ASTM - Intruments and Apparatus For Soils and Rock Mechanics

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INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS
FOR SOIL AND ROCK
MECHANICS
A Symposium
presented at the
Sixty-eighth Annual Meeting
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR
TESTING AND MATERIALS
Lafayette, Ind., June 13-18, 1965
ASTM SPECIAL TECHNICAL PUBLICATION NO. 392
Price $8.50; to Members$5.95
@ published by the
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS
1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103
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9 BY AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS 1965
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-28198
NOTE
The Society is not responsible, as a body,

for the statements and opinions
advanced in this puplication.
Pminlt,d in Ba]lhnoru, Md.

Deccmbei', J965
Foreword
The papers in this volume were presented at the Symposium on Instrumenta-

tion and Apparatus for Soil and Rock held on June 14, 1965 during the Sixty-
eighth Annual Meeting of the Society, at Lafayette, Ind. The symposium was
sponsored by Committee D-18 on Soil and Rock for Engineering Purposes,
with E. B. Hall, Geo-Testing, Inc., and E. T. Selig, Illinois Institute of Tech-
nology, serving as co-chairmen for the two sessions.
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Related
ASTM Publications
Laboratory Shear Testing of Soils, STP 361 (1964),

$24.5O
Nuclear Methods for Measuring Soil Density and

Moisture, STP 293 (1960), $4.00
ASTM Compilation of Procedures for Soil Testing,

D-18 (1964), $7.75
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Contents
Planning Soil Dynamics I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n - - E . T . SELIG A N D R. P. J O Y CE . . . . 1

The Development of a Free-Field Soil Stress Gage for Static and Dynamic
Measurements--J. K. I N G R A M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Stresses and Strains in Triaxial Specimens--c. K. JANUSKEVICIUSAND E. VEY, 37
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Apparatus for Vibration of Soil Specimens During the Triaxial Test--B. o.
H A R D I N A N D J. MUSI C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
A Hydraulic Earth Pressure Cell--~. R. PEAKER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
A Technique for Measurement of Shock-Induced Soil-Structural M o t i o n - -
J. O. M C C U T C H E O N , R. N . Y O N G , A N D S. B. SAVAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Measurement of Rock Deformations in Foundations for Mass-Concrete
D a m s - - ~ . c. R O U S E , J. T . R I C H A R D S O N , A N D D . L. M I S T E R E K . . . . . . . . 94
Instrumentation for Movements Within Rockfill Dams--s. D. WILSONAND
C. W . HANCOCK, JR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Measurement of Embankment Stresses on a Hundred-Foot-High Retain-
ing Wall--G. n. KRUSE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Measurement of Hydrostatic-Uplift Pressure on Spillway Weir with Air
Piezometers--A. A. W A R L A M A N D E. W . T H O M A S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
An Instrument to Measure Skin-Friction and Normal Earth Pressure on
Deep Foundations--s. L. A G A R W A L A N D S. V E N K A T E S A N . . . . . . . . . 152
E. T. Selig 1 and R. P. Joyce 2
Planning Soil Dynamics Instrumentation
KEY WORDS: planning, instrumentation, soils (types),

dynamics, transducers, recording instruments, strain gages,
soil stress gages
ABSTRACT: This paper provides a guide to instrumentation
planning for soil dynamics measurements. The total instru-
mentation system is outlined, and each of the basic parts in-
cluding transducers, conditioning and recording instruments,
and calibration systems is discussed. The objective is to pro-
vide soils engineers with a review of modern instrumentation
equipment and procedures to assist in selecting and organizing
a total instrumentation plan for multichannel recording.
REFERENCE: E. T. Selig and R. P. Joyce, "Planning Soil
Dynamics Instrumentation," Instruments and Apparatus for
Soil and Rock Mechanics, ASTM STP 392, 1965, Am. Soc.
Testing Mats., pp. 1-19.
Both field and laboratory investigations of soil and rock behavior are
becoming increasingly involved with electronic instrumentation. As the
instrumentation systems become more extensive and sophisticated, the
soils engineer needs to communicate with and rely upon instrumentation
specialists to ensure that the best approach and techniques are used. The
growing interest in dynamic phenomena and the requirement for simul-
taneous recording of many events, together with modern improvements in
instrumentation have contributed greatly to the need for increased knowl-
edge of instrumentation by soils engineers.
The soils engineer has always been concerned with the gage or transducer
part of the instrumentation problem. Examples of this are indicated by
1Senior research engineer, soil mechanics, IIT Research Institute, Chicago, I11.
Personal member ASTM.
Assistant research engineer, instrumentation, liT Research Institute, Chicago, IlL
1
Copyright
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2 INSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
the subjects of the other papers in this symposium. Such a role is not only
logical but necessary, since the design of the gage depends upon what is to
be measured and requires a knowledge of soil or rock behavior. On the
other hand, the soils engineer must have some understanding of instru-
mentation to avoid the pitfalls of not knowing the limitations of the system.
The total instrumentation system consists of much more than the gage
itself. It also includes the conditioning, recording, and data reduction
systems. It is affected by the end requirements of the data and how they
are to be analyzed. Such considerations as: required accuracy, environ-
mental conditions, duration of event, and number of simultaneous meas-
urements, for example, influence the selection of instrumentation for an
efficient system. Modern instrumentation is as complex a subject as soil
and rock behavior. Generally, one cannot expect to be an expert in both.
Good soils instrumentation, therefore, requires a team effort.
The purpose of this paper is to provide soils engineers with a review and
general understanding of modern instrumentation and procedures. This
is done by discussing the factors involved in planning a total instrumenta-
tion system. The paper is intended to be useful as a reference guide whether
the instrumentation requirements are simple or complex. The description
given covers an elaborate instrumentation system for the field or labora-
tory, including multichannel recording and automatic data reduction.
However, the guide can readily be reduced for application to a less elabo-
rate system.
Test Plan
Before an instrumentation system is assembled, a test plan should be
prepared. Although this is an obvious statement, too often instrumentation
requirements are not carefully analyzed in advance, and an inefficient
system or erroneous data result. The high cost of modern instrumentation
and the increasing expense involved in conducting the tests demand the
best possible planning.
The purposes of the test plan are to assist in designing the instrumenta-
tion system and provide a means of communication between the principal
investigator, test group, analyst, and data processing group. The plan
may be a long document for an elaborate multichannel soil dynamics
experiment or just a brief description for a single-channel installation. In
the latter case, the various staff groups described may be replaced by a
single individual.
The principal investigator has the primary responsibility for conducting
the test program. He must determine the parameters to be measured and
the degree of precision of the measurements. He outlines the scope of the
program and establishes the initial communication between the test group,
analyst, and data processing group. The test group contributes to the test
plan by specifying the equipment and techniques to be used in making the
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SELIG AND JOYCE ON SOIL DYNAMICS INSTRUMENTATION 3
measurements. The test plan is reviewed by the analytical group to ensure

