An overview on Existing Dynamic Cone Penetration Test Research

Related to the Central Area of Brazil

L.C. Figueiredo
B.Sc. Civil Engineering, Me., Dept. Civil Construction, Federal Institute of Education, Science, and
Technology of Mato Grosso, Brazil
R.P. Cunha
B.Sc. Civil Engineering, M.Sc., Ph.D., Dept. Civil & Env. Engineering, University of Brasília, Brazil
W. Conciani
B.Sc. Civil Engineering, Me., Dr., Dept. Civil Construction, Federal Institute of Education, Science, and
Technology of Mato Grosso, Brazil

ABSTRACT: This paper presents and discusses several experiments and research carried out in the Central
Area of Brazil, in which dynamic light cone penetrometers (DPL´s) have started to be tested into the existing
tropical soil conditions of this region. Although the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) prevails among the dy-
namic penetration testing devices, it cannot always be adopted in situ, given ground conditions and the magni-
tude of the expected stresses. On the other hand, several initiatives to use the light cone penetrometer have
been done for the prediction of the resilience modulus of subgrade pavement layers, as well as bearing capaci-
ty values from foundations of light structures. Without detailing two much into the comparisons of the distinct
penetration probes, this paper summarizes the advances attained so far from existing publications, which re-
sults have already provided a reliable reference procedure, or background, for practical usage in the Central
Brazilian area by the local geotechnical engineering community. It is another effort from the GPFees Group
of the University of Brasília (www.geotecnia.unb.br/gpfees) to popularize in Brazil an economical and cost-
effective in situ device oriented towards the daily practice in tropical soils.

1 INTRODUCTION the characteristics of soils there are other factors that

1.1 General characteristics of penetrometers
The estimated load capacity of the soil is a com-
monplace of the actions of civil engineering. It's al-
most instinctive to imagine the resistance to penetra-
tion of a rod into the soil. It is therefore natural that
penetrometers have been preferred for obtaining
subsoil information, when it is not always possible
to collect samples or when the financial cost of the
campaign neglects the geotechnical investigation
and allows a low budget for that.
In essence, a penetrometer consists of a thin metal
rod, which is stuck or pushed through the blows of a
hammer or a hydraulic jack system. The penetration
resistance of the rod is measured at any depth and
the data are plotted on a diagram representing the re-
sistance to penetration in the abscissa and the depth
on the ordinate.
1.2 Standard Penetration Test
In Brazil, the preferred test is the Standard Pene-
tration Test, or SPT, although not always appropriate
when examining soil characteristics. In fact,
the SPT is a good device for granular soils, however
this is not the case for predominantly clayey soil ma-
terials. In addition to the problems encountered for
interfere with the SPT results, some of them detailed
by Belincanta & Cintra (1998), such as the free-fall
characteristics of the hammer (in Brazil), the type of
hammer, the anvil mass, and conservation status of
the composition.
Actually the indiscriminate use of the SPT test
has brought geotechnical problems and mismanage-
ment of resources in the field of geotechnical testing.
When faced with the scenario of central Brazil
where it is largely noticed the presence of low-
density soils with high void ratios, and deeply
leached yellow and red latossols, the use of the SPT
is a real challenge. Besides, there are the normal dif-
ficulties of access, especially for civil constructions
in rural settlements, or in small constructions in ur-
ban areas. It is evident that other penetrometers can
be more useful and practical than the SPT, and, per-
haps, more cost-effective for the region.
1.3 Cone and Piezocone Penetration Tests
According to Schnaid (2000) the first references
on the cone penetration test are from 1930 relating to
test experiments that took place in Holland. The test
consists of the continuous push of a cone shaped
probe at a constant speed into the soil of 2 cm/s. The
cone section can vary from 10 to 15 cm². A variation
of the test is the piezocone penetration test, which
consists of equipment with a porous element, load
cells and transducers that provide the record of the
dynamic pore pressures. Hence, the pore-water pres-
sure in the soil adjacent to the cone is continuously
provided during the penetration of the cone. Note
that the position of the porous filter on the base of
the piezocone is not yet standardized. However, the
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geo-
technical Engineering - ISSMGE- suggests that the
porous filter must be placed just behind the cone, or
at U2 position (Hasmat, 2000).
