Chang, M. F., Teh, C. I. & Cao, L. F. (2001). GeÂotechnique 51, No.
4, 335±350
Undrained cavity expansion in modi®ed Cam clay II: Application to the
interpretation of the piezocone test
M . F. C H A N G  , C . I . T E H  & L . F. C AO 
This paper presents an interpretation of the piezocone test
in clay based on a simpli®ed theoretical solution of cavity
expansion in modi®ed Cam clay. The cone resistance and the
pore pressures measured on the cone tip and just behind the
cone tip are interpreted using the framework of cavity
expansion theories with due consideration of the effect of
strain rate and the initial stress state. Methods for estimat-
ing the overconsolidation ratio, the undrained shear strength
and the rigidity index of clay are proposed. A comparison of
results obtained from the proposed methods with published
data and limited ®eld data collected in the Singapore marine
clay indicates the validity of the proposed analysis methods.
KEYWORDS: clays; failure; in-situ testing; pore pressures; shear
strength; theoretical analysis.
INTRODUCTION
The piezocone is a static cone penetrometer with the capability
of measuring the penetration pore water pressure in addition to
the cone resistance and the shaft friction during a quasi-static
sounding using a hydraulic pushing force. Analytical methods
based on bearing capacity theories, cavity expansion theories
and numerical simulations have been proposed for the analysis
of piezocone penetration. Cavity expansion based methods have
been among the most popular, although Baligh (1986) pointed
out that cavity expansion theory could not simulate the cone
penetration process exactly. Teh & Houlsby (1991), using the
strain path method, showed that the penetration of a cone
produces displacements that are quite similar to those developed
during the expansion of a cavity. Thus cavity expansion theory
may provide a simple analytical method for the interpretation of
results of a piezocone test (CPTU).
Existing methods of predicting the cone resistance in clay
based on spherical cavity expansion and/or cylindrical cavity
expansion theories generally adopt the following relationship:
qt ˆ Nkt su ‡ ó o (1)
where su is the undrained shear strength, N kt is the cone
resistance factor, and ó o is the in-situ mean total stress, po , or
the in-situ vertical stress, ó vo . Published Nkt factors (Vesic,
1972, 1977; Konrad & Law, 1987a; Teh & Houlsby, 1991) are
usually expressed in terms of two key parameters: the undrained
shear strength su and the rigidity index I r , which is de®ned as
the ratio of shear modulus G over su.
The penetration pore pressure measured in a piezocone
during penetration, u, consists of the in-situ pore pressure uo
and the excess pore pressure Äu. Based on cavity expansion
theory, the penetration pore pressure can be related to the
relevant soil parameters in various ways (Vesic, 1972; Randolph
et al., 1979). Other than the undrained shear strength and the
rigidity index, the effect of stress history is also incorporated in
more sophisticated formulas either through the overconsolida-
tion ratio, OCR, or Skempton's pore pressure parameter, A.
Recently, Cao (1997) developed an approximate closed-form
Manuscript received 31 March 2000; revised manuscript accepted 22
December 2000.
Discussion on this paper closes 1 November 2001, for further details
see p. ibc.
 Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
335
Cet expose preÂsente une interpreÂtation d'essais au pieÂzocoÃne
dans de l'argile en se basant sur la solution theÂorique
simpli®eÂe de l'expansion de cavite dans de l'argile de Cam
modi®eÂe. Nous interpreÂtons la reÂsistance au coÃne et les
pressions de pores mesureÂes sur l'embout de celui-ci en
utilisant le cadre des theÂories d'expansion de cavite mais en
tenant compte des effets de la vitesse de deÂformation et de
l'eÂtat de contrainte initial. Nous proposons des meÂthodes
pour eÂvaluer le taux de surconsolidation, la reÂsistance au
cisaillement non draine et l'indice de rigidite de l'argile.
Une comparaison des reÂsultats obtenus par les meÂthodes
proposeÂes avec les donneÂes publieÂes et les donneÂes limiteÂes
collecteÂes sur place dans l'agile marine de Singapour indi-
que la validite des meÂthodes d'analyse proposeÂes.
solution, which is presented in a companion paper (Cao et al.,
2001), for an undrained expansion of cavity in modi®ed Cam
clay. The solution can account for the soil stress history effect
and large strain behaviour.
This paper aims at investigating the applicability of Cao's
(1997) solution to the piezocone test in natural clays. Possible
use of the solution to predict the cone resistance, qt , and the
penetration pore pressure on the cone tip, ut , or at the cone
base, ubt , during penetration is explored by verifying the
predicted results against ®eld measurements. The in¯uence of
strain rate on the undrained shear strength, su , and consequently
on qt , ut and ubt is considered. The solution is extended for the
prediction of clay properties such as the overconsolidation ratio,
the undrained shear strength, and the rigidity index. Published
piezocone data and test data in Singapore marine clay provide a
basis for checking the validity of the proposed interpretation
methods.
INTERPRETATION OF CONE TIP RESISTANCE
Konrad & Law (1987a) suggested that the cone resistance is
related to the internal pressure, ó u , required for the expansion
of a spherical cavity from zero radius to the radius of a
conventional cone, as illustrated in Fig. 1(a). Based on the
solution of spherical cavity expansion in modi®ed Cam clay
(MCC) with an initial isotropic stress state, the cone resistance
therefore can be expressed as (Cao et al., 2001)
 Ë    
2 R 2G
qt ˆ 3 Mp9o ln ‡ 1 ‡ po (2)
2 Mp9o (R=2)Ë
where G is the shear modulus, p9o is the initial mean effective
stress, po is the initial mean total stress, R is the isotropic
overconsolidation ratio, Ë is the plastic volumetric strain ratio,
M is the slope of the critical state line, de®ned as
6 sin ö9=(3 ÿ sin ö9), and ö9 is the angle of internal friction.
Wroth (1984) proposed that the undrained shear strength, su , is
given by 0:5Mp9o (R=2)Ë. Based on this de®nition, equation (2)
can be rewritten as
qt ˆ 43 su (ln I r ‡ 1) ‡ po (2a)
Equation (2a) is similar to the solution obtained by Vesic
(1972), although Vesic did not consider the effect of soil history
or R on qt . Cao et al. (2001) show that equations (2) and (2a)
336 CHANG, TEH AND CAO
qt
σu
Plastic zone
Elastic zone
(a)
Penetration rate da/dt
a
Plastic zone
Elastic zone
(b)
Fig. 1. Assumed failure mechanism around a cone: (a) stress
conditions; (b) penetration rate
are exact closed-form solutions of the ultimate cavity pressure
for R of 2. The solution is thus applicable to normally
consolidated and lightly to moderately overconsolidated soils.
The undrained shear strength of clay is affected by the strain
rate imposed on the clay during shear. The measured cone
resistance will also be affected by the penetration rate. The
standard penetration rate of 20 mm=s in a conventional piezo-
cone test is much faster than the strain rate in typical laboratory
triaxial compression tests for clays. The measured undrained
strength tends to increase with increasing strain rate. Kulhawy
& Mayne (1990) reviewed data from 26 clays tested in triaxial
compression and deduced that each log cycle increase in strain
_ was accompanied by a 10% change in su (Fig. 2). The
rate, å,
relationship can be expressed as
su
ˆ 1 ‡ 0:1(log å)
_ (3)
su
where su is the reference undrained shear strength at 1% per
hour strain rate.
In spherical cavity expansion, the cavity strain, åc , equals
2 ln(a=ao ), where ao and a are the initial and current cavity
radii (Cao et al., 2001). The cavity strain rate, dåc =dt, can then
be expressed as (2=a)da=dt. This means that the cavity strain
rate is a function of the current cavity radius. The strain rate at
the cone tip may be approximated by the strain rate at the
spherical cavity wall, as illustrated in Fig. 1(b). By equating
2·0
su/s*u = 1 + 0·1 log (dε/dt )
(s*u = su at 1%/h strain rate)
1·5
su/s*u
1·0
0·5 Piezocone test
Triaxial CU test 8 × 105 %/h
(20 mm/s)
0
10–4 10–2 1 102 104 106
Strain rate, dε/dt : %/h
Fig. 2. Strain rate in¯uence on undrained strength of clay (data
after Kulhawy & Mayne, 1990)
da=dt to the penetration rate (20 mm=s), the strain rate is
approximately 800 000% per hour near the cone face for a
10 cm2 cone with a radius of 17´85 mm. Using the reference
strain rate of 1% per hour reported by Kulhawy & Mayne
(1990), the su value interpreted directly from the corrected cone
resistance will be 59% higher than the reference su , or su ,
based on equation (3). Nevertheless, the su values as obtained
from the consolidated undrained (CU) triaxial compression tests
on good-quality samples subject to the appropriate consolidation
stresses are considered representative of the ®eld undrained
shear strength. The rate of shearing adopted in a CU triaxial
test is usually chosen based on the need to ensure nearly
complete equalisation of pore water pressure in the soil speci-
men during shear. The rate, which is often calculated in practice
from the observed rate of volume change during consolidation
prior to shear, is typically 0.5% per hour for clays with a
coef®cient of consolidation of 1:0 m2 =yr. Adopting this refer-
ence strain rate, the su interpreted directly from equation (2) or
(2a) will be 64% higher than the representative su that one
would use in practice. For a 15 cm2 cone with a radius of
21´85 mm, the su value calculated from the corrected cone
resistance will be about 63% higher than the reference su values
from CU triaxial tests.
By taking strain rate effect into account, equation (2a) should
be modi®ed as follows:
qt ˆ 43áå su (ln I r ‡ 1) ‡ po (4)
where áå is the strain rate factor, which can be taken as 1´64
for a 10 cm2 cone and 1´63 for a 15 cm2 cone.
The evaluation of in-situ mean stress will require a prior
knowledge of the coef®cient of earth pressure at rest, K o , which
is not always available. For practical application, po is usually
approximated by the in-situ vertical total stress, ó vo , and the
equation is rendered as
qt ˆ 43áå su (ln I r ‡ 1) ‡ ó vo (5)
Similarly, the undrained shear strength, su , is expressed as
(Wroth, 1984)
 Ë
OCR
su ˆ 12 Mó v9o (6)
2
where ó v9o is the in-situ vertical effective stress.
Figure 3 shows the variation of qt with OCR on the basis of
equations (4) and (5) for a soil with a typical ö9 value of 308.
For 2 , OCR , 20, the difference between equations (4) and (5)
is less than 15%. Hence, for practical purposes, equation (4)
 UNDRAINED CAVITY EXPANSION IN MODIFIED CAM CLAY II 337
60 unloading±reloading cycle varies with depth, and ranges from
Eq. (4)
Ir = 300 133 to 170. The values of OCR determined by oedometer tests
range from 1´4 to 3´5. Fig. 4(a) shows that the predicted qt is in
Normalised cone resistance, (qt)/σ′vo