that the test will provide meaningful data. The data processing group
examines the test plan to see if it contains the proper format and equip-
ment interface for automatic data reduction.
In addition to a general description of the experiments, the test plan
should include the following specific information:
1. Parameters to be measured.
2. Description of gages or transducers.
3. Requirements of signal conditioning equipment.
4. Requirements of recording equipment.
5. Method of calibration.
6. Instrumentation data forms.
7. Measurement sequence.
8. Test procedures.
Each of these parts of the test plan is discussed in the following sections
of this paper. The application of the test plan for such tasks as formulat-
ing data reduction procedures and estimating the performance of the
total instrumentation system is also discussed.
The Gage
Parameters to be Measured
The parameters to be measured and the precision required in measuring
them must be determined first. Examples of parameters most likely to be of
interest in problems dealing with soil and rock are:
1. Normal or shear stress in soil or on soil-structure interface.
2. Pressure in air or soil pore fluid.
3. Strain in soil or on structural members.
4. Relative displacement between two moving points; displacement
with respect to a fixed reference such as settlement or plate deflection.
5. Acceleration of soil or structure.
6. Soil- or structure-particle velocity and wave propagation velocity.
7. Structure reaction forces; driving forces such as penetrometer and
plate bearing loads.
8. Temperature of air, soil, or water.
Many of the other papers in this symposium discuss specific gages for
some of these measurements or describe studies in which they are used.
There are, for example, papers covering measurement of stress and strain
in soil, pressure of soil on retaining walls, hydrostatic pressure in soil, and
motions or settlement of soil or foundations. Each type of measurement
has its own characteristic problems. It is beyond the scope of this paper to
review all of these, but as an example some of the factors involved in soil
stress measurement will be discussed.
Stress Measuremen~Stress in soil or on buried structures has probably
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4 INSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUS FOR SOIl. AND ROCK MECHANICS
received as much attention as any other measurement. Reported work

extends back at least 50 years. Stress is one of the most difficult parameters
to measure, because, to be correct, the gage must match the stress-strain
characteristics of the soil. There are two inherent difficulties with the use
of stress gages in soil: (I) the gage does not behave like the soil it replaces,
and (2) the installation of the gage usually requires disturbance of the soil
in the immediate vicinity so that this soil does not behave like the remain-
der of the soil mass.
The following are the principal factors to be considered in evaluating
stress gage performance. They are not necessarily arranged in order of
importance.
l. Application (free field or against structures).
2. Overall size with respect to soil irregularities.
3. Effectiveness of placement.
4. Relative stiffness.
5. Geometry.
6. Nature of sensing element.
7. Density.
8. Frequency response.
For both free field and structure applications the diameter of the sensing
element must be considerably greater than the local nonhomogeneities
of the soil such as discrete particles or voids. A distinction must be made
between the use of the gage for measuring stress in the free field and for
measuring pressures on the surface of buried structures. The gage require-
ments are different in each case. Measuring pressures on the wall of a
structure is easier than free-field measurements. The primary requirement
in this case is that the gage must deflect as the structure to which it is
attached. For instance, if the gage is embedded in the surface of a wall
and the face of the gage deflects more than the material around it, the
pressure reading will be lower than the soil pressure applied to the wall.
The stress-gage response is very sensitive to placement conditions. This
is perhaps the biggest factor influencing reproducibility and consistency
of measurements. If the gage is not in proper contact with the soil or if the
soil is not properly compacted around it, the readings can be significantly
affected. For example, a soft pocket of soil in contact with the gage-sensing
element can make a rigid gage respond as though it were less stiff than the
soil, so, a gage that would normally read too high would read too low.
Because the stress-strain characteristics of the gage are different from
those of the soil in which it is embedded, the soil immediately adjacent to
the gage will deform to a different extent than if the gage were not present.
Whether the change would be an increase or decrease depends upon
whether the gage is more or less stiff than the soil. This stiffness mismatch
will result in a redistribution of stresses around the gage to produce a
higher pressure on the gage if it is stiffer than the soil, or a lower pressure
if it is less stiff.
The magnitude of the stress redistribution depends a great deal on the
thickness-to-diameter ratio (T/D) of the gages as well as relative stiffness.
The greater this ratio, the greater the stress redistribution. Many gages
have as their sensing element a flexible diaphragm supported at the perim-
eter by a rigid case. The interaction of the soil with such a gage is often a
combination of the effects of a stiff and a flexible gage. Because the gage
case is stiff, the stress arches onto the gage causing a higher than free-field
value at the edge. But because the diaphragm deflection increases toward
the center, the stress arches across the face of the gage thus relieving the
stress in the center, possibly even below the free-field value. It is generally
accepted that the T/D ratio should be as small as possible to minimize the
mismatch. However, if the stress conditions are such that the soil com-
presses laterally and extends perpendicularly to the face of the gage (which
might be the case if the gage were oriented in the direction of the minor
principal stress), the large dimension in the lateral direction may ac-
centuate the error in the gage response.
The nature of the sensing element can influence the gage accuracy in
many ways. For example, it can determine the mode of deflection and
stiffness of the gage. It can also be sensitive to lateral and shear stresses
as well as the normal stress for which it is intended. And finally, it can
influence other factors such as frequency response and density.
Density-matching is important only for dynamic measurements. If the
density of the gage is appreciably greater than that of the soil, it will not
follow the motion of the soil. The result is that the gage inertia produces
stress on the interface, increasing or decreasing the mean value. This
effect becomes increasingly significant as the rate of loading increases, It
is most critical under shock loading. A shock wave will be altered in the
vicinity of the gage as it encounters the sudden density or stiffness change.
For wave lengths which are long compared with the thickness of the gage,
this latter effect may not be significant. In general, density matching is not
difficult to accomplish because by providing voids or ballast, or by proper
selection of components, the overall weight of the gage can be made the
same as that of the soil which it displaces.
Frequency response of the gage is another important factor in dynamic
measurements. Either the transducer which converts the gage response to
an output signal or the ability of the gage body to sense the changes in
stress fast enough may be the factor limiting high frequency response.
These problems usually can be avoided by proper design. In contrast,
piezoelectric gages, because of the nature of the instrumentation, are
usually more limited in low frequency response, that is, the ability to sense
slowly varying stresses.
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6 LNSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
The basic difficulty with stress measurement would not exist if the gage
behaved as the soil. It is not possible to construct such a gage because the
modulus of deformation of the soil is not a unique, constant value even for
a single soil. It varies with stress level, with the relationship between the
lateral and normal stress at a point in the soil, and with the density and
moisture content, and it is different for loading and unloading. For a
suff• restricted range of conditions where the modulus of the soil
does not vary significantly, it may be possible to design a gage to match
the soil or to calibrate it for over- or under-registration. The only other
alternative is to minimize the effects of mismatch by proper gage design.
Transducers
The terms transducer, sensor, pickup, and gage (or gauge) are used
interchangeably in the open literature. Although there are subtle differences
between these terms, universal definitions have not been established. In
this paper the term "transducer" will be defined to mean energy-conversion
device, and the term "gage" to mean the entire physical package placed in
the environment to be measured. The terms "pickup" and "sensor" will
not be used in this paper, although the reader should be aware that these
terms are widely used in manufacturers' literature.
The characteristics of the transducer and the anticipated signals form
the basis for establishing the requirements of the instrumentation system.
The techniques involved and the equipment used to generate electrical
analog signals from physical quantities are quite extensive. The suitability
of the transducer will depend upon such factors as: required frequency
response, sensitivity, gage design, conditioning and recording equipment,
and environmental influences such as radiation, temperature, and moisture.
Among the more commonly used electrical transducers are the following:
1. Inductance~ariable-inductance L transducers depend on the
applied stimulus to produce a corresponding incremental change /XL or
more commonly, a proportional change in the mutual inductance between
a primary and a secondary coil. The change in mutual inductance may
be caused, for example, by a change in coil spacing. A differential-trans-
former-type transducer produces the effect by displacement of an iron
core linking the primary and secondary coils.
2. Capacitance--In the variable-capacitance transducer, the applied
stimulus varies the capacitance C of the transducer by an increment AC.
This change, in turn, produces a shift in frequency of an oscillator, con-
tained in the required auxiliary equipment. A tuned phase descriminator
senses the frequency change and produces an electrical analog signal of
the applied stimulus. An alternative method is to employ a fixed frequency
oscillator and use the change in capacitance to properly detune the phase
descriminator.
3. Electrical Resistance- Variable potentiometers and strain gages are
electrical-resistance-type transducers. The variable potentiometer consists

