE

PENETROMETER, PROBABLE ZONE OF INFLUENCE
FOR CPT, UBC STANDARD CPT SAMPLING RATE
AND LARGE, MEDIUM AND SMALL FIELD VANES
64
occur for both the r e c o r d i n g o f dynamic p o r e p r e s s u r e s and t i p
resi stance.
5.4 Dynamic Pore P r e s s u r e Response
The recording of dynamic pore pressures during cone
penetration significantly improves t h e use, interpretation and
application of the electric cone. The measurement of pore
pressure aids in soil layer identification and c a n be u s e d to
establish equilibrium groundwater conditions, indicate stress
history, evaluate consolidation characteristics and e s t i m a t e
soil permeability and undrained shear strength. A comprehensive
review of t h e u s e s and interpretation o f dynamic pore p r e s s u r e s
and the f a c t o r s that affect their measurement is presented by
R o b e r t s o n and C a m p a n e l l a 1984 and C a m p a n e l l a e t a l . 1985.
The two main factors affecting t h e measurement o f p o r e
pressures are: saturation and p o r o u s element location. Complete
saturation of t h e p o r e p r e s s u r e m e a s u r i n g system is essential in
order to record high q u a l i t y and r e p e a t a b l e d a t a . The importance
of saturation has been discussed i n c h a p t e r 3 of t h i s report.
The pore p r e s s u r e response i s highly influenced by the porous
element location. A c o n c e p t u a l pore p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n around
the cone is illustrated in figure 5.7 and c l e a r l y shows t h e
dramatic effect that the element location has on the measured
response. Campanella et a l . 1985 explain that the t i p i s i n a
zone of maximum compression and shear, unlike the area
immediately behind the t i p which i s i n a zone of n o r m a l stress
relief. The large normal stresses dominate the pore pressure
r e s p o n s e on t h e f a c e and, thus, high p o s i t i v e pore p r e s s u r e s are

65
no N.C.
CLAY
I
HEAVILY .
o.c I
CLAY ! LIGHTLY
I O.C.
SENSITIVE HEAVILY
CLAY
i
«
^-O.C.
CLAY
10 15
/\N.C. u/u„
CLAY
COMPACT SILT
(dilative)
j.—LOOSE SILT
V» (compressible)
DENSE
FINE ,
SILT SANO I
—I—L_4I
10 15
F i g u r e 5.7 CONCEPTUAL PORE PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION IN

SATURATED SOIL DURING CPT BASED ON FIELD
MEASUREMENTS
( a f t e r Campanella e t a l . 1985)
66
generally recorded. Large shear stresses dominate the response

behind the t i p and the recorded pore pressures more closely
r e f l e c t the volume change c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the s o i l .
The fact that tremendously different pore pressures are

recorded on the face than behind the t i p i s of significance when
correcting the bearing for pore pressure e f f e c t s . Pore pressures
must be recorded behind the t i p to properly correct the bearing.
If pore pressures are recorded at other locations then an
estimate of the r a t i o of behind the t i p to on the face pore
pressure must be made before adjusting the bearing data. A
similar but much less dramatic situation may occur when
correcting f r i c t i o n data. Figure 5.7 indicates that the pore
pressure at the top of the f r i c t i o n sleeve i s different from
that at the bottom. This can lead to an incorrect friction
measurement as the imbalance of pore pressures produces a net
force on the f r i c t i o n sleeve.
The excess pore pressure i s commonly presented as a

normalized value and has been found to be a rough indicator of
stress history. Robertson and Campanella 1984 list four
AU
different definitions and suggest that Q ffo be adopted as a
standard. This particular definition has been termed Bq by
Senneset et a l . 1982.
Work by G i l l e s p i e 1981 showed that predicted pore pressure
response using cavity expansion theory compared well with
measured values. Pore pressures generated on the face were best
predicted using spherical cavity expansion whereas pore
pressures generated behind the t i p and up the sleeve were best
predicted using c y l i n d r i c a l cavity expansion.

67
CHAPTER 6
METHODS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN CPT AND Su
6.1 Introduct ion
This chapter discusses the d i f f e r e n t methods t h a t have been
proposed for correlating CPT results with undrained shear
strength. This t o p i c h a s been s t u d i e d by s e v e r a l r e s e a r c h e r s i n
the past, however, most have focussed only on t h e cone bearing
as a means of estimating Su. These have been termed t h e
"traditional methods" by t h i s a u t h o r and t h e y usually employ a
cone factor Nk o r Nc whose v a l u e s have e x h i b i t e d a t r e m e n d o u s
range b u t a r e o f t e n relatively well defined at individual sites.
Various theoretical cone factors have also been proposed by
different researchers. Recently proposed methods make use o f
excess pore p r e s s u r e s measured d u r i n g penetration. Senneset et
al. 1982 p r o p o s e d the use of ' e f f e c t i v e ' bearing for estimating
Su. A semi-empirical a p p r o a c h b a s e d on c a v i t y expansion theory
has been adopted by Campanella e t a l . 1985 and v a r i o u s pore
pressure p a r a m e t e r s and c o n e f a c t o r s have been u s e d by Lunne et
al. 1985 in an attempt to find a satisfactory correlation
technique. Several researchers have a l s o proposed the use of
friction measurements t o e s t i m a t e Su.
This chapter concludes with a presentation o f some p r o p o s e d
methods of evaluating the s t r e s s h i s t o r y of a d e p o s i t from CPT
and a method for estimating sensitivity from friction ratios.

68
6.2 T r a d i t i o n a l Methods of C o r r e l a t i o n
The undrained shear s t r e n g t h of c l a y has t r a d i t o n a l l y been
evaluated from cone b e a r i n g d a t a using a bearing capacity type
equation of the form:
Qc = Su Nk + cr 6.1
where Qc i s t h e cone b e a r i n g
Nk i s the cone f a c t o r
cr i s a measure o f i n s i t u stress
Various forms o f i n s i t u stress have been used; total vertical
stress, total horizontal stress and octahedral s t r e s s . The
insitu stress i s sometimes ignored, in which case the cone
factor is u s u a l l y d e f i n e d as Nc. A wide r a n g e o f v a l u e s f o r Nk
and Nc have been r e p o r t e d by Brand et a l . 1974, Schmertmann
1975, Lunne et a l . 1976 Schmertmann 1978, B a l i g h e t a l . 1979,
Lunne and K l e v i n 1981 and J a m i o l k o w s k i e t a l . 1982. I t was noted
in chapter 1 that Su is not a unique parameter as i t is
dependent on t h e t y p e of test u s e d . T h i s may p a r t l y e x p l a i n the
wide range i n r e p o r t e d cone factors s i n c e many different types
of t e s t s have been u s e d to e s t a b l i s h a r e f e r e n c e Su.
Table 6.1 summarizes Nc cone factors f o r v a r i o u s c l a y s from
around the world and illustrates t h e wide r a n g e of r e p o r t e d
values. B a l i g h e t a l . 1979 p r e s e n t e d a plot o f Nk a g a i n s t depth
for nine d i f f e r e n t clays (reproduced i n figure 6.1), the v a l u e s
for Nk r a n g i n g from 5 t o 28. The l o w e s t and h i g h e s t v a l u e s o f Nk
were recorded for materials of high plasticity and high
sensitivity (St>40), respectively. The c u r v e s which e x h i b i t e d a
decreasing cone factor with depth correspond to deposits where
sensitivity decreased with depth. Table 6.2 p r e s e n t s a summary
of m a t e r i a l p r o p e r t i e s and cone factors for some Scandanavian

Clay Properties
Reference Clay Avg Cone
Factor 1
W% W1% PI% Su. kPa Sens i 1 1 v 1 t y
Thomas ( 19G5) London Clay 18 20-30 80-85 50 49-285* -

Ward e t a l . ( 1965) London Clay 15.5 22-26 60-7 1 36-43 206-510* -
Melgh & C o r b e t t (1969) Arabian Gulf Clay 16 30-47 38-62 20-35 4.9-39" 5
Ladanyl 6 Eden (1969) Leda C l a y (Gloucester) 7.5 50-57 50 23 25" 30 - 50
Ladanyf & Eden (1969) Leda C l a y (Ottawa) 5.5 7.2-84 40 20 56" 10 - 35
Pham ( 1972) Bangkok Clay (City) 16 60-70 70-80 40-50 12.8-28.5" 5 - 7
Anagnostopou1os (1974) Patras Clay 17 30 35 18 29.4-68.7* 1. 5 - 3
Brand e t a l . ( 1974) Bangkok Clay (Bangpli) 19 60-130 60-130 60-120 12.8-37.3" 5 - 7
Brand e t a l . ( 1974) W e a t h e r e d Bangkok Clay 14 100-130 100-135 60-80 12.8-19.6" 6 - 8

(Bangpli )
Author Richmond C l a y e y Silt 11.9 23-40 25-42 3-20 45-94" 2 - 7
Author Langley Clay 14.4 27-53 32-59 16-34 19-80" 2 - 19
Author Haney Clay 14.2 40-45 44 18 33-96" 3 - 13
1 - cone f a c t o r c a l c u l a t e d from Qc/Su

* - unconflned compression
" - f i e l d vane
Table 6.1 - SUMMARY OF GONE F A C T O R S (Nc) DETERMINED

FOR D I F F E R E N T C L A Y DEPOSITS
(revised from Brand et a l . 1974)

Figure 6.1 - E M P I R I C A L CONE F A C T O R Nk v s D E P T H
FOR D I F F E R E N T C L A Y D E P O S I T S
(adapted from Baligh et al. 1979)

71
Tart Ospth Rang* Plasticity Con* Factor

titi (m) T (t7m )
f
2
y%> Sensitivity "k

Sundland 4-9 2-2.5 22-28 10-15 17-18
Drammen 9-14 2-4.5 -10 ~2 20
14-22 2.5-4 ~10 3-4 15.5
Dansvigj gats 5-10 2-3 20-25 6-9 14-15
Drammen 11-30 24 10-11 2-4 14-16
80rresens gats 5.5-12 3-2 -15 15-25 16-20
Drammen 12-30 1.3-2.5 ~5 50-160 20-24
Ons«ly 1-9 1.2-1.4 20-30 5-10 16-18
10-20 1.8-4.8 35-40 4-7 13-18
Ska-Edeby 1-4 0.6-1.2 45-80 6-10 8-9
4-12 0.8-2.0 30-50 10-15 10-12
GfHeborg 3-10 1.5-2.5 50-60 15-24 13.5-14.5
10-21 2.5-4.2 50-55 13-19 13-14
21-30 4.5-5.5 ~40 13-17 13-14
Table 6.2 - SUMMARY O F C O N E F A C T O R S ( N k ) FOR

SCANDANAVIAN CLAYS
(adapted from Lunne et a l . 1976)
>50
V
Range in Sensitivity
20 3-4
z
O
10-25 1 0
o
1 5
"
o ~2 * A
Cn 5-10
Z 15 2-4 •
rr 4-7 15-24
O 6-9 A • +
i- + 13-19
u 13-17
< LEGEND:
O SUNDLAND x
z 10 0 DANVIKS GT 10-15
o
u V E. B0RRESENSGT x
a ONS0Y 6-10
+ G0TEBORG
X SKA-EOEBY
10 20 30 40 50 60
PLASTICITY, I %
Figure 6.2 - SUMMARY O F C O N E F A C T O R S ( N k ) FOR

SCANDANAVIAN CLAYS

72
clays. These cone factors were plotted against p l a s t i c i t y index
by Lunne et a l . 1976 as shown in figure 6.2. There appears to be
a general trend of decreasing cone factor with increasing PI.
For a given PI there is also a trend of increasing Nk with
increasing sensitivity.
Baligh et a l . 1979 presented a review of existing theories
of cone penetration in clays and reported that there are
basically three different approaches: plane-strain s l i p - l i n e
solution, expansion of cavities, or steady penetration analysis.
The p l a i n - s t r a i n s l i p - l i n e approach treats cone penetration as a
bearing capacity problem where the material is in a state of
incipient failure. Various shape and depth factors have been
proposed to determine an appropriate cone factor. The second
method is based on the expansion of c y l i n d r i c a l or spherical
cavities; theories which have been described by Gibson and
Anderson 1961, Vesic 1972 and Ladanyi 1972. The steady
penetration approach is a combination of the f i r s t two methods.
A summary of the different cone penetration theories is
presented in table 6.3.
Using the steady penetration approach, Baligh et a l . 1975
demonstrated the effect of r i g i d i t y index G/Su (a parameter
central to cavity expansion theory) and cone angle on the
penetration resistance of clays. This effect is shown in figure
6.3 and it clearly illustrates that Nk increases with increasing
s o i l stiffness. An estimate of the r i g i d i t y index can be made
from the curves presented by Ladd et a l . 1977 (figure 6.4).
Note, however, that Ladd's curves are in terms of Eu and not Gu
(G = E/2(1+f)). Low values of G/Su correspond to highly plastic

Type o f q - Nka + p Nk f o r 2 6 - 6 0 ' p
o
Approach R e f e r e n c e
Expresfllnn f o r Nk C/s - 100 C/s - 400
u u
Tenaghl (1943) (nltape f a c t o r ) ( d e p t h f a c t o r ) x 0

Heverhof (1951) 5.14 9.25 lane vo
Bearing Capacity
H l t c h e l l and (shaoe f a c t o r ) ( d e p t h f a c t o r ) x
Dorgunoglu (1973) (2.57 + 2 S + c o t 6) 9.63 anme a
vo
Meyerhof (1961) (1.09 t o 1.15) x

(6.28 + 2 4 + c o t <5) 10.2 • ame a
vo
Blehop e t a l 1 . 3 3 ( 1 + t n C/s ) . 7.47 9.30 unspecified

u
(1945)
a
o
Clbaon (1950) 1.33(1 + l n c / e )+ cot 6 9.21 11.03 a
tt '
c u vo
N
<x
K
U
Vealc (1975,1977) 1 . 3 3 ( 1 + I n C / s ) + 2.57 10.04 11.87
u u
°oct
-rt
>
A l Awkatl (1975) (correction factor) x

(1 + I n C / a ) 10.65 13.28
u
°oct
i
11.02
• Ballgh (1975) 1 . 2 ( 5 . 7 1 + 3.33 i + c o t 6 ) + 11.02
+ 6.99 "ho
•a M (1 * I n C / » ) u
+ 5.61
a •> d -16.63 -18.01
« c o
u U H
U> P. U
Table 6.3 - SUMMARY OF E X I S T I N G THEORIES

