Foundation Engineering

Site Investigations

- Virncheepuram Naveen
 Standard Penetration Test
Introduction:
Most commonly used In-situ test
Especially for cohesion less soils, which cant
be easily sampled
Useful in finding out:
Relative density of cohesion less soils.
Angle of shearing resistance of cohesion less
soils.
Unconfined compressive strength of cohesive
soils
INSTRUMENTS
1. Drilling equipment for boreholes
2. Split-spoon sampler
3. Drive-weight assembly
4. Cathead
5. Hammer
a) Safety Hammer
b) Donut Hammer
c) Automatic Hammer
1. Drilling equipment for boreholes:
Any drilling equipment is
acceptable that provides a
reasonably clean hole,
which is at least 5 mm
larger than the sampler or
sampling rods, and less
than 170 mm diameter.
2. Split spoon sampler
It is a sampler for obtaining a
disturbed sample of soil and consists
of-
o Driving shoe : Made of tool-steel,
about 75 mm long
o Steel Tube : 450 mm long, split
longitudinally in two halves
o Coupling : 150 mm long, provided at
the top
o Check Valve
o 4 Venting Ports : 10 mm diameter
3. Drive weight assembly
Hammer of 63.5 kg
A driving Head (Anvil)
A guide permitting a
free fall of 0.76 m and
over lift capability of at
least 100 mm.
4. Cathead
Operating at approximately
100 rpm

Equipped with suitable rope

and overhead sheave for
lifting drive-weight
5. Hammer
a) Safety Hammer
Closed system
Delivers approximately
60% of the maximum
free fall energy
Highly variable energy

transfer
b) Donut Hammer Open system
Delivers approximately
45% of the maximum
free fall energy
Highly variable energy
transfer
c) Automatic Hammer

Safest system
Delivers approximately 95
- 100% of the maximum
free fall energy
Consistent and effective
energy transfer
Increased production
Procedure