of a resistance element attached to a case and a "wiper" attached to a
movable probe. Displacement of the probe produces a change in electrical
resistance between the "wiper" and either end of the resistance element and
changes the amount of resistance in the electrical circuit. The resistance
strain gage, on the other hand, depends on a change in its length Al to
produce a corresponding change in its resistance AR. The quantities /Xl/1
and/XR/R are related by a constant which is generally referred to as the
gage factor.
4. Piezoresistance--Piezoresistive materials change their electrical
resistance with strain. The effect is anisotropic, depending in magnitude
on directions of stress, current, and voltage relative to the crystal axes.
Common piezoresistive materials are silicon and germanium.
5. Piezoelectricity--Piezoelectric materials are of the self-generating
type which produce an electrical charge proportional to the applied me-
chanical strain. Common piezoelectric materials are quartz and titanates
of barium, lead, and zirconium.
A choice of several transducers is often available for measuring any
parameter. The decision is based upon such factors as: the particular gage
design, the environmental conditions, and the magnitude and duration of
the signal. For example, stress gages have historically utilized the dif-
ferential-transformer, variable-resistance, piezoelectric, and piezoresistive
effects. 3 The gages described in the other symposium papers incorporate a
number of different transducers including piezoelectric, piezoresistance,
and inductance.
Briefly stated, one may expect to find in the transducer section of the
test plan a description of the gage to be used in making the measurement,
its transducing element, and the techniques employed in mounting or plac-
ing it. The general description would include published gage specifications
pertinent to the specific test such as: range, resolution, sensitivity, resonant
frequency, rise-time, and linearity. In tests where the gage is to be placed
in severe environmental conditions, a statement concerning its response to
the adverse physical quantities would be included. For example, one might
include an indication of the response of a stress gage to local accelerations.
The temperature sensitivity would be included when the gage is to be
employed in severe ambient temperature or subjected to a high transient
temperature. For application in soil and rock, the effect of moisture on the
electrical system is an important consideration.
The transducer's response to adverse environmental conditions can
often be improved through the gage design itself or through the mounting
and placement conditions. For example, the effects of case loading on
E. T. Selig, "A Review of Stress and Strain Measurement in Soil," Proceedings,

Symposium on Soil-Structure Interaction, University of Arizona, Engineering Re-
search Laboratory, Tucson, Ariz., pp. 172-186, Sept. 1964.
an accelerometer employed in a pressure or stress field can be reduced

by designing the gage case in such a manner that the pressure is not trans-
mitted to the sensing element.
Calibration
A gage or transducer is calibrated to determine the mechanical-to-
electrical conversion factor of the unit. Transducers are calibrated over
the anticipated range of application by using secondary calibration stand-
ards to apply the stimulus to the transducer and then recording the output
signal voltage or charge. For linear systems, the conversion factor K is a
constant equal to the signal voltage or charge divided by the applied value
of stimulus. In addition to determining K for each unit, the precision of the
transducer can be determined by taking a series of calibration points and
determining the standard deviation from their average value.
It is sometimes convenient or desirable to perform a system calibration.
In this type of calibration, the transducer, conditioning equipment, and
recorder are treated as a single measuring system. The calibration stimulus
is applied to the transducer, which in turn causes a deflection or signal
voltage at the recorder. The recorded signal is compared to the applied
calibration stimulus to determine the conversion factor of the complete
system. By employing a system calibration one can simplify the data reduc-
tion, and in some cases improve the accuracy of the measurement. The
latter is especially true where the calibration stimulus can be applied to
the transducer while it is in test position.
The equipment, test configuration, and techniques employed in making
the calibration would be included in the test plan. A statement concerning
the accuracy of the secondary calibration standard would also be included.
The Instrumentation
Signal Conditioning Equipment

"Signal conditioning equipment" is the name of a device which converts
the output of a transducer into a form suitable for recording. Some of
the more commonly used signal conditioners are : amplifiers, bridge balance
units, filters, and frequency converters.
In many cases the transducer does not produce a signal voltage of
suitable level for recording. A voltage amplifier is employed to increase
the amplitude of the signal to the desired level. Cathode follower amplifiers
are sometimes used with piezoelectric transducers to provide a high-
impedance load for the transducer and power amplification of the signal
to drive a recorder.
Bridge balance units are used with resistive-type transducers such as
strain gages where small changes rather than absolute magnitudes of
resistance are to be determined. The unit contains: dummy resistors to
complete the Wheatstone bridge circuit, balance resistors to compensate

