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Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small

strain shear stiffness of sands

Article in Ain Shams Engineering Journal · September 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010

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CIVIL ENGINEERING

Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small

strain shear stiffness of sands
Sayed M. Ahmed

Geotechnical Engineering, Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Received 25 May 2016; revised 18 July 2016; accepted 18 August 2016

KEYWORDS Abstract The cone penetration test (CPT) is a valuable geotechnical insitu test. Yet, the CPT cor-
Cone penetration test (CPT); relations with the small strain shear modulus and seismic shear wave velocity still need more
Behavioral index; research to enhance their accuracy. In this study, the stress normalizations for the net cone tip resis-
Sand; tance and the small strain shear modulus are scrutinized. Subsequently, enhanced CPT correlations
Small strain shear modulus; with the small strain shear modulus and the seismic shear wave velocity for sands are presented. The
Shear wave velocity; proposed approach utilizes published databases of CPT in sands and recent researches that quantify
Stress normalization the small strain shear modulus using sand gradation parameters. Four case histories are analyzed
using the suggested correlation and the results confirm that the presented approach is a promising
enhancement to the CPT correlations with the small strain shear modulus and seismic shear wave
velocity in sands.
Ó 2016 Ain Shams University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction
Determination of cohesionless soil stiffness relies mainly on
the correlation of the soil moduli with the penetration tests
such as the SPT and the CPT because of the recognizable dif-
ficulties to obtain undisturbed samples from such formations.
Specifically, the CPT is considered a reliable, repeatable and
cost-effective geotechnical in situ test in sands [1,2].
The CPT may be equipped with geophones to measure the
velocity of the shear wave Vs generated from a source placed at
the ground surface. In such case, the test is termed as the seis-
E-mail address: sayed_mohamed@eng.asu.edu.eg
Peer review under responsibility of Ain Shams University.
mic cone penetration test (SCPT). The small strain shear mod-
ulus G0 is determined at the depth of velocity measurement
using the following relationship:
G0 ¼ qV2s ð1Þ
where q is the soil density, which equals to the soil unit weight
divided by the gravity acceleration [3].
The small strain shear modulus G0 represents the shear
modulus at shear strains less than 106. It applies to different
types of loading (viz., monotonic, cyclic, static and dynamic)
and different types of drainage (viz., drained and undrained
conditions) [4,5].
The small strain shear modulus G0 and the interrelated
shear wave velocity VS are considered important parameters
in geotechnics. They are commonly utilized in the following
geotechnical studies:

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2090-4479 Ó 2016 Ain Shams University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Please cite this article in press as: Ahmed SM, Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small strain shear stiffness of sands, Ain Shams Eng J (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
2 S.M. Ahmed

Table 1 Selected previous CPT-VS/CPT-G0 correlations.

No. Reference CPT-Vs/CPT-G0 Correlations Unitsa
 0 0:25
1 Hegazy & Mayne [16] r Vs: m/s
Vs ¼ 0:0831Qtn expð1:7861Ic Þ p v
a

In calculation of the normalized net tip resistance Qtn (Eq. (3)),

the stress exponent n should be equal to 0.5
2 Mayne [17] Vs ¼ 18:5 þ 118:81 logðfs Þ Vs: m/s
fs: kPa
3 Andrus et al. [14] Vs ¼ 2:27q0:412
t I0:989
c z0:033 Vs: m/s
qt: kPa
z: m
4 Robertson [18] 0:5
VS ¼ ½10ð0:55Ic þ1:68Þ ðqt  rv Þ=pa  Vs: m/sb
For an average unit weight of 18 kN/m3, the small strain
shear modulus G0 is given by the following:
G0 ¼ 0:018  10ð0:55Ic þ1:68Þ ðqt  r0v Þ
5 McGann et al. [19] Vs ¼ 18:4q0:144
t I0:0832
c z0:278 Vs: m/s
qt: kPa
fs: kPa
z: m
6 Ahmed et al. [20] G0 ¼ 6700r0v expð1:4Ic Þ b

a
Specific units are to be used, as indicated, since the related correlations are derived empirically from databases with variables having the
same units.
b
A consistent set of units are to be used in both sides of the correlation.

