Use of in situ Tests for Determination of Soil Support Capacity

Abstract

The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is used worldwide for information on the resistance to dynamic penetration of the soil (N). Correlations, allow calculating, using this index, soil parameters such as the relative compactness, friction angle, elastic modulus and the load capacity of the foundations. The Dynamic Cone Penetration (CPD) and Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) are devices designed to assess parameters the floor infrastructure tiers, such as soil bearing capacity and deformability and compressibility, respectively. The objective of this study is to verify the feasibility of using the CPD and LWD for projects shallow foundations through correlations with the parameters obtained in the SPT assay. It was observed that there is a good correlation between the SPT and the CPD and between SPT and LWD for SM type soils. Therefore, it was concluded that there is a technical feasibility of the use of CPD and LWD as an alternative to SPT to identify the peformance of granular soils.

Keywords

• soils
• bearing capacity
• in situ tests