for small differences in the resistors making up the Wheatstone bridge
circuit, precision resistors to be used in the electrical calibration, and a
source of excitation voltage.
Filters are electrical networks that discriminate against particular
frequencies. They are used for separating signals on the basis of their
frequency. The filter introduces small insertion losses to signals in one
frequency band and large insertion losses to signals in other frequency
bands. As a practical example, one might use a filter to separate out and
eliminate the high frequency "noise" present in an analog pressure-gage
signal caused by gage-ringing.
Frequency converters are used with capacitance transducers. They
consist of: an oscillator, buffer amplifier, and phase discriminator. The
transducer frequency modulates the oscillator carrier frequency. The phase
discriminator in turn converts the modulating frequency to a d-c voltage,
proportional to frequency.
The test plan should include a description of the conditioning equipment
and a list of pertinent specifications. For example, the band pass-gain
characteristics of amplifiers and the transfer functions of a charge amplifier
would be included together with their input and output impedance. When
instrumentation is for mobile applications, it would be useful to include
power consumption and physical characteristics. (Physical characteristics,
as used here, refer to size, weight, and the ability to perform under severe
environments.)
Recording Equipment
The general group of recorders considered here are called "analog
recorders." This type of recorder produces an electrical analog or pictorial
version of the applied stimulus. The most common members of this group
are magnetic tape recorders, oscilloscopes, and oscillograph recorders.
Oscillograph recorders as a class include hot stylus, ink pen, and light-
writing-type recorders. Band pass, recording sensitivity, horizontal resolu-
tion, dynamic recording range, and input impedance of the recorder should
be included in the test plan. For mobile applications, the power consump-
tion and physical characteristics should also be included.
The selection of the recording instrument is usually determined by the
type of data to be recorded and the anticipated method of reducing the
data. An oscilloscope equipped with a camera may be used to record an
analog signal of a fast-rise-time pressure pulse. However, the viewing time
is limited by the sweep rate and the width of the display tube. Oscillograph
recorders can be used in tests where a long viewing time is required, but
they generally have a limited frequency response. Where fast rise time and
extended viewing time are both required, one might consider equipping the
oscilloscope with a drum camera to make a suitable recording system.
Magnetic tape recorders have two inherent capabilities that make them
extremely useful for recording analog data signals. First, the signal in
formation is preserved in its electrical form so that the original electrical
analog signals can be recreated at any future time. This makes it possible
to "play back" the record several times and also lends itself to automatic
data reduction, since it can be used as input to a data converter. Second,
magnetic tape recorders can alter the time base of the recorded signal.
This permits events to be recreated on playback either faster or slower then
they actually occurred, with resulting multiplication or division of all
frequencies recorded.
Electrical Calibration
The purpose of the electrical calibration signal is to simulate a pre-
determined level of the parameter being measured. It is usually recorded
on each data channel immediately preceding the recording of the test
data. it is used to reduce data and to verify the integrity of the conditioning
equipment and recording system. The electrical calibration signal is usually
injected into the instrumentation circuit after the transducer. Therefore,
it does not usually provide information concerning the condition of the
gage or transducer itself.
The test plan would include a general description of the method used
in generating the calibration signal. For example, one might shunt one
element of a strain gage bridge with an accurately known resistor causing
an imbalance in the bridge circuit. This in turn would cause a voltage rise
AE, proportional to AR, at the output of the bridge circuits. The calibra-
tion signal voltage AE would be equivalent to AR/'K units of the parameter
being measured.
Description of System
A block diagram of the instrumentation system should appear in the
test plan. A single channel may be shown if the test program requires
several channels of similar instrumentation. In the case where several
different parameters are to be measured by using a variety of equipment,
it will be necessary to prepare a composite block diagram showing each
type of equipment. Each item in the block diagram should be identified
by name, manufacturer, and model number.
Test Description
Instrumentation Data Forms

A sample copy of the instrumentation data form and instructions for
filling it out should be included in the test plan. The instrumentation data
forms usually contain sections for identifying the test, ambient conditions,
gage location, gage channel assignment, sensitivity factors, electrical
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SEilG AND JOYCE ON SOIL DYNAMICS INSTRUMENTATION 11
calibration constants, recording speeds, and variation in test configuration.

A " R e m a r k s " section is usually reserved on the data form to record com-
ments on unforeseen incidents.
To serve a useful purpose, the instrumentation data forms should be
complete enough to contain the pertinent information of the test program
and simple enough to be filled out rather quickly. These conditions require
that the data form be designed according to the requirements of each
specific test or series of tests.
Measurement Sequence
Ideally, the test program would be equipped with an adequate number
of instrumentation recording channels so that every gage location could be
monitored on each test. In this case, a schedule would appear in the test
plan showing the assignment of each gage location to a recording channel.
Where several positions are to be monitored in turn by a limited number of
instrumentation channels, it is advisable to include a schedule showing
the assignment of the gage locations to an instrumentation channel for
each test run in a series. A single gage location could be monitored on
every test run to provide time or amplitude correlation, or both, for the
complete series of test runs.
Test Procedure
The test procedure as it appears in the test plan can best be described
as a visualized test run. The duties performed in preparing for the test,
conducting the test, and processing the data are listed in the order in which
they actually occur during the test. This part of the test plan might also
serve as the basis for a checkout list. Such a list is useful in preventing
costly oversights, such as forgetting to put film in the recording camera or
closing a master switch, that result in missing data. Personnel should be
assigned to carry out and " m a r k off" each duty described in the checkout
list. The test engineer should review and approve the checkout list prior to
initiating the test run.
Application of the Test Plan

The previous discussion has been concerned with the content and com-
munications aspects of the test plan. The discussion in the following sec-
tions will be directed toward the possible uses of the test plan. As asserted
earlier, one of the primary purposes of the test plan is to provide a means
of communication between the various groups concerned with the test
program. A cursory review of the test plan will probably clear up any in-
consistencies due to misunderstandings between the groups. As the errors
are corrected, the test plan becomes a firm document to be used in conduct-
ing the test program.
Equally important, the test plan serves as an aid for evaluating the
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion -
12 INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
instrumentation system. It is not implied that the system can be com-

pletely analyzed without the benefit of testing; however, some examples
will show how useful information can be obtained prior to testing.
By using the information that one might reasonably expect to find in
the test plan, the characteristics of the measuring and recording system
can be determined. An estimate of the system's overall performance can
be made and any detected inadequacy corrected while the test program is
PiezoelectricStress Charge DC
tr~sd.... ~ ~ ~ AnalogMagnetic
[:::3-~ I n:h c j 7 4~ ~ ~ B Reproducer
Tape (~)
Recorder(~)
Calibr io ar
I ~ IGener[TM" i,, AnalogtoDigitalConverter
L 1 l J
FIG. 1 Blockdiagram of a singlechannel of instrumentation for piezoelectricstress
gages.
SystemRise
Time
u3
-
~.JTtL.._ Z~p
/ ~ ~ . ~ - Recorded Signal,Pm(t)
Stress ~Ill ~ ~ - ~--#7Actual Signal, pg(t)
Calibration ! [ Amplitude,Ot [ ~,~.~
Amp tude,Dc i
tl
Wove
Arrival ,Time
ELECTRICAL CALIBRATION SHOCK WAVE PROFILE

