TECHNICAL NOTE
William F. Anderson, 1 Ian C. Pyrah, 2 and Stephen J. Fryer 3
A Clay Calibration Chamber for Testing Field Devices
REFERENCE: Anderson, W. F., Pyrah, I. C., and Fryer, S. J., "A
Clay Calibration Chamber for Testing Field Devices," Geotechnical
Testing Journal, GTJODJ, Vol. 14, No. 4, December 1991, pp. 440-
450.
ABSTRACT: This paper describes the design of a calibration chamber
suitable for the preparation of uniform clay beds in which the per-
formance of full-size field test devices may be studied. Details are
given of the clay bed preparation procedure by which clay slurry is
initially consolidated under K0 conditions and then further consoli-
dated using equal or unequal horizontal and vertical stresses. Field
equipment may be tested in the clay bed, which is maintained under
known horizontal and vertical boundary stresses during the test. Self-
boring pressuremeter tests have been successfully carried out in the
clay bed.
KEY WORDS: calibrations, clays, test procedures, slurry consoli-
dometer, pore pressure measurement, pressuremeter testing
The disadvantages of studying in-situ tests in the field where
soil uniformity and in-situ stresses are unknown may be overcome
by using full-size field equipment in a calibration chamber in the
laboratory.
Calibration chambers for in-situ test devices have either to be
very large so as to virtually eliminate boundary effects or have
to be provided with boundaries which can be controlled. Dif-
ferent boundary conditions may be imposed on a soil bed in a
calibration chamber. The boundaries may be rigid or flexible and
may be displacement or stress/force controlled.
In the past 20 years a number of flexible boundary triaxial
calibration chambers have been built throughout the world
(Chapman 1974; Laier et al. 1975; Jewell et al. 1980). All these
chambers are fundamentally similar in design and are used solely
for the preparation and testing of sand beds. Details of chamber
equipment and sand bed preparation have been given by Bellotti
et al. (1982). Most of the chambers have a double skin consisting
of two concentric metal cylinders with a water-filled annulus
between them. I f the water between the walls is at the same
1Reader, Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, University
of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK.
ZSeniorlecturer, Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Uni-
versity of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK.
3Formerly research assistant, Department of Civil and Structural En-
gineering, University of Sheffield, $1 3JD, UK.
440
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pressure as that in the calibration chamber cell, the lateral dis-
placement of the inner metal cylindrical wall will be zero when
the water pressure changes. This allows the chamber cell volume
to be kept constant and sand bed preparation or testing carried
out under Ks, conditions.
These large chambers are suitable for the preparation of sand
beds which only change a little in volume during consolidation.
To produce uniform and repeatable clay beds which model nat-
urally sedimented soils it is necessary to consolidate a slurry,
prepared at about 1.5 to 2 times the liquid limit (Sheeran and
Krizek 1971) under K0 conditions. Considerable volume changes
occur during consolidation of a clay slurry, and the only reported
attempt to construct a triaxial calibration chamber for clays which
would accommodate these volume changes is that by Huang et
al, (1988). This chamber, however, produces clay beds which are
only 200 mm in diameter and 360 mm high and are therefore
too small for testing full-size in-situ testing devices such as cone
penetrometers or pressuremeters. Numerical simulations of pres-
suremeter tests in clays suggest a significant scale effect (An-
derson and Pyrah 1986).
Development of the Clay Calibration Chamber
As part of a research program to study clay behavior during
self-boring pressuremeter tests, it was necessary to design and
construct a large calibration chamber in which repeatable clay
beds could be produced by slurry consolidation. It was essential
for the chamber to be provided with a flexible stress-controlled
outer boundary.
During earlier laboratory scale studies of cavity expansion sim-
ulating pressuremeter testing in clays, a technique had been de-
veloped by which slurry was initially consolidated under Ko con-
ditions in a rigid wall container, similar to a Rowe hydraulic
consolidation cell, to form a clay specimen which was then put
in a large diameter triaxial cell and reconsolidated under either
an isotropic or anisotropic stress regime. It was decided to use
similar principles in the design and use of the new calibration
chamber. However, the size of the clay bed was such that it could
not be moved between K0 consolidation and triaxial reconsoli-
dation, so the chamber was designed to allow full preparation
and testing without having to move the clay bed. Ko consolidation
of slurry is carried out in a rigid body consolidometer, which is
 ANDERSON ET AL. ON CALIBRATIONCHAMBER 441