OF CONE PENETRATION I N CLAYS
(adapted from B a l i g h et a l . 1979)

Figure 6.3 - E F F E C T OF R I G I D I T Y I N D E X AND CONE A N G L E
ON T H E P E N E T R A T I O N R E S I S T A N C E OF C L A Y
(adapted from Baligh et a l . 1975)

75
2000 No. DESCRIPTION cu/p'

Port smouf h
CL C l a y PI»15 •20
if-IO LL«35
1000 Boston c L Cloy
LL«4I P l * 2 2 •20
800
Bangkok CH •27
Cloy L L ' 6 5 P I * 4 !
600 4 Maine CH OH 2 9
Clay LL«65PI*38
400 _ AGS CH Clay
0
LL»7I P 1 - 4 0 •26
At ehaf alayo
6 CH Clay •24
& 200
L L * 9 5 Pl = 75
_ Taylor River
P e a t w =50 0 %
100
CKo U simple shear
80
tests
60
all soils normally
40 c ons oil d ate d
20
0-2 04 0-6 0-8
APPLIED SHEAR STRESS RATIO T / c h u
Figure 6.4 - S E L E C T I O N OF S O I L STIFFNESS
(adapted from Ladd et a l . 1977 )

76
materials. This d e p e n d e n c e on s o i l s t i f f n e s s explains the trend
of decreasing Nk w i t h increasing PI o b s e r v e d in the data from
Lunne e t a l . 1976 ( f i g u r e 6 . 2 ) .
6.3 Recently P r o p o s e d Methods o f C o r r e l a t i o n
The data presented i n the p r e v i o u s section clearly indicate
that correlations between cone bearing and Su are heavily
influenced by s u c h soil c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as soil stiffness and
sensitivity. In addition, the correlations are a f f e c t e d by
stress history, strength anisotropy and s e v e r a l factors relating
t o cone d e s i g n d e t a i l s . Many o f t h e s e f a c t o r s have not or can
not be i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e t r a d i t i o n a l methods o f c o r r e l a t i o n
and are the l i k e l y reasons f o r t h e tremendous r a n g e in reported
cone factors. The dependence on t h e s e factors indicates that
t h e r e c a n n o t be a u n i q u e cone factor that i s applicable to a l l
clays.
These properties are difficult to quantify and equally
difficult to incorporate into analyses. Stress history is
generally expressed as o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o but such factors
as aging, effects of secondary compression and creep are
necessarily omitted. Soil s t i f f n e s s i s usually e x p r e s s e d as a
rigidity i n d e x , G/Su. S e n s i t i v i t y i s commonly e x p r e s s e d i n terms
of t h e vane s e n s i t i v i t y and r e f l e c t s t h e s t r u c t u r e and f a b r i c o f
the cohesive material.
As has been m e n t i o n e d several times throughout this report,
the consequences of certain cone design details must be
considered when analyzing CPT d a t a . I t i s now becoming widely
accepted that bearing v a l u e s must be c o r r e c t e d f o r pore pressure

77
effects. However, results presented in chapter 5 indicate that
the recording of pore pressures at locations other than the t i p
can create problems in making the proper corrections. A great
deal of attention must also be paid to details in test
procedures, in particular, the saturation procedure and the
checking of zeroes before and after penetration. Zero offsets
can often be caused by temperature i n s t a b i l i t y . Because bearing
values are typically low in normally consolidated clays,
numerically small errors in the bearing may actually be quite
substantial (see figure 3.2). Another problem is that the t i p
load c e l l is usually working in the range of 2% to 5% of
capacity and, therefore, the resolution of the data recording
system may be inadequate. On the other hand, the pore pressure
transducer is generally working near capacity and may be more
reliable and consistent than the bearing values.
For these reasons, recently proposed correlation methods
make significant use of pore pressure data allowing correlations
to be based on semi-empirical methods such as cavity expansion
theory. These new methods make an attempt to incorporate stress
history, soil stiffness and sensitivity into their analyses.
6.3.1 Using Effective Bearing to Estimate Su
Senneset et a l . 1982 recommended the use of effective
bearing (Qc') for estimating Su. Effective bearing is defined as
Qc'=Qc - Ut 6.2
78
and Su is to be determined using an effective cone factor Nc'
and the expression
Su = Qc_l 6.3
Nc '
They suggested that an average value of Nc'=9 (±3) should be
used. It has been noted earlier that the dynamic pore pressure
can often be greater than the recorded bearing which is
impossible since the t i p is a total stress element. Cone bearing
must be corrected for pore pressure effects in order to use this
method. The cone factor Nc 1

was later defined as Nke by Lunne et
a l . 1985 and is discussed in greater detail in section 6.3.3.
6.3.2 The Use of E x c e s s Pore Pressures and Cavity

Expansion Theory
An estimate of undrained shear strength can be made from
excess pore pressure data using the charts shown in figure 6.5.
These charts were presented by Campanella et a l . 1985 and were
based on expressions developed by Massarch and Broms 1981.
In a study of pile driving in clay slopes Massarch and
Broms presented expressions for the d i s t r i b u t i o n of pore
pressures within the plastic zone adjacent to a spherical or
cylindrical cavity:
spherical MJ = _4ln/G \ + 2Af - 0.667 6.4

Su 3 \Su/
cylindrical _AU = A l n
( J L J +
1.73Af - 0.577 6.5
Su 3 \Su/
These equations incorporate the effects of overconsolidation and
sensitivity by using Skempton's pore pressure parameter, Af. The
effect of soil stiffness is also included by using the rigidity
index G/Su.
79
Saturated Clays A p p r o x i m a t e Af Range
Very s e n s i t i v e t o quick 1.5 - 3.0

Normally consolidated 0.7 - 1.3
Lightly overconsolidated 0.3 - 0.7
Highly overconsolidated -0.5 - 0
Figure 6.5 - PROPOSED METHOD FOR OBTAINING Su FROM

EXCESS PORE PRESSURE MEASURED DURING CPT
( a f t e r C a m p a n e l l a e t a l . 1985)
80
Because measured pore pressures are also dependent on the
porous element location, two charts are shown in figure 6.5
reflecting the different porous element locations and the
corresponding equation. The face of the cone i s often considered
to be in a zone of spherical cavity expansion whereas the region
behind the t i p i s thought to be in a zone of c y l i n d r i c a l cavity
expansion. Typical values for Af are given below the charts.
A review of the two charts reveals that they describe,
q u a l i t a t i v e l y , the expected pore pressure response. The diagonal
lines correspond to different values of Af. Although Af is a
parameter associated with triaxial testing, i t s value should
adequately r e f l e c t the volume change characteristics of the s o i l
for the purposes of correlation. Sensitive soils tend to
generate high pore pressures when sheared and, therefore, have a
corresponding high Af value. On the other hand, heavily
overconsolidated materials are often dilative and this is
reflected by a negative Af value. Given a value for s o i l
s t i f f n e s s , the charts indicate that AU/Su increases as Af
increases, as would be expected. It has been mentioned several
times that pore pressure response i s also dependent on the soil
s t i f f n e s s , with s t i f f e r s o i l s generating greater pore pressures.
This expected behaviour i s also predicted in figure 6.5.
6.3.3 Use of Various Pore Pressure Parameters

and Cone Factors
A different approach was adopted by Lunne et a l . 1985 for
c o r r e l a t i n g pore pressure data with undrained shear strength.

Alt
Using Senneset's pore pressure parameter Bq ( Q Q-,,) they found
81
that i t had a rough correlation with overconsolidation ratio.
Other dimensionless parameters were defined and attempts were
made to correlate these parameters with Bq as a means of
i s o l a t i n g stress history.
It was stated in section 5.4 that many researchers have
observed that Bq i s a rough indicator of stress history. With
this in mind, Lunne et a l . 1985 plotted values of Bq versus OCR
for different North Sea clays (figure 6.6) and concluded that Bq
generally decreased with increasing OCR. This conclusion appears

to be v a l i d ; however, the data define a relatively wide band.
This i s not surprising since Bq should also be affected by s o i l
s t i f f n e s s and s e n s i t i v i t y . For a given value of s e n s i t i v i t y the
upper part of the band should represent materials of high
s t i f f n e s s (low PI) and the lower part of the band should
represent less s t i f f materials (high PI).
Three dimensionless parameters were defined; Nkt, NAU and
Nke:
Nkt = Qt - cr,o 6.6

— s n —
N AU = _AU_ 6.7
Su
Nke = Qt - Ut 6.8
Su
Lunne et a l . plotted these dimensionless parameters against Bq
in an attempt to isolate stress history. Figure 6.7 shows Nkt
(the t r a d i t i o n a l cone factor) plotted against Bq. The high
degree of scatter might be expected since i t has been shown that
Nkt varies with s e n s i t i v i t y and s t i f f n e s s in addition to OCR.
Plotting N AU against Bq (figure 6.8) provides a more promising

correlation as data appear to define a narrow band. Lunne et a l .
82
1.0
3 b
< I
ci" 0.8
er
CD
tr
Ld
r-
v..
U 0.6
2
<
<
e v. 1
LU
CC 0.4
z>
CO
CO
u
rr
CL 0.2 if
Ld J
max
i i i
or
o
CL A u , u
me,-«o
:i_J 1 I 1_
I 2 4 6 8 10
OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO , OCR
Figure 6.6 - PORE P R E S S U R E P A R A M E T E R B q vs

OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO
(adapted from Lunne et al. 1985)

83
Figure 6.7 - CONE F A C T O R N k t vs PORE PRESSURE

PARAMETER B q
(adapted from Lunne et al. 1985)

84
12 i-
3
«3
rr LOW PI S<
o
H
u 8
if
LU
rr
/ / 'vo
to ' / HIGH PI
cn
LU iii Umax
rr
o_ V
rr
o J I
o.
0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
Au
PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER. B = q
Figure 6.8 - PORE P R E S S U R E P A R A M E T E R NAU VS PORE

P R E S S U R E PARAMETER B q

85
recommended using an average line to estimate Su with upper and
lower bounds being defined by the outer edges of the band. This
author suggests that the band acutally represents varying
degrees of soil stiffness with the upper and lower line
corresponding to materials of low and high PI respectively. The
most promising correlation is shown in figure 6.9 where an
'effective' cone factor Nke is plotted against Bq.
This author cautions that the calculation of Nke can
present some problems. Lunne et a l . stress that corrected
bearing must be used when calculating Nke. In addition, they
correctly indicate that pore pressures measured on the face
(FPP) must be converted to an equivalent behind the t i p pore
pressure (BTPP). Therein lies a problem. Lunne et a l . adopted a
single conversion value (k) of 0.8 for converting FPP to BTPP
(i.e. BTPP=0.8»FPP) for penetration tests in different clay
types. Figure 5.7 clearly shows that a unique value of k does
not exist. Aside from the d i f f i c u l t i e s of correcting for pore
pressure effects, the problems of low bearing values previously
discussed may exist. However, Lunne et a l . l i k e l y did not
experience this problem because of the great depth of water
under which the tests were made. Because of these problems,
tests on land may result in a greater degree of scatter than was
found for the offshore tests. Despite the problems, correlations
between Nke and N AU d o show considerable promise.
6.4 Using Friction Sleeve Measurements to Estimate Su
Some researchers have proposed the use of f r i c t i o n sleeve
measurements to estimate undrained shear strength. Begeman 1965

86
16 r -
e
E
3
12
UJ
A
of 8
2*
o
r-
O
<
LL.
LU 4 ^2*
O
U \
\
0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
Au
PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER,B = q
Figure 6.9 - CONE FACTOR Nk v s PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER Bq

87
suggested that the f r i c t i o n measurement, Fs, should be
approximately equal to Su. Drnevich et a l . 1974 presented some
results from tests using a mechanical f r i c t i o n cone and
consolidated undrained t r i a x i a l tests. They concluded that the
friction measurements were s l i g h t l y greater than the undrained
shear strength. They cited work by Cleveland 1971 and Wesley
1967 that showed similar results, indicating that FS=(1.19-
1.28)«Su. Schmertmann 1978 considered Fs to be an average
between peak strength and remolded strength. Robertson and
Campanella 1984 suggested that the f r i c t i o n measurement is equal
to the remolded strength.
It seems unlikely that the f r i c t i o n measurement should be
greater than the undrained shear strength of the s o i l .
Considering the extent of remolding that must take place during
penetration, this author suggests that Fs should reflect a value
close to the remolded strength of the s o i l , particulary in
sensitive materials. It is important to note that a l l of the
above conclusions, except for that by Robertson and Campanella,
were based on experience with the mechanical f r i c t i o n cone.
Friction measurements made with this type of cone are usually
relatively high because of the end bearing on the f r i c t i o n
sleeve. The f r i c t i o n measurements are, therefore, not a true
reflection of the stress on the f r i c t i o n sleeve. This problem
does not occur with the electric f r i c t i o n cone; hence, one must
be cautious when using existing correlations between Fs and Su.
6.5 Stress History
An estimation of the extent of overconsolidation of a clay

88
deposit c a n be made u s i n g CPT r e s u l t s . Schmertmann 1978 proposed
two methods for estimating the overconsolidation r a t i o and
maximum p a s t pressure of c l a y . The f i r s t method made use of a
correlation between normalized undrained shear strength ratio
and overconsolidation ratio from laboratory tests. The second
method employed a g r a p h i c a l t e c h n i q u e to estimate OCR.
Using data from Ladd and Foott 1974 and K o u t s o f t a s and
Fischer 1976, Schmertmann p r e s e n t e d a correlation of the ratio
of the current normalized undrained shear strength (normalized
with effective overburden pressure; Su/P') to the normalized
undrained shear strength f o r the normally consolidated material,
(Su/P')/(Su/P')nc, with overconsolidation ratio (on a
logarithmic scale). This correlation is illustrated in figure
6.10. Ladd e t a l . 1977 s u g g e s t e d that the curve in figure 6.10
can be r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e f o l l o w i n g e x p r e s s i o n :
(Su / P') = OCR m