(1) Dynamic and seismic analysis of foundations (e.g., The following definitions are interrelated to Table 1: rv and
[6,7]). r’v are the total and the effective overburden stress, respec-
(2) Determination of the liquefaction susceptibility (e.g., tively; pa is the atmospheric pressure (100 kPa). The behavior
[8,9]). index Ic, the normalized net tip resistance Qtn, the friction ratio
(3) Determination of the load-deformation relationships for FR and the stress exponent n are estimated as follows [21,18]:
foundations under operative loads (e.g., [10,11]). qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
(4) Soil-structure interaction of underground structures Ic ¼ ½3:47  logðQtn Þ2 þ ½1:22 þ logðFr Þ2 ð2Þ
(e.g., [12,13]).
  0 n
qc  rv rv
Therefore, relating the penetration tests to the small strain Qtn ¼ ð3Þ
pa pa
modulus G0 and the shear wave velocity VS were frequently
 
addressed in many previous studies. fs
The direct measurement of shear wave VS using the SCPT FR ¼ 100 ð4Þ
qc  rv
allows an accurate determination of the small strain shear
 0
modulus G0. Yet, there is still a crucial need to rigorously cor- r
relate G0 and VS with the basic measurements of the cone test n ¼ 0:381ðIc Þ þ 0:05 v  0:15 6 1:00 ð5Þ
pa
(i.e., the tip resistance qt and the skin friction fs). These corre-
lations are commonly utilized when the available shear wave The obtained shear wave velocity Vs from the CPT-Vs cor-
measurements are limited while the CPT penetrations are relations can be converted into the small strain shear modulus
abundant. Additionally, the CPT is simpler, cheaper and faster G0 using the relationship between the shear wave velocity VS
than the SCPT. Hence, the CPT is more appealing to many and the small strain shear modulus G0 given in Eq. (1).
geotechnical engineers to be incorporated in geotechnical site
investigations than the SCPT [14]. 3. Database of CPT and undisturbed sand samples

2. Previous CPT-VS/CPT-G0 correlations
Robertson & Campanella [1], Yu [15] and others stated that
there are no comprehensive closed-form solutions to the prob-
lem of the cone penetration in sands. Therefore, the CPT cor-
relations are typically obtained by means of regression
analyses of databases of the CPT resistances and the measured
soil parameters. Numerous correlations were envisaged to
relate the CPT resistances to either the shear wave velocity
Vs or the small strain shear modulus G0. Some of the recent
and common CPT correlations are listed in Table 1.
This study utilizes a database that was presented by Mayne [4].
It comprises the geotechnical properties and the CPT resis-
tances for 15 high-quality undisturbed samples of siliceous
sands from Japan, Canada, Norway, China and Italy. Table 2
lists the samples and their depth from the ground surface depth
z, the ground water depth, fines content FC (in decimals), uni-
formity coefficient Cu, unit weights, effective vertical stress r0 v,
the small strain shear modulus G0 and cone resistances qt and
fs. The database of sands includes natural alluvial deposits,
hydraulically placed fills, and tailings from mining operations.
Fig. 1 shows that the database samples are classified as clean

Please cite this article in press as: Ahmed SM, Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small strain shear stiffness of sands, Ain Shams Eng J (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
Enhancing the CPT correlation 3

Table 2 Database of undisturbed sand samples (after Mayne [4]).

