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CONE PENETRATION
TESTING

CONE PENETRATION TEST (CPT)

• It is a method whereby a cone (mechanical or electrical) is advanced into
the soil and whilst doing so measurements are being taken.
• Terminologies
§ CPT = Cone Penetration Test
§ CPT(U) = CPT with pore pressure measurement;
also called PCPT (piezocone)
§ ECPT(U) = Electrical CPT(U);
to distinguish electrical from mechanical CPT
§ SCPT(U) = Seismic CPT(U)
§ qc = Cone resistance
§ fs = Sleeve friction
§ u1, u2, u3 = Pore pressure (most common is u2)

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CONE PENETRATION TESTING

HISTORY

• First developed in 1930’s as a mechanical cone

Barentsen Aparatus Man-powered CPT pushing rig

Source: https://www.gouda-geo.com/products/cpt-equipment/background-information/history-of-cone-penetration-testing-cpt

CONE PENETRATION TESTING

HISTORY

• Electric cones were first introduced in 1965

• Piezocones (electric cones with sensor for measuring in-situ pore water
pressure) were developed in mid 1970’s
• Currently, all necessary instruments are rigged inside a CPT truck for
easier operations and data gathering

CPT Truck with crawler

Source: https://www.apvandenberg.com/onshore-cone-penetration-testing/cpt-track-truck

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CONE PENETRATION TESTING

ADVANTAGES LIMITATIONS
o Effective and efficient alternative for o Soil conditions may limit the use of CPT due
conventional site investigation methods to gravel, boulders and roots
such as drilling or SPT
o Depth is limited due to maximum thrust
o Established and recognized method
o Might not reach maximum thrust if
o In-situ test obtaining reaction force is problematic
o Real-time data o Relatively high investment cost
o Repeatable, accurate, reliable o Requires trained operators
o Very fast (approx. 1 meter = 1 minute) o Accessibility of test location

CONE PENETRATION TESTING

OVERVIEW

Offsite Onsite Data

Testing Cleaning
Preparation Preparation Processing

• Checklist of • Cone • Cone Driving • Disassembly

equipment Saturation • Dissipation Test • Inspection
• Filter • Reassembly
preparation

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OFFSITE
PREPARATION

OFFSITE PREPARATION

CHECKLIST

• Having an inventory of items that are necessary to perform CPT will save a
lot of time and effort.
• The checklist will prevent items to be misplaced or be left behind.

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OFFSITE PREPARATION

EQUIPMENT
CONE
• Essentially, a cone is a load sensing instrument. Even though it is pushed
into the soil with high force, it is a delicate instrument and hence should
be treated with care.
• Any typical cone is built up by the
following sensors:

Ø Load cells for qc and fs

Ø Pore pressure transducer for u
Ø Inclinometer(s) are secondary

Source: https://research.engineering.ucdavis.edu/gpa/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2015/02/CPT-P2-
Labeled.jpg

OFFSITE PREPARATION

CONE PENETROMETER
• They come in a range of sizes from a mini-
cone at 2 cm2 to a large cone at 40 cm2.
• The mini cones are used for shallow
investigations, whereas the large cones can
be used in gravelly soils.

Range of CPT probes (from left: 2 cm2, 10 cm2, 15 cm2, 40 cm2)

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OFFSITE PREPARATION

PUSHING EQUIPMENT
(ON LAND)

Truck mounted
25 ton CPT unit

Small anchored drill-

rig unit Mini-CPT system attached to
Portable ramset for a small truck mounted auger
CPT inside buildings rig
or limited access

OFFSITE PREPARATION

PUSHING EQUIPMENT
(OVER WATER)
For deeper water (>100m)
For shallow water (depth less than 30m)

Mid-size jack-up boat Quinn Delta (Gregg) ship with

spuds

(Gregg) Seafloor CPT system

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OFFSITE PREPARATION

EQUIPMENT

DEPTH ENCODER JUNCTION BOX DATA LOGGER

OFFSITE PREPARATION

EQUIPMENT

LAPTOP CPT CABLES PUSH RODS

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OFFSITE PREPARATION

EQUIPMENT

HYDRAULIC
PUSHING
SYSTEM

OFFSITE PREPARATION

OTHER APPARATUS

• Lubricants
• Silicone oil
• Syringe
• Filter rings
• O-rings
• Vacuum chamber
• Saturation chamber
• Power supply
• CPT Dongles
• CPT Toolbox
• Generator key

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OFFSITE PREPARATION

FILTER RING PREPARATION

• HDPE (High-density polyethylene)
filter rings, which are attached to the
cone, are placed in the vacuum
chamber for at least six (6) hours
(recommended is overnight).

ONSITE
PREPARATION

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ONSITE PREPARATION

SATURATION
• The cone is placed in the
saturation chamber where it is
partially filled up with silicone oil.
• A syringe is used to remove the
bubbles around the cone.
• A rubber membrane was placed
on the cone to prevent particles
from entering the small cone.
• Remove the silicone oil from the
saturation chamber and take the
cone off.
Note: Silicone oil is reusable.