6.9
(Su / P*)nc
w i t h m=0.8. Wroth 1984 p r e s e n t e d a theoretical argument b a s e d on
Critical S t a t e S o i l M e c h a n i c s t h e o r y a s t o why t h i s correlation
should e x i s t . He i n d i c a t e d that the theory relates the exponent,
m, with physical properties of c l a y ; in particular, m i s the
volumetric strain ratio.
Based on t h e c u r v e in figure 6.10 a n d t h e undrained shear
s t r e n g t h determined from t h e cone b e a r i n g , Schmertmann suggested
using an a v e r a g e normally c o n s o l i d a t e d Su/P' o f 0.33 t o e s t i m a t e
OCR. Robertson and Campanella 1983 slightly modified
Schmertmann's method by suggesting that the undrained shear
strength can also be e s t i m a t e d from t h e dynamic p o r e pressure
profile and t h a t t h e n o r m a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e d Su/P' be established

89
1 1.9 2 1 4 5 • 7 i > 10
OCR = Overconsolidation Ratio = max. past a . 1
present (0^= p')
gure 6.10 - NORMALIZED Su/P* RATIO v s OVERCONSOLIDATION

R A T I O FOR U S E I N E S T I M A T I N G OCR
(adapted from Schmertmann 1978)-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
PLASTICITY. INDEX PI%
Figure 6.11 - STATISTICAL RELATION BETWEEN / C u a

v o
R A T I O AND P L A S T I C I T Y I N D E X F O R N O R M A L L Y
CONSOLIDATED CLAYS
90
using the well known (but controversial) Skempton correlation

between (Su/P')nc and p l a s t i c i t y index shown in figure 6.11.
However, Robertson and Campanella's method does require a
knowledge of PI. This author further suggests that the normally
consolidated Su/P' can be determined from the cone bearing or
pore pressure p r o f i l e . As described e a r l i e r in section 5.3, the
tip resistance is linearly increasing with depth in normally
consolidated clay deposits with hydrostatic groundwater
conditions. From the linearly increasing portion of the cone
bearing profile or the corresponding portion of the pore
pressure p r o f i l e an estimate of (Su)nc can be made using one of
the methods previously described. Hence, from this value and
from an estimate of the e f f e c t i v e overburden pressure (Su/P')nc
can be calculated. If the overconsolidated and the normally
consolidatd material have the same origin ( i . e . are the same
deposit) this (Su/P')nc value can be applied in the
overconsolidated material. Using t h i s method an estimate of PI
is not required (except possibly for estimating Su from the pore
pressure profile).
Schmertmann 1978 offered an alternative method for

estimating OCR in sufficiently thick and homogeneous clay
layers. By extrapolating the l i n e a r l y increasing Qt profile to
the intersection of the depth axis (Qt=0) one can define the
highest probable past ground surface. The difference in
elevation between this surface and the existing ground surface
suggests past erosion and overconsolidation due to this depth of
material. This method i s shown in figure 6.12. For a homogeneous
normally consolidated material t h i s extrapolation should pass
91
extrapolated past surface if c » 0 and q

Q c
0 • estimate of removed overburden

depth causing overconsolidation
a. Oessicated "clay crust"

layer, ignore (can also
occur below GWT)
b. Homogeneous clay layer
interrupted by:
c Silt or sand lenses, ignore
d. Sand layer, bottom of clay
Note: If log b' obtained here, then signal that

this layer not same clay as b above.
Figure 6.12 - E X T R A P O L A T I O N OF T H E Qc P R O F I L E AS AN
ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO ESTIMATE OVER-
C O N S O L I D A T I O N IN T H I C K , HOMOGENEOUS C L A Y
LAYERS
(adapted from Schmertmann 1978)

92
through the origin. However, the u n i t weight of the material
overlying the clay deposit and the p o s i t i o n of the water table
can affect the l o c a t i o n of the i n t e r s e c t i o n of the extrapolated
Qt profile and the d e p t h a x i s . In o r d e r to determine the depth
of erosion, the e x i s t i n g ground surface should be repositioned
by r e p l a c i n g the overlying material with an equivalent depth of
the normally consolidated material on the basis of bouyant
weight. F i g u r e 6.13 shows t h e bearing profile from one the sites
u s e d by the a u t h o r and discussed in greater detail in chapter 7.
The site c o n s i s t s of an upper 2m layer of organic silty clay
7=18.4 kN/m ) 3
which i s underlain by approximately 11m of loose
t o dense sand (avg. 7=20 kN/m ). Below3

13m is a 2m transition
layer of silty sand t o c l a y e y silt followed by a thick deposit
of normally consolidated clayey silt (avg. 7=18.8 kN/m ). 3

The
water table i s a t a d e p t h of 1m. The effect of the p o s i t i o n of
the water t a b l e and the denser overlying material is to cause
the point of i n t e r s e c t i o n t o be a t an elevation greater than the
existing ground surface. An equivalent d e p t h of the normally
consolidated material w o u l d be 17.5m; 2.5m above e x i s t i n g g r o u n d
s u r f a c e . The extrapolated Qt profile in figure 6.13 intersects
the depth axis approximately 2m above the e x i s t i n g ground
surface.
B e c a u s e the closure angle, a., indicated in figure 6.12 is
typically small, t h i s method of estimating OCR i s s e n s i t i v e to
the e x t r a p o l a t i o n of the bearing profile. Very erratic bearing
values in the linearly increasing portion of the profile or
insufficiently thick deposits make the extrapolation of the
profile difficult. Therefore, the author recommends u s i n g the

d i s p l a c e d ground s u r f a c e
30
F i g u r e 6.13 - THE EFFECT OF DENSER OVERLYING MATERIALS

ON THE EXTRAPOLATED Qt P R O F I L E FOR A
NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED CLAY LAYER
94
first method for estimating OCR from cone p e n e t r a t i o n tests.
6.6 Sensitivity
Sensitivity i s defined as the ratio of undrained shear
strength of undisturbed clay to u n d r a i n e d shear s t r e n g t h of
totally remolded clay. I t s value is dependent upon the test
method used. However, the most common value quoted i s that
obtained from field or l a b o r a t o r y vane tests.
Schmertmann 1978 p r o p o s e d a method for obtaining a rough
estimate of the vane sensitivity f o r t h e Begemann m e c h a n i c a l
cone. Robertson and C a m p a n e l l a 1983 p r o p o s e d a similar method
for use w i t h t h e e l e c t r i c cone:
St = J_0_ 6.10
Rf%
This method implies that t h e s t r e s s on t h e f r i c t i o n sleeve
is close t o the remolded s h e a r s t r e n g t h of the soil. Equation
6.10 also ignores the e f f e c t of o v e r b u r d e n p r e s s u r e .

95
CHAPTER 7
FIELD PROGRAMME AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
7.1 Introduction
The f i e l d programme c o n s i s t e d of cone p e n e t r a t i o n and field
vane shear t e s t s at f i v e lower mainland s i t e s :
1) McDonald Farm
2) B.C. Hydro Railway C r o s s i n g
3) Upper 232nd S t .
4) Lower 232nd S t .
5) Haney Slide
The general l o c a t i o n s of the s i t e s are shown i n f i g u r e 7.1 and a
summary of the f i e l d t e s t s conducted f o r t h i s investigation is
presented i n t a b l e 7.1. A summary of the m a t e r i a l properties for
the d i f f e r e n t s i t e s i s given i n t a b l e 7.2.
This chapter presents the t e s t r e s u l t s from each s i t e and
d i s c u s s e s them i n r e l a t i o n to the various correlation methods
described i n chapter 6. A summary compares the r e s u l t s from the
f i v e s i t e s . In a d d i t i o n , correlations between friction sleeve
measurements and vane shear strength are presented. L a s t l y ,
e s t i m a t i n g vane s e n s i t i v i t y from CPT data i s d i s c u s s e d .
7.2 McDonald Farm Research S i t e
7.2.1 General Geology and S i t e Description
McDonald Farm i s l o c a t e d at the northern edge of Sea Island
in the m u n i c i p a l i t y of Richmond. The i s l a n d i s one of several
that make up the Fraser River delta. The general geology
consists of deltaic distributary channel fill and overbank

7.1 G E N E R A L L O C A T I O N OF R E S E A R C H SITES
SITE CPT CPT DATE CONE VST VST DATE VANE TYPE
PROFILE
1 Apr 1 1 15 1981 UBC MA 1 Sept 27 1983 GEONOR

MCDONALD FARM 2 Ju 1 y 23 1982 UBC #4 2 Sept 29 1983 GEONOR
RICHMOND 3* Aug. 04 1982 UBC #4
4 Jan. 26 1984 UBC #6
5 May 05 1984 UBC #6
B.C. HYDRO RAILWAY 1 Nov. 04 1982 UBC MA 1 Feb. 15 1984 NILCON
SITE LANGLEY 2 Oct . 24 1982 MOD. HOG.
232nd S t . - Upper 1 Dec. 08 1983 UBC 15cm' 1 Feb. 10 1984 NILCON

LANGLEY (UBC *5) 2 Feb. 10 1984 NILCON
232nd S t . - Lower 1 Nov 17 1984 UBC #4 1 Nov. 17 19S4 NILCON

LANGLEY 2 duly 17 1984 UBC #6 2 dan. 1 1 1984 NILCON
3 dan. 20 1984 NILCON
HANEY S L I D E SITE 1 dune 22 1984 UBC MG 1 dune 22 1984 NILCON
• pore p r e s s u r e measured on face
Table 7.1 SUMMARY OF T H E F I E L D PROGRAMME
SITE S.G. Wl Wp Wn PI St
range avg range avg range avg range avg range avg
MCDONALD FARM 2.8 25-42 35 22-25 24 23-40 34 3-20 15 2- 7 5
B.C. HYDRO R A I L . SITE 2.8 32-59 42 16-27 21 27-53 45 16-34 24 7- 10 9
232nd S t . SITE 2.8 40 20 42-47 45 19 2-19 11
HANEY SLIDE SITE 2.8 44 26 40-45 42 18 3-13 6
S.G. « s p e c i f i c g r a v i t y Wl' " l i q u i d l i m i t (%) Wp » p l a s t i c l i m i t (X)

Wn « n a t u r a l water content ('/.) P I '= p l a s t i c i t y index (%) St = sensitivity
Table 7.2 SUMMARY OF M A T E R I A L P R O P E R T I E S AT

THE D I F F E R E N T S I T E S
98
deposits which overlie post glacial estuarine and marine
sediments (Armstrong 1978). A t y p i c a l CPT p r o f i l e from t h e site
is presented in figure 7.2 and shows that the general
stratigraphy consists of:
0-2m soft organic s i l t y clay
2-13m l o o s e t o dense c o a r s e sand;

some l a y e r s o f f i n e sand
13-I5m f i n e s a n d , some s i l t ; transition zone
l5-300*m soft normally consolidated clayey silt
This report i s concerned only w i t h the clayey s i l t below 15m.
C o r r e c t e d b e a r i n g and dynamic pore pressure profiles from
four soundings i n the c l a y e y silt a r e shown i n f i g u r e 7.3. N o t e
t h a t h i g h e r p o r e p r e s s u r e s were r e c o r d e d f o r t h e profile where
the pore pressures were m e a s u r e d on t h e f a c e . T h e s e profiles
illustrate t h e r e p e a t a b i l i t y o f CPT a n d t h a t b o t h cone bearing
and pore pressure increase linearly w i t h depth i n a n o r m a l l y
c o n s o l i d a t e d m a t e r i a l . Note in figure 7.2 that the friction
r a t i o tends t o decrease w i t h depth.
U n d r a i n e d s h e a r s t r e n g t h a n d vane s e n s i t i v i t y p r o f i l e s from
two VST s o u n d i n g s a r e shown i n f i g u r e 7.4. The u n d r a i n e d s h e a r
strength increases l i n e a r l y with depth (Su/P'=0.34) and the.
sensitivity i s r e l a t i v e l y constant w i t h depth (avg. St=5).
7.2.2 C o r r e l a t i o n s B e t w e e n Su a n d CPT
The results of the various correlation techniques f o r
M c D o n a l d Farm a r e shown i n f i g u r e s 7.5 through 7.9. Plots of
Qc/Su and Qt/Su vs depth (figure 7.5) provide a fairly
r e a s o n a b l e e s t i m a t e o f S u . The s c a t t e r i s r e d u c e d when c o r r e c t e d
100
PORE PRESSURE
CONE BEARING
U <bar)
Ot (bar)
F i g u r e 7.3 PROFILES FROM 4 CPT SOUNDINGS

IN MCDONALD FARM CLAYEY SILT
UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH
Su (ViPo)
VANE SENSITIVITY
St
20 40 60 BO IS 20
LEGEND
VST 1
• VST 2
I-
(b>
(a)
F i g u r e 7.4 FIELD VANE STRENGTH AND SENSITIVITY

PROFILES AT MCDONALD FARM
101
Nc Nc
Oc / Su Ot / Su
(a) (to)
LEGEND
a CPT 1 - VST 1 & 2

& CPT 2 - VST 1 & 2
o CPT 3 - VST 1 & 2
• CPT 4 - VST 1 & 2
igure 7.5 Qc/Su AND Q t / S u v s DEPTH

AT MCDONALD FARM
102
Nk
(Qe - S I C V ) / S u
10 15 20
•ao
€EO
BO * A
°
•flflo
BUO,
B ffl
• to
43*20
D
D<°AO -
D
IS
AO
ri? &
D
D ^ O
• AO
1 1 1—
(a)
LEGEND
• CPT 1 - VST 1 & 2

A CPT 2 - VST 1 & 2
O CPT 3 - VST 1 & 2
* CPT 4 - VST 1 & 2
Figure 7.6 (Qc-cr,o )/Su A N D (Qt-<r„ )/Su v s D E P T H

AT MCDONALD FARM
103
Nke
<Qt - Ut> / Su
15
- c
• •
- - CO
c
20H DO
°C?o
D
fi 0
D
rf o
D
D °o
ft <fc
B 8
0 0
°a °o
25 °D 0
O
B %
D
D ° 0
tP 0°
°oD ° o 0
30
(b)
(a)
LEGEND
• CPT 1 - VST 1 & 2

O CPT 2 - VST 1 £. 2
* CPT 4 - VST 1 & 2
Figure 7.7 (Qc-Ut)/SuAND ( Q t - U t ) / S u vs DEPTH