FIG. 2-Illustration of an oscillograph reproduction of analog stress signal.
in the planning stage. Some of the characteristics that would be of interest

are:
1. Impedance matching at each interface.
2. Signal voltage level at each interface.
3. Gain and band-width characteristics.
4. Overall accuracy of the system.
5. Horizontal and vertical resolution of the system.
The criterion used for determining the adequacy of the measuring
system depends upon the characteristics of the physical quantities to be
I AIzlLE 1--Required Specifications for Each Item in Instrumentation System.
9
9
Transducer
Z
Calibration Charge 5-<

Generator
D
Charge ~Tlplifier K
2
D.C. ~nplifier
K
Magnetic Tape
Recorder
z
Magnetic Tape
Reproducer u
Galvanometer
~nplifier
Oscillograph 9
Recorder
Reaaing of Record F~
'picocoulomb
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measured. The principal investigator and analyst can usually supply a

description of these quantities. The description includes: rise time, maxi-
mum amplitude, minimum amplitude, time duration, and an illustration
of the anticipated amplitude-time profile.
Illustrative Example
For purposes of illustration, it will be assumed that a test plan has been
prepared for an experiment in which shock waves are to be measured at
a number of positions in a mass of soil. The gages to be employed utilize
a piezoelectric transducer. A block diagram of an assumed single channel
of instrumentation is shown in Fig. 1.
The system begins with a piezoelectric stress transducer contained in
the gage which is embedded in the soil mass. A charge amplifier is required
to convert the generated charge to zm equivalent voltage signal. The high
input impedance of the charge anaplifier prevents decay of the signal during
the time the stress is acting. A d-c amplifier provides signal gain if needed,
and also impedance matching between the charge amplifier and the re-
corder. The magnetic tape unit serves three purposes. First, it records and
stores the gage signal during the event. Then it is used to play the signal
through a galvanometer amplifier onto an oscillograph recorder for visual
display. Finally, the tape is fed into an analog-to-digital converter where
the signal is processed for computation with an electronic computer.
An anticipated stress-time profile together with an electrical calibration
signal is shown in Fig. 2. The dashed curve indicates the true wave and the
solid line indicates the wave which might be recorded using the measuring
system shown in Fig. 1.
The system is arranged so that at a prescribed time interval prior to the
arrival of the shock wave at the gage, the electrical calibration signal is
switched into the electrical circuit for an instant and recorded on the
magnetic tape. The signal in this case is a square wave pulse created by
applying, holding, then removing an electrical stimulus that equals a
predetermined magnitude of the stress as recorded by the gage. The shock
wave in the soil will be assumed to have an "instantaneous" rise, a plateau,
and then an exponential decay. Although these idealized features may not
be maintained in soil, they are suitable for illustrating the behavior of the
instrumentation system.
The specifications required for each item in the instrumentation system
are listed in Table 1. The numerical subscripts in each case refer to the
corresponding item numbers given in the block diagram (Fig. 1). These
specifications would be found in the appropriate section of the test plan.
Data Reduction Equatio,s

For data reduction purposes it is necessary to determine the relationship
between the signal amplitude on the recorder and the stress applied to the
gage.
The deflection on the oscillograph trace, Do, due to the electrical calibra-
tion signal, Q2, for a constant systems-gain setting, A i, is given by
Do = Q~.G3.A4.As.A6.AT.d8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
where G3 is the transfer function of the charge amplifier and d8 is the
galvanometer sensitivity (Table 1 and Fig. 1). The deflection D~ due to
the gage signal P(t) is
Dt = P(t).K1.G~.A4.As.A6.AT.d8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
where/s is the transducer conversion (calibration) factor. The ratio Dc
to Dt obtained by dividing Eq. 1 by Eq. 2 is
Dc Q~
Dt P(t)KI
which, when solved for P(t), gives
P(t) - Q2.Dt
K~.Dc (psi) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)
Notice that the expression for P(t) is independent of the voltage gain
of the system, the sensitivity of the galvanometer, and the transfer function
of the charge amplifier. Since they are the same for both the calibration
signal and the gage signal they do not have to be measured in order to
reduce the data.
The maximum vertical resolution of the system, in terms of inches per
psi, can be determined by assigning maximum values to G3, d8, and A ~-
for each item in the cascade and solving Eq. 2 for Dt/P(t). It must be
remembered, however, that the systems resolution could be limited by
other considerations, such as the signal-to-noise ratio.
The effective horizontal resolution H of the oscillograph reproduction
is determined by the oscillograph chart speed Ss and the ratio of recording
speed S~ to reproducing speed $6 of the magnetic tape recorder, that is
$5 (in./sec) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
H = $8.~ (4)
The quantity H therefore represents the horizontal distance on the oscillo-

graph reproduction per unit of actual event time.
System Compatibility
The system compatibility (sometimes referred to as impedance-match-
ing) must be examined at each interface to determine the performance
characteristics of each item when it is placed into the instrumentation link.
In making this examination, both the dynamic range and the effect of
loading the input or output impedance of each item would be considered.
To determine that every item will be operating within its linear dynamic
range, the anticipated signal voltage level at each interface must be deter-
16 INS'~RUMENTSAND APPARAIUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
mined. This voltage level can then be compared with the maximum operat-
ing level of the component as given in the published specifications.
The term loading here refers to changing the characteristics such as
gain and linear range of an item in the instrumentation link when the
circuit of the following item is coupled to it. The degree of loading of the
output circuit of a unit in the cascade can be obtained by determining the
effect of shunting the output resistance of the item with the input resistance
of the following item in the cascade. For example, the effect of loading
the output of the charge amplifier (Fig. 2) by the d-c amplifier is determined
by comparing the charge amplifier output impedance before and after
connecting it to the d-c amplifier, that is, by comparing R.~out and R; o~,~
respectively. The quantity R; out is effectively the equivalent circuit re-
sistance for R3o,,t and R4 ~n (d-c amplifier input impedance) in parallel.
Hence:
i:~l ,,ut (R:~,,Lit)R4 i n (5)

R:~out + R4i,~" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
l
The loading will be excessive if R:~ ou,. is significantly (normally a few
per cent) less than R3 out 9 Hence, it is necessary for compatibility between
the two units that R4 ~,~ >> R:~ out. The same comparison may be made
between other appropriate units in the system.
As a second example, consider the interface between the output of the
galvanometer amplifier and the input to the oscillograph recorder. This
involves a different type of matching. The galvanometer, located in the
oscillograph recorder, requires a damping resistor for proper operation.
The manufacturer's literature specifies the proper terminating resistance,
that is, provided by the external circuit, needed to damp a given galvanom-
eter to the optimum value of 0.65 of critical. The output impedance of the
galvanometer amplifier R7 out should therefore be equal to the specified
terminating resistance.
System Degradation of Wave Form

