International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Société Internationale de Mécanique des Sols et de la Géotechnique PRESSUREMETER TESTING IN ONSHORE GROUND INVESTIGATION A report by the ISSMGE Technical Committee 16 B.G. Clarke and M.P. Gambin ISC'98 International Conference on Site Characterization Atlanta, April 19-22, 1998Geotechnical Site Characterization, Robertson & Mayne (eds) © 1998 Balkema, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5410 9394 Pressuremeter testing in onshore ground investigations: A report by the ISSMGE Committee TC 16 Barry G.Clarke University of Neweastle, UK Michel BGambin Apagéo-Segelm, Magny-les-Hameaux, France ABSTRACT This report describes the use of pressuremeters in onshore ground investigation It describes the types of pressuremeters, the methods of calibration, installation techniques, test procedures, analysis of expanding cavities, interpretation of tests and application of results in design. It is a statement on the general practice of pressuremeter testing and is not intended to be a standard. FOREWORD This report on pressuremeter testing is issued under the auspices of the ISSMFE Technical Committee .IC16 (Ground Property Characterisation from In ‘Situ Testing). ‘The report was authored by Barry Clarke (UK) and Michel Gambin (France), with additional input from other members of the ‘committee and practitioners of pressuremeter testing, The background to the report is as follows. The current TC16 was re-constituted under the chairmanship of Peter Robertson (Canada) by the ISSMEE in 1994, This committee superseded both the previous Technical Committees C16 (Penetration Testing), and TC27 (Pressuremeter and Dilatometer Testing). The terms of reference of the new committee included the following: © to promote co-operation and exchange of information about the execution and interpretation: of in situ testing for site and ‘ground property characterisation; and «© to establish two working patties, ..the second on the self-boring devices and those installed in pre-drilled holes (eg... selfboring pressuremeter, Ménard pressuremeter, etc). At the first meeting of the new committee, held in London on March 30, 1995, a working party on pressuremeter testing was established, with Martin Fahey (Australia) being appointed chairman, ‘The working party was charged with the task of preparing the report on pressuremeter testing. The aim was to have the final report available for presentation at the 14th Intemational Conference in Hamburg in 1997. A European Committee (BC4) had presented a report on pressuremeter testing in Europe at the 10th European Conference on SMFE in Florence (Amar et al, 1991). The previous ISSMFE TC27 had grown TCI6 Report out of the European EC4, with Michel Gambin (France) as chairman. This committee had been working on expanding the EC4. report to include non-European input when the committee was disbanded. ‘A decision’ was therefore made to make this previous work the basis of the report to be prepared by the working party on pressuremeters. Following the first meeting of TC16, Barry Clarke (UK) and ‘Michel Gambin (France) finalised the first draft of the report that they had previously been working ‘on under the previous TC27. This draft was presented at the second meeting of the current TC16, which ‘was held in Sherbrooke, Canada on May-17, 1995 (during the 4th Intemational Symposium on Pressuremeters). Members of the committee and practitioners were invited to review the draft and provide comments. This draft of the report has been ‘edited by the original authors, taking these comments into account. AIMS OF THE REPORT The mam aim of the report is to present a general "state of good practice” for pressuremeter testing for ‘onshore applications, dealing with prebored, self boring and full displacement pressuremeters. ‘The report is’ intended to promote good practice in pressuremeter testing, to allow the full potential of the pressuremeter to be utilised where appropriate. ‘The content of the report is heavily influenced by the experience of the two main authors, and is therefore mainly a reflection of European (particularly UK and French) experience and practice. In preparing the report for TC27 views were sought from all member societies of the ISSMFE, It was concluded that pressuremeter testing was either carried out bycompanies following - national guidelines and specifications or individuals who had developed their ‘own expertise. For example, the majority of pressuremeter testing in Francophone countries, and Japan has been based on direct design nules which are now described in national and international standards. In the UK, contractors operating, pressuremeters tend to follow similar specifications and interpret tests using a limited number of accepted methods. Elsewhere much of the pressuremeter testing and the associated interpretation undertaken using in house specifications. This report is not intended to be a Standard, Nor is it envisaged that a single closely-defined Reference Test Procedure will evolve from this report, at least not in the near future. There are several national standards for the prebored pressuremeter such as ASTM D4719-87 (USA), AFNOR P94-110 (France) and GOST 20276-85 (Russia). Further standards covering the self-boring pressuremeter and the rock dilatometer are being prepared by ASTM. The Working Party is strongly of the view that further research and development in pressuremeter technology, and in interpretation and application of test results, should be encouraged. There are two approaches used in interpreting and using pressuremeter results: one-consists of developing a set of empirical design rules based on measurements made in a very standard way with a standard Ménard pressuremeter, while the other approach is to use analytical methods to derive “fundamental” soil properties (strength, stiffness etc.) from the test, for ‘use in understanding: the soil behaviour and in analysing soil/structure