Altered Soil.

During the boring operations, soil can be altered due to mixing

or contamination. For example, if the boring is not cleaned out prior to sampling,
a soil sample taken from the bottom of the borehole may actually consist of
cuttings
from the side of the borehole. These borehole cuttings, which have fallen to the
bottom of the borehole, will not represent in-situ conditions at the depth sampled.
In other cases, the soil sample may become contaminated with drilling fluid, which
is used for wash-type borings. These types of soil samples that have been mixed
or contaminated by the drilling process should not be used for laboratory tests
because they will lead to incorrect conclusions regarding subsurface conditions.
Soil that has a change in moisture content due to the drilling fluid or heat
generated
during the drilling operations should also be classified as altered soil. Soil that
has
been densified by over-pushing or over-driving the soil sampler should also be
considered as altered because the process of over-pushing or over-driving could
squeeze water from the soil.
2. Disturbed Samples. Disturbed soil is defined as soil that has been remolded
during the sampling process. For example, soil obtained from driven samplers, such
as the Standard Penetration Test spilt spoon sampler, or chunks of intact soil
brought
to the surface in an auger bucket (i.e., bulk samples), are considered disturbed
soil.
Disturbed soil can be used for numerous types of laboratory tests.SOIL MECHANICS
AND FOUNDATIONS 6.15
3. Undisturbed Sample. It should be recognized that no soil sample can be
taken from the ground in a perfectly undisturbed state. However, this terminology
has been applied to those soil samples taken by certain sampling methods.
Undisturbed samples are often defined as those samples obtained by slowly pushing
thinwalled tubes, having sharp cutting ends and tip relief, into the soil. Two
parameters,
the inside clearance ratio and the area ratio, are often used to evaluate the
disturbance potential of different samplers, and they are defined as follows:
D # D
inside clearance ratio (%) 100 (6.1) i e
D
e
D 2 2 # D
area ratio (%) 100 (6.2) o i 2
D
i
where D
e diameter at the sampler cutting tip
D
i inside diameter of the sampling tube
D
o outside diameter of the sampling tube
In general, a sampling tube for undisturbed soil specimens should have an inside
clearance ratio of about 1% and an area ratio of about 10% or less. Having an
inside clearance ratio of about 1% provides for tip relief of the soil and reduces
the friction between the soil and inside of the sampling tube during the sampling
process. A thin film of oil can be applied at the cutting edge to also reduce the
friction between the soil and metal tube during sampling operations. The purpose
of having a low area ratio and a sharp cutting end is to slice into the soil with
as
little disruption and displacement of the soil as possible. Shelby tubes are
manufactured to meet these specifications and are considered to be undisturbed soil
samplers. As a comparison, the California Sampler has an area ratio of 44% and
is considered to be a thick-walled sampler.
It should be mentioned that using a thin-walled tube, such as a Shelby tube, will
not guarantee an undisturbed soil specimen. Many other factors can cause soil
disturbance, such as:
• Pieces of hard gravel or shell fragments in the soil, which can cause voids to
develop along the sides of the sampling tube during the sampling process
• Soil adjustment caused by stress relief when making a borehole
• Disruption of the soil structure due to hammering or pushing the sampling tube
into the soil stratum
• Expansion of gas during retrieval of the sampling tube
• Jarring or banging the sampling tube during transportation to the laboratory
• Roughly removing the soil from the sampling tube
• Crudely cutting the soil specimen to a specific size for a laboratory test
The actions listed above cause a decrease in effective stress, a reduction in the
interparticle bonds, and a rearrangement of the soil particles. An ‘‘undisturbed’’
soil
specimen will have little rearrangement of the soil particles and perhaps no
disturbance except that caused by stress relief where there is a change from the
in-situ
stress condition to an isotropic ‘‘perfect sample’’ stress condition. A disturbed
soil
specimen will have a disrupted soil structure with perhaps a total rearrangement
of6.16 SECTION SIX
soil particles. When measuring the shear strength or deformation characteristics of
the soil, the results of laboratory tests run on undisturbed specimens obviously
better represent in-situ properties than laboratory tests run on disturbed
specimens.
Soil samples recovered from the borehole should be kept within the sampling
tube or sampling rings. The soil sampling tube should be tightly sealed with end
caps or the sampling rings thoroughly sealed in containers to prevent a loss of
moisture during transportation to the laboratory. The soil samples should be marked
with the file or project number, date of sampling, name of engineer or geologist
who performed the sampling, and boring number and depth.
6.2.4 Field Testing
There are many different types of tests that can be performed at the time of
drilling.
The three most common types of field tests are discussed in this section:
Standard Penetration Test (SPT). The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) consists
of driving a thick-walled sampler into a sand deposit. The SPT sampler must have
an inside barrel diameter (Di) 3.81 cm (1.5 in) and an outside diameter (Do)
5.08 cm (2 in). The SPT sampler is shown in Fig. 6.1. The SPT sampler is driven
into the sand by using a 63.5-kg (140-lb.) hammer falling a distance of 0.76 m (30
in). The SPT sampler is driven a total of 45 cm (18 in), with the number of blows
recorded for each 15 cm (6 in) interval. The ‘‘measured SPT N value’’ (blows per
ft) is defined as the penetration resistance of the sand, which equals the sum of
the
number of blows required to drive the SPT sampler over the depth interval of 15
to 45 cm (6 to 18 in). The reason the number of blows required to drive the SPT
sampler for the first 15 cm (6 in) is not included in the N value is that the
drilling
process often disturbs the soil at the bottom of the borehole and the readings at
15
to 45 cm (6 to 18 in) are believed to be more representative of the in-situ
penetration
resistance of the sand. The data below present a correlation between the measured
SPT N value (blows per ft) and the density condition of a clean sand deposit.