1. Drilling of borehole
2. Driving the Casing
3. Assembling equipment
4. Penetration testing
5. Handling sample
1.Drilling of borehole
Drill the borehole to the desired sampling
depth and clean out all disturbed material.
The equipment used shall provide a clean
borehole, 100 to 150 mm in diameter, for
insertion of the sampler to ensure that the
penetration test is performed on undisturbed
soil.
Casing shall be used when drilling in sand, soft
clay or other soils in which the sides of
borehole are likely to cave in.
2.Driving the Casing
Where casing is used, it shall not be driven below
the level at which the test is made or soil sample
is taken.
In the case of cohesion less soils which cannot
stand without casing, the advancement of the
casing pipe should be such that it does not disturb
the soil to be tested or sampled; the casing shall
preferably be advanced by slowly turning the
casing rather than by driving, as the vibration
caused by driving may alter the density of such
deposits immediately below the bottom of the
borehole.
3.Assembling equipment
Attach the split-spoon sampler to the drill rod
and lower into the hole until it is sitting on the
undisturbed material.
Attach the drive weight assembly.
Lift the 63.5 kg hammer approximately 0.76 m
and allow it to fall on the anvil delivering one
seating blow.
Mark the drill rod in 3 successive .15 m
increments to observe penetration.
4. Penetration testing
Raise and drop the hammer 0.76 m
successively by means of the rope and
cathead, using no more than two and one
forth wraps around the cathead.
The hammer should be operated between 40
and 60 blows per minute and should drop
freely.
Record the number of blows for each .15 m of
the penetration.
The first 0.15 m increment is the "seating"
drive.
 The sum of the blows for second and third increment of
0.15 m penetration is termed "penetration resistance or
"N-value".
If the split spoon sampler is driven less than 45 cm (total),
then the penetration resistance shall be for the last 30 cm
of penetration (if less than 30 cm is penetrated, the logs
should state the number of blows and the depth
penetrated).
If the no. of blows for 15cm drive exceeds 50, it is taken
as a refusal and the test is discontinued.
Tests shall be made at every change in stratum or at
intervals of not more than l-5 m whichever is less. Tests
may be made at lesser intervals if specified or considered
necessary.
 The intervals be increased to 3 m if in
between vane shear test is performed.( as per
IS:2131-1963) .
The entire sampler may sometimes sink
under its own weight when very soft sub-soil
stratum is encountered.
Under such conditions, it may not be
necessary to give any blow to the split spoon
sampler and SPT value should be indicated as
zero.
5. Handling sample
Bring the sampler to the surface and open it.
Remove any obvious contamination from the ends or
sides and drain excess water. Carefully scrape or slice
along one side to expose fresh material and any
stratification.
Record the length, composition, colour, stratification
and condition of sample.
Remove sample and wrap it or seal in a plastic bag to
retain moisture. If the sample can be removed
relatively intact, wrap it in several layers of plastic
and seal ends with tape.
Corrections:
Dilatancy correction
Overburden pressure correction
Gibbs and holtz correction (1957)
Peck, hansen and thornburns correction
Peck and bazaraas correction
Dilatancy correction
Silty fine sands and fine sand below the water
table develop pore pressure which is not easily
dissipated.
Pore pressure increases the resistance of the
soil thus, Penetration Number (N) also
increases
This correction is applied when observed value
of N exceeds 15
Dilatancy correction
Terzaghi and Peck (1967) recommended the
following correction-
Overburden pressure correction
In granular soils, overburden pressure affects the
penetration resistance
If two soils, having same relative density but different
confining pressures are tested, the one with a higher
confining pressure gives a higher penetration number
as the confining pressure in cohesion less soils
increases with the depth, the penetration number for
soils at shallow depths is underestimated and that at
greater depths is overestimated.
For uniformity, the N- values obtained from field tests
under different effective overburden pressures are
corrected to a standard effective overburden pressure.
Gibbs and holtz correction (1957)
Peck, Hansen and Thornburns
correction
Peck and bazaraas correction
One of the most commonly used corrections
According to them,
 FACTORS COMMENTS
Attitude of operators Blow counts for the same soil using
the same rig can vary, depending on
who is operating the rig, and perhaps
the mood of operator and time of
drilling.
Overdrive sampler Higher blow counts usually result
from an overdriven sampler.
Sampler plugged by gravel Higher blow counts result when
gravel plugs the sampler, resistance of
loose sand could be highly
overestimated.
Plugged casing High N-values may be recorded for
loose sand when sampling below
groundwater table. Hydrostatic
pressure can cause sand to rise within
the casing.
 FACTORS COMMENTS
Overwashing ahead of Low blow count may result for dense
casing sand since overwashing loosens sand.

Drilling method Drilling technique (e.g., cased holes

vs. mud stabilized holes) may result in
different N-values for the same soil.

Free fall of the drive weight Using more than 1-1/2 turns of rope
is not attained around the drum and or using wire
cable will restrict the fall of the drive
weight.

Not using correct weight Driller frequently supplies drive

hammers with weights varying from
the standard by as much as 10 lbs.
 FACTORS COMMENTS

Weight does not strike the drive cap Impact energy is reduced, increasing
concentrically N-values.

Not using a guide rod Incorrect N-value obtained.

Not using a good tip on the sampling If the tip is damaged and reduces the
spoon opening or increases the end area the
N-value can be increased.

Use of drill rods heavier than With heavier rods more energy is
standard absorbed by the rods causing
an increase in the blow count.
Correlations between spt and soil
properties
- Relative Density
- Effective Stress Friction Angle
- Unconfined Compressive Strength

*Some correlations require the raw N-values

whereas others use the corrected N-values.
Relative Density
SPT N-Value Relative Density
0-4 Very loose 25-32
4-10 Loose 27-35
10-30 Medium 30-40
30-50 Dense 35-45
Over 50 Very dense >45
Unconfined Compressive Strength Of
Cohesive Soils