interaction. While some individual members of the working party strongly support one approach or the other, the authors of the report, and the Working Party, have taken the view that both approaches have application under different circumstances, This diversity of opinion is regarded as healthy. M.Fahey 1 INTRODUCTION The modem pressuremeter was developed in France and Japan in the 1950s with commercial investigations starting in France in 1956. The first published investigations were by Ménard (1957) who undertook studies for structures in North America. Since the 1950s there have been significant developments in equipment, _ installation, interpretation and application such that, TC1G Report pressuremeter testing is now an accepted part of routine ground investigations. There are several types of pressuremeter, number of test procedures, international and national standards and many methods of interpretation of test data. In practice, tests are interpreted using either simple models to give ground properties or semi empirical rules to give design parameters, The most widely known and used standards are those for the Ménard type pressuremeter (AFNOR, 1991, ASTM, 1987, 1994). Pressuremeter testing is often a subject in international conferences and has been the sole subject of four conferences (Paris, 1982, College Station, Texas, 1986, Oxford, 1990, Sherbrooke, Quebec, 1995). Several books have been published which give detailed descriptions of equipment, installation, test procedures, interpretation and applications (Baguelin et al, 1978, Mair and Wood, 1987, Briaud 1992, Clarke, 1995). The European Regional Technical Committee of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, EC4, produced a report of Europesn practice in 1991 (Amar et al, 1991). This report, prepared for the ISSMFE Committee ‘TC1G, is a brief introduction to the current state of international practice of pressuremeter testing in onshore ground investigations. The report describes equipment, site operations, interpretation and application. 2 TYPE OF PRESSUREMETER ‘The pressuremeter probe is usually defined as ‘acylindrical device that can apply a uniform pressure to the pocket wall; the pocket being created ‘specially for the pressuremeter test." The word pocket is used rather than borehole to distinguish between the pocket created specially for pressuremeter testing and the borehole created for advancing between test positions. A borehole diameter is either equal to or greater than the pocket diameter, Furthermore, the methods used to create the pocket often differ from those used to create the borehole, ‘The separate identification of pocket and borehole has contractual implications in the UK and elsewhere where pressuremeter testing is paid for on itemised rates. ‘The probe is connected to the surface by rods which are used to lower, drill, push or hammer the 2probe into place. An umbilical cable connects the probe to the testing equipment at the surface which includes a pressure supply, control unit and data logger. Tests can either be stress and strain controlled tests. In stress controlled tests, the applied pressure is increased and the displacement of the membrane is monitored to give the response of the ground to a change in pressure. Strain controlled tests made using gas filled pressuremeters are actually stress controlled but the pressure increments are small and the rate of increase in pressure is controlled by the rate of expansion of the membrane. In true strain controlled tests using liquid filled pressuremeters volumetric increments of liquid are injected into the probe and the pressure required monitored, Pressuremeter probes are grouped according to the method of installation (prebored, self-bored or pushed in) and method of measuring displacement (volume or radius). There are instances, however, when one type of pressuremeter may be assigned to ‘one group based on the most common method of installation yet be installed, in certain situations, in a different way. Table I gives details of commercially available pressuremeters indicating the group to which they belong, their displacement measuring system and the ground in which they can operate. Installing a pressuremeter can change the properties of the ground adjacent to the probe. The measured ground response can be affected by the measuring, system used. Thus, the information from a pressuremeter test will depend on the type of pressuremeter specified as well as the ground conditions in which itis used. Probes are very similar in appearance but can differ significantly in detail. The deflated diameter of most probes is between 40 and 80 mm depending on the probe and the length to diameter ratio of the expanding section of all probes usually exceeds five. The total length of a probe varies between 0.5m and 2m depending on the type of probe. The dimensions of a probe govern the diameter of the borehole and the diameter and length of the test pocket. The expanding membrane, usually made of rubber or adiprene, is clamped onto the body of the probe. In some instances it is protected by steel strips or reinforced to prevent damage during installation and testing. The membrane is inflated by a fluid which can be-oil or water or gas. The fluid is usually pressurised at the surface though some probes have electrically operated down hole pistons. Probes are usually designed for testing either soil or rock. Probes designed for testing rock have a maximum ‘TC1G Report probe lowered into test pocket Tcl probe Feat ‘pod eel & Monacel probe Figure I Types of prebored pressuremeters: (a) a tricell probe; (b) a monocell probe (after Clarke, 1995) pressure capacity of 20 MPa; probes designed for testing soil usually have a pressure capacity of less than 5 MPa. In some cases the same probe can be used in both soils and rocks provided a pressure transducer of the correct sensitivity is fitted. The deformation of the membrane is monitored using either displacement transducers (radial displacement type) or volume change gauges (volume displacement type). Among the volume displacement types in commercial use are the Ménard type pressuremeters, of which there are several in production, the TEXAM, and the Lateral Load Tester all of which are prebored pressuremeters, the PAF-76, a self-bored pressuremeter, and the Apageo minipressiométre, a full displacement pressuremeter. The radial displacement types in commercial use include the prebored pressuremeters, the’ Elastmeter and High Pressure Dilatometer, the Cambridge type self bored pressuremeters and the full displacement push in pressuremeters or cone pressuremeters. ‘The development of pressuremeters has coincided with the development of electronics resulting in improvements in measuring and interpreting pressuremeter tests. Data loggers are now routinely used to monitor pressuremeter tests. This enables an operator to process the data on site and rapidly forward the information to a client. Table 1 only lists those pressuremeters readily available in commercial practice. Other pressuremeters not listed in Table 1 include research pressuremeters and pressuremeters for specific uses. ‘These other pressuremeters, however, operate on similar principles to those described here.probe drilled into test pocket Figure 2 The self-boring pressuremeter (after Clarke, 1995) 2.1. Prebored Pressuremeters (PBP) ‘These pressuremeters are lowered into a pocket that is bored specially for the test. They can be used in any ground conditions provided a stable pocket can be bored. The Ménard pressuremeter (MPM) (Ménard, 1957) is a volume displacement pressuremeter that contains three expanding sections (Figure 1a). The expansion of the central test section is monitored; the guard cells are inflated to ensure that the length of the test section remains constant and, ideally it will then expand as a cylinder. There are two forms of this probe, one for testing soil (GC) and the other for rock (GB). The TEXAM pressuremeter (Capelle, 1983) is a single cell volume displacement pressuremeter (Figure 1b) in which the fluid filled membrane is expanded by a screw driven piston The Blastmeter (Suyama et al, 1966), the High Pressure Dilatometer (HPD) (Hughes and Ervin, 1980) and the GA20 (Jewell and Fahey, 1984) are radial displacement type probes used for testing rock. ‘The movement of the rubber membrane of the Elastmeter is monitored with two spring loaded feeler arms. Three pairs of spring loaded plates are used in the HPD to monitor the displacement of the adiprene membrane which is protected by steel strips known as a Chinese lantern. Two pairs of spring, loaded potentiomeiers are used in the GA20 to ‘TCI6 Report monitor the displacement of the reinforced rubber membrane. These probes are monocell probes, (Figure 1b). Stress or strain controlled tests can be carried out with PBPs in soils and rocks. The classic S shaped test curve obtained from a PBP test is a consequence of testing in a prebored pocket (see Figure 6). The initial part of the curve represents the pressure required to inflate the membrane and overcome the resistance of any drilling mud in the pocket. The initial movement of the ground is a function of the ground properties which may have been changed due to preboring and stress relief. ‘The latter part of the loading curve'represents the response of the least disturbed ground, 2.2 — Self-bored Pressuremeters (SBP) ‘These pressuremeters, first developed in the 70's and shown in Figure 2, are drilled into the ground thus creating their own pocket. These probes can be used in any soil provided the gravel content is small, and in some weak rocks. Theoretically there should be no radial movement of the ground during installation therefore the curve obtained from a test should represent the true ground response. In practice, friction between the probe and the ground, especially in granular materials, and localised effects of drilling can create significant strains within the ground adjacent to the pressuremeter which can result in a ‘change in ground properties. ‘The probes and driling techniques are designed, however, to minimise these strains and hence changes to the ground properties. In clays, these changes are usually small and only affect the theoretical interpretation of the initial portion of a test; in sands the disturbance during installation is generally greater. The Cambridge Self-boring Pressuremeter (CSBP) (Wroth and Hughes, 1973) and Weak Rock Self-boring Pressuremeter (RSBP) (Clarke and Allan, 1989) are both radial displacement type monocell probes. The PAF-76 (Jézéquel et al, 1968, and Baguelin et al, 1978) is a volume displacement type monocell probe. ‘These three probes are drilled into place with rotary rigs. ‘The expansion of the adiprene membrane of the CSBP is monitored by three spring loaded feeler arms at the centre of the expanding section with the arms being at 120° spacing, Recent models of the probe include arms at 60° spacing, arms at different levels within the probe and proximity transducers. The membrane can be protected by a Chinese 4probe pushed into test pocket test pocket larger diameter than probe due to friction reducer Figure 3 The pushed-in pressuremeter (after Clarke, 1995) Lantern when operating in sands, stiff clays and clays containing some gravel. The CSBP can also include a pore pressure transducer mounted on the membrane so that pore pressure changes can be measured during drilling and testing, Three spring loaded plates are used to measure the movement of the reinforced rubber membrane of an RSBP inflated by oil under pressure. The movement of the membrane of the PAF-76 is determined by measuring the volume of oil pumped under pressure into the probe. This allows true strain controlled tests to be carried out with the PAF-76. 