The piezocone test is attractive, and in addition to
eliminating the influence of the test operator it pro-
vides detailed description of the soil stratigraphy
with continuous record of the penetration resistance.
On the other hand, the financial costs of the equip-
ment use and burden of the constant maintenance –
besides of tests that do require rigs mounted on
small trucks - prevents it wide use to areas of trails
and unpaved paths, or densely forested regions, and
are surely the inhibitors for a widespread use of this
test in the central portion of Brazil.
1.4 The context of the Brazilian Central Area &
States
Figure 1 shows the incidence of Oxisols or Latos-
sols in Brazil especially in the central region of the
country, where it has been established its capital, the
city of Brasilia, around half a century ago. Plateaus
with soils of low densities, deeply leached, and low
resistance to penetration, about two to five blows of
SPT up to 15 m deep, predominates in this region. It
is undoubtedly the new agricultural frontier of the
country, with many small towns and new pioneering
settlements under establishement.
Access to geotechnical campaigns is difficult due
to the state of the paving quality of the roads, be-
sides of the fact that this region is remote from ma-
jor urban centers (or the most developed corner)
from Brazil. Nilsson & Cunha (2004) report that
these problems often come together with the lack of
the awareness of the problem by geotechnical cus-
tomers and building contractors. In addition to that,
it is usual that small constructions neglect any geo-
technical test during site reconnaissance stage.
Figure 1 - Map of Brazil- Central area of Brazil, with large in-
cidence of “latossols” (modified after Furtado, 2010)
In this regard, this paper explains the advantage of
the use of lightweight penetrometers, especially the
Dynamic Penetrometer Light or DPL in such small
scale works, especially at early design stages.
2 THE LIGHTWEIGHT PENETROMETERS
In this section we argue succinctly about the light
dynamic penetrometers. Generally they are made up
of three parts: tip, cone-shaped, threaded rods, and a
hammer that moves in free fall up to striken on top
of an anvil. In the geotechnical literature the light
penetrometers can be divided into three kind: The
French Panda; Dynamic Cone Penetration or simply
DCP; and Dynamic Probe Light or just DPL.
2.1 Panda
The Panda is a equipment made by a company
called Sol Solution, and is a lightweight dynamic
cone penetrometer designed for soil investigation
and compaction control. The equipment has an anvil
with strain gages bridges that receives blows from a
hammer with a variable energy level. A device of
reception of signals generates files that can be ana-
lyzed later on with a geotechnical insight.
In Brazil the Panda has been used in academic
terms by the University of Brasilia among other re-
search institutions, besides of some few industry
companies. It is not yet used on a widespread design
basis in the country.
2.2 Dynamic Cone Penetration
The Dynamic Cone Penetration or just DCP was
developed in the 60s in South Africa to evaluate the
strength or stiffness of the pavement. According to
Wu (2010), Vuuren (1969) designed the original
DCP with a 30° cone, and later on Kleyn (1975) de-
scribed another DCP design, which used a 60° cone
tip, hammer with 78.48 N mass, and 575 mm free
fall. This design was then gradually adopted by
countries around the globe. In 2003, this lightweight
penetrometer was standardized by the ASTM
D6951-03 (2005), for shallow pavement applications
(Wu, 2010). The DCP can be made with accelero-
meters, however the cost of the equipment is high to
be employed in small buildings. Figure 2 shows a
sketch of a DCP equipment.
In Brazil the research about DCP has been carried
out by the Federal University of Santa Catarina.