then removed to allow independent vertical and horizontal stresses
to be applied to the clay bed in the calibration chamber.
Consolidometer
The consolidometer body consists of a glass-reinforced plastic
(GRP) pipe that is sealed in grooves fitted with " O " rings and
clamped between the end plates of the calibration chamber (Fig.
1). It is a 60-MPa pressure pipe 23 mm thick, 1700 mm long and
with an inside diameter of 785 mm. The consolidometer is de-
signed for a maximum consolidation pressure of 700 kPa.
One dimensional (Ko) consolidation is achieved by applying a
hydraulic pressure to a 20-mm-thick steel loading plate through
a 1 to 2-mm-thick rubber concertina membrane capable of
stretching from its folded height of approximately 200 mm to an
extended height of 700 mm. This membrane is clamped by steel
rings to the chamber top end plate and the loading plate. A 50-
mm-diameter piston is attached to the loading plate and goes
through a piston bushing fitted to the chamber top end plate.
This ensures uniform straining of the clay during consolidation
and also allows the amount of settlement to be monitored by
measuring the piston movement. Double vertical drainage is pro-
vided by a sand layer and a 0.9-mm-thick plastic filter membrane
with 1 to 10-~xm pore spaces at the bottom and a similar filter
membrane/filter paper drain at the top. Miniature pore water
pressure transducers and earth pressure cells are installed in the

Top drainage

valve

Consolidation
pressure
Bush Membrane attachment
/ r~ng
'O'ring
plate

Concertina
membrane

Membrane
Wat e r attachment
ring

Loading
plate

FiRer
%,- paper
plastic disc
• Filter
membrane

Clay bed GRP pipe

Steeltest
chamber body

Filter membrane
Vertical earlh
pressureceU
layer

End plate
Drainagevalve~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Porous
Bottom drainage ~ 'O'ring
plastic disc instrumentation
access holes

FIG. 1--Calibration chamber consolidometer.

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442 GEOTECHNICALTESTING JOURNAL

clay bed. The leads for these instruments come through the bot-
tom end plate, which is provided with eighteen 7-mm-diameter
access holes at fixed positions across two perpendicular
diameters.
Calibration Chamber
Since the outside flexible boundary was to be stress controlled
rather than displacement controlled, it was not necessary to pro-
vide a double skin cylindrical chamber body similar to that re-
quired for sand calibration chambers. The test chamber body
was manufactured by fitting strengthened flanges to a 1.03-m-
diameter steel pipe, 13 mm thick, giving a maximum chamber
working pressure of 1500 kPa (Fig. 2). A 1-mm-thick flanged
rubber membrane is slid around the clay bed, which has been
consolidated from slurry in the consolidometer. The membrane
flanges act as gaskets when sealed between the end plates and
the chamber body flanges. The top end plate has an 85-mm-
diameter central hole for insertion of in-situ testing devices.
Horizontal stress is applied by water pressure on the membrane
surrounding the soil. Vertical stress is applied through a 1-mm-
thick rubber membrane attached by rings to the top plate, and
this arrangement can accommodate about 100-mm consolidation
settlement. This is satisfactory for preparation of normally con-
solidated and lightly overconsolidated clay beds, but for heavily
overconsolidated beds a concertina type membrane would have
to be used. During reconsolidation a piston cutter is fitted in the
top plate access hole. Inside this piston cutter is a piston fitted
with a Bellofram rolling diaphragm seal which is clamped in
position by a Bellofram top cap. The piston may be subjected
to the same pressure as the top rubber membrane, ensuring that
a relatively uniform vertical stress is applied to the clay bed.
A t the end of K0 consolidation in the consolidometer, it is
unlikely that the clay bed will be exactly the right height for the
chamber. A sand layer is therefore put on top of the top filter
membrane. This acts not only as a spacer but also as a drainage
layer. During reconsolidation double drainage occurs, the water
from the top going into the sand layer through the filter mem-
brane. It then goes through a filter on the outside of the piston
cutter into a drainage lead provided in the piston.
A sand-retaining ring which fits outside the flanged membrane
is wedged against the body of the chamber as shown in Fig. 2.
In addition to preventing lateral movement of the sand, this ring
prevents direct contact of the top and side rubber membranes
when different vertical and horizontal stresses are applied.
Chamber Services
Two identical systems are available for application of pressure
to the clay. Each has a 27-L air/water cylinder with the air pres-