2.3. Full Displacement (Pushed-in) Pressuremeters (FDP) . These pressuremeters were first developed in the late 1970's (Jézéquel et al, 1982 and Withers et al, 1986) in order to increase the speed of installation and create repeatable disturbance. There are two types of push in pressuremeter; a thin walled tube which partially displaces the soil and a solid cone pressuremeter which displaces all the soil radially. These devices are now predominantly cone pressuremeters with the probes being mounted behind electrical cones. They are either pushed or TCI6 Report hammered into the ground disturbing the soil during the installation process. The curve obtained from a test represents the response of the ground disturbed during instalation. The full displacement cone pressuremeter (FDP) (Briaud and Shields, 1980, Hughes and Robertson, 1985; Withers et al, 1986), Figure 3, operated from a cone’ penetration test (CPT) truck, is a radial displacement monocell probe mounted behind a 15cm? static cone, It can only be used in soils in which it is possible to push a static cone, The ‘membrane is inflated by air or oil under pressure and the movement recorded using three displacement transducers. “The membrane is protected by a Chinese lantern, A friction reducer, mounted betiveen the probe and the cone, can be used to reduce the shear between the soil and the probe. At the start of a test the membrane may not be in contact with the ground because of the friction reducer; the ground response curve will then be an S- shaped curve The Apageo minipressiométre is a volume displacement monocell probe mounted behind 2 10cm? conical tip. It is hammered or pushed into the soil. The tip diameter is greater than the probe diameter, therefore an S shaped expansion curve is obtained. 3 CALIBRATIONS Data from a pressuremeter test need to be converted to applied pressure and strain at the pocket walls and corrected for system or membrane compliance, details of which are given in Table 2. The three most ‘common groups of calibrations are:- i) pressure and displacement transducers, ii) _ membrane stifthess, iil) and membrane compression or system compliance. Other calibrations such as effects of temperature and changes in membrane properties with use are sometimes necessary especially when testing soft clays or when trying to measure absolute rather than relative pressures. Displacement transducers are calibrated by comparing the output with measured displacement Membrane stiffness is measured by inflating the probe in air. All other calibrations are obtained by pressurising the probe in a rigid cylinder. An instrument register giving the history of all calibrations for a particular probe is usually maintained by the operator. All radial displacementadvancing and easing creating est pocket Towering probe to test ‘pressuremeter test over drilling ‘coring, ‘borehole ection test pocket end advaneing borehole Figure 4 A typical installation sequence for a prebored pressuremeter (note a similar sequence can be followed when using a SBP or FDP from the base of borehole) (after Clarke, 1995) type probes contain transducers. The voltage output from a transducer is converted to pressure or strain by a calibration factor determined at the beginning, and end of a contract and whenever there is a major repair of the equipment. ‘The pressure exerted on the ground by the membrane will not equal the recorded pressure because of membrane stiffness, that is the pressure required to inflate the membrane in air. A membrane stiffness calibration should be carried out whenever a membrane is replaced. This can occur several times during a contract since membranes can be damaged during installation and testing. Membrane stiffness calibrations are only significant for tests in soft clays or loose sands or tests near the ground surface but, in practice, are routinely applied. The thickness of a membrane changes as the internal pressure increases and/or the membrane expands. Therefore the measured movement of the inner surface of a membrane is not equal to that of the outer surface, that is the membrane/ground interface. Membrane compression, the change in thickness of a membrane due to pressure, is small and only significant for tests in hard soil and rock. It is unnecessary to carry out this calibration when testing soil, It is only necessary to determine the membrane compression correction for radial displacement type probes since the system compliance correction for volume displacement type probes includes the ‘TCIG Report membrane compression correction. A further membrane compression correction (thinning due to the stretching of the membrane as it expands) is applied to take into account the change in thickness during expansion. This small correction is only significant when testing rocks with radial displacement type probes. ‘System compliance represents the volume changes that occur in the supply lines, testing equipment and probe as the pressure is increased. This correction applies to all volume displacement type probes and includes the correction for the membrane compression. ‘System compliance in radial displacement type pressuremeters is a function of the displacement transducers and membrane, In practice, it is usually ignored when testing soft clays and loose sands. It is necessary, however, to correct for system compliance when testing stiff soils and rocks and to indicate the magnitude of that correction. Furthermore, if the correction is too large then an upper limit to the modulus may be given, For ‘example, in the UK corrected stiffnesses exceeding, 3MPa are unlikely to be quoted,conte! panel dele pap ae PHP erode fame ods Figure The twin rod self-boring drilling system showing the key components (note that the surface equipment can be replaced by a rotary drilling rig) 4 INSTALLATION Installation has a significant effect on the shape of a test curve and, therefore, on the interpreted parameters. Ideally the installation technique should be consistent and designed to minimise disturbance to the surrounding ground or produce repeatable disturbance. The ground types in which pressuremeters can be used are given in Table 1. Pressuremeters are usually installed in boreholes drilled by rotary rigs. ‘The exception to this is when an SBP or FDP can be installed directly from the surface in suitable ground conditions; the former with a purpose built rotary rig or a conventional rotary rig with an adapter for SBP drilling, the latter with a CPT truck. It is usual to specify tests at particular horizons to obtain a profile of ground properties. 