31. The use of ‘penetrators’ for the measurement of the undrained shear strength of soft marine clays
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Published:1989
T. J. Freeman, MA, 1989. "31. The use of ‘penetrators’ for the measurement of the undrained shear strength of soft marine clays", Penetration testing in the UK: Proceedings of the geotechnology conference organized by the Institution of Civil Engineers and held in Birmingham on 6–8 July 1988, Institution of Civil Engineers
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More than 50 experiments have been carried out at sites in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Adriatic using free fall penetrators weighing between 1500 and 3200 kg. The penetrators impact the sea floor at velocities of up to 68 m/s and can penetrate to depths of nearly 60 m. The soil force acting on the penetrator is determined from its deceleration in the seabed, which is measured by monitoring the Doppler shift of a constant 12 kHz acoustic transmitter. Tests performed in the Mediterranean demonstrate that a profile of end-bearing resistance, similar to that measured by a piezocone, can be derived from the penetrator test. Comparisons of data from deep ocean tests with triaxial strength measurements yield ‘cone factors’ of about 17, if the results are uncorrected for strain rate effects, and 12 if the data are corrected to the strain rate of the standard CPT.
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