AT MCDONALD FARM
1 04
N<MJ
Olt - Uo) / Su OJt. - Uo) / Su

P.P. BEHIND THE TIP P. P. ON THE TIP
S 10 15 20
15- _1 I 1—
a-
a -
20- a-
B
o'.
° 8 .
25-
r3
III
iii nt "ma.
Au » u
V
30-
(b)
(a)
LEGEND LEGEND
D CPT 1 VST 1 & 2

a CPT 2 VST 1 & 2
VST 1 & 2 o CPT 3 - VST 1 & 2
O CPT 4
* CPT 5 VST 1 & 2
Figure 7.8 AU/Su v s DEPTH FOR DIFFERENT POROUS

ELEMENT LOCATIONS AT McDONALD FARM
CONC FACTOR - M.I
CQt - SICV) / Su
in
c
ft)
PORE PRESSURE F A C T O R - Ntu

(Ut. - U«J / Su
z O r> •
E»
n n n
•»
a• r <&-<<
C
0>
TJ TJ TJ
-3-3-3
~ JO .
c in
•n
tr -
a Ni -»
I S
m< '
f •" intn
c
C
z I I I W X
s m ,
< < < PJ ~ Tl
o > 0
www z f X
< -3 -3 -3
a
01 < 0
CO fr> (?•• tr»

w i .1,
> N> N> to

-3
2
n 1 1 1 1 1 1i 1 J _ ,i „
a
o
z CONE FACTOR - Nk,
> tat - u o / Su
sr 1
>
c i» c .Of
2 #
s in .
£ -i i * • i ' • • ' i
SO I
1 06
b e a r i n g , Qt, i s u s e d . An even better estimate can be made if
overburden stress i s i n c l u d e d as shown i n f i g u r e 7.6. Again, the
scatter i s r e d u c e d when Qt i s u s e d . F i g u r e 7.7a illustrates the
necessity f o r u s i n g c o r r e c t e d b e a r i n g when e m p l o y i n g Senneset's
effective bearing approach. A fairly u n i f o r m cone f a c t o r i s
attained using t h i s method, h o w e v e r , t h e s c a t t e r a p p e a r s to be
slightly g r e a t e r than that observed f o r the t r a d i t i o n a l methods
( f i g u r e s 7.5b and 7.6b).
The u s e o f e x c e s s p o r e p r e s s u r e p r o v i d e s a v e r y good means
of estimating Su a s shown i n f i g u r e 7.8 where AU/Su i s p l o t t e d
a g a i n s t d e p t h f o r two d i f f e r e n t p o r o u s e l e m e n t locations. Plots
of Nkt, N A U and Nke v s Bq a r e shown i n f i g u r e 7.9. There i s no
d i s c e r n i b l e c o r r e l a t i o n , except p o s s i b l y f o r Nke v s Bq, as the
data tend to cluster in one a r e a . T h i s i s due to the small
variation i n Bq, w h i c h m i g h t be e x p e c t e d s i n c e t h e material is
normally c o n s o l i d a t e d and i t s p r o p e r t i e s are f a i r l y u n i f o r m . In
section 7.7 t h e d a t a a r e compared t o t h o s e from the o t h e r sites
where t h e r a n g e i n Bq i s g r e a t e r .
7.3 B.C. Hydro R a i l w a y C r o s s i n g Site
7.3.1 G e n e r a l G e o l o g y and S i t e Description
This site is l o c a t e d a t t h e b a s e o f a 5m c u t a d j a c e n t t o
the Trans Canada Highway in Langley. It is situated
approximately 100m west o f t h e B.C. H y d r o r a i l w a y o v e r p a s s . The
site i s l o c a t e d a t the e a s t e r n e x t e n t of t h e C a p i l a n o sediments
which consist of raised deltas, intertidal and b e a c h deposits
and g l a c i o m a r i n e s e d i m e n t s ( A r m s t r o n g 1 9 7 8 ) . The CPT profile in

1 07
f i g u r e 7.10 shows t h a t t h e site stratigraphy i s :
0-2.5m m i x e d g r a v e l and sand fill
2.5-10 m l i g h t l y overconsolidated s i l t y clay

w i t h o c c a s i o n a l s i l t y sand l a y e r s
l0-30*m normally consolidated s i l t y clay

with occasional s i l t y sand l a y e r s
A detailed log from a continuously sampled borehole (to
14.4m) i s p r o v i d e d i n a p p e n d i x A. P r o f i l e s of index properties
and u n d r a i n e d s t r e n g t h and sensitivity f r o m l a b o r a t o r y and field
vane tests are shown i n f i g u r e 7.11. Note t h a t the laboratory
values tend to be less than the insitu values indicating
possible sample disturbance or size e f f e c t s . The plasticity
index decreases s l i g h t l y with depth. S e n s i t i v i t y does not vary
much and has an average value o f 9. The undrained strength
increases with depth having Su/P'=0.31 in the normally
consolidated region.
7.3.2 C o r r e l a t i o n s Between Su and CPT
The r e s u l t s of t h e v a r i o u s c o r r e l a t i o n m e t h o d s a r e shown i n
figures 7.12 t h r o u g h 7.16. The c o n e f a c t o r , Nc (Qc/Su o r Qt/Su;
f i g u r e 7.12), i n i t i a l l y d e c r e a s e s w i t h d e p t h t o a depth of 10m.
Below t h i s , Nc tends to i n c r e a s e w i t h depth. A s i m i l a r trend is
o b s e r v e d f o r Nk ((Qc-cr,o)/Su o r (Qt-cr, )/Su;0 figure 7.13). Note
the significant reduction i n s c a t t e r when c o r r e c t e d b e a r i n g is
u s e d . The i n i t i a l d e c r e a s e i n Nc and Nk may be a result of the
decreasing overconsolidation of the clay. The subsequent
increase i n c o n e f a c t o r w i t h d e p t h may be a reflection of the
decrease i n p l a s t i c i t y and the slight increase in sensitivity of
the m a t e r i a l w i t h depth.
1 08
Figure 7.10 TYPICAL CPT PROFILE AT B . C . HYDRO

RAILWAY SITE
MOISTURE CONTENT Von. Su Von. S.n.ltlvlty

(X) ChPol
10 30 30 40 SO
LEGEND
(b)
(a)
A P l a s t i c Limit
A. •_ i qu i d L i m i t
ONatural Moisture
a D » Content
:- • 0
• • D *
(b)
•oa tk F i e l d Vane ( P e a k )
O F i e l d Vane ( R e m o l d e d )
a
O Lab Vane ( P e a k )
a * L a b Vane ( R e m o l d e d )
a
(c)
a A F i e l d Vane
a • Lab Vane
Figure 7.11 INDEX PROPERTIES, F I E L D VANE STRENGTH

AND S E N S I T I V I T Y P R O F I L E S AT B . C . HYDRO
RAILWAY SITE
1 09
Nc Nc
Oo / Su Ot / Su
(b)
LEGEND
• CPT 1
a CPT 2
F i g u r e 7.12 Qc/Su AND Q t / S u v s DEPTH AT

B.C. HYDRO RAILWAY S I T E
1 10
Nk Nk
<Qc - S1CV) / Su (Qt - SIGV) / Su
_L_
10 IS 20
A a
A •
a O
A a
A •
a •
A •
A •
A •
A •
A •
(a)
LEGEND
• CPT 1
A CPT 2
Figure 7.13 (Qc-cr„ ) / S u a n d ( Q t - O i . ) / S u v s D E P T H AT

B.C. HYDRO RAILWAY SITE
111
Nke Nke
COc - U O / So <0t - U O / Su
(a) (b)
LEGEND
o CPT 1
a CPT 2
Figure 7.14 ( Q c - U t ) / S u AND ( Q t - U t ) / S u v s DEPTH

B.C. HYDRO RAILWAY S I T E
1 12
ait - u.) / Su
P.P. BEHIND TIP
LEGEND
• CPT 1
* CPT 2
Figure 7.15 A U / S u vs DEPTH AT B.C. HYDRO

RAILWAY SITE
COME FACTOR - Nkt
COt - SIGV) / Su
PORE PRESSURE FACTOR - NAu

(Ut - U%3 / Su
CTi
W Z
>
t-H rr
tr - 1
£z . 1*1
X > t>
c •
ty. «
X
C
t-H Q)
-3 =
O. r> o
o
w t> •
D3
TJ TJ za m H
Z -3 -3 n x * r» >
to —
: tr
<
01
' • I 1 1 1-
CO
>
•3 CONE FACTOR - Hum
CO COt - U O / Su
X
-»—e-
a»
X
o
O .
» X
c m
v
5
r» X
<x
ci
-i i —
i
11 4
Two d i s t i n c t curves are observed i n f i g u r e 7.14b where the
r a t i o of e f f e c t i v e b e a r i n g t o Su (Nke) i s plotted against depth.
The s e p a r a t i o n between t h e two curves might r e f l e c t the problem
of accuracy d i s c u s s e d i n s e c t i o n 6.3.3; two similar numbers, Qt
and Ut, are s u b t r a c t e d to a t t a i n a s m a l l number which may be
prone to error. However, t h e t r e n d s i n the c u r v e s are similar
and suggest t h a t t h e use of effective bearing works well in
normally consolidated deposits. The cone factor tends to
i n c r e a s e w i t h i n c r e a s i n g OCR. This is as expected since Qt
should i n c r e a s e and Ut (measured behind the t i p ) should decrease
with i n c r e a s i n g OCR. The v a l u e of AU/Su i n c r e a s e s w i t h d e p t h as
shown i n f i g u r e 7.15. Again, t h i s m i g h t be a r e f l e c t i o n of the
decrease in plasticity and the s l i g h t increase in sensitivity
with depth. Although the data are s c a t t e r e d , there appears to be
a distinct kink i n the curve a b o v e 5m. A noticable decrease in
AU/Su is observed because of the lower excess pore pressure in
the o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d m a t e r i a l . C o n s i s t e n t trends are observed
for N A U and Nke vs Bq i n f i g u r e 7.16, the latter having the
least s c a t t e r . No correlation i s observed f o r Nkt vs Bq.
7.4 U p p e r 232nd S t . Site
7.4.1 General G e o l o g y and Site Description
This site i s l o c a t e d a t t h e 232nd S t . exit of the Trans
Canada Highway i n Langley. I t i s approximately 1km e a s t of the
B.C. H y d r o r a i l w a y s i t e . Two s i t e s have been d e s i g n a t e d at the
232nd S t . i n t e r c h a n g e ; t h e u p p e r and lower sites. The lower site

1 15
is discussed in section 7.5. The u p p e r s i t e i s s i t u a t e d on a
compacted c l a y f i l l that forms t h e approach f o r t h e 232nd St.
overpass. The site lies at the western extent of the Fort
Langley Formation. This formation has recorded at least three
advances and retreats of a valley glacier and c o n s i s t s of
interbedded marine, glaciomarine and glacial sediments
(Armstrong 1 9 7 8 ) . A CPT p r o f i l e from t h e upper s i t e i s shown i n
f i g u r e 7.17 a n d t h e f i e l d vane profiles are shown in figure
7.18. Note that the cone bearing clearly indicates the
o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f t h e u p p e r 7m. The s t a t i g r a p h y c o n s i s t s o f :
0-2.5m compacted c l a y f i l l ; organic
2.5-7.5m overconsolidated silty clay
7.5-20*m normally consolidated s i l t y c l a y

w i t h o c c a s i o n a l sand l e a s e ; i n c r e a s i n g
i n sand c o n t e n t w i t h d e p t h
The cone b e a r i n g i s compared w i t h t h e f i e l d vane r e s u l t s and t h e
overconsolidation ratio i n f i g u r e 7.19. The OCR was calculated
using the f i r s t method d e s c r i b e d i n s e c t i o n 6.5. N o t e how b o t h
t h e cone b e a r i n g a n d v a n e s t r e n g t h d e c r e a s e w i t h depth i n the
overconsolidated m a t e r i a l . Both i n c r e a s e l i n e a r l y with depth i n
the normally consolidated region (Su/P'=0.23).
7.4.2 C o r r e l a t i o n s B e t w e e n Su a n d CPT
The r e s u l t s f o r t h e upper 232nd St. site are shown in
figures 7.20 through 7.24. The cone factor Nc exhibits
considerable s c a t t e r and g e n e r a l l y i n c r e a s e s w i t h depth (figure
7.20). I t does a p p e a r t h a t Qc/Su i n i t i a l l y d e c r e a s e s w i t h depth
reflecting t h e d e c r e a s e i n OCR, h o w e v e r , t h i s i s not observed
for Qt/Su. There i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s s c a t t e r f o r Nk v s d e p t h

1 1 6
FiiCTiai RATIO oirrrjxxriM. p.p. imutMim

• f CD RATIO i i v s t pacrtu:
70 0 3 0 I
0
F i g u r e 7.17 TYPICAL CPT PROFILE AT UPPER 232nd S t . S I T E
UNOR AINED SHEAR STRENGTH VANE SENSITIVITY

Su CKPoJ St
50 100 0 2 4 S 8 10 12 14 IB IB 20
10-
13-
20-
23-
(a)
30- _l I
F i g u r e 7.18 F I E L D VANE STRENGTH AND S E N S I T I V I T Y

PROFILES AT UPPER 232nd S t . S I T E
11 7
LEGEND
a. VST 1
a VST 2
Figure 7.19 COMPARISON BETWEEN CONE B E A R I N G , VANE SHEAR

STRENGTH AND OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO AT
UPPER 232nd S t . SITE
11 8
Nc Nc
Qt/Su
Oo / Su
(a) (b)
LEGEND
A VST 1
D VST 2
Figure 7.20 Qc/Su AND Q t / S u v s DEPTH AT

UPPER 232nd S t . S I T E
119
Nk Nk
<0e - SICV) / Su (Qt - SICV) / Su
(a)
LEGEND
• VST 1
A VST 2
Figure 7.21 (Qc-tj,. )/Su and (Qt-a,. )/Su vs D E P T H AT

UPPER 232nd S t . SITE
120
Nke
<Ot - Ut) / Su
(a) (b)
LEGEND
• VST 1
& VST 2
F i g u r e 7.22 ( Q c - U t ) / S u AND ( Q t - U t ) / S u v s DEPTH AT

