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Abstract- The blunt tipped "Perth Sand Penetrometer" is used extensively in Australia for characterization of silica sand sites prior to the construction of light weight domestic structures. The hand operated device, which can be readily deployed in fine granular soils at depths up to 5 m, is routinely and successfully used to infer in situ density and internal friction angles in extensive coastal sand deposits. Some calibration charts are presented for a light weight dynamic penetrometer device. The charts presented here are based on the results of 18 calibration chamber tests, performed in a specially constructed chamber, 1m high and 1m in diameter. All tests were performed on silica sand samples were consistently prepared to 3 densities using the sand raining or pluviation technique. The prepared samples were pressurized during testing to simulate overburden effects due to burial at depths up to 5m. Particular account is taken of the effects of rod friction.
Keywords- Dynamic Penetrometer, blunt tipped, calibration, pluviation, skin friction, relative density, silica sand
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1. INTRODUCTION
The in-situ density of sand foundations is commonly assessed by penetrometer testing. Current international practice uses both static (pushed) and dynamic (driven) penetration devices. The most commonly employed dynamic method is the "Standard Penetrometer Test", or SPT, which involves the driving of a split spoon sampler using a 63.5 kg. drop weight [1, 2]. While such devices are useful tools for larger scale site investigations, and to depths of tens of metres, their applicability to scale projects is limited by the scale of the apparatus and its relative insensitivity at shallow depths.
Dynamic probing is a continuous soil investigation technique, which is one of the simplest soil penetration tests. It basically consists of repeatedly driving a metal tipped probe into the ground using a drop weight of fixed mass and travel. Testing is carried out continuously from ground level to the final penetration depth. The continuous sounding profiles enable easy recognition of dissimilar layers and even thin strata by the observed variation in the penetration resistance.
Most of the larger cities in Australia are situated on the coast and many have extensive coastal deposits of clean, aeolian and alluvial sands of Quaternary age. These are commonly exploited for residential developments comprising...