50 Eq. (5)

Ir = 100
fairly good agreement with the measured values except for the
φ′ = 30° depth of 16±18 m.
Λ = 0·75
40 The clay at Gloucester in eastern Canada is a highly sensi-
tive, soft Champlain Sea clay formed through different stages of
30 erosion and deposition (Konrad & Law, 1987b). The I r value,
Ir = 10 computed from the secant modulus at one-half the failure stress,
E50 , and the undrained shear strength, su , from the CK o U test,
20 ranges from 84 to 176. Konrad & Law (1987a) suggested that
the estimation of I r from E50 is more reasonable because the
10 modulus mobilised outside the plastic zone ranges from the
initial tangent modulus to the much lower value corresponding
to failure. The sensitivity of the clay is 100. The OCR deter-
0 mined from oedometer tests varies from 1´6 to 2´3. The ö9 of
1 5 9 13 17 21 25
the clay is assumed to be 358 (Konrad & Law, 1987a). The
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR
predicted qt pro®le follows closely the measured pro®le,
Fig. 3. Variation of cone resistance with overconsolidation ratio although the qt values are underpredicted by 10±25%, as
illustrated in Fig. 4(b).
Figure 5 shows the predicted qt pro®les and the CPTU
results in a fairly stiff, moderately overconsolidated Leda clay at
may be replaced by equation (5) without incurring any signi®- a sewage treatment plant (STP) site in Ottawa, eastern Canada.
cant inaccuracy. The I r estimated from pressuremeter tests varies from 113 to
Three well-documented sites selected from the geotechnical 143. The sensitivity of the clay ranges from 40 to 500. The
literature were studied for a detailed veri®cation of equation (5). OCR ranges from 2´2 to 4´1. The ö9 value of the clay is
Fig. 4 shows the predicted qt pro®les compared with measured assumed to be 278 (Konrad & Law, 1987b). Equation (5)
qt pro®les for two lightly to moderately overconsolidated clays appears to have underpredicted the qt values by up to 25% for
at Bothkennar and Gloucester. The soft clay at Bothkennar, this fairly sensitive clay in Ottawa.
Scotland (Hight et al., 1992; Jacobs & Coutts, 1992), has a One dif®culty in using equation (5) is that it requires a prior
relatively high value of ö9 of 348 from CK o U tests. Pressure- knowledge of I r of the clay. The value of I r generally decreases
meter tests at the site showed that I r as determined from the as the OCR increases. Based on CK o U test data on ®ve clays,
Ladd et al. (1977) observed that the normalised undrained
Young's modulus (Eu =su ) tended to converge at high OCRs.
Corrected cone resistance, qt: kPa The value of Eu =su ranges from 45 to 150 at a stress level of
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000 one-third the failure stress when OCR is equal to 10. Since I r
0 is equal to Eu =(3su ) under undrained condition (Poisson's ratio,
Predicted í ˆ 0:5), the corresponding value of I r is about 15±50 for
4 heavily overconsolidated clay. The value of I r can therefore be
Measured taken as 15 for very heavily overconsolidated clays with OCR
of 20 and above.
8
Figure 6 shows the qt pro®le predicted using equation (5)
and the ®eld test values from CPTU for two very heavily
Depth: m