Several articles on the use of the DCP can be ac-
cessed at internet about the methodology for charac-
terization of unpaved roads (Triches & Dal Pai,
2006). According to Delgado et al. (2007) the DCP
is used to characterize the bearing capacity of the
soil in its natural or compressed state, and it also
presents a good correlation with the CBR test. The
test is a "little destructive" of the original soil´s
structure, and somehow this feature makes it possi-
ble a detailed study of the pavement layers and the
sub-grade. In addition, it can be employed on a very
wide working range, i.e., from soft soils or inconsis-
tent ones, even on gravel layers, from bases or sub
bases.
Figure 2 – Schematic assembly of DCP made by Kessler Soils
Engineering Products, Inc. User’s Manual.
2.3 Dynamic Probing Light
The main focus of this paper is the current literature
discussion about the possible uses of the Dynamic
Probing Light or DPL, especially in determining the
load capacity of small scale (or load magnitude)
foundations, in a way to complement the SPT test,
among others, during the geotechnical investigation.
Hasmat (2000) explains that the test with the Dy-
namic Probing became known in Europe between
the two world wars. After 1945 this test was wide-
spread around the world. Efforts to standardize the
DPL test were performed by the past International
Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engi-
neering - ISSMFE - with the publication of the re-
port of the Technical Committee on Penetration
Testing - TC16 (1989), and the European Standard
EN ISO 22476-2:2005 (2005). Nevertheless, in Bra-
zil, it continues to be a quite “unknown” testing de-
vice in most of the regions, particularly in the inner
parts of the country.
2.4 The research of the DPL in Brazil
The test with the DPL is summarized by the pene-
tration of a cone with 10 cm² of area coupled to a set
of threaded rods 1 m in length. In the top there is an
anvil that receives the impact of a hammer in a free
fall manner, which mass is corresponding to 98.1 N.
Each 10 cm of penetration is marked by the number
of blows known as N10. Most of the background re-
search on the DPL has been basically targeted on
comparisons between the SPT and the CPT test.
Nilsson & Cunha (2004) conducted studies with
the DPL for estimating load capacity of piles for a
tropical soil with the presence of a particular “por-
ous clay”, as it is colloquially known in Brasília city.
The authors assumed that the possible measurement
of torque (a new feature) obtained in DPL tests
could provide lateral friction resistances by the ad-
vancing tip and body of the DPL, which obviously
can be associated with the lateral friction of a driven
pile. Accordingly, these authors adopted an energy
derived formula for pile driving, as the Hiley equa-
tion, and a simple moment equation for the meas-
ured torque, in order to derive the lateral DPL lateral
resistance. As explained by these authors, such resis-
tance could be further calibrated, via field pile load-
ing tests, to consider into the equations a possible
pile scale effect and the construction methodology –
hence to be further employed into real pile analyses.
Although it is particularly not a Brazilian re-
search, Martins & Miranda (2005) conducted sever-
al tests with the aim to obtain correlations between
various penetrometers focusing their comparisons
between DPL and CPT tests in granitic soils from
several urban locations in the North of Portugal, i.e.
essentially Porto, Braga and Guimarães. The authors
found good correlations between the CPT resistance
and the DPL.
Silva et al. (2006) proposed a semi-empirical me-
thod for estimating the shearing resistance in exca-
vations of small diameter in residual and laterized
soils from basalt in the region of Londrina / PR. The
method was correlated with loads tests, and in an at-
tempt to predict the shearing load the authors used
the Super Heavy Dynamic Probing – DPSH, that has
an energy level higher than those from the DPL. The
authors concluded that further studies are needed to
establish parameters for the tip resistance and side
friction of the DPL.
Sousa & Fonseca (2006) made correlations of the
DPL with the SPT and the CPT, based on results of
plate load tests and the use of various methods of
load forecasting for shallow foundations, including
the methods of Burland & Burbidge (1985) and
Anagnastopoulos et al. (1991). The soils chosen by
these authors were a granite residual soil, a schist
soil, a massive natural residual soil of granite, and a
soil of volcanic origin. The authors compared the
prediction results, and showed that there was a good
agreement of the DPL with other penetrometers,
with the exception of the case of the granite residual
soil.