No. Depth z (m) Ground-water depth (m) FC Cu r0 v (kPa) G0 (MPa) Unit weight (kN/m3)a qt (MPa)b fs (kPa)b
1 11.80 9.0 0.01 6.4 180 63 20.5 10.15 183
2 8.10 2.1 0.02 3.1 102 63 18.6 19.86 188
3 10.90 2.1 0.00 3.3 123 80 19.1 12.74 130
4 12.70 2.1 0.02 3.0 143 74 18.7 13.87 122
5 8.25 2.1 0.00 2.0 87 78 18.5 19.72 59
6 7.30 1.4 0.04 2.0 84 59.7 18.3 13.06 31
7 3.85 2.1 0.00 2.2 51 34 17.9 8.01 58
8 32.00 21 0.10 2.2 516 98 19.0 17.03 121
9 10.50 1.5 <0.05 1.6 120 53.8 18.2 6.05 24
10 14.50 1.5 <0.05 1.8 160 70.2 18.3 8.54 31
11 5.00 0.5 0.15 2.5 55 19.4 18.8 1.76 15
12 8.00 2.1 0.08 2.8 100 40 18.6 3.96 16
13 10.00 4.0 0.10 4.0 138 39.5 18.7 5.00 18
14 10.00 1.0 0.02 3.0 110 35.8 19.5 3.34 14
15 3.00 1.5 0.01 2.1 42 56.6 20.3 11.77 30
a
Inferred from the specific gravity and void ratio in the original table in Mayne [4].
b
Inferred from the normalized CPT resistances in the original table in Mayne [4].

Figure 1 Behavioral classification of the database points based on Robertson [22] classification chart.

sands to silty sands/sandy silt (zones 5 and 6) in accordance
with the updated CPT behavioral classification system [22].
4. Performance of the previous correlations
The performances of the selected previous CPT correlations
using the database are compared in terms of the square of
the coefficient of determination R2 as shown in Fig. 2. It was
found that the coefficients of determination R2 for the selected
correlation ranged between 0.56 and 0.87. The most accurate
correlations are [20,19] with coefficients of determination R2
of 0.87 and 0.86, respectively.
It is demonstrated in Fig. 2 that the previous correlations
show an error margin ranging between 30% and +335%
in estimating the small strain modulus G0. Subsequently the
predicted seismic shear wave velocity VS may be underesti-
mated by 16% or overestimated by 109%, based on the rela-
tionship between G0 and VS (Eq. (1)).
The aforementioned considerable deviations between the
CPT correlations and the actual values of the small strain
shear modulus G0 may be attributed, at least to some extent,
to the difference between the stress normalization for the
CPT cone tip resistance (Eq. (3)) and the stress normalization
for the small strain modulus G0. This could be the reason to
have a factor representing the CPT depth below the ground
surface in some of the equations; yet, it is noted that this aspect
is not well addressed in the previous studies. In the following
sections, a harmonized stress normalization scheme for both
the CPT tip resistance and the small strain modulus is pro-
posed to enhance the CPT correlations with the small strain
shear modulus G0 and, subsequently, the shear wave velocity
VS.

Please cite this article in press as: Ahmed SM, Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small strain shear stiffness of sands, Ain Shams Eng J (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
4 S.M. Ahmed

(a) The net cone tip (qt  rv) is normalized by the stress fac-
tor (r0 v/pa)n to neutralize the effect of the overburden
pressure (Eq. (3)).
(b) The numerator and the denominator of the friction ratio
FR (viz., fs & qt  rv, respectively) are commonly
assumed to have approximately same stress normaliza-
tion [27]. Therefore, this factor may not need stress
normalization.
(c) For sites/locations with uniform conditions (i.e., having
insignificant variations of the void ratio, relative density,
mineralogy, etc.), the normalized net tip resistance Qtn,
the friction ratio FR and consequently the behavioral
index Ic have constant values irrelevant to the depth or
the overburden effective stress r0 v. Nevertheless, for
the same uniform site (i.e., having constant Qtn, FR &
Ic), the ratio is G0/r0 v is dependent on r0 v as explained
hereafter.