UPPER 232nd S t . S I T E
121
NAU
( l i t - Us) / Su
10 13 20
OA
DA.
• A
A Q
A
A
o
a
L E G E N D
• VST 1
& VST 2
F i g u r e 7.23 AU/Su v s DEPTH AT UPPER

232nd S t . S I T E
CONC FACTOR - Nkt
COt - SIGV) / £u
C
PORE PRESSURE FACTOR KAu
CUt - U«J / Su
to
M Z
UJ
rO rr
3 -
Qj
Z tr
1
CO r>
rr c t> O ra
O
Cu < < ra
CO 3 CO CO z
a
-3 -3
ra z ro —
<
tn
M
>
-3 CONE FACTOR - Nk«
COt - Ut) / Su
G
TJ
TJ
W
»
221
123
(figure 7.21). Nk initially decreases with depth to
approximately 8m where the material i s essentially normally
consolidated. Below 8m, Nk increases with increasing
sensitivity.
Figure 7.22a clearly illustrates the need to correct
bearing data f o r pore pressure e f f e c t s when u s i n g the effective
bearing approach as the value of Nke i s n e g a t i v e which, of
course, i s . impossible. A dramatic decrease in Nke with
decreasing OCR can be seen i n f i g u r e 7.22b. I n t h e n o r m a l l y
c o n s o l i d a t e d r a n g e Nke i n c r e a s e s with increasing sensitivity.
N flU (AU/Su) v s d e p t h i s shown i n f i g u r e 7.23 a n d i s o b s e r v e d t o
i n c r e a s e d r a m a t i c a l l y w i t h depth i n the overconsolidated silty
clay. Again, a f a i r l y consistent trend i s observed f o r N A U and
Nke v s Bq. T h e r e does n o t , h o w e v e r , a p p e a r t o be a correlation
between N k t and Bq.
7.5 Lower 232nd S t . S i t e
7.5.1 General G e o l o g y and S i t e D e s c r i p t i o n
The lower site i s situated slightly above highway l e v e l and
a b o u t 5m below t h e e l e v a t i o n o f t h e u p p e r s i t e . The n e a r surface
material i s overconsolidated due t o d e s s i c a t i o n . A t y p i c a l CPT
profile i s shown i n f i g u r e 7.25 a n d t h e f i e l d vane results are
shown in figure 7.26. The undrained shear s t r e n g t h profile
generally i n c r e a s e s w i t h d e p t h (Su/P'=0.23) b u t t a k e s a curious
jump a t a d e p t h o f 15m. T h i s increase i n Su i s l i k e l y due t o t h e
i n f l u e n c e of sand lenses.
124
Figure 7.26 F I E L D V A N E STRENGTH AND SENSITIVITY

P R O F I L E S A T LOWER 2 3 2 n d St. SITE
125
7.5.2 Correlations Between Su a n d CPT
Results for the lower 232nd St. site are shown in figures
7.27 through 7.31. The traditional cone factors, Nc and Nk
(figures 7.27 and 7.28 respectively) show c o n s i d e r a b l e scatter
even though the scatter is r e d u c e d when Qt is used. The general
trend is consistent with the results from the other sites; Nc or
Nk increasing with increasing sensitivity. There is a decrease
in Nc a n d Nk between 13m a n d 17m d u e to the unrealistically high
Su v a l u e s . The plot of Nke vs depth in figure 7.29b shows
considerable scatter; again likely due to the influence of the
sand lenses on the measured pore p r e s s u r e s . The plot of N A U vs
depth in figure 7.30 indicates the same trends observed at the
other sites. Consistent trends are also observed for N u

A and Nke
vs Bq i n figure 7.31.
7.6 Haney Slide Site
7.6.1 General Geology and Site Description
The Haney Slide site is located approximately 30km e a s t ' of
Vancouver almost directly below the town centre of Haney. The
site is a remnant of the Haney slide of January 30, 1880. It
features a hummocky topography made up of the slide blocks from
the retrogressive failure (Davies 1985). The general geology
consists of interbedded marine, glaciomarine and glacial
sediments of the Fort Langley Formation. The CPT p r o f i l e from a
sounding adjacent to the FV b o r i n g is shown in figure 7.32. The
soil profile consists of:

1 26
Nc Nc
Oo / Su
at / su
10 13 20 23
o4
o ° cP
-
* cB A.
A
°- Vs.
D
A -
A. on
• * CO
13
m A
DO
• A
20 «A*
A rtl
A» U
oa
30J ' ~
1 L
(t>)
(a)
LEGEND
• C P T 1•- V S T 1
A> CPT 1 ~ VST 3
O CPT 2 - VST 1
• CPT 2 - VST 3
Figure 7.27 Q c / S u AND Q t / S u v s DEPTH

A T LOWER 2 3 2 n d S t . SITE
1 27
Nk Nk
<0o - SICV) / Su «0t - SICV) / Su
20 13 20
3 10 13 3 10
/„.
1
•
CA D-
• _o • O^
°. 8 o iAOO
. r
D
* CC*
°C? B A - 0 B
O A°3
A
- B
A
i' J
- 10 fi
OJ
AO
> °a
_
.a
13
a? •o
•A • O -
•
A3.
A
O
"-^ ° - ° A °
A 0 0
* 20
A - A ° °
A»
a
oa oo
o a
23
-1 _ _ i i -J 30
(a) (b)
LEGEND
• CPT 1 - VST 1
CPT
a. 1 - VST 3
o CPT 2 - VST 1
• CPT 2 - VST 3
Figure 7.28 (Qc- cr, )/Su and (Qt-cr,» )/Su v s DEPTH

0 AT
LOWER 232nd S t . S I T E
1 28
Nke Nke
LEGEND
• CPT 1 - VST 1
a.CPT 1 - VST 3
O CPT 2 - VST 1
• CPT 2 - VST 3
Figure 7.29 ( Q c - U t ) / S u AND ( Q t - U t ) / S u v s DEPTH AT

LOWER 2 3 2 n d S t . S I T E
1 29
NAU
CUt - Ua> / Su
0 5 10 13 20
1
0 4l I I I
1
B
••
3-
-B- * eft
« D A 0
a - p A
' f £ A
10-
5- £A
. 2 0
.
*>
. D
A °
w
m
13-
•ao
CTc*
-A DO
CL
Ul
a
-f2 °
,S°
20- - A D O
- A ° °
^
* °>
0 0
**. ID
HI
iii n»
25- V
An •
1 1 1
LEGEND
• CPT 1 - VST 1
& CPT 1 - VST 3
O CPT 2 - VST 1
* CPT 2 - VST 3
Figure 7.30 AU/Su v s DEPTH AT LOWER

232nd St. SITE
(a) (b)
20 1 — 1 1 T " ~ l 1
Pi
IM
8
3 *>°
14
14-
1
O 0.
o Si )2
. c?A Ii
i
10-
0*0. A
< 5>
-
U
u p B
or o
a.
of
CD
o
H e
"...
iii|ii<l
iii 2H
6
« •»«..-«.
1 1 1 1 1 r— 0* -I 1 1 1 r
1.8 .4 .6 .8 I 1.2 1.4 l.i .4 .8 .8 I 1.2
.4 .8 .8 1 1.2 1.4 PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER - Bq PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER - Bq
PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER - (Ut - U.) / (Qt - SICV) (Ut - U.) / (Qt - SICV)
(Ut - U«) / (Dt - SICV) CO
O
LEGEND
• CPT 1 - VST 1
a. CPT 1 - VST 3
O CPT 2 - VST 1
• CPT 2 - VST 3
Figure 7.31 N k t , N*u and Nke v s Bq AT LOWER

232nd S t . S I T E
131
PORE P R E S S U R E FRICTION BEARING FRICTION DIFF. P . P .

(m. o f w a t e r ) (BAR) Ot (BAR) RATIO (%) RATIO (AU/Qt)
Figure 7.32 T Y P I C A L C P T P R O F I L E A T HANEY S L I D E SITE
UNDRAINED SMEAR STRENGTH VANE SENSITIVITY

Su CkPo) St
Figure 7.33 F I E L D V A N E S T R E N G T H AND S E N S I T I V I T Y

P R O F I L E S A T HANEY S L I D E S I T E
1 32
0-2m f i l l
2 - 3m sand
3 - 30*m s a n d y silt to silty clay with
numerous thin fine sand layers
Undrained shear strength and vane sensitivity profiles from
the two VST soundings are shown in figure 7.33. The Su profile
increases only slightly with depth (disregarding the data
obviously influenced by sand lenses) with an average Su/P'=0.6
indicating an overconsolidated material. The OCR r a n g e s from 9
near the surface to approximately 2.5 at a depth of 20m. OCR was
calculated using the first method described in section 6.5.
Sensitivity does not vary much h a v i n g an average value of 6.
7.6.2 Correlations Between Su and CPT
The results of the various correlation techniques for the
Haney Slide site are shown in figures 7.34 through 7.38. The
cone factors Nc a n d Nk (figures 7.34 and 7.35) tend to increase
slightly with depth a n d be somewhat scattered. On the other
hand, the plot of Nke vs depth in figure 7.36b is uniform with
depth which is consistent with the sensitivity profile. N 4 U vs
depth (figure 7.37) appears to be scattered, however this is
likely due to the influence of the sand layers on the pore
pressure response. A consistent trend is observed for N A U vs Bq
in figure 7.38b. Although the Nke data is clustered, they do
seem to be in line with what has been observed at the other
sites.
133
Nc
Oc / Su
10 IS 20
_L_ _J
0
A *
A
A
* A
A
* 8
a 4
(a) (b)
LEGEND
• VST 1
A VST 2
Figure 7.34 Qc/Su AND Q t / S u v s DEPTH AT

HANEY SLIDE S I T E
1 34
Nk Nk
«Dt. - SICV) / Su
COc - SICV) / Su
(b)
LEGEND
a VST 1
A VST 2
Figure 7 . 3 5 ( Q c - * . )/Su and (Qt-tr,. )/Su v s DEPTH AT

HANEY SLIDE S I T E
1 35
Nice Nke
(Oe - Ut> / So <0t - U U / Su
(a) (b)
LEGEND
Q VST 1
A VST 2
F i g u r e 7.36 ( Q c - U t ) / S u AND ( Q t - U t ) / S u v s DEPTH AT

HANEY S L I D E S I T E
136
LEGEND
• VST 1
A VST 2
Figure 7.37 AU/Su vs DEPTH AT HANEY

SLIDE SITE
CDHC FACTO* - Nkt
(Ot - SICV) / Sw
in
c
fD PORE PRESSURE FACTOR - Htu
CUt - U«) / Su
LO
00
UJ Z
i-i rr TJ
D
<fiZE>
D- -X
c in
PJ r»
TJ
Z i a
m
tn r> o O C In a .
* in
*-< c ~ c •
-3 < < PJ X D t»
PJ D) CO CO
a N in
~ X «-
•O *
D Rl D >
Qi -3 -3 z r> X
>
ro —• a 1 z
m
Z in i
m
n x
<I
"
B
< X
w
to
>
•-3 CONE FACTOR - Nk*
COt - Ut) / Su
>
Z
PJ
«3
TJ
D
X
c m c
r»
TJ
1 X
m
c in O)
• in
~£
~ t B •
D >
f X
t >
X
m
in
— n
n x
<
*- i
a
£J 1 1 I I 1 1 1——I 1
LZi
1 38
7.7 A Summary of the R e s u l t s f o r the Five Lower

Mainland Sites
A summary of the various cone factors for the five lower
mainland sites is presented in table 7.3. An a v e r a g e value for
all the sites is given for each c o r r e l a t i o n method. Values for
(Qc-Ut)/Su have been purposely left out. The results have shown
that there can not be a single cone factor that is applicable to
all clays. All the correlation techniques were influenced by the
stress history and most notably, the sensitivity of the deposit.
The dependance upon soil stiffness was not readily apparent
except at the B.C. Hydro railway site, however, this is probably
because the range in plasticity for the five sites was not
great. The scatter in the correlations using cone bearing was
reduced when the bearing was corrected for pore pressures and
when o v e r b u r d e n stress was accounted for. The scatter in the
data was also c a u s e d by many other contributing factors; among
them were the effects of anisotropy, variations in strain rate,
stress paths, progressive failure in the vane tests, disturbance
due to insertion of the instruments and the influence of sand
lenses on the vane test results and the CPT bearing and pore
pressure measurements.
The use of pore pressure data appears to be a promising
means of estimating undrained shear strength. Figure 7.39 shows
a comparison between predicted and measured Su for the normally
consolidated clayey silt at the McDonald Farm site. The
predicted S u was b a s e d on the method by Campanella et al. 1985,
which is described in section 6.3.2. Excellent agreement was
found for the predictions from the pore pressures measured

Nc Nk Nke
0c Ot Qc-O"»o ot-cr, 0
Ot-Ut AU' All'
SITE St' PI •
Su Su Su Su Su Su Su
MCDONALD FARM 5 15 11.9 13.9 6. 1 8. 1 3.5 7.4 B .a
B.C. HYDRO RAILWAY 9 24 15.4 18.9 11.6 14.3 6.3 10. 3
UPPER 232nd S t . 8 19 1 1 .0 13.3 5.8 8. 1 2.5 8.9
LOWER 232nd S t . 14 19 16.7 18.3 9.8 11.3 5.9 8.9
HANEY SLIDE 6 18 14 . 2 15.0 16.0 12.7 5.4 8.6
ALL SITES 14.2 16 .0 8.5 10.3 4.7 8.6
1 - average s e n s i t i v i t y
2 - average p l a s t i c i t y index
3 - pore p r e s s u r e measured behind the t i p
4 - pore p r e s s u r e measured on the face
Table 7.3 SUMMARY O F C O N E FACTORS FOR 5 LOWER

MAINLAND S I T E S
1 40
UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENCTH

Su (hPa)
X
t-
a.
u
a
MCDONALD FARM
Su <KPa)
100
•
t.
a
t»
9
E
a.
ui
a
LEGEND
A
Vane Su
D P r e d i c t e d Su
F i g u r e 7.39 USE OF EXCESS PORE PRESSURE FOR ESTIMATING

