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Published By Lankelma

Lankelma is the foremost contractor for onshore in-situ soil testing in the UK. An acknowledged specialist in CPT, Lankelma also offers a worldwide consultancy and training service.

A.P. van den Berg develops, designs and manufactures geotechnical and environmental soil investigation equipment for onshore and offshore applications. Specialists in CPT systems and equipment.

Gardline

Gardline Geosciences offers worldwide marine geotechnics, in-house consutancy and services with marine investigations ranging from nearshore to full ocean depth (down to 3000m).

About the Author

Hans Brouwer studied civil engineering at Delft University in The Netherlands. He has worked as a part-time lecturer at Amsterdam Polytechnic and was senior partner in a structural engineering consultancy. He has written a standard textbook in Dutch about the design of building foundations. He now lives in England where he writes technical textbooks in English, hopefully to reach a bigger readership.

Chapter 3

Piezocone

Piezocone (cone penetration test with porewater pressure management)

  
PIEZOCONE   3.0
 
The piezocone test (CPTU) is a cone penetration test (CPT) with
additional measurement of the porewater pressure at one or more
locations (U1, U2 and U3) on the penetrometer surface (Figure 8). 
   
                
                
 
 


Cone penetration testing, with porewater pressure measurements,
gives a more reliable determination of stratification and soil type than a
standard CPT. In addition, CPTU provides a better basis for interpreting
the results in terms of mechanical soil properties.
 
Mechanical properties to be evaluated are:

  • shear strength parameters
     
  • deformation and consolidation characteristics.


The results from a CPTU can be used, directly, for the design of piled
foundations in clay. 

 

 
 Test results are presented as shown in Figure 9. The porewater
pressure in the top 11 m of sand is more or less hydrostatic. Then the
porewater pressure increases very quickly in the underlaying clay.
 
 
  
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