Strength indices of high-moisture soils using handheld gauges Available to Purchase

Large volumes of very high moisture content fine-grained soils (very high-moisture soils (VHMS)) are encountered annually. Stabilisation of these soils has been documented as a promising approach for disposal or reuse. Construction using stabilised fine-grained soils with high moisture contents is highly dependent on strength gain with time. This study evaluated the ability of handheld gauges to provide a rapid strength index in VHMS. The results obtained from pocket penetrometer, pocket geotester and pocket vane shear set were evaluated. Testing matrices included using three fine-grained soils and five types of Portland cement. Handheld gauges were used to measure a strength index for numerous cases, resulting in more than 2000 readings with each of the gauges. Approximately 300 unconfined compression tests were also conducted and the results were used to develop strength correlations to handheld gauge indices. The results showed that, in general, there was no considerable proximity difference between the pocket geotester and the pocket penetrometer, but there was a considerable difference relative to the pocket vane shear set. A comparison between the coefficients of variation showed the pocket geotester to be the most repeatable. It is noted that these devices only provide index values and additional tests are always recommended on field samples.