141
behind the tip (cylindrical cavity expansion approach) as well
as for those measured on the face (spherical cavity expansion
approach).
Figures 7.40 through 7.43 show the approach adopted by
Lunne et al. 1985 applied to a l l five of the lower mainland
sites. The variation of Bq with OCR is illustrated in figure
7.40 and shows that the pore pressure parameter decreases with
increasing OCR. There is considerable scatter in the data
indicating that Bq i s not solely affected by stress history. The
plot of Nkt vs Bq for a l l five sites in figure 7.41 indicates
that there i s no discernible correlation between Nkt and Bq. A
more promising correlation is that between N A U and Bq shown in
figure 7.42. A regression analysis of the data indicates a
correlation coefficient • of 0.69. The best correlation was
between Nke and Bq as shown is figure 7.43. A correlation
coefficient of 0.81 was determined from the data for the five
sites. This writer again points out the difficulties one may
have in calculating Qn, (Qt-Ut). Bearing and pore pressure
values are very similar in soft normally consolidated soils and
a loss of accuracy in the bearing can significantly affect the
calculation of Nke. This should not present a problem, however,
since a prudent engineer is unlikely to rely on a single
correlation method, particularly when there are several
techniques available.
142
T — i — i — i — r
B
IT* A F H H
<r • ^ H H A J "
m
i >
or u
Iii
i - ui H
ui .6 H
z I OA Hf7
<
cc *>
< a H
a.
ui s
K
Ul 0
U) 3
Ul
CC I
CL
•>
Ui 3
CC ~
a
a. r4
q
.2 H "0
iii
~ r
10
OVERCONSOLIOATION RATIO - OCR
LEGEND
O McOONALO FARM
A B.C HYDRO RAIL SITE
Q 232nd St- UPPER
232nd St- LOVER
H HANEY SLIDE
Figure 7.40 Bq vs OCR FOR 5 LOWER MAINLAND SITES

143
PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER - Bq

(Ut - U«> / CQt SICV)
LEGEND
O HcOONALO FARM
A B.C. HYDRO RAIL SITE
D 232nd St. UPPER
• 232nd St. LOWER
H HANEY SLICE
Figure 7.41 Nkt vs B q F O R 5 LOWER MAINLAND SITES

1 44
20-
18-
a
16- iii A
V
14- D _
D
3
< 3
a
Z W 12- a 1
I N a a
tr n
aa 10- •
(j
<i
u. •
B-
z~
a
u
4-
•
•
•
2- •
* D
— r — i —
.6 l 1.2 1.4 1.6
PORE PRESSURE PARAMETER - Bq
<Ut - Uo) / (Qt - S1GV)
LEGEND:
O . HcOONALO FARM
A B.C. HYORO RAIL SITE
0 232nd St. UPPER
• 232rvd St. LOVER
H HANEY SLIOE
Figure 7.42 Niu vs Bq FOR 5 LOWER MAINLAND SITES

145
LEGEND,
o MCDONALD FARM
A B.C. HYDRO R A I L SITE
0 232nd St. UPPER
• 232nd St. LOVER
H HANEY SLIDE
Figure 7.43 Nke vs B q F O R 5 LOWER MAINLAND SITES

1 46
7.8 Correlations Between Su and Sleeve Friction
Figures 7.44 and 7.45 compare friction sleeve measurements
to peak vane shear strength, Su. Figures 7.46 and 7.47 compare
sleeve friction to remolded shear strength, Sur. Figure 7.44
shows that a reasonable estimate of Su can be made using
Su/Fs=5.3, however, there is considerable deviation from this
relationship, particularly at shallow depths (figure 7.45). This
may be p a r t l y due to the low stresses that the friction sleeve
experiences. At shallow depths the total force on the sleeve is
around 4 kg to 10 kg w h e r e a s the capacity of the friction load
cell is 1500 kg. Figures 7.46 and 7.47 indicate that the
friction measurement is closer to the remolded shear strength of
the soil. Neglecting the scatter at shallow depths, the average
ratio of Sur to Fs is 1. A summary of Su/Fs and Sur/Fs for the
different sites is given in table 7.4.
7.9 Estimating Sensitivity from CPT
It was reported in section 6.6 that a rough estimate of
sensitivity c o u l d be made from
St = J_0_ 6.10
Rf%
Figure 7.48a shows a plot of St«Rft (Rf calculated using
corrected bearing Qt) against depth for four of the sites with
an average value of 8.1. Again there is some scatter at shallow
depths. Neglecting this, the best estimate of St can be made
from 6/Rft.
Su / F»
2 4 6 8 10
too i " i • — - r— — -i _J I I I
80- D
od
o o
° o B
B
a
60-
°o H H A a
o
H 10- H a
D H _
40
A A A
• II
• L
a
o a
a A D
LEGEND E 15-
20-
o
A
MCDONALD FARM
B.C. HYDRO R A I L S I T E
C
*»
o,
0 2 3 2 n d St. UPPER a0 o
H HANEY S L I O E o
20-
10 20 30 40 50 o
o
. Slaeva FVIctJon o
Fa (kPo) o LEGEND
o
o
o O HcOONALO FARM
A B.C. HYDRO RAIL S I T E
25-
• 2 3 2 n d St. UPPER
Figure 7.44 VANE SHEAR STRENGTH v s S L E E V E
H HANEY SLIDE
F R I C T I O N F O R 4 LOWER M A I N L A N D o
o
o
SITES o
o
30- I
Figure 7.45 Su/Fs vs DEPTH FOR 4 LOWER

MAINLAND SITES
Sur- / Fm
CD
O
O HcOONALO FARM
Figure 7.46 REMOLDED SHEAR STRENGTH v s B.C. HYDRO RAIL SITC
232nd St. UPPER
SLEEVE FRICTION F O R 4 LOWER HANEY SLIOe
MAINLAND SITES
Figure 7.47 S u r / F s v s DEPTH FOR 4 LOWER

MAINLAND SITES
1 49
Su Sur St R f t ' Ot- 0", 0
SITE St' PI '

Fs Fs Fs Fs. St
MCDONALD FARM 5 15 5. 1 1 .0 6. 1 10. 8
B.C. HYDRO RAILWAY 9 24 5.2 0.67 8.4 9. 1
UPPER 232nd S t . 8 19 5.7 0.60 9.2 16. 5
HANEY SLIDE 6 18 5. 1 0.92 12.0 9 0
ALL SITES 5.3 0.84 8. 1 12 1
1 - average s e n s i t i v i t y
2 - average p l a s t i c i t y index
3 - f r i c t i o n r a t i o calculated using corrected
cone b e a r i n g Qt
Table 7.4 SUMMARY O F C O R R E L A T I O N S W I T H FRICTION

S L E E V E DATA F O R 4 LOWER M A I N L A N D S I T E S
(Ot - SICV)/<Fa»St >
St * Rft
10 IS 20
10 IS 20 25 i
H
H
A
• A H
°P
• H
H
° • . H •
•
10
10- a HA
o H
•
a A
15-
IS
A c o
c
*> »>
a.
a.
a o a
•
a O
O
O
O
LEGEND 20 LEGEND
20-
O o HcOONALO FARM
O O McDQNALO FARM. O
o A B.C. HYDRO RAIL SITE O A B.C. HYDRO RAIL SITE
O • 232nd St. UPPER
• 232nd St. UPPER O
o H HANEY SLIOE
o H HANEY SHOE
o 25 O
25- o
o O
o O
o O
o O
o O
o
8 8
30- _J 3D
la) (b)
Figure 7.48 ESTIMATING SENSITIVITY FROM C P T

151
Expression 6.10 neglects the effect of overburden stress.
Assuming Fs is close to Sur it may be possible to estimate St
from
St = Qn 7.1
Nst-Ps
where St - sensitivity
Nst - factor for estimating St
Qn - net b e a r i n g ; Q t - Ut
Fs - sleeve friction
A plot of Qn/(Fs-St) for four sites is shown in figure 7.48b
having an average value of 11 (neglecting scatter). However,
there is c o n s i d e r a b l y more scatter using this method than there
is using St=6/Rft. A summary of these two methods is given in
table 7.4.
1 52
CHAPTER 8
SUMMARY AND C O N C L U S I O N S
8.1 Summary of Factors Influencing the Estimation of Su
This paper has discussed the results of field vane and cone
penetration tests from five lower mainland sites in relation to
several p r o p o s e d methods of estimating Su from C P T . The results
have shown that there is no unique method for estimating Su from
CPT for all clays. Furthermore, the estimation of Su from CPT is
heavily influenced by various factors relating to:
1) material type and soil characteristics
2) cone design and CPT t e s t procedures
3) the choice of a reference Su
The choice of a reference Su is significant because Su is
not a unique parameter. It depends on the type of test used, the
rate of strain and the orientation of the failure planes. The
likely variation in Su for various test methods was illustrated
in chapter 1 and was the reason for selecting a single test
method (field vane) as a reference for this investigation. The
use of different reference shear strengths also makes
comparisons between results reported in the literature
difficult.
The undrained shear strength determined from field vane
tests is also influenced by several factors such as strength
anisotropy, rate effects, soil disturbance, delays between vane
insertion and the start of shearing, the assumed shear stress
distribution and the method of analysis. Recent work has shown
that the standard analysis is likely incorrect. However, with

153
our present lack of complete understanding of the VST it is best
that we continue to use the method for which we have the
greatest experience; using a vane of H/D=2 and analysing the
data using the standard equation:
Essential to the correlation of Su w i t h CPT i s confidence
and accuracy in the CPT data. One must understand the
limitations of the instrument and their effects on the test
results. The cone bearing can suffer accuracy problems in soft
normally consolidated clays because the tip load cell is often
only stressed from 1% t o 3% o f its capacity. A further loss of
accuracy can occur if pore pressure effects on the cone bearing
and sleeve friction are neglected. It is also essential that
zero load readings be checked before and a f t e r a profile in
order to determine whether drifts have occurred in the
electronics. Drifts due to temperature have been observed; the
effects of which can be substantial as was shown in chapter 3.
Complete and proper saturation of the pore pressure
measuring system is required to ensure high quality pore
pressure data. Chapter 5 illustrated that pore pressures
measured at different locations on the cone can be radically
different depending on the type of material in which the test is
made. This behaviour must be recognized in order to properly
make pore pressure corrections and to compare CPT r e s u l t s . Pore
pressure corrections to bearing must be made using pore
pressures measured behind the tip.
Despite these problems, the cone penetration test has
proved to be unequalled in its ability to identify soil layer

154
boundaries and q u a l i t a t i v e l y evaluate material types. Layers as
thin as 1 cm h a v e been detected by the cone bearing, however,
the estimation of layer thickness is complicated by the sampling
rate. Significant to the estimation of undrained shear strength
is the influence that the surrounding layers have on the tip
resistance. A zone of influence extends about 5 to 10 cone
diameters ahead and behind the tip depending on the relative
stiffness of the layers. This effect can cause a bearing value
to be recorded that does not truely represent the material being
tested. However, this effect is more pronounced in stiffer soils
than in soft layers.
The estimation of Su from CPT appears to be strongly
influenced by such soil properties as stress history,
sensitivity and stiffness. The results presented in chapter 7
indicated that increases in OCR a n d sensitivity were reflected
by increases in the traditional cone factors Nc and Nk. At the
B.C. Hydro railway site the cone factors also increased with
decreasing plasticity index (with OCR and sensitivity
essentially constant). Considerable scatter was often observed
but was minimized when pore pressure effects and overburden
stress were accounted for. It is clear that there is no unique
value for the traditional cone factor Nk that is applicable to
all clays.
The use of pore pressure data appears to be a promising
means of estimating Su from CPT. E x p r e s s i o n s have been developed
that predict the excess pore p r e s s u r e s b a s e d on c a v i t y expansion
theory. They attempt to include the effects of sensitivity and
stress history through the use of Skempton's pore pressure

1 55
parameter Af. The effects of soil stiffness is i n c l u d e d by using
the rigidity index G/Su. A spherical cavity expansion approach
should be used for pore p r e s s u r e s measured on the face and a
cylindrical approach for those measured behind the tip. The
method of Campanella et al. 1985 appears to work well,
particularly in normally consolidated deposits. Correlations
between NAU and B q a n d Nke and Bq l o o k p r o m i s i n g and should be
investigated further with data from other sites.
8.2 Conclusions
This section presents the most important conclusions
regarding the factors that affect the estimation of Su from CPT.
8.2.1 A c c u r a c y of CPT Data
Attention to the follwing details in test and data
reduction procedures are essential in-order to obtain meaningful
results.
i) bearing must be corrected for pore pressure and
temperature effects
ii) friction measurements must be corrected for the effects
of unequal end a r e a s and temperature
iii) pore p r e s s u r e s must be m e a s u r e d b e h i n d the tip in order
to properly correct the bearing and friction for pore
pressure effects
iv) all cone c h a n n e l s s h o u l d be calibrated for temperature
effects
v) complete saturation of the pore pressure measuring

156
system is essential
vi) porous elements s h o u l d have an average pore size of at
least 100 microns to prevent clogging
vii) zero load readings must be checked before and after a
profile to detect zero shifts
8.2.2 Influence of Layer Boundaries
i) the cone bearing is influenced by surrounding soil
layers, however this effect is more significant in
coarse grained materials
ii) the cone bearing will not reach its full resistance in
thin (less than from 5 to 10 cone diameters thick)
layers of sand
iii) thinner layers of clay are required to record the true
bearing
iv) the valleys in the bearing record s h o u l d be used for
estimating the undrained strength in cohesive deposits
8.2.3 Detection of Thin Layers
i) layers of the order 10cm t h i c k are easily detected by
the tip resistance
ii) it may be possible to detect layers as thin as 1cm,
however, the material properties of this thin layer
would have to be considerably different from the
surrounding soil to be detected

157
iii) estimating the thickness of a layer is highly dependent
on the sampling rate
iv) the estimation of layer thickness for layers thinner
than the sampling rate is highly speculative and can
often be in error
v) sampling at discrete intervals can a l s o lead to subdued
peaks in the CPT profile
8.2.4 Estimating Su from Cone Bearing
i) the estimation of Su from CPT i s strongly influenced by
stress history, sensitivity and stiffness
ii) increases in OCR a n d senstivity resulted in increases
in the traditional cone factors Nc and Nk
iii) the cone factors also increased with decreasing
plasticity index (i.e. increasing soil stiffness)
iv) scatter in the cone factor was minimized when -pore
pressure effects and overburden stress were accounted
for
v) there is no unique value for the traditional cone
factor Nk that is applicable to all clays
8.2.5 U s i n g CPT P o r e Pressure Data to Estimate Su
i) the use of pore pressure data appears to be a promising
means of estimating Su from CPT
ii) the method of Campanella et al. 1985 (figure 6.5)
appears to work well, particularly in normally

158
consolidated deposits
iii) when using a cavity expansion approach, spherical
cavity expansion methods should be used for pore
pressures measured on the face and cylindrical cavity
expansion for those measured behind the tip
iv) the pore pressure parameter Bq d e c r e a s e with increasing
OCR, but there is no unique realtionship.between Bq and
OCR since Bq i s also a function of sensitivity and soil
stiffness
v) there is no d i s c e r n i b l e relation between Nkt and Bq
vi) there appears to be fairly consistent relationships
between N A U and Bq and between Nke and Bq
vii) the best correlation is between Nke and Bq, however,
unless careful attention is paid to the details
discussed in section 8.2.1 considerable error in the
calculation of Nke can result
8.2.6 Use o f Friction Sleeve Measurements
Comparisons between friction sleeve measurements and Su
indicate that the sleeve friction is close to the remolded shear
strength Sur, particularly in sensitive soils.
Estimates of sensitivity (field vane) were best made using
St = _6
Rf t%
where the friction ratio Rft has been calculated using bearing
and friction corrected for pore pressure effects.