4.1 Prebored Pressuremeters (PBP) It is usual to specify the pocket length and diameter when using a PBP and, possibly, the method of TCI6 Report creating the pocket especially if soil samples are required. The pocket can be created using a variety of techniques but the best technique is that which removes all material and minimises disturbance to the pocket wall, The borehole is drilled and the test pocket created from the base of the borehole using one of the preferred methods listed in Table 3. A typical sequence of operations is shown in Figure 4 Menard pressuremeter tests are usually performed at every metre. In some instances, in particular in sands and gravels below the water table, the Menard pressuremeters probe can be driven into the ground though it is protected by slotted casing during driving, 42 Self-bored Pressuremeters (SBP) “The sequence of operations for SBPs and FDPs can be similar since both types of pressuremeter create their own pocket. An SBP is either drilled into place using an internal bit driven by either rotating inner rods (Figure 5) or a downhole motor, or is jetted into place (Benoit et al, 1995). The internal bit cuts the ground as the probe advances; the jet breaks the ground up. Mud is pumped down to flush the cuttings back through rods to the surface where they are collected in a settling tank. The mud pressure, speed of advance, and cutter position and speed are adjusted to ensure the SBP replaces the ground as the probe advances. These are under the control of the operator therefore itis usual to specify minimum disturbance drilling and test depths and not to specify the drilling parameters. The cuttings in the return fluid are the only indication of the ground through which the probe is drilled or jetted but the shape of the test curve does give an indication of the quality of the drilling process and the ground in which the test is carried out. 43 Full Displacement (Pushed-in) Pressuremeters (FDP) ‘The cone pressuremeter can be pushed into soil at a constant speed, usually 2 cm/sec, using a standard cone truck, either from the base of a borehole or the ground surface. The cone displaces the soil therefore no samples are available for inspection unless the pocket is overcoreduaximum pressure applied pressure ‘maximum stain classical (est curve cavity stain membrane burst reached maximum pressure capacity of probe reached maximum volume capacity of probe pocket diameter exceeds maximum capacity of probe moow> Figure 6 Different quality PBP tests 5 TEST PROCEDURES Tests can either be stress controlled or strain controlled or a combination of these. ‘Tests in rocks and tests with volume displacement type probes can be stress controlled with increments of pressure being maintained for one to two minutes or strain controlled with increments of volume being maintained for 15 to 30 seconds. All tests using radial displacement type probes are stress controlled but by restricting the magnitude of the stress increments and monitoring the output from the displacement transducers it is possible to control the rate of expansion of the membrane. These tests are known as strain controlled tests. In the initial stages of a ‘strain’ controlled SBP or FDP test or during an unload-reload cycle in the same test the rate of expansion is reduced to allow the curve to be defined ‘and to ensure that the control feedback system can respond to the membrane expansion. It is possible to carry out true strain controlled tests using volume displacement type probes (ASTM, 1987, 1994). Common test procedures, detailed in Table 4, are designed for the parameters required. A Ménard test procedure (AFNOR, 1991, ASTM, 1987, 1994) is used to produce the Ménard pressuremeter modulus and limit pressure, both of which are empirical design parameters. All other tests are interpreted to give total horizontal stress, shear modulus and strength though the quality of the parameter obtained depends ‘on the probe, installation, test procedure and interpretation. Shear moduli are usually taken from unload-reload cycles which are limited to prevent TCIG Report failure of the soil in extension. Typically the stress range for an unload-reload cycle in clay is equal to the undrained shear strength and in sands, about 40% of the effective pressure at the start of unloading Theoretically, the limit to the unloading cycle is a function of the strength of the soil but in practice this is unknown at the time of the pressuremeter test therefore a reduced limit is assumed. Pressuremeter tests were developed primarily to determine the stiffness of the ground, and that is still the main purpose, Strength can be derived from the latter part of a test curve but if strength is the main parameter required from a test then unload-reload cycles for stiffness should not be conducted since the effects of creep and consolidation may affect the results. In most pressuremeter tests the membrane is expanded until the maximum average cavity strain specified is reached. This is usually the strain capacity of the probe. A test can be terminated at a smaller average strain for one of the following reasons. i) The maximum pressure capacity of the probe is insufficient to cause the ground to yield. This is common when testing rock ii) The membrane bursts because of damage caused either during installation or by discontinuities in the ground or by expansion up the pocket. iii) The total volume capacity is reached because of non uniform expansion. iv) The pocket is too large due to difficulty in creating the pocket. ¥) The test specification requires modulus only and therefore the operator terminates the test to prevent possible damage. Typical shapes of PBP test curves demonstrating termination criteria are shown in Figure 6. 