12 overconsolidated clays at Taranto, Italy (Battaglio et al., 1986;

Jamiolkowski, et al., 1988) and Madingley, UK (Lunne et al.,
16 1986). The predicted qt pro®les with I r ˆ 15 compare reason-
φ′= 34˚
Ip = 41
20
OCR = 1·4–3·5
Corrected cone resistance, qt: kPa
24 0 400 800 1200 1600 2000
(a) 0
Predicted
0 200 400 600 800 1000
0 Measured
4

4
8
Depth: m
Depth: m

8
12

12 φ′= 35˚
Ip = 28
OCR = 1·6–2·3 16
φ′= 27˚ (assumed)
Ip = 30
16 OCR = 2·2–4·1
(b)
20
Fig. 4. Predicted and measured qt in two lightly to moderately
overconsolidated clays: (a) Bothkennar (Hight et al., 1992; Jacobs & Fig. 5. Predicted and measured qt in a moderately overconsolidated
Coutts, 1992); (b) Gloucester (Konrad & Law, 1987b) sensitive clay at Ottawa STP site (data after Konrad & Law, 1987b)
338 CHANG, TEH AND CAO
Corrected cone resistance, qt: kPa Penetration pore pressure on the cone face
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 Based on the spherical cavity expansion analysis in a mod-
0
i®ed Cam clay, the excess pore pressure at the cavity wall is
Ir = 50
expressed as (Cao et al., 2001)
Ir = 15
 Ë  "  Ë #
4 
Measured 2 R 2G R
Äu ˆ 3 Mp9o ln ‡ p9o 1 ÿ (7)
2 Mp9o (R=2)Ë 2
Depth: m

8
Combining equations (2) and (7), the I r term can be elimi-
nated. After considering the strain rate effect, the pore pressure
12 on the cone face can be expressed as
 Ë  Ë
R R
φ′= 28° ut ˆ qt ÿ 23 áå Mp9o ÿáå p9o
16 Ip = 27 2 2
OCR = 24–32
ˆ qt ÿ áå (1 ‡ 0:67M) p9o … R=2†Ë (8)
20
(a) The expression includes R and p9o, which are not readily
available. For practical application, it is convenient to replace
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
0
p9o by ó v9o and R by with OCR in equation (8), leading to

ut ˆ qt ÿ áå (1 ‡ 0:67M)ó v9o (OCR=2†Ë (9)

4
Figure 7 shows the predicted ut pro®le for two lightly
overconsolidated (OC) clays. The difference between ut pre-
dicted from equation (8) and that estimated from equation (9) is
small for the lightly overconsolidated clay. Fig. 7(a) shows that
Depth: m

the predicted ut values are lower than the measured values for a
8 soft organic clay at Onsoy, Norway (Lunne et al., 1986; Rad &
Lunne, 1988). For the organic clay at Ska-Edeby (Larsson &

12
φ′= 26°
Ip = 45 Penetration pore pressure on cone face, ut: kPa
OCR = 19–51 0 200 400 600 800 1000
0
16 Eq. (8)
(b)
4 Eq. (9)
Fig. 6. Predicted and measured qt in two very heavily overconsoli- Measured
dated clays: (a) data from Taranto (Battaglio et al., 1986; 8
Jamiolkowski et al., 1988); (b) data from Madingley (Lunne et al.,
Depth: m

1986)
12

16

φ′= 34˚
20
Ip = 30
ably well with the measured qt pro®les for the clays at Taranto OCR = 1·1–1·6
(Fig. 6(a)) and at Madingley (Fig. 6(b)).
24
Equation (5) provides a good prediction of qt for most (a)
overconsolidated clays. However, the equation underpredicts the
qt value for highly sensitive clays, possibly because the recom- 0 100 200 300 400 500
mended strain rate correction factor, áå , is not strictly applic- 0
able to highly sensitive clays with unique soil fabric. Note that
the deformation and stress paths close to a cone are quite
different in detail from those around an expanding spherical
4
cavity. Factors such as small-strain non-linearity, the presence of
®ssuring and the cone roughness have not been considered.
Thus equation (5) provides only an approximate solution of the
Depth: m

corrected cone resistance, qt . 8

INTERPRETATION OF PENETRATION PORE PRESSURE

12
Despite the limitations mentioned in the preceding paragraph, φ′= 30˚
it was generally accepted that the shearing mechanism under Ip = 30–55
the cone tip can be approximately simulated by a spherical OCR = 1·1–2·6
cavity expansion (Vesic, 1977; Teh & Houlsby, 1991). Along 16
the shaft of the piezocone, the deformation is more consistent (b)
with cylindrical cavity expansion. In addition, cavity expansion
theory also provides a framework for the interpretation of the Fig. 7. Predicted and measured ut in two lightly overconsolidated
cone resistance and the penetration pore water pressure on the clays: (a) data from Onsoy (Lunne et al., 1986); (b) data from Ska-
cone face. Edeby (Larsson & Mulabdic, 1991)
 UNDRAINED CAVITY EXPANSION IN MODIFIED CAM CLAY II 339
Mulabdic, 1991), Fig. 7(b) shows that the predicted values are Penetration pore pressure at cone base, ubt: kPa
close to the measured values. 0 200 400 600 800
0
The ut values predicted using equations (8) and (9) and the
measured ut values for a cemented, very heavily overconsoli- Eq. (11)
dated clay at Taranto, Italy (Battaglio et al., 1986; Jamiolkowski Eq. (12)
et al., 1988) are plotted in Fig. 8. The predicted ut pro®les 4
compare fairly well with the measurements for the depths Measured
between 8 and 12 m. Between 13 and 18 m depth, the computed
8
value severely underpredicts the measured ut, possibly because
of cementation.

Depth: m
12

Penetration pore pressure at the cone base

16
For cylindrical cavity expansion, the excess pore pressure at
the cavity wall is (Cao et al., 2001)
 Ë " p # "  Ë # φ′= 34°
Mp9 R G 3 R 20
Ip = 30
Äu ˆ p ln Ë
‡ p9o 1 ÿ
3 2 Mp9o (R=2) 2 OCR = 1·1–1·6
"  p # 24
1 Ir 3 1 (a)
ˆ 2su p ln ÿ ‡ p9o (10)
3 2 M
0 100 200 300 400
0
If the strain rate effect is accounted for by introducing the
factor áå, equation (10) becomes
"  p #
1 Ir 3 1
u ˆ 2áå su p ln ÿ ‡ po (10a)
3 2 M 4

For cylindrical cavity expansion, the I r term in the pore

pressure expression can be eliminated by combining equations
Depth: m

(4) and (10a). The resulting expression is 8

ubt ˆ 0:866qt ÿ áå (1 ‡ 0:66M) p9o (R=2) ‡ 0:134 po

Ë
(11)