TESTING

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CONE PENETRATION TESTING

GENERAL PROCEDURE
• A 60° cone with face area of 10cm2
and a 15 cm2 friction sleeve is
hydraulically pushed into the ground.
• By applying a measured force to the
rod, the cone is pushed into the soil at
a constant speed of penetration
(ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 cm/s).
• Continuous measurements are made
of the resistance to penetration of the
cone and surface sleeve.

CONE PENETRATION TESTING

DISSIPATION TEST
• Used to measure permeability of the soil.
• Excess porewater pressure happens when the speed of cone penetration is
faster than expulsion of water from the soil.
• The driving of the cone is paused until normalized excess porewater pressure
reading is achieved.
• For cohesive soils, full dissipation may take days so for practical purposes, 50%
dissipation, !"# , is acceptable for dissipation.
'##("#
!"# = %# ± '##
) %* − %,

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CLEANING

CLEANING

• Use a damp cloth to wipe off dirt.

Note: Do not use water in washing off dirt near
the load cells.

• Remove “O-rings” (take note of their

respective places) and wipe carefully
with damp cloth.
• Lubricants are placed in the “O-rings”
before reassembly.

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DATA PROCESSING

DATA PROCESSING

Source: GeoMil Course Material: Schematic diagram of how a typical electrical CPT system is built up

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DATA PROCESSING

Commonly used data processing software packages:

Ø CPT-Pro (Geosoft)
Ø CPeT-IT(GeoLogismiki)
Ø gINT (Datgel)
Ø GO4! (A. P. van den Berg)
Ø CPTask (Geomil)

DATA PROCESSING

Sample
raw data
from field

Source: Mindanao Railway Project Sample Raw CPT Data Output

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DATA PROCESSING

Sample data
processing
using CPeT-IT
software

Source: CPeT-IT Guide: Normalized Soil Behavior Type Chart

(Robertson, et al, 1990)

DATA PROCESSING

GEOTECHNICAL PARAMETERS OBTAINED

Perceived applicability of CPT for deriving soil parameters
Because of the additional sensors (e.g.
pore pressure, seismic), the
applicability to estimate soil parameters
varies.

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COMPARISON WITH SPT (STANDARD PENETRATION

TEST)
CPT SPT
Very fast Slow
Cannot be used on hard and dense Can penetrate through hard and
soils and rocks dense soils, including rock layers
Depth is limited due to maximum Depth is limited on available
thrust number of rods
Typically obtains undisturbed soil
Obtains soil samples using thin
samples using an add-on
walled samplers
equipment
Results depend on the machine,
Data depend on the integrity of the
sampling method (SPT, UDS,
cone and competence of the
Coring), operator, geologist, sample
operator
transport and laboratory technician

CONE PENETRATION TESTING

CURRENT STANDARDS
ü American Standard
ASTM D3441 – 16
“Standard Test Method for Mechanical Cone Penetration Testing of Soils”
Released in 2016
ASTM D5778 – 12
“Standard Test Method of Electronic Friction Cone and Piezocone Penetration Testing of
Soils”
Released in 2012
ü ISO Standard
ISO 22476 – 1:2012
“Geotechnical investigation and testing – Field testing – Part 1: Electrical cone and piezocone
penetration”
Released in 2012

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CONE PENETRATION TESTING

USES OF CPT DATA

1. Stratification
- Interpretation of soil layering based in fundamental characteristics
- (dense vs. soft, drained vs. undrained)
2. Soil Classification
- Using empirical charts to predict soil behavior type (SBT)
- (parameters are compared to known soil profiles)
3. Soil Design Parameters
- Using empirical formulas to obtain soil design parameters
- (sand or clay have different parameters to be obtained)

CONE PENETRATION TESTING

TYPICAL APPLICATIONS
• Any geotechnical problem in soils • Stability issues (mine tailings)
• Pile foundation design • Seismic survey (liquefaction analysis)
• Settlement prediction • Environmental issues
• Compaction control (land reclamations) • Pipe line / cable routing
• Embankment and dike profiling • Windmill foundations

Perceived applicability of CPT for various design problems

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REFERENCES:
1. ASTM D5778-12: Standard Test Method for Electronic Friction Cone and Piezocone Penetration
Testing of Soils. 2012
2. Geomil Technology. Practical Use of Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) Equipment. Course Material.
2018
3. P. K. Robertson. Guide to Cone Penetration Testing for Geotechnical Engineering. 6th Edition.
2015
4. GOUDA Geo-equipment B.V. https://www.gouda-geo.com/products/cpt-equipment/background-
information/history-of-cone-penetration-testing-cpt
5. A. P. Van Den Berg https://www.apvandenberg.com/onshore-cone-penetration-testing/cpt-track-
truck

END OF PRESENTATION
CONE PENETRATION TESTING

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