The next consideration is the degree of departure of the recorded signal
P,,(t) (Fig. 2) from the actual wave form P(t). This difference represents
an error in measurement introduced by the measuring equipment. In this
example there are two factors to consider beside the mechanical reliability
of the gage. These are: the ability to respond fast enough to measure the
rise portion of the signal (high-frequency response), and the ability to
maintain the flat top of the wave (low-frequency response).
The high-frequency response may be defined in terms of rise time, or
time required to respond to a step pulse. In discussing the total rise time
of the system Tt, assume $5 = $6, that is, that the recording and reproduc-
tion were made at the same speed. The rise time, T,, for each unit in the
cascade can then be approximated by the empirical relationship
0.35
T~ F~h -- F~i ' i = 1, 2, 3, . . . n, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6)
where the F ' s refer to frequency response (Table 1).

For most applications it is true that F~h >> F~z so that
T~ ~ 0.35 (7)
F~h
An approximate expression for Tt is thus written

Tt ~.~ [T12 + T 22 -t- T~2 + - . . T,211/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8)
The system is limited to faithfully recording and reproducing signals with

a rise time T such that
T < T, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (9)
Ct
--]- R = Total Circuit Resistance
/ Ct = Total Circuit Capacitance
Em(t ) Eg= Generated Voltage
Eg =Pg(t) t',,
Era(t)= Measured Voltage
Pg(t)=Applied Stress
K = Conversion Factor
F1G. 3--Voltage equivalent circuit for piezoelectric stress transducer.
The quantity 2xP, shown on Fig. 2, represents the error caused by the
measuring system due to inadequate low-frequency response. Since F4~ =
Fsz = F6z = Fn = Fsz = 0, that is to say, these elements of the system
have a response to static signals, the value of 2~P can be determined by
examining the input circuit to the charge amplifier. The voltage equivalent
circuit of the transducer connected to the charge amplifier is shown in
Fig. 3. It can be shown that the solution to the differential equation de-
scribing this circuit when subjected to a step pulse is
E,, (t) = Eo exp (-- t/C~R3 ~n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (10)
As mentioned earlier, the stress on the gage and the output signal are
linearly related, so that the measured pressure P,,(t) can be written
P,,(t) = Po exp [ - ( t - tx)/C,R3in]; tl =< t _-< t2 . . . . . (11)
As shown in Fig. 2, the true stress P ( t ) has a constant value during the
time increment from tl to t2. Furthermore, the value of P ( t ) is equal to
P,,(t) for t = (tl --[- Tt), that is, at the end of the rise of the recorded signal.
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At this time then, Pro(t) = P ( t ) = Po . Recalling that AP = P ( t ) - - P,~(t)

fortl+Tl~h < t < t2,then
AP ~- Po{1 - - exp [ - - ( t - - h ) / C t R 3 i , d } . . . . . . . . . . . (12)
This expression for 2xP indicates that for the system shown in Fig. 1 the
error in the recorded signal will increase with time due to an exponential
decay of the voltage. The equation also shows that this low-frequency
response is limited by the total capacitance of the input circuit C t and the
input impedance of the charge amplifier Ra i~ 9 The same analysis may be
made for the decay portion of the stress pulse, but the equations are more
involved. However, since the error is proportional to P o , Eq. 12 can be
used to provide an upper bound estimate on the error for the decaying
portion.
Accuracy o f the S y s t e m
The errors introduced in oscillograph reproduction by inadequate fre-

quency response (T,, ZxP) are reproducible errors. In some cases they are
representative of the state of the art for a particular type of equipment.
One can compensate for these types of errors in data reduction or by the
use of a suitable computer program. However, the system also contains
random errors. They are representative of the uncertainty associated with
each equipment item and operation employed in producing the data sig-
nals. If the per cent of error associated with each item in the system is
known, an approximation of the total system error et can be obtained by
making an external error analysis. The value of et is determined by the
relationship
et = [el2 -+- e 22 + "'" + e , l 2~1/2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (13)
It is evident that the system random error is greater than the error of
any one unit. This compounding of errors is often forgotten in drawing
conclusions about the significance of the results of the test or the data. A
realistic appraisal of the total system error should be made in advance
of the test and the results compared with the accuracy requirements of
the test program to ensure that the tests will produce meaningful data. In
the case where the system error is excessive, the contributing factors should
be reviewed to determine the feasibility of reducing the accumulative error
indicated in Eq. 13.
Summary
The purpose of this paper was to review the basic features of multi-
channel instrumentation systems for dynamic measurements. The presenta-
tion was organized in the manner of a test plan which describes such a
system. In practice this test plan serves two important functions. It pro-
vides a basis for designing and evaluating instrumentation for a specific
application. It also provides a valuable means of communication between

the principal investigator and the other groups involved in the study in-
cluding those responsible for the instrumentation, conducting the test,
data reduction, and analysis. The parts of the test plan considered in the
discussion were: parameters to be measured, gage or transducer, condition-
ing equipment, recording equipment, calibration methods, and test de-
scription. The purpose of each part was explained, together with a discus-
sion of the type of information required to accomplish the objectives of
the plan. Each basic component of the instrumentation system was illus-
trated by examples of commonly used equipment.
A specific instrumentation system for measuring shock waves in soil
with piezoelectric stress gages was used to show several important applica-
tions of the test plan. These include data reduction equations and estima-
tion of system and random errors involved in the measurements.
The paper is addressed to engineers who are not instrumentation special-
ists. It is hoped that it will provide such persons with a guide to instrumen-
tation planning and a general appreciation of the considerations involved
in an instrumentation system, particularly where multichannel dynamic
measurements are required. The subject of this paper is far too broad to
permit more than a general review. Hence, many important subjects had
to be omitted as well as detailed discussions. If a better appreciation of
modern instrumentation has been accomplished, the paper will have
served a useful purpose.
,l. K. Ingrain'
The Development of a Free-Field Soil

Stress Gage for Static and
Dynamic Measurements
KEY WORDS: soil stress gages, strain gages, soils (types), piezore-
sistive crystals, sand, static tests, dynamic tests, measurement,
stresses
ABSTRACT: Many problems are inherent in measuring stresses in

granular materials such as soils. The presence of an inclusion such
as a gage disrupts the stress field, causing either stress concentra-
tion or stress relief depending on whether the inclusion is more or
less stiff than tile medium. This phenomenon can seriously affect
gage registration. Inertial effects must also be taken into con-
sideration in designing a gage for dynamic measurements. This
paper describes the work of the Waterways Experiment Station
during the past 21 years in developing a free-field soil stress gage
to minimize these problems. Two different gage sizes were de-
veloped. Both sizes use piezoresistive strain gages bonded to stiff
diaphragms as sensing elements. Fluid calibrations for the gages
are linear to at least 500 psi. Dynamic rise times are approxi-
mately 6 usec. Results of laboratory calibrations in dry sand, and
of field measurements during a 500-ton TNT test are presented.
REFERENCE: J. K. lngram, "The Development of a Free-Field