Replacing po by ó vo and R by OCR, equation (11) gives rise to

12
ubt ˆ 0:866qt ÿ áå (1 ‡ 0:66M)ó v9o (OCR=2)Ë ‡ 0:134ó vo φ′= 30°
(12) Ip = 30–55
OCR = 1·1–2·6
Figures 9±11 show ubt pro®les at Onsoy, Ska-Edeby, Emmer- 16
stad and Taranto calculated using equations (11) and (12). The (b)
difference between the two pro®les is negligible for lightly
overconsolidated clays (Fig. 9) and a low-plasticity clay (Fig. Fig. 9. Predicted and measured ubt in two lightly overconsolidated
10). Greater difference is observed in very heavily overconsoli- clays: (a) data from Onsoy (Lunne et al., 1986); (b) data from Ska-
dated clay from Taranto, due mainly to the cementation in the Edeby (Larsson & Mulabdic, 1991)
clay (Fig. 11).
Penetration pore pressure at cone base, ubt kPa
0 100 200 300
0

Eq. (11)
Penetration pore pressure on cone face, ut: kPa
Eq. (12)
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 2
0 Measured
Eq. (8)
φ′= 28˚
Ip = 27 Eq. (9)
4 OCR = 24–32 Measured 4
Depth: m

8
Depth: m

12

8
16 φ′= 39·3°
Ip = 8–14
OCR = 1·3–5·9
20 10

Fig. 8. Predicted and measured ut in a very heavily overconsolidated Fig. 10. Predicted and measured ubt in a low plasticity silty clay at
clay at Taranto (data after Battaglio et al., 1986) Emmerstad (data after Aas et al., 1986)
340 CHANG, TEH AND CAO
Penetration pore pressure at cone base, ubt kPa 0´73 for I r ˆ 300 and ö9 ˆ 408. In Fig. 12(a), the spherical
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 cavity expansion solutions encompass most Bq values calculated
0
from ut , except for those clays possessing Bq close to unity.
Eq. (11)
φ′= 28°
Similarly, in Fig. 12(b), the cylindrical cavity expansion solu-
Eq. (12) Ip = 27 tions encompass most Bq values calculated from ubt , although
OCR = 24–32 the spherical cavity expansion solution provides a better upper
4 Measured
bound for those clays with high Bq values that are often
associated with high sensitivity or low plasticity.

8
ESTIMATION OF OCR FROM PIEZOCONE TESTS
Depth: m

The preconsolidation pressure, ó v9p , of soil is an important

parameter in many geotechnical analyses. The evaluation of ó v9p
12 generally requires a direct measurement or an estimate of OCR.
Since both the cone resistance and the penetration pore pressure
as obtained in the piezocone test are directly affected by the
stress history of soils, estimation of OCR from piezocone test
16 data is possible.

Interpretation of OCR
20 An effective method for estimating OCR from CPTU data
should avoid the use of I r , because I r is itself a function of
Fig. 11. Predicted and measured ub in a very heavily overconsoli-
OCR (Wroth & Houlsby, 1985). A procedure for the interpreta-
dated clay at Taranto (data after Battaglio et al., 1986)
tion of OCR using both the cone tip resistance and the penetra-
tion pore pressure is proposed based on the cavity expansion
analysis. For CPTU involving pore pressure measurement at the
Normalised penetration pore pressure cone face, equation (9) can be rearranged to express OCR in
In the interpretation of piezocone tests, the penetration pore terms of qt and ut :
pressure, u (ut or ubt ), is commonly expressed in practice as a  1=Ë
non-dimensional parameter, Bq : qt ÿ ut
OCR ˆ 2 (14)
u ÿ uo áå ó v9o (1 ‡ 0:67M)
Bq ˆ (13)
qt ÿ ó vo
Note that equation (9), on which equation (14) is based, has
Wroth (1984) suggested that Bq , which resembles Skempton's been veri®ed against test data in the previous section. It has
parameter A of a saturated clay in response to shear, is related been found to be applicable to most clays. It is interesting that
to the OCR. Fig. 12 shows the correlation between Bq and equation (14) bears a resemblance to the equation proposed by
OCR for a number of clay deposits in Europe and North Mayne (1991), which is based on Vesic's (1977) cavity expan-
America based on data reported by Jamiolkowski et al. (1985), sion theory and the critical state concept, as follows:
Konrad & Law (1987b), Campanella & Robertson (1988), La "  #1=Ë
Rochelle et al. (1988), Lutenegger & Kabir (1988), Powell et 1 qt ÿ ut
OCR ˆ 2 : ÿ1 (15)
al. (1988), Rad & Lunne (1988), Larsson & Mulabdic (1991), 1 95M ó v9o
and Hight et al. (1992). The data in which the porous element
is located on the cone face or cone tip are shown in Fig. 12(a), For CPTU involving pore pressure measurement at the cone
whereas those measured with piezometric element located be- base, based on equation (12), OCR may be expressed in terms
hind the cone tip are shown in Fig. 12(b). For the clay from of ubt and qt as
Grangemouth (Powell et al., 1988), qt is corrected for end area  
effect using an area ratio of 0´8. For the sensitive clay from 0:866qt ‡ 0:134ó vo ÿ ubt 1=Ë
Berthierville, the average Bq value within a depth of 2´5±5´5 m OCR ˆ 2 (16)
áå ó v9o (1 ‡ 0:66M)
is used (La Rochelle et al., 1988). For the sensitive clay from
Louiseville, Bq is obtained from a depth of 3 m (La Rochelle et As indicated in Fig. 12(b), spherical cavity expansion theory
al., 1988). The measured Bq value varies from 0´25 to 1 for appears to provide a better upper bound to the Bq values
clays with OCR ranging from 1 to 10. calculated from ubt for some special lean clays and highly
Two observations can be made from Fig. 12. First, based on sensitive clays with high Bq values, compared with cylindrical
the excess pore pressure (ut ) measured on the cone face, where cavity expansion theory. Therefore spherical cavity theory may
the octahedral stress increase usually dominates the behaviour be more suitable for the interpretation of ubt for sensitive and
of surrounding soil, Bq varies between 0´4 and 1´0, and the data special clays with Bq greater than 0´75 owing to their collapsi-
are highly scattered and relatively independent of OCR. Instead, ble structure. On the basis of this argument, equation (14), after
the ¯uctuation is possibly a re¯ection of the difference in the replacing ut with ubt , becomes
rate of response of various clays to the stress change shortly  1=Ë
after penetration by the cone. Second, based on the pore qt ÿ ubt
pressure (ubt ) measured at the cone base, where the change in OCR ˆ 2 : (17)
áå ó v9o (1 ‡ 0 67M)
deviator stress often dominates the behaviour of the surrounding
soil, Bq generally falls below a value of 0´8, and decreases Equation (17) may be compared with the equation proposed
systematically as OCR increases, although a scatter is observed. by Mayne (1991):
This explains why Bq based on ubt has been considered useful  1=Ë
for the evaluation of OCR (Wroth, 1984; Chang, 1991). qt ÿ ubt
OCR ˆ 2 (18)
Figure 12 also shows the predicted variation of Bq with OCR ó v9o (1 ‡ 1:95M)
based on cavity expansion theory. For spherical cavity, the Bq
value varies between 0´2 and 0´85 for I r ranging from 10 to Mayne (1991) reported that equations (15) and (18), with Ë
300, ö9 ranging from 208 to 408 and OCR ranging from 1 to taken as 0´75, provide reasonable ®rst-order estimation of in-
10. Based on cylindrical cavity expansion theory, Bq varies from situ OCR, particularly for extremely heavily overconsolidated
a minimum of 0´1 for I r ˆ 10 and ö9 ˆ 208 to a maximum of clays.
 UNDRAINED CAVITY EXPANSION IN MODIFIED CAM CLAY II 341
1·0