Bleed valve
Bellofram top cap /
/ / ~ --I~ Top drainage
Vertical pressure--i~ , ~ ~(/ Bellofram seal
Membrane H ,11~ Piston _. _ .Top membrane

Sand --~ / ~] I 'Bleed valve

Wedge/ I-d\ / Membrane ,4---~.~.
i i \ Piston cutter attachment I Filter membrane
~ with filter rings ,11--1
Sand retaining Flanged
ring ,11--1 fmembrane
,11--1 Test
-- chamber
~1~ I body
--------Water
pp6 [-I

Clay bed ~ - ~ Horizontal earth

pressure cell
4--1 I Filter
- membrane

Vertical earth
*--I I J Lateral
pp1 r-I pressure cell

I I t Membrane
f'ange

Porous plastic disc ~ Sand layer

End plate

Bottom drainage

FIG, 2--Clay calibration chamber during clay bed preparation.

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sure being regulated by a manual control valve. Both systems
can be linked during Ko consolidation in the consolidometer so
as to accommodate the large volume changes which occur in the
early stages of consolidation. During triaxial consolidation the
systems may be linked for isotropic consolidation or used in-
dependently to provide different vertical and horizontal pres-
sures. Details of the plumbing are shown in Fig. 3. Two pressure
gauges, wall mounted at the midheight of the chamber, are used
during adjustment of pressures, but, during clay bed preparation
and testing, pressure transducers on the top end plate and the
chamber body monitor vertical and horizontal applied stresses.
All pressures are corrected to the level of the midheight of the
chamber.
During K0 consolidation about 250 L of water are expelled
from the slurry. Over the first couple of days of consolidation
this water is collected in buckets, but once the drainage rate
slows down the drainage leads are connected to top and bottom
volume change units. These work on an overflow principle, the
overflow level being the midheight of the test chamber (Fig. 3).
The outputs from the calibration chamber pressure trans-
ducers, the clay bed instruments, and the pressuremeter are logged
on a 32 channel logger with microcomputer.
Clay Bed Preparation
Preparation of clay beds takes place in two main stages. Ini-
tially the GRP pipe forming the consolidometer body is lightly
smeared with silicon grease to minimize side friction during con-
solidation and is located in the base plate groove. Up to twelve
precalibrated Druck pore pressure transducers (PP1-PP12) are
then fixed in the desired positions on top of thin metal tubes
Compressed
air Line
I Volume change
Side Top
pressure pressure
(
-g
Air/wQterI
cylindersI
!
I
.....1
ItI'
Pressure
switching
Mock
FIG. 3--Pressure and drainage arrangements for the calibration chamber.
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ANDERSON ET AL. ON CALIBRATIONCHAMBER 443
which take the transducer wires through the instrumentation
access holes in the bottom end plate of the calibration chamber
(Fig. 1). These wires and tubes are sealed using conventional
pipe pressure fittings. A sand layer is placed on the base plate
and a filter drainage membrane placed on it. A Kulite earth
pressure cell is placed, diaphragm up, on top of the drainage
membrane so that the vertical stress at the base of the clay bed
may be measured.
Testing has so far been confined to Speswhite kaolin (LL =
72%, PL = 36%), and preliminary tests showed that a reason-
ably consistent slurry could be produced by mixing dry clay pow-
der with water at 1.5 times the liquid limit. This is towards the
lower end of the range of water contents for mixing consistent
slurries suggested by Sheeran and Krizek (1971), but the low
water content gives an acceptable amount of settlement and the
slurry does not need to be topped up once consolidation has
started.
The slurry is prepared by thorough mixing of kaolin powder
with deaired deionized water in a pan mixer. The slurry is pumped
through a 50-mm inside diameter smooth-bore plastic hose to
the consolidometer, Where it is placed under water, ensuring that
no air or water bubbles get trapped. Seven mixes of slurry are
required to fill the consolidometer to a height of approximately
1.45 m. On completion of filling a top drainage layer, loading
plate and concertina membrane for applying the consolidation
pressure are fitted as shown in Fig. 1.
A 70-kPa vertical pressure is applied for three days before
being increased to 280 kPa. One-dimensional consolidation takes
place with vertical drainage to the top and bottom, and during
consolidation the volume of water expelled from both ends of
the clay bed, the settlement, and the clay bed pore water pres-
~ X ~ _ _ _ B L i e d valves
units
c
To
• otum
I
t
X Vatves
(E) Pressure regutators
444 GEOTECHNICALTESTING JOURNAL
sures are logged. Time for 90% consolidation of the slurry under
one-dimensional conditions is some 6 to 7 weeks, but it was found
in the preliminary tests that sufficient consolidation had occurred
in 3 to 4 weeks for the clay bed to be self supporting, and the
consolidometer G R P pipe can be removed prior to the appli-
cation of triaxial stresses. The criteria adopted for termination
of the one-dimensional consolidation stage are:
1. Clay bed height equal to or less than 1 m.
2. Average degree of consolidation as indicated by clay bed
pore pressure transducers greater than 40%,
3. Midheight excess pore water pressures less than 200 kPa.
When these criteria are satisfied, the drainage leads are closed
and the consolidation pressure is reduced to zero. The loading
plate and concertina membrane are removed and the consoli-
dometer body slid off the clay bed. An earth pressure cell may
be positioned on the outside boundary of the clay at this stage
to monitor the midheight horizontal stress. The outside rubber
membrane is put around the clay bed, and at the top a sand-
retaining ring is wedged in position (Fig. 2). This allows the top
drainage layer to be made up with sand to the thickness required