Ávila & Conciani (2005) proposed the first test-
ing correlations between SPT and DPL in the Brazil-
ian state of Mato Grosso, also backed up by pile load
tests. It is worth mentioning that the tests were per-
formed with a home made DPL apparatus built with
basis on the TC-16 - ISSMFE (1989) reference
drawing dimensions, and that such study aimed the
design of low cost residential units (with a social lo-
cal appeal). Figure 3 shows a schematic drawing of
this device. In this particular paper, the authors used
the method of Décourt & Quaresma (1978) to esti-
mate the capacity of the piles. The tests were per-
formed in the city of Primavera do Leste, where the
soil is typically a yellow non plastic sandy silt,
which can be classified as SM in the unified system,
with voids of the order of 1.7 (porous). The ground-
water at the tested site is located approximately
5.5 m below surface. The authors found that the data
from the DPL test was poorly correlated with the re-
spective one from the SPT. However it was indi-
cated the possible use of the DPL data to design
deep foundations of the region, as the DPL predic-
tions depicted values 35% lower than those from the
experimental load tests. This option has proved to be
feasible in situations where the soil presents low
bearing capacity.
Figure 3 - Schematic assembly of the DPL (Ávila & Conciani,
2005)
Ribeiro Junior et. al. (2007) conducted a compari-
son between the predictions of load capacity, made
from the DPL with statistical methods developed by
Aoki and Velloso (1975), and Décourt & Quaresma
(1978) to predict the load capacity of foundations
based on the results of SPT. The soil was a sandy
clay, red, very soft to moderately soft in the city of
Jaciara, Mato Grosso. The authors compared the da-
ta of dynamic penetrometers with load tests at com-
pression state and concluded that the use of the DPL
in saturated soils should be avoided due to energy
dissipations. Nevertheless, there was good fit be-
tween the predicted load capacity of the DPL data
obtained with the empirical models of Aoki and Vel-
loso (1975), and Décourt & Quaresma (1978), which
are originally suited for SPT tests, and the results of
pile load tests.
Figure 4 shows a comparison of the cited methods
and results. In this one it is noticed that the SPT does
not provide good agreement for the test load. This in
fact proves the inadequacy of the SPT for soils with
a very low soil´s shearing resistance.
Azevedo & Guimarães (2010) made a direct cor-
relation between the N30 of the SPT test and the N10
of the DPL. The field experiment was conducted in a
stretch of an electrical transmission line in the state
of Acre, in Brazil, and the authors warned that more
studies on this particular correlation would be neces-
sary.
Figure 4- Comparison between the load estimation methods for
SPT test, and DPL (Ribeiro Junior et al., 2007).
It is noticed that the geotechnical literature often
fails to show a good agreement between the DPL
and the SPT testing results. Nilsson (2004), Ávila &
Conciani (2005), and Ribeiro Junior et. al. (2007)
made valuable observations about the inadequacies
of these comparisons. Nilsson (2004) made several
considerations about the differences between the
DPL test and the SPT. This latter author stated that
by using these two tests simultaneously for situa-
tions where each one is more effective, one could
surely obtain better correlations and results - im-
proving the efficiency of the design.
Ávila & Conciani (2005) concluded that for soils
of low resistance in Mato Grosso, the SPT and the
DPL do not correlate well. According to Ribeiro
Júnior et al. (2007), the SPT test is best suited for oriented research lines (as the use of statistical or
granular soils, with SPTs (N30) above 5, where the empirical correlations for bearing capacity with this
deep foundation generally has a length greater than same data).
5 m, whereas the DPL test is more useful in fine-
grained soils of low resistance, where it could be
used for the prediction of deep foundation capacity
loads in buildings up to 5 m high (2 stores). It is
worthwhile to say that the DPL test is extremely
sensitive to small variations to stratifications within
the soil deposit, feature generally not found in SPT
tests.
In addition to that, some studies have been con-
ducted to compare different DPL configurations.
