Determination of Constrained Modulus of Granular Soil from In Situ Tests—Part 2 Application

Abstract

The paper demonstrates how the concepts presented in the companion paper: “Determination of Constrained Modulus of Granular Soil from In Situ Tests—Part 1 Analyses” can be applied in practice. A settlement design based on the tangent modulus method is described. Extensive in situ tests were performed on a well-documented test site consisting of sand with silt and clay layers. The field tests comprised different types of penetration tests, such as the cone penetration test, the flat dilatometer, and the seismic down-hole test. The modulus number and the constrained tangent modulus were derived from the cone penetration test with pore water pressure measurement and the flat dilatometer test. In addition, the shear wave speed was determined from two seismic down-hole tests, from which the small-strain shear modulus could be evaluated. The constrained modulus obtained from the cone penetration test with pore water pressure measurement (CPTU) and the flat dilatometer (DMT) was compared with that from the seismic down-hole tests. The importance of the stress history on the constrained modulus was demonstrated. The range of modulus numbers, derived from different in situ tests, compares favorably with empirical values reported in the literature.

Keywords

• CPTU
• DMT
• seismic down-hole tests
• constrained tangent modulus
• modulus number
• shear wave speed