to give the full height of the specimen to fill the calibration
chamber.
The top plate, with flexible membrane and piston cutter at-
tached, is fitted. A t this stage the tubes supporting the pore
pressure transducers are completely removed, leaving the trans-
ducers free in the clay bed. Pressures are applied simultaneously
to the top and outside of the clay. During consolidation under
the triaxial stresses, double vertical drainage is allowed, and top
and bottom volume changes and clay bed pore water pressures
are monitored. It takes about twelve days for the average degree
of consolidation, as indicated by clay bed pore pressure trans-
ducers, to reach 90%, and at this stage it is considered that the
clay bed is ready for testing. The Bellofram top cap, seal, and
piston may be removed from the top end plate and the in-situ
test device inserted into the clay bed.
Pressuremeter Tests in the Calibration Chamber
Earlier work at the University of Sheffield has simulated pres-
suremeter tests by carrying out small-scale cavity expansion tests
under plane strain conditions in thick hollow cylindrical speci-
mens of various clays, prepared with known stress history and
subjected to a constant outside boundary stress (Anderson et al.
1987, 1989). To allow comparisons of the data from small-scale
tests and full-size (80-ram-diameter) self-boring pressuremeter
(SBP) tests to be made, conditions in the full-scale tests have
been kept as similar as possible to those at small scale.
In the majority of the small-scale tests on kaolin, the one-
dimensionally consolidated specimen was reconsolidated under
an isotropic stress of 280 kPa around a flexible cavity former,
with the cavity pressure equal to the outside pressure. This was
replicated at full scale by inserting the SBP into the clay bed at
the end of 1-D consolidation prior to the application of equal
vertical and horizontal stresses. It is recognized that this isotropic
consolidation does not represent field conditions, but the cali-
bration chamber has the potential to produce clay beds by ani-
sotropic consolidation and maintain Ko conditions through the
flexible outside boundary.
In the field the SBP is inserted by hydraulic jacks pushing it
in as a water flush cutter removes soil. The rate of rotation of
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the cutter and the rate of advance depend on the type and stiff-
ness of soil being penetrated and are controlled by operator
judgement. To try to ensure a consistent insertion technique
during this research, a coupled drive unit was designed in which
the rate of advance controlled the cutter rotation speed. The
clay bed with the SBP inserted is shown in Fig. 4.
Using the above procedures, the time taken for clay bed prep-
aration, consolidation, SBP testing, and dismantling is 7 to 8
weeks. By using a two-stage technique, it is possible to plan for
an increased number of tests within any given period of time.
This two-stage technique involves allowing up to 24 h for the
excess pore water pressures set up during the first SBP expansion
test to equalize throughout the clay bed while it remains under
pressure with the cell drainage valves closed. The cell pressure
is then raised to 560 kPa and the clay bed allowed to reconso-
lidate. The reconsolidation is considered complete when the clay
bed pore pressure transducers indicate an average degree of
consolidation in excess of 90%. This takes about ten days.
The effective stresses in the clay bed after this reconsolidation
are higher than those imposed earlier in the clay bed's history.
It has been assumed that the state of the clay bed is now such
that it lies on the virgin compression line. However, because of
differing stress paths imposed during the SBP expansion test at
280 kPa, it is recognized that the beds are unlikely to be perfectly
uniform or repeatable, and therefore no attempt has been made
to compare the results of the SBP tests carried out in clay beds
consolidated to 560 kPa. Nevertheless, the clay beds reused in
this way allow a lot more data to be obtained and individual
aspects of each pressuremeter test to be examined.
On completion of each SBP test under the 560 kPa pressure,
the calibration chamber is dismantled. During dismantling shear
strengths are measured using a hand vane, and moisture content
samples are taken at different heights and radial positions. The
final positions of all clay bed instruments are recorded, and all
instruments plus the SBP are recalibrated.
Discussion
Consolidation Behavior
During one-dimensional (Ko) consolidation of the clay slurry
settlement, pore water pressure at various heights in the clay
bed and top and bottom volume changes were monitored.
Figure 5 shows settlement-time plots for two beds which had
similar initial heights, and it can be seen that they are almost
identical. Figures 6 and 7 show typical plots of pore water pres-
sure and volume change with time during Ko consolidation under
a vertical pressure of 280 kPa. In examining the results it should
be remembered that the slurry has been subjected to a 70-kPa
pressure for three days prior to increasing the pressure to 280
kPa. Settlements and volume changes are from the application
of the 280-kPa pressure, but pore water pressures are absolute.
Since some dissipation of excess water pressure will have oc-
curred under the 70-kPa pressure, particularly at positions closest
to the bottom drainage boundary, the initial excess pore water
pressures monitored by the transducers after application of the
280-kPa pressure will not have been identical.
The accuracy of pore water pressure measurements depends
on system response time and this in turn is partly dependent on
the degree of saturation. During preparation of the clay slurry,
deaired water was used and the slurry was slowly placed under
 A N D E R S O N ET AL. ON C A L I B R A T I O N C H A M B E R 445

