Static Cone Penetration Test CPT is very useful in cases where the in-situ density is distributed by boring operation,

thus making SPT unreliable especially under water. The CPT results are used for determining the bearing capacity and skin friction of soils @ various depths. The test is mostly used for loose soils like silty sand, loose sand, layered deposits of sands, silts and clay. Equipments The equipment consists of a steel cone, a friction jacket, sounding rod, mantle tube, a driving mechanism and measuring equipment. 1. Steel cone: The cone shall be of suitable steel with its tip hardened. It shall have an apex angle of 60 degrees and overall base diameter of 35.7 mm giving a cross-sectional area of 10 cm* (see Fig. 1). The cone shall be so designed as to prevent the intrusion of soil particles into the moving parts of the cone assembly.

2.Friction jacket: Figure above. Used to find the skin friction of soil. 3. Sounding Rod - Steel rod of 15 mm diameter which can be extended with additional rods of 1 m each in length. The sounding rod should be such that the base of the cone could be attached to it. 4. Mantle tube-The mantle tube shall be of steel and is meant for guiding the sounding rod which goes through the mantle tube. 5. Driving Mechanism - The driving mechanism should have a capacity of 2 to 3 tonnes for the manually operated equipment and 10 tonnes for the mechanically operated equipment. The reaction for the thrust may be obtained by suitable devices capable of taking loads greater than the capacity of the equipment. The hand operated winch may be provided with handles on both sides of the frame to facilitate driving by four persons for loads greater than 20 kN. For the engine driven equipment the rate of travel should be such that the penetration obtained in the soil during the test is 10 to 15 mm/s. Hydraulic pressure gauges should be used for indicating the pressure developed. Alternatively, a proving ring may also be used to record the cone resistance. Suitable capacities should be fixed for the gauges. PROCEDURE:

Basically, the test procedure for determining the static cone and frictional resistances consists of pushing the cone (will give the bearing capacity of soil) alone through the soil strata to be tested, then the cone and the friction jacket (will give bearing capacity +skin friction), and finally the entire assembly in sequence and noting the respective resistance in the first two cases. The process is repeated at predetermined intervals. After reaching he deepest point of investigation the entire assembly should be extracted out of the soil.(See fig below)

Limitations: The test is unsuitable for gravelly soils and for soils with standard penetration value greater than 50 . Also in dense sands the anchorage becomes too cumbersome and expensive and for such cases dynamic cone penetration tests may be carried out. The test is also unsuitable for made-up or filled-up earth since erroneous values may be obtained due to the presence of loose stones, brick bats, etc. In such places either the made-up soil shall be completely removed to expose the virgin soil layer, or readings in the filled-up depth shall be ignored. The results of the test shall be presented graphically, in two graphs, one showing the cone resistance in kN/m2 with depth in metres and the other showing the friction resistance in -kN/m2 with depth in metres, together with a bore hole log. See fig below

DYNAMIC CONE PENETRATION TEST The equipment consists of a cone, driving rods, driving head, hoisting equipment and a hammer. The cone with threads (recoverable) shall be of steel with tip hardened. The cone without threads (expendable) may be of mild steel. For the cone without threads, a cone adopter shall be provided. These are shown in Fig.1. The driving rods should be rods of suitable length with threads for joining A rod coupling at either end. The rods should be marked at every 100 mm. The driving head shall be of mild steel with threads at either end for a rod coupling. It shall have a diameter of 100 mm and a length of 100 to 150 mm. A typical set-up using a tripod is shown in Fig. 2. The hammer used for driving the cone shall be of mild steel or cast-iron with a base of mild steel. It shall be 250 mm high and of suitable diameter. The weight of the hammer shall be 640 N (65 kg). The cone shall be driven into the soil by allowing the hammer to fall freely through 750 mm each time. The number of blows for every 100 mm penetration of the cone shall be recorded. The process shall be repeated till the cone is driven to the required depth. To save the equipment from damage, driving may be stopped when the number of blows exceeds 35 for 100 mm penetration. Number of blows for 300mm penetration is called Cone penetration value denoted by N cbr. (here cbr refers to central building research and not California Bearing ratio) When the depth of investigation is more than 6 m, bentonite slurry may be used for eliminating the friction on the driving rods. The cone used in this case is of 62.5 mm size.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Relationship between Standard penetration value and Cone penetration value developed by Central Building Research Institute Roorkee Ncbr =1.5 N . . . . . . . . up to a depth of 4 m Ncbr= 1.75 N . . . . . . . . for depths of 4 to 9 m

Vane Shear Test

In-situ vane shear test is best suited for the determination of shear strength of saturated cohesive soils, especially of sensitive clays, susceptible for sampling disturbances. The vane shear test consists of pushing a four-bladed vane in the soil and rotating it till a cylindrical surface in the soil fails by shear. The torque required to cause this failure is measured and this torque is converted to a unit shearing resistance of the cylindrical surface. The test may be conducted from the bottom of a bore hole or by direct penetration from ground surface. The equipment consists of a shear vane, torque applicator, rods with guides, drilling equipment and jacking arrangement.

The vane is pushed with a moderately steady force up to a depth of four-times the diameter of the bore hole or 50 cm, whichever is more, below the bottom. No torque shall be applied during the thrust. The torque applicator is tightened to the frame properly. After about 5 minutes, the gear handle is turned so that the vane is rotated at the rate of 0.1/s. The maximum torque reading is noted when the reading drops appreciably from the maximum. Determination of Cohesion or Shear Strength of Soil Consider the cylinder of soil generated by the blades of the vane when they are inserted into the undisturbed soil in-situ and gradually turned or rotated about the axis of the shaft or vane axis. The turning moment applied at the torsion head above the ground is equal to the force multiplied by the eccentricity. Let the force applied = P eccentricity (lever arm) = x units Turning moment = Px The surface resisting the turning is the cylindrical surface of the soil and the two end faces of the cylinder. Therefore, resisting moment = (2r . L . cu . r + 2r2 . cu . 0.67r) = 2r2 cu(L + 0.67r) where r = radius of the cylinder and cu the undrained shear strength. At failure the resisting moment of the cylinder of soil is equal to the turning moment applied at the torsion head.

Therefore, Px = 2/rr2 cu(L + 0.67r)

The assumptions involved are: (i) shearing strengths in the horizontal and vertical directions are the same; (ii) at the peak value, shear strength is equally mobilised at the end surface as well as at the centre; (iii) the shear surface is cylindrical and has a diameter equal to the diameter of the vane; and (iv) the shear stress distribution on the vane is as shown fig. Below