5.2. Stress normalization for the small strain shear modulus G0

Experimentally, Hardin & Drnevich [28] found that the small

Figure 2 Performance of the previous CPT-G0 correlations.
strain shear modulus of sands G0 is proportional mean stress
p raised to the power exponent m for soils with a uniform void
5. Enhancing the CPT-G0 correlations ratio as follows:
 0 m
As demonstrated heretofore, the previous correlations may lar- G0 p
/ ð6Þ
gely overestimate the small strain shear modulus G0. This indi- pa pa
cates the exigent need to revisit the CPT-G0/CPT-VS
correlations. The same conclusion was also reached in many It is to be noted that Eq. (6) shows only the proportionality
other recent studies when comparing the measurements of of the small strain modulus to the mean effective stress. Other
the actual shear wave velocity with the predicted velocities terms in Hardin and Drnevich’s equation [28] are not consid-
using different CPT-VS correlations (e.g., [23]). McGann ered in this study.
et al. [19] and Mola-Abasi et al. [24] utilized site-specific The mean stress p0 is related to the vertical stress r0 v and the
CPT-VS correlation in light of the shortcomings of the current at-rest earth pressure coefficient K0 as follows:
global correlations.  
It is noteworthy that the approaches of Robertson [18] and 1 þ 2K0 0
p0 ¼ rv ð7Þ
Ahmed et al. [20] linked the behavioral index Ic to the ratios 3
G0/(qt  rv) and G0/r0 v, respectively. This approach is in line
with many correlations presented by Robertson & Wride Hence:
[21], Robertson [18] and Mayne [4,5,17] for other soil  0 m
G0 rv
parameters. / ð8Þ
pa pa
Both ratios G0/(qt  rv) & G0/r0 v have been considered to
represent soil compressibility. Mayne [4] linked the ratio G0/ The exponent m was determined by reported by Hardin &
r0 v to the previously proposed sand compressibility indices Drnevich [28] to be 0.5. Recent studies found that the stress
such as the Angle of Plastification [25] and the Modulus of exponent m is ranged between 0.4 and 0.7 in sands with non-
Rigidity [26]. plastic fines [29]. Recently, Wichtmann et al. [30] correlated
The approach that is adopted herein utilizes the ratio G0/r0 v the exponent m with the percentage of fines FC (in decimal)
and its correlation with the behavioral index Ic. It is believed and the uniformity coefficient Cu as follows:
that one of the most important aspects in enhancing the corre-
lation between G0/r0 v and Ic is to harmonize the stress depen- u ½1 þ 0:116 lnð1 þ FCÞ
m ¼ 0:40C0:18 ð9Þ
dency of both quantities. Consequently, a consistent
normalization scheme is anticipated to strengthen the correla- Utilizing Eq. (9), the stress exponent m was calculated for
tion between these quantities. In this section, this aspect is each point in the database. Assuming that the exponent m
addressed to reach an analogous normalization for both G0/ has a formulation similar to the stress exponent n (i.e., it can
r0 v and Ic. be represented by a linear function of the behavioral index Ic
and the effective stress ratio r0 v/pa), regression analyses were
5.1. Stress normalization of the behavioral index Ic carried out and the following expression for m was obtained:
 0
In the computation of the behavioral index Ic (Eq. (2)), the fol- r
m ¼ 0:167Ic  0:002 v þ 0:232 ð10Þ
lowing aspects represent the currently employed approach [18]: pa

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10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
Enhancing the CPT correlation 5

(a) Qtn (which is independent of the effective vertical stress

r0 v in a uniform soil) is to be re-normalized for com-
pressibility so that it will be stress-dependent in a similar
way to the ratio G0/r0 v, i.e., inversely proportional to
(r0 v/pa)1m, as follows:
1 ðqt  rv Þ=pa 1
Qtc ¼ Qtn  ¼  ð13Þ
ðr0v =pa Þ1m ðr0v =pa Þn ðr0v =pa Þ1m
or
ðqt  rv Þ=pa
Qtc ¼ ð14Þ
ðr0v =pa Þc
where Qtc represents a normalized net tip resistance
associated with the ratio G0/r0 v. The stress exponent c
is defined as following:
 0
r
c ¼ n þ ð1  mÞ ¼ 0:618 þ 0:214Ic þ 0:052 v ð15Þ
pa
Fig. 4 shows the variation of the stress exponents c, n
and m versus the behavioral index Ic at a vertical r0 v of
1 bar or 100 kPa in accordance with Eqs. 15, 5 and 10,
respectively. For clean sands and silty sands
Figure 3 Comparison between the stress normalization using (Ic < 2.05), the average of the stress exponent c is about
Eqs. (9) and (10). 1 while averages of the stress exponents n & m are close
to 0.5. For silty sands to sandy silty (2.05 < Ic < 2.60),
Fig. 3 shows that Eqs. (9) and (10) produce almost identical higher values of the three exponents are anticipated.
normalization. The coefficient of correlation for the normal-
izations of both equations is 0.9992. Hence, the plotted com- (b) The friction ratio FR may be considered without stress
parison indicates the robust equivalence of the two normalization based on the aforementioned explanation
correlations for the stress exponent m. that both fs & (qt  rv) may be assumed to have the
It is concluded from Eq. (10) that there is a minor effect of same stress-dependency.
the overburden pressure on the exponent m. It is also noted (c) The modified behavioral index to be associated with
that the exponent m is ranged between 0.4 and 0.67 in sands sand compressibility (denoted herein as Icc) may be
(corresponding to the range of Ic between 1 and 2.6); this range defined as following:
is in a good agreement with the values reported by Salgado
et al. [29]
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
5.3. Stress dependence of G0/r0 v Icc ¼ ½3:47  logðQtc Þ2 þ ½1:22 þ logðFr Þ2 ð16Þ