Top pressure n~ Top drainage bleed valve

[ ; 1 ~
:-::: : Sanizl-:.:.:::l
~
":':':':':':Drain:::::'
I
",-4
•-Ill
========================== I : : : : ':: ' : ' ::' : : : '~: ' :
-"-"- Sand retaining
ring

__~ Expanding
section -- Cell body

/PPB Outer membrane

---l, PPA- Strain arm
........ ~--- -~_. . . . . . ~-- [

~ Horizontal
FIpp 4 ~ earth pressure
cell

PP2 [] Cutter

pressure
PP1FI 4-~

' "iiilmiiilniii7 .... . . . . . '

Base plate
earth pressure
cell
PP - Pore pressure transducer

FIG. 4 - - S B P in position in the calibration chamber clay bed.

50

100

150

E
£ 200

~ 25C

30G

35C

400

i I I I [ I ~ 1 ~ l I J I [ i I } I I I i i i
I I
450 1000
10 100
Time, hours (Log scQle)

FIG. 5--Settlement-log (time) plots for K. consolidation of two test beds.

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446 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL

280

260

2/.0

o 22C
n

~ 20C • lOO
× 20o
o 300
~
"~
\
&
\
xX,
\
'
e~

,- 18C 500
"6
160
o

\
Q_

I/.0
b

120
\
100 I I I ~ ~ , , ,I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

10 100 1000
Time, hours ( Log scare)
FIG. 6--Excess pore water pressure dissipation at different heights, h, above the base during K, consolidation.

2oot .....

i°
o 80[
I00
I
of I I I I I I i t i i
121 10 100 1000
Time, hours (Log scare)

FIG. 7--Top and bottom volume changes during Ko consolidation.

water in the consolidometer to prevent air bubbles from being
trapped. There was no mixing of the slurry with the water, and
the excess water was siphoned off when consolidometer filling
was complete. The response of the pore pressure transducers on
initially pressurizing the slurry was instantaneous and equalled
the applied pressure. The response was also carefully monitored
in one test bed prior to isotropic reconsolidation. The cell pres-
sure was increased slowly from 280 kPa to its test value of 560
kPa over a period of 20 s. The transducers responded immedi-
ately as the pressure was increased and stabilized some 15 s after
the application of the full pressure with pore pressure parameter
B values in excess of 0.95, indicating almost full saturation and
an acceptable response time.
Rigorous analysis of these Ko consolidation results is difficult
because of the large strains which occur during slurry consoli-
dation. The top drainage boundary is moving, and, because they