Soil Stress Gage for Static and Dynamic Measurements," lnslru
menls and Apparatus for Soil and Rock Mechanics, A S T M S T P 392,
Am. Soc. Testing Mats., 1965, pp. 20-36.
Soil Stress
The presence of an inclusion such as a gage in a granular m e d i u m dis-
rupts the stress field causing either stress concentration or stress relief
depending on whether the inclusion is more or less stiff than the medium.
~Physicist, Nuclear Weapons Effects Division, U. S. Army Engineer Waterways

Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
20
Copyright
Copyright~ by ASTM
1965 Int'l (all
by ASTM rights reserved); www.astm.org
Intenational Wed Nov 25 18:06:05 EST 2015
INGRAM ON FREE-FIELD SOIL STRESS GAGE 21
This stress mobilization has been termed soil-arching, further defined as

passive-arching when the soil deforms more than the gage, and active-
arching when the gage deforms more than the soil. Arching can seriously
affect gage output; therefore, a gage to be placed in a soil mass ideally
should have the same deformation characteristics as the soil it replaces.
Because of the wide variation of soil properties, it is not practical to con-
sider precise matching of the gage to all media.
Experimental Investigations
An extensive gage study was conducted by the Waterways Experiment
Station (WES) [1]2 in the 1940's. Flat, disk-shaped gages placed within a
sand mass were found to have an essentially constant change in gage out-
put with changes in compressibility, provided that the ratio of the gage
diameter to deflection was greater than 2000. Pressure errors indicated
by the gages were also found to be constant for diameter-to-thickness
ratios greater than 5. The indicated pressures were found to be approxi-
mately 100 to 150 per cent of applied static surface pressures for both
conditions.
Trollope and Currie [2] confirmed the WES findings while experiment-
ing with diaphragm gages. They concluded that a gage design should
incorporate stiff, annular rings, supporting a stiff diaphragm.
In 1954, Peattie and Sparrow [3] used formulas developed by WES to
compute pressure errors of buried gages of varying thickness-to-diameter
ratios with elastic moduli between 2 and 100 times that of a sand. Where
the thickness-to-diameter ratio was 1 or less, the gage-pressure error
varied linearly.
Taylor [4] and later Monfore [5] considered the compressibility effect
as a problem of an elastic disk embedded in an elastic medium. Monfore
[5] also investigated pressure distributions across the faces of gages buried
in a homogeneous solid. He determined that the pressure field rises near
the gage perimeter and decreases toward the center. This effect suggests
that, if the sensing area of the gage included the entire gage face, pressure
errors would be greater than if only the central portion of the face were
active. This hypothesis was experimentally confirmed by Peattie and
Sparrow [3].
Assuming the foregoing theory to be correct, it is reasonable to infer
that a gage can be designed to measure static pressures with a relatively
constant error, that is, a constant ratio of measured pressure, Pm, to
applied pressure, Pso, regardless of changes in soil moduli.
For the gage to be useful as a dynamic sensor, it should have a fast
response (in the microsecond range) and a high natural frequency. The
gage should also be acoustically matched to the medium in which it is
2The italic numbers in brackets refer to the list of references appended to this paper.
contained. The acoustic impedance is commonly termed the oc product.

This is simply the product of the mass density and the sonic transmission
velocity of the material. Of these factors, the sonic transmission is prob-
ably the most difficult to design into the gage.
Early Developmental Gages

Numerous gages embodying some or most of the design requirements
have been developed [1-8]. All have had their limitations. Piezoelectric
gages which are reasonably adequate for dynamic measurements are not
well adapted for static or near-static measurements. They are usually heat
sensitive, and their charge-sensitivity may vary with the applied-stress
level (as in several artificial ceramic materials). On the other hand, strain-
type diaphragm gages were either too compliant or did not have suitable
dynamic response. Additionally, almost none of the gages were density-
matched.
F~o. 1 Viewof WES W-type gage.
Waterways Experiment Station Gage Design
Concept
The advent of piezoresistive strain gages with sensitivities up to 60
times that of conventional strain gages has made it possible to use very
small diaphragm deflections. By restricting the total gage deformation to
a very small value, a high gage modulus can be achieved. This should
produce the most stable and repeatable gage type. The use of piezoresis-
tive elements allows the resolution of both static and dynamic stresses.
In order to obtain the best average sampling of the stress field it is desira-
ble to provide active sensing in both top and bottom surfaces of the pro-
posed transducer. Very stiff sidewalls are required to minimize bending
as well as lateral sensitivity in the gage. The gage must also be density-
matched to the soil for proper dynamic response.
Two sizes of" gages were developed under this study. The first is 3 in. in
diameter and 89in. thick (W-type). The second is 2 in. in diameter and
0.226 in. thick (SE-type).
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FIG. 2--Assembled W-type gage.
less Steel
_ _ [] Aluminum
"to =---~
~ ~- [] Epoxy Resin (Arn~sfr0ng C-4~
c~ -o 1.020"
. 0.750"
~ - - 1.450"
2.000" --- . . . . . . . ,=
Fio. 3--SE gage schematic.
The basic sensing unit for both gage types is a wafer-shaped metal
housing with very stiff sidewalls containing machined diaphragms in both
top and bottom surfaces. The general design equations are based upon
the theory of the deflection of a thin, circular, rigidly clamped plate as
developed by Timoshenko and Woinowsky-Krieger [9]. The sensing unit
24 INSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUS FOR SO~/ AND ROCK MECHANICS
FIG. 4- Strain gage placement, SE gage.
FIG. 5 Completed SE gage.
is surrounded by a plastic baffle to provide the required thickness-to-

diameter ratio and proper density-matching. Two p-type, silicon, solid-
state strain gages are attached to each diaphragm (one in the center and
one near the edge) with epoxy-resin cement. For a compressive load on the
gage, the strain gages on the center of the diaphragms are in tension, and
the gages near the edges are in compression. Figures 1 and 4 show the
typical strain-gage attachment. The strain gages are connected as a full
Wheatstone-bridge circuit, waterproofed and electrically insulated. The
protective coatings are kept uniform and as thin as possible to minimize
the mass and reduce unwanted acceleration effects on the sensors. A
specially constructed hermetic feed-through is used to isolate the gage
interior from pore pressure. The gage body seams are coated with a thin
layer of epoxy resin prior to assembly. The screw holes provided in the
upper housing segment are filled with epoxy resin prior to insertion of the
screws. Tightening of the screws allows some rebalancing of the electrical
circuit which may have become unbalanced during the assembly procedure.
The epoxy resin locks the screws once adjustment has been made.
TABLE 1--Gage Characteristics.

