DOI 10.

1007/s11204-015-9288-x
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 51, No. 6, January, 2015 (Russian Original No. 6, November-December, 2014)

CORRELATION OF SPT-CPT
.. DATA
.. FROM THE
SUBSIDENCE AREA IN G O LC U K, TURKEY

UDC 624.131.35:624.131.379
M. Asci1, C. Kurtulus1, I. Kaplanvural1,
and M. O. Mataracioglu2
1
Kocaeli University, Engineering Faculty, Department of Geophysics,
Umuttepe Campus Kocaeli, Turkey.
2
Schlumberger, Geosolutions Geophysicists, Houston, USA.

A correlation of standard penetration test (SPT) and cone penetration test (CPT) data
was carried out by this study. The SPT provides information on the resistance and prop-
erties of soils and weathered rocks. In addition to the SPT, the CPT is widely used for
site investigation and geotechnical design especially in alluvial areas, based on soil
types. In order to determine the CPT values of the investigation areas, where only reli-
able SPT values are available, the SPT blow counts (N values) can be converted into
CPT cone resistances (qc values) by an SPT-CPT correlation. The correlation of SPT-CPT
test results from the subsidence area was performed using statistical methods. The soils
in this area are recent alluvial deposits, consisting mainly of silty clay, clayey silt, clay
and sandy clay. The qc values are not increased when SPT values are increased as it is
expected.

Introduction
In situ testing has traditionally been carried out in geotechnical engineering. In areas with suit-
able soils, the SPT and CPT soil investigation tools have gained popularity among geotechnical engi-
neers. The SPT provides information about the resistance and properties of soils and weathered rocks.
The CPT is a reliable and cost effective method for determining subsurface stratigraphy as well as
obtaining many geotechnical parameters. Correlation of static cone tip resistance, qc, with SPT N value is
a very profitable approach since most field parameters are based on SPT N values and CPT tip resistance.

Previous correlative studies

The relationship between SPT N values and cone tip resistance qc, n = (qc /N) was analyzed by
many authors. De Alencar Velloso [3] indicated ratios of SPT N values and cone tip resistance for dif-
ferent soil types and introduced 0.35 MPa for clay and silty clay, 0.2 MPa for sandy clay and silty clay,
0.35 MPa for sandy silt, 0.6 MPa for fine grained sand, and 1.0 MPa for sand. Meigh and Nixon [6] indi-
cated that this relation did not consider the effect of grain size and recommended n-values as 0.2 MPa
for coarse grained sand and 0.3-0.4 MPa for gravelly sand. Schmertman [9] called attention to the con-
version of SPT data to cone penetrometer values if only SPT data are available. He recommended 0.2
MPa for silt, sandy silt, and slightly cohesive silt-sand mixture, 0.3-0.4 MPa for clean, fine to medium
sand and slightly silty sand, 0.5-0.6 MPa for sandy gravel and gravel. He also suggested that the corre-
lation of sleeve friction (fs) with N values is better than that of qc and N value, especially for cohesive

Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 6, p. 5, November-December, 2014.

©
0038-0741/15/5106-0268 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York
268
soils. Sanglerat [8] cited Meyerhof [7] who suggested the relationship n = (qc /N) = 0.4 MPa. Robertson
et al. [11] demonstrated the (qc /N) ratio as a function of main grain size, D50. They indicated geology of
the study area where over consolidation exists. They proposed a soil behavior-type classification zone
based on cone penetration test with pore pressure measurement tests (CPTU, piezocone). Ismael and Jer-
agh [5], accomplished a correlation on calcareous desert sands in Kuwait and compared it with the results
of Schmertmann [9], for clean, fine to medium sands and slightly silty sands. Their test result is higher
than that of Schmertmann [9] for clean, fine to medium sands and slightly silty sands. Danziger and De
Velloso [2], made a correlation between CPT and SPT for soils in Brazil. Their values were in the same
range as Schmertmann [9], and Akca [1] proposed a method to select and precede the data for SPT-CPT
comparison. He used the traditional and statistical methods for the correlation odd SPT-CPT test results
from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). His results showed that the traditional (arithmetic average) method
gave a higher ratio than literature values, and statistical approaches gave almost similar results and a lit-
tle higher results than the arithmetic average method. The n-value (0.77) for sand corresponds well with
the sand value (0.6-1.0) of De Alencar Velloso [3]. The other n-values determined for silty sand and
sandy silt are higher than the literature values. The SPT and CPT correlations performed in this study are
based on the data collected from silty clay, sandy clay, clay and clayey silt soils.