5.1 Ménard Test This is a special stress controlled test forming part of a complete specification covering the probe, installation, test and interpretation. It is used to obtain design parameters directly from volume displacement tricell prebored probes, though Faugeras ef al (1983) have shown that radial displacement type monocell probes can be used to ive the same results provided they are of adequate length (Yeung and Carter, 1990). The tricell probe is most common in France where the method was1000 5 : + 1 2 [a Stress and stain rate -{s00 é 4h {10 % | applied pressur § 5 438 8 a 600 3° § a 8 5 68 é 8 32h HI 3 -fs00 2 2 r/ 42 § ooo Ub Feasity sain 4 0 o 20 1“ 1400 « 1200 g 7 $1000 g a fw : 3 3 4 600 . z ‘uncorrected curve plotted fF 4 = 400 ‘using data at end ofeach —| 7 increment oi 4 1. ne 7 o2 4 6 1012 7 cavity strain % 0 200 400 600 800 1000 ; . volume change cm? Figure 8 A strain controlled test with an imposed maximum rate of increase of pressure Figure 7 A stress controlled test 5.2 Stress Controlled Test developed, The use of monocell probes for this There are usually more increments of stress in other method is common in Japan. The probe is lowered into the prebored pocket and expanded in about ten to fourteen equal stress increments until the volume of the pocket is doubled in size. Each increment is maintained for one minute with readings of volume being recorded at 15 sec, 30 sec and one minute after applying the increment. igure 7, a typical Ménard test, shows the stress and strain rate during a test and the curve used for interpretation, The French standard (AFNOR, 1991) and American standard (ASTM, 1987, 1994) describe the test in detail. It is usual in France to plot volume change against pressure since the volume change is the dependent parameter but to be consistent in this report pressure is shown plotted against volume change. TC16 Report types of stress controlled tests than in the Ménard test and each increment may be maintained for. a longer period, possibly up to two minutes. Tests can include unload-reload cycles and a final unloading curve. There is no international standard for this test but a number of procedures are recognised as good practice (e.g. ASTM, 1994). The form of the curve is similar to that shown in Figure 7 though, in the case of an SBP or FDP test, the membrane begins to move once the corrected internal applied pressure exceeds the external ground pressure. 5.3. Strain Controlled Test Strain controlled tests can be controlled by either the volume of injected liquid or feedback from the displacement transducers. In the former test procedure, the volume of the probe is increased in equal increments of volume of liquid, The 9‘cavity strain % 80 co = 14 mye excess pore pressure kPa 200 160}- 120} 80 40 applied pressure kPa 0 0 10 20 30 40 time min 50 60 70 80 Figure 9 A holding test showing the variation of cavity strain, pore pressure and applied pressure increments are usually equal to 2.5% of the maximum capacity of the volume of the probe and are held for 15 seconds. The pressure is noted every 15 seconds. This procedure can only be used with volume displacement type probes such as. volume displacement type PBP probes. The second test procedure, shown in Figure 8, is commonly applied to SBP and FDP tests. The pressure is increased in small increments until the membrane is expanding at the required rate of strain, usually 1%/min for an SBP test and 5%/min for a FDP test. Prior to yield, during an unload-reload cycle and unloading to yield in extension, the test is stress controlled. While the membrane expansion is controlled by measuring the displacement rate, the applied pressure is increased in increments, that is the testis strictly a form of stress controlled test. Typically data are recorded every ten to twenty seconds in a strain controlled test pe a well defined curve to be produced. Tests can include unload-reload cycles, It is recommended when testing rocks and sands that unloading starts once the strain rate is very nearly zero. This reduction in strain rate is achieved by holding the pressure constant and helps prevent expansion due to creep during unloading TCIG Report 5.4 Holding Test A holding test, a form of strain controlled consolidation test shown in Figure 9, is used in clay to determine the horizontal coefficient of consolidation. The decay in total, and possibly pore, pressure with time is monitored while maintaining the expanding section at a constant volume. ‘The membrane is expanded in the usual manner possibly with an unload-reload cycle, up to about 10% cavity strain, In volume displacement type probes the volume is then held constant, In radial displacement type gas filled probes the rate of expansion is reduced to zéro by reducing the pressure in a controlled manner. The interpretation of the test is based on the time required to achieve 50% dissipation of the excess pore pressure generated during expansion, Practically 50% of the pore pressure dissipates in the same time that it takes for the total pressure to reduce by 50% of the difference between that when holding starts and that at equilibrium conditions when all excess pore pressures have dissipated. It is often easier to measure total pressure rather than pore pressure, 6 THE TEST CURVE The data recorded during a test are converted to internal applied pressure and volumetric or cavity strain and then corrected, if necessary, for membrane stiffness, and either compression (due to pressure and membrane stretching) or system compliance to produce the test curve, Data are either recorded at equal intervals of time, usually 5, 10 or 20 sec, independent of the test type or at intervals related to the application of increments of volume or pressure. In the former case all data are plotted to give a