Consistency Very Soft Medium Stiff Very Stiff Hard

Soft

SPT N-value <2 2-4 4-8 8-15 15-30 >30

qu <25 25-50 50-100 100-200 200-400 >400

Advantages
Relatively quick and simple to perform.
Provides a representative soil sample.
Provides useful index of relative strength and
compressibility of the soil.
Able to penetrate dense layers, gravel, and fill.
The SPT equipment is rugged, and the test can
be performed in a wide range of soil
conditions.
Disadvantages
The SPT does not typically provide continuous
data, therefore important data such as weak
seams may be missed.
Limited applicability to cohesive soils, gravels,
cobbles boulders.
Somewhat slower than other sample methods
due to sample retrieval.
The greatest disadvantage to SPTs is the lack of
reproducibility of the test results
Precautions
The drill rods should be of standard specification
and should not be in bent condition.
The split spoon sampler must be in good
condition and the cutting shoe must be free from
wear and tear.
The drop hammer must be of the right weight and
the fall should be free, frictionless and vertical.
The height of fall must be exactly 750 mm. Any
change from this will seriously affect the N value.
Static Cone Penetration Test
 Static Cone Penetration Test
Introduction:
Cone
Sleeve
Driving force
Procedure
Interpretation of results
Cone (dutch cone)

Base area = 10 cm2

Apex angle = 600

To measure tip resistance

Related to un-drained shear strength

Cone specifications

Diameter = 35.7 < d < 36 (mm)

Cone height = 31 < hc < 31.3 (mm)

Cylindrical extension = 4.5 < he < 5.5 (mm)

CONE (10 cm2)
Cone (15 cm2)
Cylindrical sleeve specifications

Area = 150 cm2

Height =13.4 cm

To measure frictional resistance

Procedure
Cone pushed at 10 mm/sec
(35 mm)

Cone withdrawn & sleeve

pushed on to the cone and
driven together.
Cone penetrometer
HAND OPERATED (30kn)
ENGINE OPERATED (200kN)
Advantages:
Speed

Economy

Detailed & precise data

Disadvantages
Soil sample not obtained

Depth limited

Most useful in coarser, permeable soils ie:

sands
 Approximate relationship between
point of resistance of cone and
penetration number
i. Gravels qc=800N to 1000N
ii. Sand qc=500N to 600N
iii. Silty sand qc=300N to 400N
iv. Silts and clayey silts qc=200N
Where qc is point resistance of cone in KN/m2
Dynamic cone test
 Dynamic cone test
Introduction
This test is conducted by driving the cone by
blows of a hammer.
The number of blows for driving the cone
through a specified distance is a measure of
the dynamic cone resistance.
Characteristics
Dynamic cone test is performed by using a
50mm cone without bentotite slurry or by
using a 65mm cone with bentotite slurry.
The driving energy is given by a 65kg-hammer
falling through a height of 75cm
The number of blows for every 10cm
penetration is recorded.
The number of blows for every 30cm
penetration is recorded as dynamic cone
resistance.
Cross-section of dynamic cone:
Holes of 3mm dia are
provided .
Distributed for a height
of 150mm
Sleeve of dia 60mm dia
Dimensional Details(Small scale DCP)
Correlation between standard penetration test
N-value :

Ncbr=1.5N for upto 3m depth

Ncbr=1.75N for depth between 3 to 6m
Ncbr=2.0N for depth grater than 6m

Where Ncbr dynamic cone resistance in KN/m2

Correlation between the dynamic cone
resistance of 65mm diameter cone without
using bentonite slurry and the SPT number(N):

Ncbr=1.5N for upto 4m depth

Ncbr=1.75N for depth between 4 to 9m
Ncbr=2.0N for depth grater than 9m

Where Ncbr dynamic cone resistance in KN/m2

Precaution
If the skin friction is to be eliminated, the test
is conducted in a cased bore hole.
When 65mm cone with bentonite slurry is
used , the set-up should have arrangements
for circulating slurry so that the friction on the
driving rod is eliminated.
Reference
Dr.K.R.Arora
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Howstuffworks.com
Southern Earth Sciences,.Inc;

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