Geology of the study area

The study area is located in the south coastlines of Izmit Gulf in Kocaeli (coordinates
o o
40 01'11'' North and 29 01'27'' West) at 2 meters above sea level. The study area is located in the east
of the depressions known as pull-apart formed in Izmit Gulf by the northern branch of the North Ana-
tolian Fault. The south of the study area is known as the Armutlu Peninsula consisting of Paleozoic
and Mesozoic rocks, and the north of it is bordered with the Kocaeli Peninsula consisting of the
Ordovician-Eocene units. The depression areas are filled with the deposits carried by the streams from
the ridge of the Armutlu Peninsula. As a result of this, several fan deltas developed along the coast
.. .. ..
line. The G o lcu k delta developed by Hisar, Kazykla, Batak, and Yeniko y creeks carrying the fragments
of metamorphic schist, gneiss, marble from the basement rocks, Eocene rocks, and Cretaceous-Eocene
.. ..
volcanic rocks into the Izmit Gulf. The G o lc u k delta had its present shape within the latest 6,000-
7,000 years in the Holocene period. It is very important to study the geology of this delta in detail
for the earthquake which caused liquefaction, collapsing, and lateral spread. These kinds of deforma-
.. ..
tions were observed around Izmit Gulf, including G o lc u k. The Hisar creek is one of the main creeks
passing roughly in the middle of the study area and deposited the carried materials as layers. These
layers forming lower units are deposited almost lateral towards open sea. The gravels and sands
deposited by the creeks before reaching the sea are the upper layers. The coarsely grained materials
in the bottom of the boreholes developed in the regression period in Pre-Holocene. The delta moved
backward depending on the increase of the waters and the more coarse grained materials were
deposited between the mountain foot and the delta. There is a composite stratigraphy with lateral and
vertical gradations of fine grained deposits, marsh, and sand in coastal facies near the coastline. A
sand band exists along the coastline [4], and a 20-25 m thick clay layer overlying the sandy-gravely
unit was determined in the offshore boreholes. The lateral and vertical gradations of sand, gravel,
silt, and sand were observed locally in the boreholes. The shape of the coast line was changed dur-
ing the 17 August 1999 earthquake. The seawater inundated land by more than 500 m in some loca-
tions. Some extensive lateral displacements originated in the places where the streams reach to sea.

Data selection and Interpretation

Testing procedure. Begemann Cone Type was used for the CPT, and Pilcon-type hammer and
trip release system were used for SPT. The specimens were collected by using a split-barrel (spoon)
sampler. The N values measured were normalized to standard rod energy ratio (ERr) given by Skemp-
ton [10].

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 TABLE 1
Soil type Number of soil samples n value (qc /N)
Sandy silt 97 0.348
Clayey silt 141 0.294
Silty Clay 142 0.188
Clay 282 0.096
qc
1.14

1.12

1.1

1.08

1.06

1.04

1.02

0.98

0.96
0 5 10 15 20 25 N value
Fig. 1. Response of N values to qc for silty clay.