As demonstrated by Eq. (8), G0/pa is proportional to (r0 v/ pa)m. The modified form of the behavioral index Icc is termed
Hence, the ratio G0/r0 v is also stress dependent as shown hereafter as the compressibility index.
below:
G0 ðG0 =pa Þ ðr0v =pa Þm 5.5. CPT-G0 correlation utilizing the proposed compressibility
¼ 0 / 0 ð11Þ index Icc
r0v ðrv =pa Þ ðrv =pa Þ
Thus Using the database, the relationship between the proposed com-
G0 1 pressibility index Icc and the ratio G0/r0 v is investigated. The
/ ð12Þ
r0v ðr0v =pa Þ1m same analysis is also attempted using the behavioral index Ic, fol-
lowing the approach of Ahmed et al. [20], for the sake of com-
Eq. (12) indicates that ratio G0/r0 v is inversely proportional to parison with the proposed approach of adopting Icc in lieu of Ic.
(r0 v/pa)1m in uniform sites with constant behavioral index Ic. Figs. 5 and 6 show the correlation of G0/r0 v as a function of
As such, the current formulation of the behavioral index Ic the behavioral index Ic and compressibility index Icc, respec-
should be modified to achieve a stress-dependency similar to tively. The coefficient of determination R2 is higher for the case
the ratio G0/r0 v. of adopting the proposed factor Icc (R2 = 0.90) than the case
of adopting Ic (R2 = 0.77). The higher determination coeffi-
5.4. Introducing a stress normalization related to sand cient indicates the beneficial effect of adopting the proposed
compressibility stress normalization in addressing the CPT correlations related
to compressibility aspects.
In order to enhance the relationship between the CPT behav- Based on the presented analyses and using regression anal-
ioral index Ic and the ratio G0/r0 v, then the following are yses, the following relationship was obtained for the small
suggested: strain shear modulus G0:

Please cite this article in press as: Ahmed SM, Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small strain shear stiffness of sands, Ain Shams Eng J (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
6 S.M. Ahmed

Figure 4 Stress exponents c, n & m versus the behavioral index Ic at r0 v = pa.

G0 ¼ 5300r0v expð1:25Icc Þ  fðFR Þ ð17Þ

where the function f (FR) is given by the following:
fðFR Þ ¼ 0:21FR þ 0:85 P 1:00 ð18Þ
Accordingly, the shear wave velocity is given by the follow-
ing equation:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
r0v  expð1:25Icc Þ  fðFR Þ
VS ¼ 72:8  ð19Þ
q

Figure 5 The relationship between the ratio G0/r0 v and the

behavioral index Ic (after Ahmed [20]).

Figure 6 The relationship between the ratio G0/r0 v and the Figure 7 The performance of proposed correlation using the
compressibility index Icc. database.

Please cite this article in press as: Ahmed SM, Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small strain shear stiffness of sands, Ain Shams Eng J (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
Enhancing the CPT correlation 7

Figure 8 Performances of the proposed correlation in McDonald Farm case study (SCPT data were reported by Robertson et al. [3]).