Ávila et al. (2006) in a comparative study between
two types of DPLs (DPL Nilsson, and DPL CEFET)
concluded that the configuration of the equipment do
influence directly on the efficiency of the test. How-
ever, Souza et al. (2008) concluded that the density
of the rods have little influence on the results. Thus, Figure 5 – Influence of relative density on N10 values (UNE-
EN ISO 22476 (2008)
the choice between a thicker or thinner than normal
rod should solely affect the durability of the device.
Although in the market there are lightweight pene-
trometers with built in transducers, as the French
2.5 Future research possibilities on the DPL Panda device, the standard DPL still lacks such fea-
ture. Of course, the reader may argue that if the Pan-
There is no doubt that, among the dynamic cone
da provides an answer through its own transducers,
penetrometers, the DCP type has more advantages
why measure the energy of the standard DPL? The
when comparing to lightweight penetrometers, see
answer is precisely because the DPL is a simple and
for instance the article from Kleyn & Zyl (1998)
easy to purchase (and manufacture) device, while,
which deals with applications of the dynamic cone
(nowadays in Brazil) Panda penetrometers are
penetrometer (DCP) to pavement design.
“black boxes” that represent a high cost to engineer-
The article of Kayalar (1998) is another good ex-
ing companies that are actually more familiar with
ample for the future research with dynamic pene-
the SPT tests – and not prone to invest further on an
trometers of the DPL family type. In this work the
expensive new (and rather unknown around this re-
adopted penetrometer was of the German Heavy
gion) imported tool.
Type (German standards DIN 4094) with a hammer
In this regard, a properly calibrated and low cost
weight of 0.50 kN, height of fall of 0.5 m and pene-
manufactured DPL could provide practical formulas
trometer cone diameter of 4.27 cm. This author es-
for daily use in such companies, especially in small
tablished a statistical evaluation of the data to be
towns when oriented to low cost new constructions.
used in the design of shallow foundations in cohe-
sionless soils.
The CEN-UNE-EN ISO 22476 (2008) of the Eu-
3 CONCLUSIONS
ropean Union is another example of the European
deep interest in this topic. This standard explains on
A brief review on the use of DPL as an aid for esti-
possible data / field abnormalities and the influence
mating the capacity loads from foundations in Brazil
on the derived data from particular geotechnical cha-
shows that past research has been focused in the
racteristics of the soil, as for instance the relative
correlations to use the DPL based on existing expe-
density of the granular material, as shown in Fig-
rience with the SPT test, as this latter one is ex-
ure 5.
tremely used in Brazil. Nevertheless, although the
Although one can not overlook the efforts of the
predictions of capacity load for foundations with the
research on the DPL, it is a fact that the comparative
DPL can in principle be done with experience bor-
analyses with different penetrometers, especially
rowed from the SPT, it has also been demonstrated
with the SPT, fulfilled its role in the dissemination,
that such approach may be, in some cases, mislead-
and technical explanation of the advantages of the
ing to reliable results.
DPL usage for a large (previously unaware) au-
dience. The reviewed research shows that the DPL is suit-
able for tropical soils of low density and porous ma-
The moment now calls for more applied research
trix. In cases where the magnitude of load is not sig-
on the energy assessment and direct measurements
nificant, e.g., small buildings, the N10 of the DPL is
from the DPL test, and its possible use in design,
a handy information for design purposes. Research
likewise it has been done so far in other practical
also denotes that there are significant differences be-
tween both DPL and SPT tests, which range from
equipment geometric differences to the magnitude of
the enthru energy of the free fall hammer on the an-
vil. Additionally, soil characteristics influence the
results distinctly, for instance, porous soils of low-
density can respond differently to the advances of
each of such aforementioned penetrometers.
The evaluated research has also shown that the
correlations of the DPL, with the CPT test, have
yielded good agreement. One possible answer to that
would be the closer “physical” resemblance, or
geometric similarity, between these two artifacts in
regard to other probes. An undeniable fact is that
lightweight penetrometers assembled with accele-
rometers do yield very good results in terms of soil
stratigraphy, but a major concern still remains: the
attenuation of the input energy at the anvil along the
assembled conjunct of rods and probe.