N60 = N(ERr/60), (1)

where the ERr ratio is 60% and ERr/60 is 1. Hence, N60 will not change. Therefore, measured N values
were used directly. The n values (qc /N) were calculated by applying the arithmetic average method. The
maximum N values were obtained for sandy silt, and the minimum N values were calculated for clay
(Table 1). A total of 662 data values was used in statistical analysis for the study area soils.
Data Selection. SPT values obtained from 23 boreholes and CPT values obtained from 19 bore-
holes constituted the SPT and CPT data sets. The boreholes are very close to each other within a 3-5 m
distance range. Therefore, comparison of the test results could be performed within a reasonable dis-
tance range.
Statistical Correlation. The CPT measurements were averaged over 0.5 m intervals for cone
resistance values. The reading values of CPT were compared with the SPT N values located over the
same depth range. The first step was plotting the depth versus the SPT blow count. In the second step,
the cone resistance values were averaged over 0.5 m at the same level. The correlation n = qc /N was
used, allowing the n-value to be achieved for each 0.5 m, from which comparison could be made. The
SPT and CPT correlations were accomplished for silty clay, sandy silt, clay and clayey silt in the study
area using statistical analysis (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4). Correlation functions and coefficients were
determined for each soil type. The correlation coefficient values provide a reasonably good correlation
for all the soil types. The highest correlation (R2 = 0.8604) was achieved for clayey silt and the lowest
correlation (R2 = 0.7713) was accomplished for silty clay.

Results of the SPT and CPT

Both of the SPT and CPT results show that although there was an increase in the SPT blow
counts with depth, the cone resistance (qc) did not indicate an increase at the same depths. This event

270
 qc
1.6

1.55

1.5

1.45

1.4

1.35
0 5 10 15 20 25 N value

Fig. 2. Response of N values to qc for clayey silt.

qc
2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 N value
Fig. 3. Response of N values to qc for clay.

qc
3

2.9

2.8

2.7

2.6

2.5

2.4

2.3

2.2
2.1
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 N value

Fig. 4. Response of N values to qc for sandy silt.

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 TABLE 2
Soil type Correlation equations Correlation coefficients
Silty clay qc = 233.2exp(1.122N)+0.4513exp(0.02096N) 0.7809
Clayey silt qc = 1.228exp(0.03473N)+0.3193exp(0.05133N) 0.8604
Clay qc = 233.2exp(-1.122N)+0.4513exp(0.02096N) 0.7808
Sandy silt qc = 7.187exp(-0.4827N)+1.938exp(0.00989N) 0.8005

TABLE 3
.. ..
Soil type UAE De Alencar Velloso Schmertman Franki (from Akca [1]) Meigh and Nixon Mayerhof Golcuk
Sand 0.77 0.6-1 0.3-0.6 1.0 0.2 0.4 -
Silty sand 0.70 0.2 0.3-0.4 0.5 - - -
Sandy silt 0.58 0.35 0.2 0.4 - - 0.80

can be explained by the increase of water content in any depth in the investigation area. As the water
content values change between 14% and 17% in the range of 10 m from the surface, they vary between
24% and 27% below 10 m depth. Because the ground surface and near surface of the investigation area
are in rather dry condition, low SPT values correspond to high cone resistance within 3-4 m below the
surface. The resistances of the silty clay units and clayey silty units increase to depth up to 15 m and
decrease below this level. The clay units have very low resistance values up to a depth of 20 m. The tip
resistance of the sandy silty soils within 9 m also decreases with depth.

Conclusion
This study attempted to figure out correlations of SPT and CPT for silty clay, clayey silt, clay,
and sandy silt. A statistical approach has been applied to find the best correlation results. The correla-
tion functions were determined with the adaptation of exponential functions for the study area soils
(Table 2). In the literature, the correlation coefficients were determined for sand, silty sand and sandy
silt with adaptation of linear functions as shown in Table 3. The correlation coefficient of sandy silt
.. ..
determined in the G o lc u k area is greater than that of others. On the other hand, the correlation could not
be performed for silty clay, clayey silt, and clay because of different soil characteristics.

REFERENCES

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