Cone Penetration in Soil Profiling

Abstract

Continuous measurements of the cone resistance, qc, and the penetration pore pressure, u, in two sedimentary clay deposits indicate that quasi-static cone penetration data provide a very reliable method for evaluating soil stratification and variability in these two soils. A comparative analysis of field vane results and qc shows a correlation between shear strength variability and clay desiccation. The degree of scatter in qc and u measurements, and the ratio u/qc offer promising new methods of identifying soil types, detecting small changes in stratification and, possibly, for estimating the overconsolidation ratio of clays.