Effect of drainage conditions on CPT resistance of silty sand: physical model and field tests

Abstract

The influence of drainage conditions on cone penetration test (CPT) resistance and the excess pore pressure during cone penetration in sand and silty sand are examined using field and physical model tests. Drainage can generally occur in saturated clean sand and silty sand under certain conditions. This work aims to understand and explain the effect of sand and silty sand drainage conditions on CPT resistance and pore pressure through the coefficient of consolidation (c h) and penetration rate (v). The physical model test results indicate the significant effect of excess pore pressures and their dissipation rates, depending on the coefficient of consolidation (silt content) and the penetration rate on cone resistance. For the same relative density, normalized CPT resistance decreases as there is a reduction in c h (or an increase in silt content) or an increase in penetration rate. The difference in CPT resistance in silty sand is attributed to drainage conditions. Finally, the results revealed in this study and the field test data reported in the literature were combined to develop an equation for the effect of drainage conditions on excess pore water pressure and CPT resistance. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.