N value (blows per ft) Sand density Relative density
0 to 4 Very loose condition 0 to 15%
4 to 10 Loose condition 15 to 35%
10 to 30 Medium condition 35 to 65%
30 to 50 Dense condition 65 to 85%
Over 50 Very dense condition 85 to 100%
Relative density is defined in Art. 6.3.4. Note that the above correlation is very
approximate and the boundaries between different density conditions are not as
distinct as implied by the table.
The measured SPT N value can be influenced by many testing factors and soil
conditions. For example, gravel-size particles increase the driving resistance
(hence
increased N value) by becoming stuck in the SPT sampler tip or barrel. Another
factor that could influence the measured SPT N value is groundwater. It is
important
to maintain a level of water in the borehole at or above the in-situ groundwater
level. This is to prevent groundwater from rushing into the bottom of the borehole,
which could loosen the sand and result in low measured N values.SOIL MECHANICS AND
FOUNDATIONS 6.17
Besides gravel and groundwater conditions described above, there are many
different testing factors that can influence the accuracy of the SPT readings. For
example, the measured SPT N value could be influenced by the hammer efficiency,
rate at which the blows are applied, borehole diameter, and rod lengths. The
following equation is used to compensate for these testing factors (A. W. Skempton,
‘‘Standard Penetration Test Procedures,’’ Geotechnique 36):
N60 1.67 E C C N m b r (6.3)
where N
60 SPT N value corrected for field testing procedures.
Em
hammer efficiency (for U.S. equipment, Em equals 0.6 for a safety
hammer and E
m equals 0.45 for a donut hammer)
Cb borehole diameter correction (Cb 1.0 for boreholes of 65 to 115
mm (2.5 to 4.5 in) diameter, 1.05 for 150-mm diameter (5.9-in), and
1.15 for 200-mm (7.9-in) diameter hole)
C
r Rod length correction (Cr 0.75 for up to 4 m (13 ft) of drill rods,
0.85 for 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of drill rods, 0.95 for 6 to 10 m (20
to 33 ft) of drill rods, and 1.00 for drill rods in excess of 10 m (33
ft)
N measured SPT N value
Even with the limitations and all of the corrections that must be applied to the
measured SPT N value, the Standard Penetration Test is probably the most widely
used field test in the United States. This is because it is relatively easy to use,
the
test is economical as compared to other types of field testing, and the SPT
equipment can be quickly adapted and included as part of almost any type of
drilling
rig.
Cone Penetration Test (CPT). The idea for the Cone Penetration Test (CPT) is
similar to that for the Standard Penetration Test, except that instead of a
thickwalled sampler being driven into the soil, a steel cone is pushed into the
soil. There
are many different types of cone penetration devices, such as the mechanical cone,
mechanical-friction cone, electric cone, and piezocone. The simplest type of cone
is shown in Fig. 6.2. The cone is first pushed into the soil to the desired depth
(initial position) and then a force is applied to the inner rods that moves the
cone
downward into the extended position. The force required to move the cone into the
extended position (Fig. 6.2) divided by the horizontally projected area of the cone
is defined as the cone resistance (qc). By continual repetition of the two-step
process
shown in Fig. 6.2, the cone resistance data is obtained at increments of depth. A
continuous record of the cone resistance versus depth can be obtained by using the
electric cone, where the cone is pushed into the soil at a rate of 10 to 20 mm/sec
(2 to 4 ft/min). Figure 6.3 presents four simplified examples of cone resistance
(qc) versus depth profiles and the possible interpretation of the soil types and
conditions.
A major advantage of the Cone Penetration Test is that by use of the electric
cone, a continuous subsurface record of the cone resistance (qc) can be obtained.
This is in contrast to the Standard Penetration Test, which obtains data at
intervals
in the soil deposit. Disadvantages of the Cone Penetration Test are that soil
samples
can not be recovered and special equipment is required to produce a steady and
slow penetration of the cone. Unlike the SPT, the ability to obtain a steady and
slow penetration of the cone is not included as part of conventional drilling rigs.
Because of these factors, in the United States the CPT is used less frequently than
the SPT.6.18 SECTION SIX
FIGURE 6.2 Example of Mechanical Cone Penetrometer Tip (Dutch Mantle
Cone). (Reprinted with permission from the American Society for Testing and
Materials, 1998.)
Vane Shear Test (VST). The SPT and CPT are used to correlate the resistance
of driving a sampler (N value) or pushing a cone (qc) with the engineering
properties
(such as density condition) of the soil. In contrast, the Vane Test is a different
insitu field test because it directly measures a specific soil property, the
undrained
shear strength (su) of clay. Shear strength will be further discussed in Art.
6.3.6.
The Vane Test consists of inserting a four-bladed vane, such as shown in
Fig. 6.4, into the borehole and then pushing the vane into the clay deposit located
at the bottom of the borehole. Once the vane is inserted into the clay, the maximum
torque (Tmax) required to rotate the vane and shear the clay is measured. The
undrained shear strength (su) of the clay can then be calculated by using the
following
equation, which assumes uniform end shear for a rectangular vane:
T
max
su 2 3 (6.4)
(0.5 D H # 0.167D )
where T
max maximum torque required to rotate the rod which shears the clay
H height of the vane
D diameter of the vane
The vane can provide an undrained shear strength (su) that is too high if the vane
is rotated too rapidly. The vane test also gives unreliable results for clay strata
thatSOIL MECHANICS AND FOUNDATIONS