Spherical cavity

Onsoy (5–7)
0·8
Ir = 300, φ′ = 40˚ Haga (4–7)
Normalised penetration pore pressure, Bq
Vancouver (clayey silt)

Emmerstad (60)
0·6
Grangemouth (4–5)

Louiseville (13–29)
Berthierville (15)
0·4 Port Tolle (2–3)

Ska-Edeby (15)
Ir = 10, φ′ = 20˚
Backebol (12–24)

0·2 Bothkennar (8–12)

Numbers in brackets
indicate sensitivity

0
(a)
1·0 Spherical cavity
Cylindrical cavity
Gloucester (100)
Saint-Marcel (30)
0·8
Ir = 300, φ′ = 40˚ NRCC (20)
Normalised penetration pore pressure, Bq

Varennes (20)
Ottawa STP (40–500)
0·6 Onsoy (5–7)

Haga (4–7)

Vancouver (clayey silt)

0·4 Emmerstad (60)

Drammen (3–7)

Ir = 10, φ′ = 20˚ Grangemouth (4–5)

Louiseville (13–29)
0·2
Berthierville (15)

RRC (5·6)
MHS (6·8)

0 SLS (8·6)
1 4 7 10 Bothkennar (8–12)
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR
Numbers in brackets
(b)
indicate sensitivity

Fig. 12. Relationship between Bq and OCR: (a) Bq calculated from ut and qt ; (b) Bq calculated from
ubt and qt

Parametric study
The prediction of OCR from cone resistance and pore
pressure data requires M and Ë as input soil parameters. The
parameter Ë is essentially constant for natural intact and
uncemented clays with an average value of 0´75 for the triaxial
compression condition. For certain structured and cemented
soils, however, the value of Ë may be as high as 1´0 (Chen,
1994). The critical-state parameter, M, can be expressed in
terms of the effective friction angle, ö9, in the triaxial compres-
sion condition as 6 sin ö9=(3 ÿ sin ö9). With qt and ut or ubt
from the piezocone test, the effect of ö9 on OCR is shown in
Fig. 13. The effective friction angle, ö9, is found to have a
signi®cant in¯uence on the predicted OCR. Fortunately, the
value of ö9 usually falls in a small range for a given soil of
known geological origin, and it can be easily estimated from
other soil parameters. Based on the measured cone resistance,
qt , and the penetration pore pressure, ut or ubt, combined with a
knowledge of in-situ effective stress ó v9o , an estimate of OCR
can be obtained from Fig. 13 for most clays by selecting a
suitable ö9. The calculated OCR values from equations (14) and
(16) are almost identical. Substituting M ˆ 6 sin ö9=(3 ÿ sin ö9)
into equations (14), (16) and (17) leads to
 1=Ë
(3 ÿ sin ö9)qe
OCR ˆ 2 (19)
3áå ó v9o (1 ‡ sin ö9)
where qe is the `effective' cone resistance, de®ned as (qt ÿ ut )
or (0:866qt ‡ 0:134ó vo ÿ ubt ) for most clays, or (qt ÿ ubt ) for
highly sensitive and collapsible clays with high Bq values.
Figure 13 also shows a comparison of the current solutions
with those based on Mayne's (1991) equation (15). The present
342 CHANG, TEH AND CAO
19 solutions differ signi®cantly from Mayne's solutions, particularly
Eq. (14)
17
for lower values of ö9, such as ö9 ˆ 208.
Eq. (16)
Mayne (1991) φ′ = 20˚
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR

15

Λ = 0·75
Case studies
13
Data from well-documented sites reported in the geotechnical
11 30˚ literature are selected to verify the proposed approach for
estimating OCR. The soils at these sites range from soft,
9
40˚ sensitive, normally consolidated or lightly overconsolidated to
7 very stiff, heavily overconsolidated clay deposits. The value of
Ë is assumed to be 0´75, and the strain rate factor áå is taken
5 as 1´64. The M value is calculated from the effective friction
3
angle determined from the triaxial compression test.
Figure 14 shows the predicted OCR pro®les using qt and ut
1 for four lightly overconsolidated clays. At Backebol, Sweden
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (Larsson & Mulabdic, 1991), the predicted OCRs are found to
(qt – ut)/σ′vo; (0·866qt + 0·134σvo – ubt)/σ′vo be in good agreement with the OCR measured by oedometer
tests below a depth of 5 m as shown in Fig. 14(a). At Ska-
Fig. 13. Variation of OCR with ö9 as predicted from CPTU Edeby, Sweden (Larsson & Mulabdic, 1991), the predicted OCR
measurements
is generally in good agreement with the measured value except

Overconsolidation ratio, OCR Overconsolidation ratio, OCR

0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
0 0

2 2

4 4
Depth: m

6 6

8 8

10 10
φ′ = 24·3˚ φ′ = 30˚
Ip = 50 Ip = 30–55

12 12
(a) (b)
0 8

4 12

8 16
Depth: m

12 20

16 24

φ′ = 37·5˚ φ′ = 29˚
Ip = 15–50 Ip = 30

20 28

Eq. (14) Mayne (1991) Oedometer

(c) (d)

Fig. 14. Predicted OCR pro®les using ut and qt for some lightly to moderately overconsolidated clays:
(a) Backebol (Larsson & Mulabdic, 1991); (b) Ska-Edeby (Larsson & Mulabdic, 1991); (c) Bothkennar
(Hight et al., 1992; Jacobs & Coutts, 1991); (d) Porto Tolle (Jamiolkowski et al., 1988)
 UNDRAINED CAVITY EXPANSION IN MODIFIED CAM CLAY II 343
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR Overconsolidation ratio, OCR
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 0

2 2

4 4
Depth: m

6 6

8 8

10 10
φ′ = 24·3˚ φ′ = 30˚
Ip = 50 Ip = 30–55

12 12
(a) (b)
0 0

4
4

8
Depth: m

12

12
16
φ′ = 37˚ φ′ = 30˚
Ip = 15–50 Ip = 35

20 16

Eq. (16) or (17) Mayne (1991) Oedometer

(c) (d)