As a final remark, one can firmly state that the re-
search on the DPL device surpasses the common
ground of empirical correlations, as usually done
with the SPT. In fact, such former device does de-
serve a better insight in terms of the real enthru
energy or its dissipation, so that a more physically
accurate and rational way of interpretation could de-
vised for its “popularization” in the Brazilian prac-
tice.
It has large potential for development and dep-
loyment, especially in Brazil where 80% of the pop-
ulation lives close to the coast (up to 100 km), and
there are still vast extensions of tropical soil yet to
be occupied by (generally low cost or low load) pio-
neering constructions from interior cities. A typical
case is the state of Mato Grosso, where agriculture
needs to be enhanced and urgently enforced to feed
the needs of the country and, why not say, the world
as well (given projections of 8+ billion inhabitants
soon in future decades).
This paper is an initial and simple contribution in
this direction, based on an ongoing research with
such well-defined cited and somehow discussed ob-
jectives (Figueiredo, 2010).
4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to CAPES by funding of this capa-
citation, the University of Brasilia (UnB), that pro-
vides the course of doctoral, and Institute Federal
Education, Science and Technology of Mato Grosso
(IFMT), where if gives this research.
5 REFERENCES
Anagnastopoulos, A.G.; Papadopoulous, B.P.; Kawadas, M.J.
1991. “Direct estimation of settlements on sand, based on
SPT results”. 'Deformation of Soils and Displacements of
Structures', Proc. X ECSMFE, Firenze, Vol. 1, pp. 293-296.
Balkema, Rotterdam.
AOKI, N. & VELLOSO, D. A. 1975. “An Approximated Me-
thod to Estimate the Bearing Capacity of Piles”. Proceed-
ings of the V Panamerican Conference on Soil and Founda-
tion Engineering, vol. 5, pp. 367-377, Buenos Aires.
ASTM D 6951-03. (2005). Standard Test Method for Use of
the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer in Shallow Pavement Ap-
plications, American Society for Testing and Materials.
Ávila, S. & Conciani W. 2005. First experiences with the dy-
namic cone in Mato Grosso. I SEMINAR of Mato Grosso
of social interest. Brazil: Cuiabá, v. CDROM (In Portugue-
se).
Ávila, S.; Cunha R.P.; Conciani, W. 2006. A brief comparison
between two equipments used for the field trial of dynamic
cone (DPL). In: II Symposium of Young Geojovem Geo-
technical, 2006, Freiburg. II Brazilian Symposium on Geo-
technical Young Geojovem, v. CDROM (In Portuguese).
Azevedo, C.P.B. & Guimarães, M.G.D. 2009. Proposal of a
correlation equation between poll results and DPL type, and
values of NSPT. ERIAC XIII - Thirteenth Regional Meet-
ing of Latin American Cigré. 24-28 May. Puerto Iguazu,
Argentina (In Portuguese).
Belincanta, A. & Cintra, J.C.A. 1998. Variants of the factors
affecting the ABNT method for the implementation of SPT.
Soils and Rocks, Sao Paulo, 21 (3): 119 - 133, Aug (In Por-
tuguese).
Burland, J. B. & Burbidge, M. C. 1985. “Settlement of founda-
tions on sand and gravel”. Proc. Institution of Civil Engi-
neers, Part 1, 78, pp 1325-1381, London.
CEN (2005). European Committee for Standardisation. EN
ISO 22476-2:2005 Geotechnical investigation and testing.
Field testing. Part 2: Dynamic probing.
Décourt, L. & Quaresma, A.R. 1978. Load capacity of piles
from SPT values. In: Brazilian Congress of Soil Mechanics
and Foundation Engineering, 6, Rio de Janeiro, Proceed-
ings, v.1, p.45-53.
