PRESENTED BY:

Saif Khan 10-CES-

56
Saif Ul Islam 10-CES-
57
Saleem Sajjad Naqvi 10-CES-58
Sana Fatima 10-CES-59
Sana Fatima Ali 10-CES-60

Geotechnical Engineering
Standard Penetration Test
JAMIA MILLIA
ISLAMIA
 INTRODUCTION

Especially for

Most cohesion less

commonly soils, which

used In-situ cant be easily

test sampled
USEFUL IN
FINDING
OUT
 INSTRUMENTS
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
 INSTRUMENTS
2. SPLIT SPOON SAMPLER
It is a sampler for obtaining
a disturbed sample of soil
and consists of-
oDriving shoe : Made of
tool-steel, about 75 mm
long
oSteel Tube : 450 mm
long, split longitudinally in
two halves
oCoupling : 150 mm long,
provided at the top
oCheck Valve
o4 Venting Ports : 10 mm
 INSTRUMENTS
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.
INSTRUMENTS
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
c) Automatic Hammer

Safest system
Delivers
approximately 95 -
100% of the
maximum free fall
energy
Consistent and
effective energy
transfer
Increased
PROCEDURE New 1.DRILLING OF
Picture Effects
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
PROCEDURE 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
PROCEDURE
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.
PROCEDURE New Picture Effects
PROCEDURE 4. PENETRATION
New Picture Effects
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
PROCEDURE 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
PROCEDURE
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.
PROCEDURE Ne4. Handling Sample
w Picture Effects
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
 DILATANCY CORRECTION
CORRECTIONS
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
CORRECTIONS
Terzaghi and Peck (1967)
recommended the following correction-
 OVERBURDEN PRESSURE
CORRECTIONS In granularCORRECTION
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
 1.GIBBS AND HOLTZ CORRECTION
CORRECTIONS (1957)
 2. PECK, HANSEN AND THORNBURNS
CORRECTION
CORRECTIONS
APPLIED
 3. PECK AND BAZARAAS
CORRECTION
One of the most commonly used
CORRECTIONS

corrections
According to them,
APPLIED
 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 Higher blow counts result when gravel

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
Inadequate cleaning of SPT is only partially made in original soil.
the borehole Sludge may be trapped in the sampler and
compressed as the sampler is driven,
increasing the blow count (This may even
prevent sample recovery.)

Not seating the Incorrect N-values obtained.

sampler spoon on
undisturbed material
Driving of the sample N-values are increased in sands and reduced
spoon above the in cohesive soils.
bottom of the casing

Failure to maintain The water table in the borehole must be at

sufficient hydrostatic least equal to the piezometric level in the
head in boring sand, otherwise the sand at the bottom of
the borehole may be transformed into a
loose state thereby decreasing the blow
counts
 FACTORS COMMENTS

Overwashing ahead of Low blow count may result for dense sand
casing 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 Using more than 1-1/2 turns of rope around
weight the drum and or using wire cable will
is not attained 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 Impact energy is reduced, increasing N-

the drive cap values.
concentrically

Not using a guide rod Incorrect N-value obtained.

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

Use of drill rods heavier With heavier rods more energy is absorbed
than standard 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
Unconfined Compressive Strength Of Cohe
 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.
Numerous case histories of soil liquefaction
during past earthquakes are available with
SPT N-values. The method based on this
history can reflect actual soil behaviour during
earthquakes, which cannot be simulated in
the laboratory.
soil density, soil fabric, stress and
strain history effects, and horizontal
effective stress, all of which are known
to influence the liquefaction resistance
but are difficult to obtain with
undisturbed samples.

The SPT equipment is rugged, and the

test can be
performed in a wide range of soil
conditions.

There are numerous correlations for

predicting
engineering properties with a good
degree of
 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.
In addition to overburden pressure and relative
density the SPT N-value is also a function of soil
type, particle size, and age and stress history of
the deposit
 Due to considerable differences in apparatus and procedure,
significant variability of measured penetration resistance can
occur. The basic problems to consider are change in effective
stress at the bottom of the borehole, dynamic energy reaching the
sampler, sampler design, interval of impact, penetration
resistance count.
Samples that are obtained from the SPT are disturbed.
The greatest disadvantage to SPTs is the lack of reproducibility of
the test results
Drilling disturbance, mechanical variability, and operator
variability all can cause a significant variation in test results.
Another disadvantage to SPTs is that progress is slower than other
in place tests because of incremental drilling, testing, and sample
retrieval, and SPTs may be more expensive than other in place
tests.
 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.
 The bottom of the borehole must be properly
cleaned before the test is carried out. If this is
not done, the test gets carried out in the loose,
disturbed soil and not in the undisturbed soil.
When a casing is used in borehole, it should be
ensured that the casing is driven just short of
the level at which the SPT is to be carried out.
Otherwise, the test gets carried out in a soil
plug enclosed at the bottom of the casing.
When the test is carried out in a sandy soil
below the water table, it must be ensured that
the water level in the borehole is always
maintained slightly above the ground water
level. If the water level in the borehole is lower
than the ground water level, quick' condition
may develop in the soil and very low N values
Thank
You