Fig. 15. Predicted OCR pro®les using ubt and qt for some lightly to moderately overconsolidated clays: (a)
Backebol (Larsson & Mulabdic, 1991); (b) Ska-Edeby (Larsson & Mulabdic, 1991); (c) Bothkennar (Hight
et al., 1992; Jacobs & Coutts, 1992); (d) NRCC (Konrad & Law, 1987b); (e) Ottawa STP (Konrad & Law,
1987b); (f) Gloucester (Konrad & Law, 1987b); (g) Drammen (Lacasse & Lunne, 1982); (h) Onsoy (Lunne
et al., 1986)

at shallow depths. The predicted OCRs are slightly lower than
the measured values within the depth from 3 to 6 m, as shown
in Fig. 14(b), probably because the Bq value is larger than 0´85.
Fig. 14(c) shows that the predicted OCR pro®le is generally in
good agreement with the measured data within the soft silty
clay at Bothkennar, UK (Hight et al., 1992; Jacobs & Coutts,
1992). In Fig. 14(d), the predicted OCR values are found to be
only slightly higher than the measured values within the silty
clay layer at Porto Tolle, Italy (Jamiolkowski et al., 1985).
Figure 15 shows the comparisons between the predicted OCR
pro®les using ubt and qt and the measured OCR values for eight
sites involving clays of different stress histories. Similar to the
prediction from ut and qt, the prediction from ubt and qt also
compares well with measured OCRs at Backebol, Ska-Edeby
and Bothkennar. For the sensitive Canadian Leda clay at three
test sites in eastern Canada (Konrad & Law, 1987b), the
predicted OCRs agree very well with the oedometer values.
Comparisons are also made for two clays of low sensitivity, the
Drammen and the Onsoy clays, in Norway (Lacasse & Lunne,
1982; Lunne et al., 1985; Rad & Lunne, 1988). The predicted
OCR pro®les agree fairly well with the OCRs determined in
oedometer tests, especially for the Onsoy clay.
The predicted OCR pro®les based on Mayne's (1991) equation,
or equation (15), are also shown in Figs 14 and 15 for comparison.
Generally, the predicted pro®les from both sets of solutions are
similar. For lightly to moderately overconsolidated clays, the
present analysis based on ut gives higher OCR values and better
agreements with oedometer data than Mayne's expression.
Mayne's (1991) expression tends to overpredict the OCR from ubt .
In a discussion to Mayne's paper, Chang (1992) also pointed out
the trend of overprediction by Mayne's (1991) equation based on
ubt , and suggested a modi®cation of Mayne's expression.
The predicted OCR pro®les for two low-plasticity clays, one
lightly overconsolidated and the other moderately to heavily
overconsolidated, are plotted in Fig. 16. The predicted pro®les
based on the measured qt and ubt are similar to the pro®les
obtained by Mayne (1991), and both agree well with the
oedometer data (Aas et al., 1986; Mayne, 1991), particularly for
the lightly overconsolidated clay at Emmerstad. For low-plasti-
city clays, the pore water pressure can be very close in
magnitude to the cone resistance, and the use of (qt ÿ ut ) in the
evaluation of OCR will be highly unreliable. A piezocone with
pore pressure measured just behind the cone may be more
appropriate under such circumstances.
344 CHANG, TEH AND CAO
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR Overconsolidation ratio, OCR
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 0

4 4

8 8
Depth: m

12 12

16 16
φ′ = 27˚(assumed) φ′ = 35˚
Ip = 30 Ip = 28
20 20
(e) (f)

0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
0 0

4 4

8 8
Depth: m

12 12

16 16
φ′ = 30·7˚ φ′ = 34˚
Ip = 10–28 Ip = 30

20 20
Eq. (16) or (17) Mayne (1991) Oedometer

(g) (h)

Fig. 15. (continued ).

Figures 17 and 18 show the OCR pro®les predicted by equa- gradually with depth. The trend above 12 m depth is more
tions (14) and (16) for two heavily overconsolidated clays. The erratic. Mayne's (1991) expressions produce OCR values that
laboratory OCR data from oedometer tests are plotted in the are closer to the measured values for the very heavily over-
®gures for comparison. In Fig. 17, the predicted OCR pro®le consolidated clay stratum between 12 m and 17 m depths. On
based on the measured qt and ut for the heavily to moderately the other hand, the prediction based on equation (14) (Fig.
heavily overconsolidated clay at Baton Rouge, USA (Chen, 19(a)) compares better with the oedometer results for the clay
1994), agrees reasonably well with the oedometer data. Simi- between 8 and 12 m depth.
larly, the measured ubt and qt provide a fairly good prediction
of the high OCRs in the highly overconsolidated hard London
clay at Brent Cross, UK (Powell et al., 1988). Mayne's (1991)
ESTIMATION OF UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH FROM
solutions provide very similar predictions at these two sites.
PIEZOCONE TESTS
The OCR pro®le predicted using equations (14) and (16) for
The undrained shear strength, su , is an important soil para-
a very heavily to extremely heavily overconsolidated hard ce-
meter for clay in a wide range of geotechnical analyses. The
mented clay at Taranto, Italy (Battaglio et al., 1986), is plotted
correlation of cone resistance with the undrained shear strength
in Fig. 19. The prediction compares poorly with the oedometer
of soil is one major application that spurs the development of
results for the stratum between the depths of 12 m and 17 m.
CPTU. The following section introduces a procedure for deter-
The predicted OCR values are signi®cantly lower than the
mining su from CPTU data, using both the corrected cone
measured values. The poor comparisons are possibly affected by
resistance and the penetration pore pressure.
the cementation in the clay. The predicted OCR at 18 m is in
close agreement with the single measured value, though this
may be fortuitous.
The CPTU-derived OCR pro®le seems to suggest a transition Interpretation of undrained shear strength
of stress history at about 12 m depth for the cemented hard clay The undrained shear strength is usually expressed in terms of
at Taranto. However, the measured OCR tends to decrease the corrected cone resistance, qt , using the popular expression
 UNDRAINED CAVITY EXPANSION IN MODIFIED CAM CLAY II 345
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR Overconsolidation ratio, OCR
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 20 40 60 80 100
0 0
Eq. (16) or (17) Eq. (16) or (17)
Mayne (1991) Mayne (1991)
2 4
Oedometer Oedometer
Depth: m

4
8

Depth: m
6
12

8
φ′ = 29˚ 16 φ′ = 20˚
Ip = 8–14 Ip = 50

10
(a) 20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0
Fig. 18. Predicted OCR pro®les using ubt and qt for a very heavily
to extremely heavily overconsolidated clay at Brent Cross (data after
Powell et al., 1988)
φ′ = 39·3˚
4 Ip = 4
Depth: m

12
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR
0 10 20 30 40 50
0
16
Eq. (14)
Mayne (1991)
4
20 Oedometer
(b)

Fig. 16. Predicted OCR pro®les using ubt and qt for two-low 8
plasticity clays: (a) data from Emmerstad, Norway (Aas et al.,
Depth: m

1986); (b) data from Yorktown, USA (Mayne, 1991)

12

16 φ′ = 28˚

20
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR (a)
0 4 8 12 16 20 0
0 Eq. (16)
Mayne (1991)
5 4 Oedometer