Figure 9 Performances of the proposed correlation in Patterson Park case study (SCPT data were reported by Cruz [31]).

Please cite this article in press as: Ahmed SM, Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small strain shear stiffness of sands, Ain Shams Eng J (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
8 S.M. Ahmed

Figure 10 Performances of the proposed correlation in Massey Tunnel case study (SCPT data were reported by Cruz [31]).

Figure 11 Performances of the proposed correlation in Dubai calcareous sand reclamation case study.

Please cite this article in press as: Ahmed SM, Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small strain shear stiffness of sands, Ain Shams Eng J (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
Enhancing the CPT correlation
The proposed formulation of G0 is compared with the data-
base points in Fig. 7. It is noted that the coefficient of determi-
nation R2 of the proposed relationship in Eq. (17) is 0.92,
which is higher than the coefficients of determinations of the
previous correlations as previously discussed.
Fig. 7 demonstrates that the predicted G0 values are devi-
ated by ±20% from the actual values. Accordingly, the pre-
dicted VS values may be deviated by ±10% from the
measured values, based on the relationship between G0 and
VS (Eq. (1)). The aforementioned results indicate that the pro-
posed correlations for G0 and Vs are more accurate than the
surveyed previous correlations.
6. Applicability of the suggested correlations outside the
database
The applicability of the presented approach is verified using
data outside the database. The following case studies are
utilized:
(1) McDonald Farm.
(2) Patterson Park.
(3) Massey Tunnel.
(4) Calcareous sand reclamation.
The first three sites are located in British Columbia,
Canada. Robertson et al. [3] presented the SCPT data for
the first case history, which comprises compressible micaceous
sand (mica content is about 10% by weight). Cruz [31] pre-
sented the data related to the other two case studies. The last
case study represents compressible calcarious sands that have
been utilized for a marine reclamation in Dubai, UAE.
Figs. 8–11 show the CPT resistances qt & fs and the behav-
ioral index Ic as well as the measured and predicted shear wave
velocity VS using Eq. (19) with the expected error limits (i.e.,
±10%). Generally, the figures show good agreements between
the predicted and the measured shear wave velocities in all case
studies. Consequently, the results confirm the presented
approach is applicable for cases outside the database. Never-
theless, it should also be noted that the presented correlations
are not applicable to aged cemented sands, which are generally
expected to have higher shear wave velocities and higher small
strain modulus than the values predicted by the presented
correlations.
7. Conclusion
In this study, a suggested approach is presented to quantify
sand small strain shear stiffness using the basic readings of
the CPT (i.e., the cone tip resistance qt and the sleeve friction
fs). The principle of the presented correlations is based on uti-
lizing the modified form of the behavioral index with a new
stress normalization scheme to allow the behavioral index to
better represent the variation of the ratio G0/r0 v with the effec-
tive overburden vertical pressure (Eqs. (14)–(16)).
It is demonstrated that the proposed approach is ade-
quately accurate in prediction the small strain shear modulus
G0 and the shear wave velocity VS (Eqs. (17)–(19)). The small
strain shear modulus G0 may be predicted using the presented
approach with ±20% error margin. The shear wave velocity
VS may be predicted within ±10% error margin. Finally, it
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10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
9
should be noted that the presented approach is limited to unce-
mented young sands.
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Please cite this article in press as: Ahmed SM, Enhancing the CPT correlation with the small strain shear stiffness of sands, Ain Shams Eng J (2016), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2016.08.010
S.M. Ahmed
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stress seismic piezocone Doctoral dissertation. Canada: University
of British Columbia; 2009.
Dr. Sayed M. Ahmed is an associate professor
in Geotechnical Engineering, Structural
Engineering Department, Faculty of Engi-
neering, Ain Shams University. He graduated
with a Ph.D. from Ain Shams University,
Egypt, in 2001. He has a broad experience in
both academia and consultancy related to
geotechnical engineering. His main interests
are soft-ground tunneling, deep excavations,
in situ testing and analysis of failures.