test curve; in the latter case the data at the end of each increment are plotted ‘Typical curves for PBP, SBP and FDP tests are shown in Figure 10 to indicate the differences between the shape of the curves and the volumetric strains occurring within the different type of tests. ‘The shape of these curves indicates the quality of the test; examples of different quality PBP test curves are shown in Figure 6. The shape of a SBP test curve can sometimes indicate the quality of the test. It is possible to identify the type of ground from the shape of the curve (e.g. Baguelin et al 1978) but it is more common to use information from adjacent boreholes or, in the case of PBP tests, the samples or cuttings obtained from the test horizon since the 10applied pressure 0 10 40 volumetric strain % Figure 10 Typical shapes of pressuremeter tests pocket is prebored. This allows the interpretation of a test to be correctly linked to the ground tested. The analysis and interpretation of pressuremeter tests can differ; analysis is based on theory, interpretation is based on theory and observation. Pressuremeter tests are interpreted to produce either ground properties using empirical and theoretical methods or design parameters using empirical methods developed from observations and theory. 7 APPLICATIONS OF THEORIES OF EXPANDING CYLINDRICAL CAVITIES TO. ‘THE INTERPRETATION OF TESTS A pressuremeter test is assumed to be the expansion of a cylindrical cavity, the theories of which are well documented. It is assumed that the cavity is infinitely long and displacements take place in the radial direction; that is plane strain conditions apply. Most pressuremeters are installed in vertical boreholes therefore expansion takes place on a horizontal direction. The vertical geostatic stress is assumed to be the intermediate stress. The geometry of the problem and the co-ordinate system used are shown in Figure 11. Further references to examples of theories of expanding cavities are given in Table 5. Measurements of pressure and displacement are recorded within the membrane. The displacement is usually expressed in terms of either cavity strain, the ratio of the displacement to the original cavity radius, or volumetric strain, the ratio of the change in volume to the original volume of the test pocket. The cavity radius at the in situ total horizontal stress is the reference datum which is shown in Figure 12 for the three group of pressuremeters. This can only be determined directly from good quality SBP tests when the probe is installed in the ground with TTCIG Report expansion of a cylindrical cavity b. expansion of an element at radius r in sity p,= oy! expanded p.>o, stresses on an element at radius r Io x Figure 11. The geometry and co-ordinate system used in the theoretical interpretation of pressuremeter tests where ao, po are the initial cavity diameter and pressure, ai, p1 are the cavity diameter and pressure during expansion, is the in situ total horizontal stress, 0, is the vertical stress, op 09 are the radial and circumferential stresses, 7 is the radius of an element of soil y thick minimal disturbance, In all other cases the reference datum has to be either assumed or calculated, usually by an iterative procedure. Equations of equilibrium and compatibility are established and these, together with an assumed relationship between stress and strain, are used to predict the pressuremeter curve. Table 5 lists aFDP @ SBP a. PBP a displacement Figure 12 The position of the total horizontal stress, oy and reference datum, de, on the three types of pressuremeter tests; Po refers to the cavity pressure in a PBP test (after Clarke, 1995) number of theories developed for pressuremeter tests in clays and sands. analysing 7.1 Tests in Clays Tests in clays are generally interpreted using the assumption that the deformation is undrained, that is there are no volume changes within the clay. A further assumption is that there are no inherent creep effects. A pressuremeter test curve can be interpreted directly to give a stress-strain curve (Baguelin et al, 1972, Ladanyi, 1972 and Palmer, 1972). This has the advantage that it is unnecessary to assume a deformation model for the clay. The main disadvantages are the neéd to identify the reference datum and the assumption the clay is unaffected by installation. In practice, this method is, only used to interpret parts of a pressuremeter test curve and not to give a complete shear stress-strain curve. It can be used to interpret both PBP and SBP tests though it is most commonly restricted to SBP tests. The most common assumption when interpreting, pressuremeter tests in clays is that the clay is a linear clastic perfectly plastic material (Gibson and Anderson, 1961). This allows the stiffness and uundrained shear strength of a clay to be obtained directly. A cortection can be applied to take into account the finite length of the membrane (Yeung and Carter, 1990). It is usual to obtain the stiffness from an unload-reload cycle since the slope of this cycle is twice the shear modulus (Palmer, 1972). ‘TCI6 Report This cycle can also be used to produce the variation of shear modulus with strain (Muir Wood, 1990) The latter part of an ideal pressuremeter curve when plotted as applied pressure against the logarithmic value of volumetric strain is finear and the slope is equal to the undrained shear strength of the clay tested. This is independent of the deformation model used. It represents the post peak value of undrained shear strength. These models were developed for loading from in situ stress and can only be reliably applied to quality SBP tests and, in the case of the stiffness to any test that contains an unload-reload cycle. Complete unloading curves can be obtained from all pressuremeter tests in clays, The advantage of using this portion of the curve is that it is independent of the effects of installation therefore the reference datum is no longer required. Linear elastic perfectly plastic (Jefferies, 1988, Houlsby and Withers, 1988) and hyperbolic unloading (Ferreira and Robertson, 1992) models have been developed for interpreting SBP and FDP tests, 7.2 Tests in Sands Tests in sand are assumed to be drained, that is volume changes occur in the sand as the pressuremeter membrane expands. Most methods of interpretation are based on the assumption that Rowe's stress dilatency theory applies, that is volume change is a function of shear strain. As with tests in clays the methods can be applied to PBP and SBP tests though the effects of disturbance in PBP tests can have a significant effect on the results. An iterative procedure to determine the shear stress-strain response directly from an ideal pressuremeter test which is independent of the soil model (Manassero, 1989) can be used but, as with the interpretation of test in clays, it is dependent on selecting the correct reference datum. The most ‘commonly used method, which strictly only applies to dense sands, is based on the assumption the stress ratio is constant once yield occurs (Hughes et al, 1977). In that case the slope of the applied effective stress versus cavity strain (both to a natural logarithmic scale) is a function of the angles of shearing resistance and dilation. This method can be applied to loose sands if the correction given by Robertson and Hughes (1986) is applied. Other methods of analysis are based on empirical relationships between volume change and expansion. 2The method proposed by Schnaid and Houlsby (1990) allows a realistic estimate of to be made. The shear modulus is usually taken from an unload-reload cycle assuming the sand being tested is elastic. Shear modulus varies with the effective stress at which it is measured. As the membrane expands, the effective stress in the sand increases thus the shear modulus increases. Further, as with clays, the modulus is non linear, that is it varies with the strain range over which itis measured. Bellotti et al (1989) have proposed a method of obtaining an elemental shear modulus normalised with respect to the in situ horizontal stress 7.3 Tests in Rocks Rocks range fiom highly weathered residual soils, through moderately weathered rock with unweathered inclusions in a weathered matrix, to hard rocks which may contain discontinuities. The expansion of most. pressuremeter tests in the moderately to unweathered rocks is limited since the pressure capacity of most pressuremeters is insufficient to cause the rock to yield. For that reason most pressuremeter tests in rocks are used to measure the stiffness of the rock. Tests are analysed as if the rock were behaving elastically. In practice, rocks often contain discontinuities which implies the expansion curve is @ function of the rock mass behaviour which could include development of fissures and opening and/or closing of existing discontinuities. The modulus from an unload-reload cycle, in general, represents the stiffness of the intact rock (Johnston and Haberfield, 1990), that is an upper bound value. The i modulus may represent the stiffness of the rock mass. A pressuremeter test in weak rock can cause failure of the rock. It is commonly assumed that if this happens then there are no volume changes within the rock (undrained) therefore the analyses developed for clays could be used to give an undrained shear strength. However, because of the stiffness of rock and presence of discontinuities most rock tests will be partially or fully drained (Johnston and Haberfield, 1990). Tests should be interpreted to give cohesion and angle of shearing resistance but it is not possible to determine these values without an independent assessment of those values. For those reasons strengths derived from tests in rock should be treated with caution. TC16 Report 8 FACTORS AFFECTING INTERPRETATION ‘There are several reasons, summarised in Table 6, why a pressuremeter test cannot be simply interpreted using theories of cavity expansion Errors arising because of site and testing operations and ground conditions are common to all tests including pressuremeter tests, the magnitude of each effect varying between tests Tests in soils and rocks are often carried out to classify the ground and to obtain parameters for design. Design methods are based on test results and modified to take into account actual performance. Only recently, with improved models and numerical methods has it been possible to begin to attempt to model ground response exactly. Thus, the results obtained from pressuremeter tests can only be validated by either comparing results from pressuremeter tests with results from other tests, or comparing predictions based on pressuremeter test results with observations of actual performance. These two approaches are discussed under interpretation and design. 9, INTERPRETATION Pressuremeter tests can be analysed as expanding cavities but because of the factors given in Table 6 it is common to apply empirical methods or simple models in the interpretation. There are three methods used to interpret pressuremeter tests i) Empirical interpretation to give design parameters directly. ii) . Assume a shear stress-strain model and integrate that model to give a pressuremeter ‘curve which is then made to fit the test data, iii) Fit a curve to the pressuremeter data and differentiate that to give a shear stress-strain curve. ‘The first method, originally developed by Ménard (1963) and. subsequently expanded by others (e.g. Baguelin et al, 1978 and Briaud, 1992), is based on correlations between observations of full scale structures and pressuremeter test curves. The parameters taken from the test curve are a function of the probe, installation and test procedure and are used in design methods specially developed for that pressuremeter test. Any variations from the specified procedure will invalidate the results. The second method enables the stiffness and strength of the ground to be quantified. The three properties of the ground obtained from a B