10
8
Depth: m
Depth: m

15

20 12
φ′ = 28˚

25
Eq. (14) 16
Mayne (1991)
30
Oedometer
20
35 (b)

Fig. 17. Predicted OCR pro®les using ut and qt for a heavily to Fig. 19. Predicted OCR pro®les for a very heavily to extremely
moderately heavily overconsolidated clay at Baton Rouge (data after heavily overconsolidated clay at Taranto (data after Battaglio et al.,
Chen, 1994) 1986): (a) using qt and ut ; (b) using qt and ubt
346 CHANG, TEH AND CAO
20
16
12
Cone factor, Nkt
Ir = 300, αε =1
8 Ir = 10, αε =1·64
Ir = 10, αε =1
4
0
1 5
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR
Fig. 20. Relationship between cone factor and oveconsolidation ratio (Data after Konrad & Law, 1987a and
Rad & Lunne, 1988)
qt ÿ ó vo
su ˆ
Nkt
From equation (5), the cone factor, Nkt , can be shown to be
equal to 4áå (ln I r ‡ 1)=3. The factor Nkt is a function of the
rigidity index, I r , of the soil. Fig. 20 shows the Nkt calculated
for soils with rigidity index, I r , values of 10 and 300 compared
with those back-calculated from a collection of published data.
Taking the strain rate effect into account, the calculated cone
factor ranges from 7´2 to 14´7, which encompasses most of the
test data in Fig. 20. Because I r is not readily available,
estimating su from Nkt depends critically on local experience.
As presented earlier, the combination of qt and ubt or ut
renders possible an estimate of the soil's OCR without a prior
knowledge of I r . Once the OCR is known, su may be estimated
using the equations derived herein. Equations (6) and (19) can
be rearranged to give
qe sin ö9 qe
su ˆ ˆ (21)
áå (1 ‡ sin ö9) N ke
where qe is the `effective' cone resistance as de®ned earlier and
Nke is an `effective' cone factor, which is equal to
áå (1 ‡ sin ö9)=sinö9. Note that N ke decreases with increasing
ö9, varying from 4´2 to 6´4 for ö9 between 208 and 408. For a
typical clay with ö9 ˆ 308, Nke is equal to 4´9.
Note that su is stress path dependent. The su derived from
equation (6) corresponds to the undrained shear strength as
determined from the triaxial compression test.
Case studies
Piezocone data for a large number of sites from published
geotechnical literature have been selected for checking the
validity of the proposed expressions for the prediction of the
undrained shear strength.
The selection of a reference test for undrained shear strength
determination is crucial in this study since su can vary over a
wide range depending upon the consolidation process, mode of
shearing, direction of loading, strain rate, stress rotation, soil
fabric and sample disturbance effects. In the discussions thus
far, results from triaxial undrained compressions on isotropically
consolidated samples (CIUC) or on anisotropically consolidated
Onsoy
Haga
Ir = 300, αε =1·64
Troll
Brage
Haltenbanken
Rio
Vancouver
Emmerstad
Drammen
Gloucester
STP
9 13 17
samples (CAUC) have been selected where available. According
(20)
to Kulhawy & Mayne (1990), the difference between such tests
is less than 20% for effective friction angle between 208 and
408. For the Taranto site, only results from high-quality uncon-
solidated undrained triaxial compression tests (UU) are available
for comparison (Jamiolkowski et al., 1988). Although the strain
rate in UU tests is typically 1% to 2% per minute, higher than
that adopted in CU tests, the measured su values are not
necessary higher than those obtained from CU tests because
sample disturbance usually leads to a reduction in su .
Figure 21 shows predicted pro®les of su for two sites using
qt and ut in comparison with triaxial test data. Fairly reasonable
pro®les of su are obtained from Bothkennar and Taranto sites.
The predicted pro®les for four sites using qt and ubt are
presented in Fig. 22. The predicted results for the Onsoy and St
Alban sites compare reasonably well with the measured su
values. The su value is slightly underpredicted at depths of 10±
13 m at the Gloucester site. Slight overprediction of the su value
is observed at depths of 9±10 m at the Taranto site.
It must be pointed out that the soils at most of these sites are
essentially intact clays. The Nkt obtained from the proposed
model ranges from 7´2 to 14´7 as shown in Fig. 20. For ®ssured
clays, Powell et al. (1988) observed that 20 , Nkt , 30. The
idealised conditions assumed in the analysis are not valid for
®ssured clay. The use of the proposed model in such materials
is not recommended.
ESTIMATION OF RIGIDITY INDEX FROM PIEZOCONE TESTS
In the application of cavity expansion to the interpretation of
the cone penetration test, the rigidity index, I r , is an important
parameter. The rigidity index determines the size of the plastic
zone, and affects both qt and ut . It appears as ln(I r ) in the
expressions for the cone penetration resistance (equations (4)
and (5)). Rearranging equation (5), ln(I r ) can be expressed as
ln(I r ) ˆ (qt ÿ ó vo )=(1:33áå su ) ÿ 1 (22)
As has been shown previously, the undrained shear strength, su ,
can be determined using qt and ut by equation (21), indepen-
dent of I r . By substituting equation (21) into (22), one obtains
 