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are at fixed heights, positions of the pore water pressure trans-
ducers are changing relative to the midheight of the consolidating
clay bed.
At the start of isotropic consolidation under 280 kPa, the ex-
cess pore water pressures are not uniform because only partial
consolidation occurs during K o consolidation and further changes
take place while the specimen is unstressed during changeover
from Ko to triaxial consolidation. Figure 8 shows typical excess
pore pressure dissipation with time under an isotropic pressure
of 280 kPa.
During pressuremeter expansion, excess pore water pressure
gradients are set up in the clay bed in both horizontal and vertical
directions. After pressuremeter testing the clay bed is left with
the drainage valves closed overnight to allow some equalization
of the excess pore water pressures, but when the cell pressure is
raised by 280 to 560 kPa the clay bed initial excess pore water
pressures are rarely uniform. Pore pressure dissipation during
isotropic reconsolidation is similar to that during initial isotropic
consolidation.
Although all the SBP tests were carried out in beds which had
been consolidated isotropically after initial Ko consolidation in
the consolidometer, the calibration chamber is capable of ap-
plying different vertical and horizontal stresses. After SBP ex-
pansion tests had been carried out in-Test Bed 9, the vertical
stress was raised from 560 to 620 kPa and the horizontal stress
lowered from 560 to 405 kPa to give a stress ratio equivalent to
the K o value for normally consolidated kaolin. The stresses were
then varied simultaneously to maintain this stress ratio before
finally being reduced to zero. No problems were encountered
during this exercise, thus demonstrating the ability to impose
anisotropic stresses on the clay bed in the calibration chamber.
Clay Bed Uniformity
To obtain uniform clay beds, it is essential to start with a
uniform slurry. All mixes were made with 75 kg of dry kaolin
280
240
G
O_
20C
& 16o
"6
~: 12c
8O
o 3oo
+ zOO
a 500
/.C
I I I I I I Ill
lO
Time, hours (Log scol.e)
FIG. 8--Excess pore water pressure dissipation at different heights, h, above the base during isotropic consolidation.
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ANDERSON ET AL. ON CALIBRATIONCHAMBER 447
powder and 80 kg of water, seven of these mixes being required
to fill the consolidometer. Detailed checks of the moisture con-
tent of the slurry coming into the consolidometer during the
preparation of one test bed indicated an average moisture content
of 108% with a standard deviation of 2.8%.
During both one-dimensional and triaxial consolidation excess
pore water pressures were monitored on a number of transducers
situated 500 mm above the base of the chamber, i.e., at the
midheight of the consolidated bed. The maximum variation in
the readings of these at any stage of consolidation was 7 kPa,
with values generally within 2 to 3 kPa of each other, indicating
a fairly uniform consolidation on any horizontal plane in the clay
bed.
Uniformity in the vertical direction during consolidation is
almost impossible to monitor because of the excess pore pressure
distributions and the considerable change of height which occurs
during Ko consolidation. The earth pressure cell at the base of
the clay bed allowed a check on whether wall friction between
the clay and the consolidometer body was significant and would
lead to clay bed nonuniformity in the vertical direction. Checks
on the earth pressure cell stability when left under pressure in a
clay bed subjected to a stable isotropic stress of 280 kPa showed
a maximum variation of 7 kPa. Fluctuations of less than this were
considered insignificant when examining clay bed uniformity.
On application of a 70-kPa vertical stress on the slurry, it was
found that the vertical earth pressure measured at the base of
the specimen was equal to this pressure plus that due the weight
of the slurry and loading plate. About five or six days after the
application of the 280-kPa consolidation pressure, slight fluctua-
tions of the vertical earth pressure were noticed. These were
generally of the order of 10 to 15 kPa, which is equivalent to an
average "skin friction" on the inside of the consolidometer body
of 2 to 3 kPa. There appeared to be a tendency for this to build
up and then relieve itself.
These measurements would indicate that friction effects on the
vertical uniformity of the bed are negligible. Since the clay is
N, t x
\ _ ~."x.
" ~
I I I I I l II1 I I I I t I I I
lOO lOOO
448 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL
only partially consolidated at this stage, any slight nonuniformity
is likely to be overcome during isotropic consolidation.
Although posttest checks for uniformity were carried out by
measuring undrained strength with a laboratory vane and taking
samples for water content and triaxial testing during dismantling
of the clay bed, these should be treated with caution. During
SBP testing in the clay bed, pore water pressures were set up
leading to variation of effective stress, and hence strength, within
