Geotechnics, Vol. 6, Pages 66: Calibration Chamber Test of CPT Penetration Based on Marine Sand with Parameter Interpretation Models
Geotechnics doi: 10.3390/geotechnics6030066
Authors:
Yan Zhang
Jun Xu
Miaojun Sun
Bohan Zhou
Mengfen Shen
Honglei Sun
This study investigates marine sand collected from the southeastern coast of China through laboratory calibration chamber model tests under varying relative densities and consolidation stresses. The consolidation characteristics and cone penetration test (CPT) penetration response of soil specimens were examined, and interpretation models relating CPT parameters to soil unit weight, relative density, and shear wave velocity were established. Results show that shear wave velocity increases with relative density, with consolidation exerting a stronger enhancement. Lateral earth pressure exhibits a pronounced distance attenuation effect, with stress differences most prominent near-field and diminishing with distance. Cone tip resistance increases with both relative density and consolidation stress, with consolidation stress exerting a more significant influence on low-density specimens; sleeve friction increases linearly with relative density. The interpretation models achieve good correlations with unit weight (R2 = 0.78), normalized cone tip resistance with the square of relative density (R2 = 0.72), and shear wave velocity (R2 = 0.85), and field validation confirms higher prediction accuracy than conventional empirical formulas for terrigenous sands. The models enable rapid, cost-effective parameter estimation from routine CPT data, though they remain site-specific, being based on nine chamber tests and validated against six field layers from a single site.