(1 ‡ sin ö9) qt ÿ ó vo
ln(I r ) ˆ 34 ÿ1 (23)
sin ö9 qe
 UNDRAINED CAVITY EXPANSION IN MODIFIED CAM CLAY II
Undrained shear strength, su: kPa
0 20 40 60
0 4
φ′ = 33°
4
8
Depth: m
12
16
CAUC
Eq. (21)
20
(a)
Fig. 21. Predicted s u pro®les using ut and qt at clay sites with reference triaxial compression test data:
(a) Bothkennar (Jacobs & Coutts, 1991; Hight et al., 1992) (b) Taranto (Battaglio et al., 1986)
Figure 23 shows a comparison of the predicted ln(I r ) pro®le
derived from piezocone test data with ln(I r ) values interpreted
from pressuremeter test results at the Bothkennar site (Hight et
al., 1992; Jacobs & Coutts, 1992). The ln(I r ) interpreted from
CPTU is close to values derived from the pressuremeter test.
One obvious advantage of the CPTU is the possibility of
obtaining a continuous ln(I r ) pro®le. Fig. 24 shows the pre-
dicted pro®le of ln(I r ) with the reference ln(I r ) from triaxial
tests at Gloucester site (Konrad & Law, 1987a). The predicted
ln(I r ) is close to that determined from laboratory triaxial tests.
The continuous ln(I r ) pro®le also shows signi®cant variation of
I r with depth.
Note that the I r pro®le directly interpreted from the CPTU
results is very sensitive to the variations in qt and ut or ubt. The
deduced I r pro®le often ¯uctuates within a particular clay layer.
The fact that the shear modulus, G, is noticeably affected by
the shear strain level, which is highly uncertain around the
penetrometer, is partly responsible for the large variation in the
CPTU measurements. In many practical situations, an average
value of I r estimated from the trend line of the I r pro®le may
be all that is necessary.
APPLICATION TO SINGAPORE MARINE CLAY
A very detailed and extensive soil investigation programme
was implemented at a major land reclamation project in Singa-
pore. The soil investigation carried out before the reclamation,
including boring and a variety of in-situ tests, provides a unique
opportunity for validating the applicability of the proposed
interpretation method for the Singapore marine clay. The test
site, located at Changi East in Singapore, was underlain by up
to 50 m of soft to medium stiff and stiff marine clays, which
were lightly to moderately overconsolidated. The mean sea level
was 1´6 mCD (Chart Datum) and the original seabed was about
ÿ3 mCD.
The Singapore marine clay is the marine member of the
Kallang Formation, a major geological formation in Singapore.
The marine clay deposit consists of two distinct layers separated
by an intermediate layer of reddish stiff silty clays, which was
formed from exposure of the seabed to the atmosphere during
the rise and fall of the sea level in the geological past. The
upper layer is locally known as the upper marine clay (UMC)
and the lower layer as the lower marine clay (LMC). The liquid
limit of both layers of clay ranges from 70 to 80 and the plastic
limit from 20 to 30. The water content of the UMC ranges from
347
Undrained shear strength, su: kPa
80 0 200 400 600 800
φ′ = 28°
8
12
16
UU
20
(b)
50% to 80% and the bulk density is between 1´5 and
1:7 Mg=m3 . The water content of the LMC ranges from 50% to
60%, and the bulk density varies from 1´6 to 1:7 Mg=m3 . Both
the UMC and LMC are lightly overconsolidated with OCR of
1±2, except immediately beneath the seabed where the UMC
has an OCR of 2±10. The marine clay deposit is underlain by a
clayey sand geologically belonging to the Old Alluvium Forma-
tion of Singapore.
Prior to reclamation, piezocone tests with measurement of
pore pressure just behind the tip were conducted from an
offshore jack-up pontoon at one location. Undisturbed samples
obtained from boring at the location were subjected to a variety
of laboratory tests. Laboratory triaxial tests indicate that the
angle of internal friction, ö9, for both the upper and lower
marine clays averages about 22´88. The average value of Ë
obtained from the oedometer tests for both the upper and lower
marine clays is 0´89.
Figure 25 shows typical pro®les of OCR, su and I r predicted
using the methods proposed in this paper. The results obtained
using other test methods are shown in parallel for comparison.
The OCR values predicted from the piezocone test data gen-
erally agree with those obtained from odeometer tests, except at
depths of 21±24 m. At these depths, the proposed methods
using the piezocone test data slightly underpredicted the OCR
values from the piezocone tests. The predicted su agrees with su
from the ®eld vane test (FVT). The predicted su also compares
favourably with the results of triaxial undrained compression
tests on K o -consolidated samples (CK o U). The rigidity index,
I r , predicted from the CPTU data is in broad agreement with
those obtained from four CK o U tests and one CIU test (triaxial
undrained compression test on isotropically consolidated sam-
ple), for which the secant Young's modulus at one-half the
failure stress is used in deriving I r .
CONCLUSIONS
The theoretical solution for the expansion of a cavity, both
cylindrical and spherical, in an unbounded modi®ed Cam clay
is applied to the interpretation of the piezocone test in clay. The
initial stress state of the material is incorporated in the deriva-
tion of the theoretical solution. The proposed approach takes
into account the effect of the strain rate imposed by pushing the
cone at a standard penetration rate of 20 mm=s. The close
analogy between cavity expansion and cone penetration enables
the modi®cation of the theoretical solution for the interpretation
348 CHANG, TEH AND CAO
Undrained shear strength, su: kPa Undrained shear strength, su: kPa
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50
0 0

φ′ = 34° φ′ = 30·7°
4
4

8
12
Depth: m

16
12

20

16
24
CAUC CAUC
Eq. (21)
28 20
(a) (b)

0 20 40 60 80 100 0 200 400 600 800

0 4

φ′ = 35° φ′ = 28°

4
8

8
Depth: m

12

12

16
16

CAUC UU

20 20
(c) (d)

Fig. 22. Predicted su pro®les using ubt and qt at clay sites with reference triaxial compression test data:
(a) Onsoy (Lunne et al., 1986); (b) St Alban, Quebec (Roy et al., 1982); (c) Gloucester (Konrad & Law,
1987a); (d) Taranto (Battaglio et al., 1986)

In (Ir) In (Ir)
0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8
0 0

φ′ = 34° φ′ = 35°

4 4

8 8
Depth: m
Depth: m

12 12

16 16

Pressuremeter test Triaxial test

Predicted from piezocone test Predicted from piezocone test
20 20

Fig. 23. Predicted rigidity index pro®les using ut and qt with Fig. 24. Predicted rigidity index pro®les using ubt and qt with
reference pressuremeter test data at Bothkennar (data after Hight et reference pressuremeter test data at Gloucester (data after Konrad
al., 1992, and Jacobs & Coutts, 1992) & Law, 1987a)
 UNDRAINED CAVITY EXPANSION IN MODIFIED CAM CLAY II 349
Soil stratification Overconsolidation ratio, OCR Undrained shear strength, su: kPa Rigidity index, Ir
1 3 5 0 50 100 0 100 200
0

5 Upper
marine
clay
10

15 Silty clay
Depth: m

20
Lower
marine
25 clay

30 Predicted Predicted
Predicted
FVT CKoU
Sandy clay Oedometer CKoU CIU
35

Fig. 25. Soil parameters predicted by piezocone tests in Singapore marine clay

of CPTU. Separate methods have been proposed for the inter- Campanella, R. G. and Robertson, P. K. (1988). Current status of the piezo-
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NOTATION Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.
a cavity radius; cone radius Hight, D. W., Bond, A. J. & Legge, J. D. (1992). Characterization of the
Bq normalised penetration pore pressure Bothkennar clay: an overview. GeÂotechnique 42, No. 2, 303±347.
G shear modulus Jacobs, P. A. & Coutts, J. S. (1992). A comparison of electric piezocone
I p plasticity index tips at the Bothkennar test site. GeÂotechnique 42, No. 2, 369±375.
I r rigidity index Jamiolkowski, M., Ladd, C. C., Germaine, J. T. & Lancellotta, R.
N kt cone resistance factor (1985). New developments in ®eld and laboratory testing of soils.
Nke `effective' cone resistance factor Proc. 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. and Found. Engng, San
OCR overconsolidation ratio Francisco 1, 57±153.
po in-situ mean total stress Jamiolkowski, M., Ghionna, V. N., Lancellotta, R. & Pasqualini, E.
p9o in-situ mean effective stress (1988). New correlations of penetration tests for design practice.
qt cone resistance Proceedings of the International Symposium on Penetration Testing,
qe `effective' cone resistance Orlando, 1, pp. 263±296.
R isotropic overconsolidation ratio Konrad, J.-M. & Law, K. T. (1987a). Undrained shear strength from
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u penetration pore water pressure Konrad, J.-M. & Law, K. T. (1987b). Preconsolidation pressure from
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ut penetration pore pressure on the cone face Kulhawy, F. H. & Mayne, P. W. (1990). Manual on estimating soil
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áå strain rate factor Electric Power Research Institute.
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