Evaluation of SPT energy for Donut and Safety hammers using CPT measurements in Egypt

Abstract

Standard Penetration Test (SPT) blow counts require correction prior to utilization in soil characterization and determination of properties and behavior. Among the most important corrections is the energy correction required to adjust the blow counts to 60% energy efficiency. However, there are no published data supporting commonly used value in Egypt. This paper presents an evaluation of the energy efficiency of the Donut and Safety hammers commonly used in Egypt and the associated energy correction factor. The energy efficiency is estimated by comparing N-values from the SPT to back-calculated N60 values from the Cone Penetration Test (CPT) using well established correlations. Results indicate that the energy efficiency of the Donut hammer based on current practice in Egypt is approximately 50%. Thus, the back-calculated energy correction factor is approximately 0.82. For the Safety hammer, results indicate that the energy efficiency is approximately 60%, and the energy correction factor is approximately 1.0.

Keywords

• SPT
• CPT
• Hammer efficiency
• Energy correction