the bed. When the chamber pressure was reduced and the clay
bed dismantled, further changes in effective stress occurred and
during the couple of days it took to dismantle the equipment
and clay bed some moisture migration will have taken place,
particularly close to the SBP and close to the ends of the bed.
It is, however, worth noting that in any bed the posttest water
contents at midheight at a radial distance of 300 mm away from
the SBP (i.e., at a position least likely to be affected by moisture
migration) varied by less than 0.5%, with the exception of Bed
6, where the variation was 1.3%.
One clay bed was prepared by Ko consolidation and isotropic
consolidation under 280 kPa pressure and then dismantled with-
out any SBP insertion or testing so as to check uniformity. Lab-
oratory vane tests were carried out at 30 locations during dis-
mantling, and these gave a mean value of undrained strength of
23.8 kPa with a standard deviation of 3.0 kPa. Undrained triaxial
tests were carried out on sixteen 38-mm-diameter specimens from
different positions in the clay bed, and these gave an average
undrained strength of 26.9 kPa with a standard deviation of 3.5
kPa. Thirty samples of cuttings, each about 50 to 60-g mass, were
taken for water content determinations. The average value was
45.3% with a standard deviation of 1.0%. A slightly higher av-
erage water content of 46.5%, with a standard deviation of 0.9%,
was obtained from the larger triaxial test specimens. This higher
value may be a consequence of better sealing in the triaxial tubes
than in the moisture content tins.
When the effective stress changes which occur during the cou-
ple of days it takes to dismantle the chamber and clay bed are
considered, the undrained strength and water content variations
reported above suggest that a fairly uniform clay bed is being
produced in the calibration chamber.
Clay Bed Repeatability
Prior to clay bed preparation all pore pressure, earth pressure,
and calibration chamber pressure transducers were calibrated.
After dismantling each bed, all instruments were recalibrated.
It was found that some drift occurred in all instruments over the
TABLE 1--Clay bed effective stress and percentage consolidation for each SBP test.
Nominal Isotropic Consolidation Pressure
280 kPa
Test Bed Number Effective Stress % Consolidation
4 248 88.4
5 258 92.6
6 260 92.2
7 258 90.2
8 256 90.6
9 256 90.7
10 249 87.9
11 258 91.1
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two to three-month period of clay bed preparation and testing,
so prior to detailed analysis of the results all data were recal-
culated using calibration factors interpolated from pretest and
posttest calibrations assuming a linear variation with time. This
instrument drift meant that the effective stresses at the end of
each stage of the clay bed preparation could only be deduced
after the test. The actual effective stresses at which each SBP
test was carried out, percentage consolidation, and average mois-
ture contents when the clay beds were dismantled are listed in
Table 1. It will be seen that there is a slight variation in the clay
bed effective stress for each SBP test. Although all the pressures
are plotted in engineering units, when comparing different SBP
tests the results are normalized by dividing the pressures by the
effective consolidation stress.
S B P Test Results
The data from the SBP and clay bed instruments are allowing
many aspects of pressuremeter and soil response to be examined
under controlled and known conditions and in much more detail
than would be possible in the field. Of particular interest are the
pore water pressures monitored in the clay surrounding an ex-
panding pressuremeter. It is recognized that some local radial
consolidation probably occurs during a quick pressuremeter test
in clay, and this is confirmed by the data in Fig. 9, which shows
the pore pressures recorded by the SBP transducers A and B
and the clay bed pore pressure transducers at the midheight of
the SBP but at different radial distances from it.
However, the calibration chamber tests have shown that not
only is a radial pore pressure gradient being set up, but there is
also a significant vertical gradient. Figure 10 shows the excess
pore water pressures measured at a constant radial distance from
the pressuremeter, but at different heights above the base of the
calibration chamber. The implications of these pore pressure
gradients and local consolidation are being further examined.
Conclusions
A triaxial calibration chamber has been built and specimen
preparation techniques developed so that:
1. Uniform clay beds may be prepared from slurry by one-
dimensional and triaxial consolidation.
2. The prepared clay beds may be subjected to either isotropic
stresses or different horizontal and vertical stresses through flex-
ible membranes.
560 kPa
Effective Stress % Consolidation End of Test Average Water Content, %
534 93.8 43.3
536 93.6 42.9
543 95.6 41.6
566 95.1 39.1
566 95.8 42.4
558 95.5 42.0
SPBmembrane burst
561 95.6
 A N D E R S O N ET AL. ON CALIBRATION CHAMBER 449