159
8.3 Recommended P r o c e d u r e s for Estimating Su f r o m CPT
The fact that Su a n d CPT c o r r e l a t i o n s can be affected by
many various parameters indicates that a single method can not
work in all clay types. The engineer s h o u l d not rely on a single
method but instead s h o u l d use a variety of methods to determine
the best estimate of S u . Where possible, it is best that local
correlations be used.
The following describes recommended procedures for
estimating Su from CPT.
8.3.1 Use of CPT D a t a Without Pore Pressures
It is not recommended t h a t CPT d a t a be used that does not
include pore p r e s s u r e s . The variation in Nc a n d Nk is too great
and without pore pressures there is no alternate method for
confirming the appropriate cone factor. An estimate of the
appropriate cone factor would have to be made from tables 6.1,
6.2, or 7.3 or from figures 6.1, 6.2, or 7.41. An knowledge of
PI, sensitivty a n d OCR w o u l d be helpful. Sensitivity can be
estimated from the friction ratio a n d OCR c a n be estimated from
the site geology or the cone bearing.
8.3.2 Use of CPT D a t a With Pore Pressures
T o make use of a combination of the various proposed
methods of correlation an iterative approach can be used. This
can be d o n e using the following steps:
1) Estimate Sensitivity (St) from Rf (friction ratio)
2) Estimate OCR f r o m Bq (figure 7.40), site geology, or

160
cone bearing
3) knowing St a n d OCR e s t i m a t e Af
4) Estimate G / S u from PI using figure 6.4
5) from figure 6.5 estimate NAU
6) Compare this value with NAU obtained from figure 7.42
using Bq
7) Iterate until the NAU v a l u e s are compatibale
8) Using N AU e s t i m a t e Su
9) check the estimate of Su a g a i n s t those estimated from
Nke (using Bq a n d figure 7.43) and Nkt (using table 7.3
or figure 7.41)
161
REFERENCES
Aas, C, 1965. "A Study of the E f f e c t of Vane Shape and Rate of

S t r a i n on the Measured V a l u e s of I n - S i t u S h e a r S t r e n g t h o f
Clays", P r o c e e d i n g s of the S i x t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e
on S o i l M e c h a n i c s and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 1,
.pp.141-145.
Aas, G. 1967. "Vane T e s t s f o r I n v e s t i g a t i o n of A n i s o t r o p y o f

U n d r a i n e d Shear S t r e n g t h of Clays", Proceedings of the
G e o t e c h n i c a l C o n f e r e n c e a t O s l o , Norway, V o l . 1., pp. 3-8.
Arman, A., J.K. P o p l i n and N. Ahmad, 1975. " S t u d y of the Vane

S h e a r " , P r o c e e d i n g s of the ASCE Conference on In-Situ
Measurement of S o i l P r o p e r t i e s , R a l e i g h , North C a r o l i n a ,
V o l . 1, pp.93-120.
A r m s t r o n g , J . E . , 1978. " P o s t Vachon W i s c o n s i n G l a c i a t i o n , F r a s e r

Lowland, B r i t i s h Columbia", G e o l o g i c a l Survey of Canada,
B u l l e t i n 332.
Azzouz, A.S., M.M. B a l i g h and C C . L a d d , 1983. " C o r r e c t e d F i e l d

Vane S t r e n g t h f o r Embankment Design", J o u r n a l of the
Geotechnical Engineering D i v i s i o n , ASCE, V o l . 109, No.
5,pp. 730-734.
B a l i g h , M.M., 1975. "Theory of Deep S i t e S t a t i c Cone P e n e t r a t i o n

R e s i s t a n c e " , R e p o r t No. R 75 - 56, Department of Civil
E n g i n e e r i n g , M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s t i t u t e of T e c h n o l o g y .
B a l i g h , M.M., V. V i v a t r a t , and C C . L a d d , 1979. " E x p l o r a t i o n and

E v a l u a t i o n of E n g i n e e r i n g P r o p e r t i e s f o r Foundation Design
of O f f s h o r e S t r u c t u r e s " , M.I.T. Sea G r a n t C o l l e g e P r o g r a m
R e p o r t Mo. MITS 79 - 8, M.I.T.
Begemann, H.K., 1965. "The F r i c t i o n J a c k e t Cone as an Aide in

Determining the Soil P r o f i l e " , P r o c e e d i n g s of the S i x t h
I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e on S o i l M e c h a n i c s and Foundation
E n g i n e e r i n g , V o l . 1, pp. 17-20.
Berre, T. and L. Bjerrum, 1973. "Shear S t r e n g t h o f N o r m a l l y

Consolidated Clays", Proceedings of the Eighth
International C o n f e r e n c e on S o i l M e c h a n i c s and F o u n d a t i o n
E n g i n e e r i n g , Moscow, U.S.S.R., V o l . 1.1, pp. 39-49.
Bjerrum, L., 1972. "Embankments on Soft Grounds", ASCE

Proceedings of t h e S p e c i a l t y C o n f e r e n c e on P e r f o r m a n c e o f
E a r t h and E a r t h - S u p p o r t e d S t r u c t u r e s , V o l . 2, pp. 1-54.
1 62
B j e r r u m , L., 1973. " P r o b l e m s of S o i l M e c h a n i c s and Construction

on Soft Clays and Structurally Unstable Soils
( C o l l a p s i b l e , E x p a n s i v e and O t h e r s ) " , P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e
Eighth International Conference on S o i l Mechanics and
F o u n d a t i o n E n g i n e e r i n g , Moscow, U.S.S.R., V o l . 3, p p . 111-
159.
B j e r r u m , L. and N. F l o d i n , 1960. " D e v e l o p m e n t o f S o i l Mechanics

i n Sweden, 1900-1925", G e o t e c h n i q u e 10, -No. 1, pp. 1-18.
Blight, G.E., 1968. "A N o t e on F i e l d Vane T e s t i n g o f S i l t y

S o i l s " , C a n a d i a n G e o t e c h n i c a l J o u r n a l , V o l . 3, No. 3, p p .
142-149.
B r a n d , E.W.,'Z.C. Moh and P. W i r o n j a n a g u d , 1974. " I n t e r p r e t a t i o n

of Dutch Cone T e s t s i n Bangkok C l a y " , P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e
European Symposium on P e n e t r a t i o n Testing, Stockholm,
Sweden, V o l . 2, pp. 51-58.
C a d l i n g , L. and S. O d e n s t a d , 1950. "The Vane B o r e r . An A p p a r a t u s

for D e t e r m i n i n g the Shear S t r e n g t h of C l a y S o i l s D i r e c t l y
in the Ground", R. Swedish Geotechnical Institute
P r o c e e d i n g s No. 2, S t o c k h o l m , Sweden.
Campanella, R.G. and P.K. Robertson, 1981. " A p p l i e d Cone

Research", Symposium on Cone Penetration Testing and
Experience, Geotechnical Engineering Division, ASCE,
O c t o b e r , pp. 343-362.
C a m p a n e l l a , R.G. and P.K. R o b e r t s o n , 1982. " S t a t e o f t h e A r t i n

In-Situ Testing of S o i l s : Developments Since 1978",
E n g i n e e r i n g F o u n d a t i o n C o n f e r e n c e on U p d a t i n g Subsurface
Sampling of S o i l s and Rocks and T h e i r I n - S i t u T e s t i n g ,
Santa Barbara, C a l i f o r n i a .
C a m p a n e l l a , R.G. a n d P.K. Robertson, 1984. "A S e i s m i c Cone

Penetrometer t o Measure E n g i n e e r i n g P r o p e r t i e s of S o i l " ,
Submitted t o S o c i e t y of E x p l o r a t i o n Geophysics Meeting,
Atlanta Georgia.
Campanella, R.G., P.K. R o b e r t s o n , D.G. G i l l e s p i e , and J . G r e i g ,

1985. " R e c e n t D e v e l o p m e n t s i n I n - S i t u T e s t i n g of Soils",
Proceedings o f t h e E l e v e n t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e on
S o i l M e c h a n i c s and F o u n d a t i o n E n g i n e e r i n g , San Francisco,
Cali fornia.
Cleveland, E.P., 1971. "Use o f t h e D u t c h Cone P e n e t r a t i o n T e s t

for Soil Exploration in Kentucky", M.Sc. Thesis,
U n i v e r s i t y of Kentucky, K e n t u c k y .
163
Davies, P.M., 1985. "Application of the Piezometer Cone

Penetration Test to Slope Stability Evaluation Focus:
Haney Slide", B.A.Sc. Thesis, University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Donald, I.B., D.O. J o r d a n , R . J . P a r k e r , and C T . T o h , 1977. "The

Vane T e s t - A C r i t i c a l A p p r a i s a l " , P r o c e e d i n g s of the Ninth
International C o n f e r e n c e on S o i l M e c h a n i c s a n d Foundation
E n g i n e e r i n g , T o k y o , J a p a n , V o l . 1, p p . 81-88.
D o u g l a s , B . J . and R . S . O l s e n , 1981. " S o i l Classification Using

E l e c t r i c Cone P e n e t r o m e t e r " , S y m p o s i u m on Cone Penetration
T e s t i n g and E x p e r i e n c e , G e o t e c h n i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g Division,
ASCE, S t . L o u i s , U . S . A .
Drnevich, V.P., C T . Gorman, and T . C . H o p k i n s , 1974. "Shear

Strength of Cohesive Soils and Friction Sleeve
Resistance", Proceedings of the European Symposium on
P e n e t r a t i o n T e s t i n g , S t o c k h o l m , Sweden, V o l . 2 : 2 , pp. 129
- 132.
Eide, 0 . , 1968. " G e o t e c h n i c a l P r o b l e m s w i t h S o f t Bangkok C l a y on

the Nakhon Sawan Highway Project", Publication No. 78,
Norwegian G e o t e c h n i c a l I n s t i t u t e , O s l o , Norway.
F l a a t e , K . , 1966. "Factors Influencing the Results of Vane

Tests", Canadian Geotechnical J o u r n a l , V o l . 3 , N o . 1, p p .
18-31.
G h i o n n a , V . , M. J a m o l k o w s k i , S . L a c a s s e , R. L a n c e l l o t a , and T.
Lunne, 1983. "Evaluation of S e l f B o r i n g Pressuremeter",
P r o c e e d i n g s of the International Symposium on In-Situ
T e s t i n g , P a r i s , France, V o l . 2, pp. 294-301.
Gibson R.E. and W.F. Anderson, 1961. " I n - S i t u Measurements of

S o i l P r o p e r t i e s w i t h the P r e s s u r e m e t e r " , C i v i l Engineering
and P u b l i c Works R e v i e w , V o l . 56, No. 658, p p . 615-618.
G i l l e s p i e , D . G . , 1 9 8 1 . "The P i e z o m e t e r Cone Penetration Test",

M . A . S c . T h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , Vancouver,
Canada.
Helenelund, K.V., 1977. "Methods for Reducing Undrained Shear

S t r e n g t h of S o f t C l a y " , Swedish G e o t e c h n i c a l R e p o t , No. 3 .
J a m i o l k o w s k y , M. , C C L a d d , J . J . G e r m a i n e , a n d R. Lancellotta,
1 9 8 5 . "New D e v e l o p m e n t s i n F i e l d a n d L a b o r a t o r y T e s t i n g o f
Soils", State of the Art paper for the Eleventh
I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e on S o i l M e c h a n i c s a n d Foundation
E n g i n e e r i n g , San F r a n c i s c o , California.
1 64
J a m i o l k o w s k y , M. , R. L a n c e l l o t t a , L. T o r d e l l a , and M. B a t t a g l i o ,
1982. "Undrained Strength f r o m CPT", P r o c e e d i n g s of t h e
Second E u r o p e a n Symposium on Penetration Testing",
Amsterdam, V o l . 2, pp. 599 - 606.
Jones, G.A. and E. R u s t , 1982. " P i e z o m e t e r P e n e t r a t i o n T e s t i n g " ,

Proceedings of the Second European Symposium on
P e n e t r a t i o n T e s t i n g , A m s t e r d a m , V o l . 2, pp. 6 0 7 - 6 1 3 .
Jones, G.A., D. Van Z y l and E. Rust, 1981. "Mine Tailings

Characterization by Piezometer Cone", Symposium on Cone
Penetration Testing and Experience, Geotechnical
E n g i n e e r i n g D i v i s i o n , ASCE, S t . L o u i s , M i s s o u r i , pp. 303 -
324.
Kenney, T.C. and D.J. F o l k e s , 1979. " M e c h a n i c a l P r o p e r t i e s of

S o f t S o i l s " , S t a t e of t h e A r t R e p o r t t o t h e 32nd Canadian
G e o t e c h n i c a l C o n f e r e n c e , V o l . 2.
Kimura, T. and K. S a i t o h , 1983. " E f f e c t o f D i s t u r b a n c e Due t o

I n s e r t i o n on Vane S h e a r S t r e n g t h of N o r m a l l y Consolidated
Cohesive Soils", Soils a n d F o u n d a t i o n s , V o l . 23, No. 2,
pp. 113-124.
K o u t s o f t a s , D. and J . F i s c h e r , 1976. " I n - S i t u Drained Shear

