• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.197-216
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• 2016

The increased speed of a train causes increased loads that act on the track substructures. To ensure the safety of the track substructures, proper maintenance and repair are necessary based on an accurate characterization of strength and stiffness. The objective of this study is to develop and apply a cone penetrometer incorporated with the dynamic cone penetration method (CPD) for investigating track substructures. The CPD consists of an outer rod for dynamic penetration in the ballast layer and an inner rod with load cells for static penetration in the subgrade. Additionally, an energy-monitoring module composed of strain gauges and an accelerometer is connected to the head of the outer rod to measure the dynamic responses during the dynamic penetration. Moreover, eight strain gauges are installed in the load cells for static penetration to measure the cone tip resistance and the friction resistance during static penetration. To investigate the applicability of the developed CPD, laboratory and field tests are performed. The results of the CPD tests, i.e., profiles of the corrected dynamic cone penetration index (CDI), profiles of the cone tip and friction resistances, and the friction ratio are obtained at high resolution. Moreover, the maximum shear modulus of the subgrade is estimated using the relationships between the static penetration resistances and the maximum shear modulus obtained from the laboratory tests. This study suggests that the CPD test may be a useful method for the characterization of track substructures.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

Due to climate change and aging of reservoirs, damage to embankment slopes is increasing. However, the safety diagnosis of the reservoir slope is mainly conducted by visual observation, and the time and economic cost are formidable to apply soil mechanical tests and slope stability analysis. Accordingly, this study presented a predicting method for the compaction and strength characteristics of the reservoir embankment soil using a portable static cone penetration test. The predicted items consisted of dry density, cohesion, and internal friction angle, which are the main factors of slope stability analysis. Portable static cone penetration tests were performed at 19 reservoir sites, and prediction equations were constructed from the correlation between penetration resistance data and test results of soil samples. The predicted dry density and strength parameters showed a correlation with test results between R² 0.40 and 0.93, and it was found to replace the test results well when used as input data for slope stability analysis (R² 0.8134 or more, RMSE 0.0320 or less). In addition, the prediction equations for the minimum safety factor of the slope were presented using the penetration resistance and gradient. As a result of comparing the predicted safety factor with the analysis results, R² 0.5125, RMSE 0.0382 in coarse-grained soil, R² 0.4182 and RMSE 0.0628 in fine-grained soil. The results of this study can be used as a way to improve the existing slope safety diagnosis method, and are expected to be used to predict the characteristics of various soils and inspect slopes.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.5-15
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• 2016

This study investigated both water content and penetration resistance of small cone of various clay soils that were made of Kaolinite and Bentonite with different mixing ratios and compared the results with those of the existing dynamic (Casagrande test) and static (fall cone test) tests directly. The comparison showed that the water content at the inflection point on a curve of water content and penetration resistance was very similar to the liquid limit from a fall cone test. The penetration resistance of small cone at the inflection point was 0.2 kPa, and it was ascertained that the water content at the inflection point represents a liquid limit of clay soils. From the study results, it was found that the penetration resistance of 0.2 kPa with the small cone can be an indicator of the liquid limit of clay soils in practice. Finally a test procedure to measure the liquid limit of clay soil based on a penetration resistance of small cone was proposed.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.13-20
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• 2006

We have conducted standard penetration tests and static cone penetration tests that are widely used the land base examination on the soft ground subsurface of Yongdong area, and examined the correlation between them. We have also made a comparative analysis of the correlation between the indoor tests on the materials collected on the site and on-the-spot penetration tests. The results are as follows : The relationship between Standard Penetration Test N-value and Dutch Cone Tset show $Q_c=1.93N+0.29$ for organic soil, $Q_c=2.19N+0.20$ for clay, $Q_c=2.34N+1.06$ for silt, $Q_c=3.02N+0.54$ for silty sand, and $Q_c=3.47N+0.46$ for sand. In this case of sand $Q_c/N$ increases when the soil particles are larger. The relationship between standard penetration test N-value and Unconfined Compression Strength $q_u$ show $q_u=0.11N+0.03$ for organic soil, $q_u=0.11N+0.25$ for clay, and $q_u=0.18N-0.03$ for silt.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1085-1101
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• 2015

Changes in substructure conditions, such as ballast fouling and subgrade settlement may cause the railway quality deterioration, including the differential geometry of the rails. The objective of this study is to develop and apply a hybrid cone penetrometer (HCP) to characterize the railway substructure. The HCP consists of an outer rod and an inner mini cone, which can dynamically and statically penetrate the ballast and the subgrade, respectively. An accelerometer and four strain gauges are installed at the head of the outer rod and four strain gauges are attached at the tip of the inner mini cone. In the ballast, the outer rod provides a dynamic cone penetration index (DCPI) and the corrected DCPI (CDCPI) with the energy transferred into the rod head. Then, the inner mini cone is pushed to estimate the strength of the subgrade from the cone tip resistance. Laboratory application tests are performed on the specimen, which is prepared with gravel and sandy soil. In addition, the HCP is applied in the field and compared with the standard dynamic cone penetration test. The results from the laboratory and the field tests show that the cone tip resistance is inversely proportional to the CDCPI. Furthermore, in the subgrade, the HCP produces a high-resolution profile of the cone tip resistance and a profile of the CDCPI in the ballast. This study suggests that the dynamic and static penetration tests using the HCP may be useful for characterizing the railway substructure.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.45-52
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• 2015