Delgado, A.K.C; Camapum de Carvalho, J.; Rezende, L. R.
2007. Use of the DCP as performance control of a structure
of pavement performed with fine tropical soil. In: Third
Symposium on Tropical Soils and Erosion Processes in the
Midwest, Cuiabá., v. 1. pp. 1-12 (In Portuguese).
DIN 4094. 1991. Erkundung und Untersuchung des Bau-
grunds, Beuth – Germany.
Figueiredo, L.C. 2010. Study of the energy measurement and
its practical effects on the DPL test. “Ongoing” DSc The-
sis, Geotechnical Graduation Program, University of
Brasília.
Furtado, N. 2010. Situational analysis of the soil map of Brazil.
Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology
Goiano: Rio Verde, Brazil.
Hasmat, A. : 2000. Correlation of Static Cone Penetration Test
Results and Dynamic Probing. Research Study for de data
of South Limburg – Netherlands. International Institute For
Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC).
ISSMFE. 1989. International reference test procedures for dy-
namic probing (DP). Report of the ISSMGE Technical
Committee on Penetration Testing of Soils –TC 16 with
Reference Test Procedures.
Kayalar, A. S. 1998. Statistical evaluation of dynamic pene-
trometer test data for design of shallow foundations in coe-
sionless soils. ISOPT-1, Orlando, Proceedings, 429-434.
Kleyn, E. G. 1975. The Use of the Dynamic Cone Penetrome-
ter (DCP), Transvaal Roads Department, South Africa, Ju-
ly, 1975.
Kleyn, E. G. & Zyl, G.D. 1998. Application of the dynamic
cone penetrometer (DCP) to light pavement design. ISOPT-
1, Orlando, Proceedings, 435-444.
Nilsson, T. U. & Cunha, R. P. 2004. Advantages and equations
for pile design in Brazil via DPL tests. GEOTECHNICAL
AND GEOPHISICAL SITES CHARACTERIZATION, II.,
Vol 2, pp. 1519-1523. Porto.
Nilsson, T. U. (2004). Comparisons between DPL NILSSON
and SPT. In: GEOSUL 2004 - IV Symposium on Geotech-
nical Engineering Practice, Southern Region, ABMS, Curi-
tiba-PR.
Ribeiro Júnior, I.; Sarto, M. B. C. B.; Conciani, W. 2007.
Comparative study between the predictions of load capacity
for short piles made from SPT data and DPL. In: III Sym-
posium on Tropical Soil and Processes Erosion, 2007,
Cuiabá, v. CDROM (In Portuguese).
Schnaid, F. 2000. Field test and its application to foundation
engineering. São Paulo: Oficina de Textos (In Portuguese).
Sousa, J.F.V. & Fonseca, A.V. 2006. Study forecasting asssen-
tamentos direct foundations, based on correlations between
plaque load tests and penetration tests (static and dynamic).
13 th Brazilian Congress of Soil Mechanics and Geotech-
nical Engineering and IV Brazilian Symposium on Rock
Mechanics. Curitiba, Brazil, v. CDROM (In Portuguese).
Souza, D. N.; Santos, A. C. C.; Conciani, W. 2008. Compara-
tive study of results of Tests with DPL rods constructed
with mechanical tubing with different wall thicknesses.
Brazilian Congress of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering (Cobramseg), v. CDROM (In Portugese).
Trichês, G & DAL PAI, C. M. 2006. Study of the repeatability
of dynamic cone penetrometer in evaluation of resistance of
compacted soils. Cobramseg '2006. XIII Brazilian Congress
of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Curitiba,
Brazil, v. CDROM (In Portuguese).
van Vuuren, D. J. 1969. Rapid Determination of CBR with the
Portable Dynamic Cone Penetrometer, The Rhodesian En-
gineer, September, 1969.
Wu, S.S. 2010. DCP for Low Volume Road De-
sign/Construction. Plan, Build, And Manage Transportation
Infrastructure In China. ASCE, pp. 743-751,
(doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40952(317)72).