200
.......... SBP net pressure

m
(3_
160

120
~~i/Ill /
t

~
s ~

PWPB (r = 40ram)
PWP A (r = 40ram)

co
Q_
o~

80

o
40
._-----.---- PP12 (r = 235 mm)
o~

,,'I

-40 I I I I I i
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Average strain %

FIG. 9 - - M i d h e i g h t excess pore water pressures recorded at different radial distances, r, from the axis
of an expanding pressuremeter.

200
-- SBP net pressure

160 . t ~'~
I
(3- f
/
/
/ PP5 (h = 420 mm)
co 120 /J PP4 (h = 400 mm)

x
LLI ~ . ~ P P 3 (h = 300 mm)

40 ~
, ~
I " ~.-.-PP2(h=2OOmm)
0 0 2 4 6 8
i 10
i 12
Average strain, %

FIG. lO--Excess pore water pressures measured at constant radial distance (r = 75 mm) from an
expanding pressuremeter but at different heights, h, above the calibration chamber base.

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450 GEOTECHNICALTESTING JOURNAL
3. Full-size in-situ test devices may be inserted into the beds
and tests carried out with known boundary stress conditions.
Acknowledgments
The development of the calibration chamber was carried out
as part of a research project funded by the Science and Engi-
neering Research Council.
References
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Deformation Parameters from Pressuremeter Test Results," The Pres-
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Anderson, W. F., Pyrah, I. C., and Pang, L. S., 1989, "Strength and
Deformation Parameters from Pressuremeter Tests in Clay," Field
Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved); Tue May 18 22:56:33 EDT 2021
Downloaded/printed by
Western Australia Univ (Western Australia Univ) pursuant to License Agreement. No further reproductions authorized.
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