To minimize the cost of maintenance, repair and over-design of track substructure, an accurate evaluation of strength and stiffness of the track substructure is necessary. In this study, a cone penetrometer with impact penetration rod (CPI) is developed for the evaluation of track substructure. For applicability test, the chamber and field tests were performed. As the experimental results of the CPI, dynamic cone penetration endex (DCPI), cone tip resistance ($q_c$), friction resistance ($f_s$) and friction ratio (Fr) were obtained. In the chamber test, the experimental results show reasonable values for the simulated track substructure. In the field test, the CPI clearly detects the interface between the ballast and the subgrade. Also, discontinuous layers are detected in the subgrade. It is expected that the developed CPI may be an effective tool for the evaluation of track substructure by evaluating the ballast layer by dynamic penetration and the subgrade by static penetration of the inner rod.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.163-172
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• 1998

To study the carrying capacity behavior of pile, dynamic pile testis and static load tests were carried out on two instrumented piles during and some time after pile driving. Cone Penetration Test( CPT) and Standard Penetration Test(SPT) were also performed at the test site before pile tests to investigate the relationship between unit skin friction of piles and cone tip resistance values and SPT N values. Total static capacity of pile reached the ultimate stage at the pile head settlement of about 0.055D (D : Pile diameter), at which skin friction of Pile already Passed the maximum value, but the end bearing was still increasing with the pile head settlement. The carrying capacity of pile increased in the form of natural logarithmic function with the time after pile driving. The increase in skin friction with time was very substantial the increase in skin friction 40 days after pile driving was 4.6 times of that determined during pile driving. The contribution of skin friction to the total capacity twas insignificant in the beginning, but became substantial 40 days after pile driving. This implies that the tested pile initially responded as an end bearing pile and later behaved as a friction pile. It was also noted that unit skin friction of pile might be ielated to cone tip resistance values(q.) and SPT N values, though the coefficient of this relationship might differ from one soil group to another and was somewhat greater than the value used in the design practice of Korea.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.119-139
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• 2017

Static Penetration Test (CPT) and Dynamic Penetration Test (DPT) are commonly used in-situ tests in a routine geotechnical investigation. Besides their use for qualitative investigation (lithology, homogeneity and spatial variability), they are used as practical tools of geotechnical characterization (resistance to the penetration, soil rigidity) and modern foundation design as well. The paper aims at presenting the results of an extensive research work on the evaluation of the 1D primary consolidation settlement of saturated clayey soils on the basis of the CPT or DPT tests. The work is based on an analysis of the correlations between the tip resistance to penetration measured in these tests and the parameters of compressibility measured by the compressibility oedometer test, through a local geotechnical database in the northern Algeria. Such an analysis led to the proposal of two methods of calculation of the settlement, one based on the CPT test and the other one on the DPT. The comparison between the predicted settlements and those computed on the basis of the oedometer test showed a good agreement which demonstrate the possbility to use the CPT and DPT tests as reliable tools of computation of foundation settlements in clayey soils.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.177-190
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• 2010

This paper presents the details of indigenous development of the piezovibrocone and calibration chamber. The developed cone has a cylindrical friction sleeve of $150cm^2$ surface area, capped with a $60^{\circ}$ apex angle conical tip of $15cm^2$ cross sectional area. It has a hydraulic shaker, coupled to the cone penetrometer with a linear displacement unit. The hydraulic shaker can produce cyclic load in different types of wave forms (sine, Hover sine, triangular, rectangular and external wave) at a range of frequency 1-10 Hz with maximum amplitude of 10 cm. The piezovibrocone can be driven at the standard rate of 2 cm/sec using a loading unit of 10 ton capacity. The calibration chamber is of size $2m{\times}2m{\times}2m$. The sides of the chamber and the top as well as the bottom portions are rigid. It has a provision to apply confining pressure (to a maximum value of $4kg/cm^2$) through the flexible rubber membrane inlined with the side walls of the calibration chamber. The preliminary static as well as dynamic cone penetration tests have been done sand in the calibration chamber. From the experimental results, an attempt has been made to classify the soil based on friction ratio ($f_R$) and the cone tip resistance ($q_c$).

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.99-105
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• 2018

Soils are generally classified as fine-grained or coarse-grained depending on the percentage content of the primary constituents. In reality, soils are actually made up of mixed and composite constituents. Soils primarily classified as fine-grained, still consists of a range of coarse particles as secondary constituents in between 0% to 50%. A laboratory scale model test was conducted to investigate the influence of coarse particles on the physical (e.g., density, water content, and void ratio) and mechanical (e.g., quick undrained shear strength) properties of primarily classified fine-grained cohesive soils. Pure kaolinite clay and sand-mixed kaolinite soil (e.g., sand content: 10%, 20%, and 30%) having various water contents (60%, 65%, and 70%) were preconsolidated at different stress levels (0, 13, 17.5, 22 kPa). The quick undrained shear strength properties were determined using the conventional Static Cone Penetration Test (SCPT) method and the new Fall Cone Test (FCT) method. The corresponding void ratios and densities with respect to the quick undrained shear strength were also observed. Correlations of the physical properties and quick undrained shear strengths derived from the SCPT and FCT were also established. Comparison of results showed a significant relationship between the two methods. From the results of FCT and SCPT, there is a decreasing trend of quick undrained shear strength, strength increase ratio ($S_u/P_o$), and void ratio (e) as the sand content is increased. The quick undrained shear strength generally decreases with increased water content. For the same water content, increasing the sand content resulted to a decrease in quick undrained shear strength due to reduced adhesion, and also, resulted to an increase in density. Similarly, it is observed that the change in density is distinctively noticeable at sand content greater than 20%. However, for sand content lower than 10%, there is minimal change in density with respect to water content. In general, the results showed a decrease in quick undrained shear strength for soils with higher amounts of sand content. Therefore, as the soil adhesion is reduced, the cone penetration resistances of the FCT and SCPT reflects internal friction and density of sand in the total shear strength.