S t r e n g t h of Two M a r i n e C l a y s " , J o u r n a l o f t h e G e o t e c h n i c a l
Engineering Division, ASCE, V o l . 102, No. GT9, pp. 989-
1005.
L a d a n y i , B., 1972. " I n - s i t u D e t e r m i n a t i o n o f Undrained Stress-

Strain Behaviour of Sensitive Clays with the
P r e s s u r e m e t e r " , C a n a d i a n G e o t e c h n i c a l J o u r n a l , V o l . 9, No.
3.
Ladd, C C . and R. Foott, 1974. "New Design Procedure for

Stability of Soft Calys", Journal of the G e o t e c h n i c a l
E n g i n e e r i n g D i v i s i o n , ASCE, V o l . 100, No. GT7, pp. 763-
786.
Ladd, C C , R. F o o t t , K. I s h i h a r a , F. S c h l o s s e r and H.G. Poulos,

1977. " S t r e s s D e f o r m a t i o n and S t r e n g t h C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s " ,
P r o c e e d i n g s of t h e N i n t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e on Soil
M e c h a n i c s and Foundation E n g i n e e r i n g , Tokyo, Japan, V o l .
2, pp. 421-494.
La R o c h e l l e , P., M. Roy and F. Tavenas, 1973. "Field

Measurements of C o h e s i o n i n C h a m p l a i n C l a y s " , P r o c e e d i n g s
o f t h e E i g h t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e on Soil Mechanics
and Foundation Engineering, Moscow, U.S.S.R., V o l . 1.1,
pp. 229-236.
1 65
Lunne, T . , 0 . E i d e and J . De R u i t e r - , 1 9 7 6 . "Correlation Between

Cone Resistance and Vane S t r e n g t h i n Some S c a n d a n a v i a n
S o f t t o Medium S t i f f C l a y s : Reply", Canadian Geotechnical
J o u r n a l , V o l . 13, p p . 430 - 441.
Lunne, T. and A. Klevin, 1981. "Role of CPT i n N o r t h Sea

Foundation Engineering", Symposium on Cone Penetration
T e s t i n g and E x p e r i e n c e , G e o t e c h n i c a l Engineering Division,
ASCE, pp. 49-75.
Lunne, T., H.P. Christofferson, and T.I. Tjelta, 1985.

" E n g i n e e r i n g Use of the P i e z o c o n e D a t a in the North Sea
Clays", Proceedings of the Eleventh International
C o n f e r e n c e on S o i l M e c h a n i c s a n d Foundation Engineering,
San F r a n c i s c o , C a l i f o r n i a .
Massarch, K.R., and B.B. Broms, 1981. "Pipe D r i v i n g in Clay

S l o p e s " , P r o c e e d i n g s of the T e n t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e
on S o i l M e c h a n i c s a n d Foundation Engineering, Stockolm,
S w e d e n , p p . 24 - 29.
Menzies, B.K. and C M . M e r r i f i e l d , 1980. "Measurement of Shear

Stress Distribution on t h e E d g e s o f a S h e a r Vane Blade",
G e o t e c h n i q u e , V o l . 30 p p . 314-318.
Poplin, N.K., A. Arman a n d N . Ahmad, 1978. " E v a l u a t i o n of the

Vane Shear Test in Louisiana", Engineering Research
B u l l e t i n No. 118, L o u i s i a n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , Louisiana.
Rice, A.H., 1984. "The Seismic Cone Penetrometer",M.A.Sc.

Thesis, U n i v e r s i t y of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Richardson, A.M., E.W. Brand and A. Memon, 1975 "In-Situ

Determination of A n i s o t r o p y of a S o f t C l a y " , Proceedings
o f t h e S p e c i a l t y C o n f e r e n c e on I n - S i t u M e a s u r e m e n t o f Soil
P r o p e r t i e s , ASCE, R a l e i g h , North Carolina, Vol. 1, pp.
336-349.
Robertson, P.K., 1985. "In S i t u T e s t i n g a n d i t s A p p l i c a t i o n to

Foundation Engineering", Colloqium delivered to the
Canadian G e o t e c h n i c a l C o n f e r e n c e , Edmonton, Canada.
Robertson, P.K. and R.G. Campanella, 1983. " I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of

Cone Penetration Tests: Parts 1 and 2", Canadian
G e o t e c h n i c a l J o u r n a l , V o l . 2 0 , N o . 4 , p p . 718 - 745.
Robertson, P.K. and R . G . C a m p a n e l l a , 1984. " G u i d e l i n e s F o r Use

and I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the Electronic Cone Penetration
Test", Soil M e c h a n i c s S e r i e s No. 69, Department of Civil
E n g i n e e r i n g , U n i v e r s i t y of British Columbia, Vancouver,
Canada.
166
Schmertmann, J.H., 1975. "Measurement of In-Situ Shear

S t r e n g t h " , P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e S p e c i a l t y C o n f e r e n c e on In-
Situ Measurement of S o i l P r o p e r t i e s , ASCE, R a l e i g h , North
C a r o l i n a , V o l . 2, p p . 5 7 - 1 3 8 .
Schmertman, J . H . , 1978. "Guidelines for Cone Penetration Test

Performance and D e s i g n " , F e d e r a l Highways Administration,
Report FHWA-TS-78-209, Washington, D.C.
Senneset, K., N. Janbu and G. Svano, 1982. "Strength and

Deformation Parameters from Cone Penetration Tests",
Proceedings of the Second European Symposium on
Penetration T e s t i n g , A m s t e r d a m , p p . 863 - 870.
Senneset, K. and N. Jambu, 1984. "Shear Strength Parameters

O b t a i n e d from Static Cone Penetration Tests", A-84-1,
Institute of G e o t e c h n i c s and F o u n d a t i o n E n g i n e e r i n g , The
N o r w e i g i a n I n s t i t u t e of T e c h n o l o g y , T r o n d h e i m , Norway.
T o r s t e n s o n , B . A . , 1973. "Time-Dependent Effects in the Field

Vane T e s t " , P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l S y m p o s i u m on
Soft C l a y , Bangkok, pp. 387-397.
Treadwell, D.D., 1976. "The Influence of Gravity, Prestress,

Compressibility a n d L a y e r i n g on S o i l R e s i s t a n c e t o Static
Penetration", Ph.D. Thesis, University of California,
Berkeley.
Vesic, A.S., 1972. "Expansion of Cavities in I n f i n i t e S o i l

M a s s e s " , J o u r n a l of the Soil Mechanics and Foundation
E n g i n e e r i n g D i v i s i o n , A S C E , V o l . 98, SM3, pp. 265-290.
Wesley, L.D., 1967. "The Dutch Penetrometer and I t s Use i n

Indonesia", Proceedings, Southeast Asian Regional
C o n f e r e n c e on S o i l E n g i n e e r i n g , B a n g k o k , p p . 2 2 3 - 2 3 0 .
Wiesel, C.E.R., 1973. "Some Factors Influencing I n - S i t u Vane

Test R e s u l t s " , Proceedings of the Eighth International
Conference on S o i l Mechanics and F o u n d a t i o n E n g i n e e r i n g ,
Vol. 2., pp. 475-479.
Wroth, C P . , 1984. "The I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of In-Situ Soil Tests",

W r i t t e n V e r s i o n o f t h e 1984 R a n k i n e Lecture.
1 67
APPENDIX A
COMPARISON BETWEEN A CPT BEARING PROFILE

CONE BEARING CONTINUOUS BOREHOLE LOG
Qt (bar)
20
START OF CONTINUOUS BOREHOLE
fine to coarse sand

B.C. HYDRO R A I L SITE
LANGLEY B. C.
grey silty clay
•silty fine to medium sand
grey silty clay
sandy clay
grey silty clay
grey silty clay, some fine sand
flne sand
grey silty clay, occasional sand lense
Figure A.la COMPARISON BETWEEN A CPT BEARING PROFILE

CONE BEARING
Qt (bar)
20
gray s i l t y clay, occasional sand tense
fins sand
gray s i l t y clay
B.C. HYDRO R A I L SITE layered a l l t y c l a y and s i l t y fine sand
L A N G L E Y B.C. ( l a y e r s a p p r o x . 1cm) fine aand
grey a l 1 t y clay
VC-
i l I t y f Ine sand
laminated s i l t y f i n e sand and s i l t y clay
grey a l l t y clay
fine sand
grey a l l t y clay
a l I t y f Ine aand
grey s i l t y clay
Figure A.lb COMPARISON BETWEEN A CPT BEARING PROFILE

CONE BEARING
Qt ( b a r )
•
20
grey silty cI a y
grey silty clay. Increasing

B. C . HYDRO R A I L SITE In sand content with depth
L A N G L E Y 9. C.
interbedded fine silty sand and 5.My clay
silty fIne sand
grey fine sand
grey silty cI ay
silty sand, some clay
grey slIty clay, some f i n e sand lenses
grey sl1ty clay
grey silty clay and f i n e sand
sand lense. slightly inclined

.grey s 1 1 t y c 1 av
ffne sflty sand, some clay
g' e y 5 f 1 t y clay
grey s u ty snnd
grey silty clay —
grey silty clay grey silty sand, little clay
F i g u r e A.Ic COMPARISON BETWEEN A CPT BEARING PROFILE

CONE BEARING
Ot ( b a r )
20
10. 0 grey s f 1 ty c 1 ay, o c c a s 1ona 1 f t ne sancl I ayer
—grey silty clay" -
grey silty clay, some fine sand partings
grey s1J t y c l a y
B. C. HYDRO RAIL SITE
LANGLEY B.C.
grey silty c1 a y , some f1ne sand partings
fine t o medium sandy clay
grey silty clay, some s i l t y fine sand
u
grey silty clay. Inclined sand layer 1cm thick
fj
L
a
E
grey s11ty clay
0.
UJ sandy clay, sand content increasing with depth
a f \ ne s a n d . t r a c e silt
grey silty c1 a y
s11 t y f I n e sand
laminated grey sflty clay and f i n e sand
s11ty sand. some she 1 I fragments
grey silty clay

12. 5 •
F i g u r e A.Id COMPARISON BETWEEN A CPT BEARING PROFILE

Figure A.le COMPARISON BETWEEN A CPT BEARING PROFILE

Estimación Corte No Drenado

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Estimación Corte No Drenado

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

ESTIMATING UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH OF CLAY

FROM CONE PENETRATION TESTS

JAMES WILLIAM GREIG

B.A.Sc, The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1981

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCE

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

We accept this t h e s i s as conforming

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

© James W i l l i a m Greig, 1985

department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or

The University of British Columbia

Date O^+vUz^ / S~ /<?0±'

This paper discusses several proposed methods for

estimating u n d r a i n e d shear s t r e n g t h from cone p e n t r a t i o n tests.

T h i s c o r r e l a t i o n h a s been s t u d i e d in the past, however, most

have focussed only on the cone bearing. In addition to

discussing these traditional methods, this paper evaluates

recently proposed methods of estimating Su from CPT pore

The r e s u l t s o f f i e l d vane and cone p e n e t r a t i o n tests from

five lower mainland sites are presented in relation t o the

different proposed c o r r e l a t i o n t e c h n i q u e s . The r e s u l t s show t h a t

t h e r e i s no u n i q u e c o n e f a c t o r f o r e s t i m a t i n g Su from CPT for

all clays, h o w e v e r , a r e a s o n a b l e e s t i m a t e o f Su can be made by

comparing the p r e d i c t i o n s from s e v e r a l of the proposed methods.

The r e s u l t s a l s o show t h a t t h e e s t i m a t i o n of Su from CPT is

influenced by various factors relating to: the c h o i c e of a

r e f e r e n c e Su, c o n e d e s i g n , CPT test procedures and the soil

strongly influenced by s u c h s o i l parameters as s t r e s s history,

s e n s i t i v i t y and s t i f f n e s s . I n c r e a s e s i n OCR and s e n s i t i v i t y were

The use of pore p r e s s u r e d a t a a p p e a r s t o be a p r o m i s i n g

means o f e s t i m a t i n g . S u f r o m CPT. E x p r e s s i o n s h a v e been d e v e l o p e d

that p r e d i c t excess pore p r e s s u r e s based on cavity expansion

m e a s u r e m e n t s and Su a n d a method f o r e s t i m a t i n g sensitivity from

friction ratios are presented.

Lastly, recommended procedures f o r estimating Su from CPT

1.1 I n s i t u Measurement o f U n d r a i n e d S h e a r Strength 1

2.4 Data A c q u i s i t i o n Systems 11

CHAPTER 3. TEST PROCEDURES AND DATA REDUCTION 18

3.4 F i e l d Cone P e n e t r a t i o n Testing ... 21

3.5.3 P o r e Pressure Corrections 24

CHAPTER 4. A REVIEW OF THE VANE SHEAR TEST 32

4.5 D i s t u r b a n c e Due t o Vane Insertion 42

CHAPTER 5. A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE CONE PENETRATION TEST 51

5.4 Dynamic Pore P r e s s u r e Response 64

CHAPTER 6. METHODS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN CPT AND Su 67

6.3.1 Using Effective Bearing to Estimate Su 77

6.3.2 Use o f E x c e s s P o r e P r e s s u r e s and C a v i t y

6.3.3 Use o f V a r i o u s Pore P r e s s u r e P a r a m e t e r s and

6.4 U s i n g Friction Sleeve Measurements t o E s t i m a t e Su .. 85

6.5 E v a l u a t i n g Stress History from CPT 87

CHAPTER 7. F I E L D PROGRAMME AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 95

7.2.2 C o r r e l a t i o n s Between Su and CPT 98

7.3 B.C. H y d r o R a i l w a y C r o s s i n g Site 106

7.3.1 General Geology and S i t e D e s c r i p t i o n 106

7.3.2 C o r r e l a t i o n s Between Su and CPT 107

7.4 Upper 232nd S t . S i t e 114

7.4.1 General Geology and S i t e D e s c r i p t i o n 114

7.4.2 C o r r e l a t i o n s Between Su and CPT 115

7.5 Lower 232nd S t . S i t e 123

7.5.1 G e n e r a l G e o l o g y and S i t e D e s c r i p t i o n 123

7.5.2 C o r r e l a t i o n s Between Su and CPT 125