Diameter, in. Thickness, in. Den- Natural
Gage - Modulus of sity, Fre-
Type Material Over- Dia- Over-all Diaphragm Rigiditya, psi lb/ft3 quency,
all phragra kc
W .... 2024-T4 alu- 3 1 0.50 0.162 1.00 X 106 100 40

minum
SE...Type 416 2 88 0.226 0.075 4.25 X 105 100 40
stainless
steel
a Based on center deflection of diaphragm.
W-Type Gage
The W-type gage was the first development in this investigation resulting
in a workable laboratory transducer. The maximum allowable diaphragm
deflections for this gage were set at 125 gin. at 500 psi applied pressure.
The W-gage housing was fabricated from aluminum fitted with a machined
Plexiglas rim. Figure 1 is an exploded view of the transducer showing
placement of the sensing elements.
SE-Type Gage
The use of a small transducer is desirable because of the size limitations
of most laboratory test chambers. The size requirement becomes more
obvious if the gages are used for stress measurements in the vicinity of
model structures where the interaction effects between gage and structure
must be taken into consideration. The experience gained during the con-
struction of the first 3-in.-diameter (W-type) gage indicated that a smaller
gage could be made reasonably. A one-third size reduction was success-
fully made, and several refinements were incorporated in this design.
The smaller gage (SE-type), Figs. 3, 4, and 5, was found to be considera-
bly easier to place in a soil specimen than the larger model, and is con-
sidered the most satisfactory design of this investigation; however, the
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larger gage is adequate where physical size and placement time are n o t
important. Several gages of each size were constructed for evaluation
purposes. Some characteristics of both gage types are listed in Table 1.
Eleetrieal Considerations
The use of a Wheatstone bridge has two advantages [10]. First, it
provides n o m i n a l temperature compensation, provided that all gages are
electrically equal and m o u n t e d on the same base material. This can be
F
RI , Rs:Tension
R4 Ri
RZ, R4= C o m p r e s s i o n
Fro. 6--Gage electrical circuit.
TABLE 2 Approximate SE-Gage Output Parameters.

Measured gage output, mv/v/psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.017
Linear range, psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 to 600
Design pressure limit, psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Max pressure limit, psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2000
Linearity, per cent full scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.4
Hysteresis, per cent full scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6
Temperature range, deg F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . below +30 to +150
Suggested excitation, v . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Max excitation, v . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Acceleration sensitivity, psi/g normal to the diaphragm . . . . 0.04
Apparent strain sensitivity", u in/in/psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 to 30
Thermal sensitivity, psi/deg F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l
~' Read with strain indicator at gage-factor dial setting of 2.0.
critical in m a k i n g long-term static measurements. Second, a n increase in

sensitivity can be attained. Since all strain gages in our transducers are
active sensors, the signal from the two compression gages, R~ a n d R4 of
Fig. 6, is added to the signal from the tension gages R1 and Ra to give
o p t i m u m sensitivity.
Gage Tests
Fluid Calibrati(m
All gages were statically calibrated in a small chamber using compressed
nitrogen. Tests were made with the nitrogen completely s u r r o u n d i n g the
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concep
FIG. 7--Response of soil pressure gage (SE-type) to a step air shock.
FIG, 8--Typical drop test record.
gages, and with the pressure applied only to the sensing surfaces through
rubber diaphragms. No significant differences were observed between these
two methods. The gages were linear to above 500 psi and exhibited little
hysteresis. Table 2 lists the approximate SE-gage output parameters.
Dynamic Response
Both W and SE gage types were subjected to side-on-step shock waves
in a shock tube to determine dynamic response to a known input. A typi-
cal oscillograph record is shown in Fig. 7. These tests showed the rise time
to be less than 6 usec and the natural frequency to be greater than 40 kc
for both gage types. These results are considered excellent, since under
normal conditions of intended use (buried in soil) the response require-
ments are much less severe than the response requirements for an air
shock. It may then be concluded that the gages can be used to measure
dynamic pressures in soil with confidence in gage response.
Drop-Table Tests
Drop-table tests were made to determine acceleration sensitivity. The
gages were attached to the traveling stage of a drop-table so that the
direction of travel was normal to the gage diaphragms. A square-wave
acceleration pulse was applied to the table and monitored with an ac-
J - - - - ~ 7 " - P o s i t i o n of F i r i n g Tubes
Legend
r, SE-~
2. SE-4
3. W-2
4. SE-I
5. W-2X
6. Accelerometer
4 6 . 8 7 " I.D. I,,
Plan
FIG. 9--Gage placement in test chamber.
celerolneter. These tests showed that for accelerations up to about 90 g,

the gage accleration sensitivity was approximately 0.04 psi/g. Figure 8
shows a typical SE-gage drop-test record.
Thermal Sensitivity
Thermal effects were evaluated for a temperature range of 35 to 150 F.
The gages were found to have a thermal sensitivity of about I psi/deg F.
Although the gages are l'airly sensitive to temperature, when taking dy-
namic measurements even under adverse temperature conditions, the
gage temperature will rise only a few degrees in a short time. The initial
pressure pulse, which is normally of primary interest, occurs in a time
flame such that gage output is relatively unaffected by thermal response.

When long-term static tests are involved the soil temperature remains
relatively constant. The temperatures can be monitored and corrections
can be made for the known variations.
Test in Soil
All evaluation tests were made with the gages in a local, medium-to-fine,
well-graded, dry sand known as Cook's Bayou No. 1.
The tests were made in a 4-ft-diameter bin called the Small Blast Load
Generator (SBLG) [11]. This chamber is equipped with different rings
to alter the depth of gage burial and means of loading the soil surface,
both statically and dynamically. Static loads are applied using water to
load the soil surface through a membrane. Dynamic loads are applied
by detonation of explosives in a special lid designed for this purpose.
Three SE-gages and two W-gages were placed on one level (Fig. 9). A
500-g accelerometer was included at 16-in. radius and buried about 1 in.
deeper than the stress gages. All gages except SE-1 were placed hori-
zontally to measure vertical stress. SE-1 was placed vertically, tangent to
the placement circle to monitor the horizontal stress. The gages were
placed only once to minimize the scatter inherent in any placement pro-
cedure. The test program required a constant 12 ft. of sand beneath the
gages and five successive test-depths systematically built up by a sand-
sprinkling technique. A dry sand density of 108 • 1 lb/ft 3 was maintained
for the series. The gages were gently hand-tamped into place flush to the
sand surface ~.
Five depths of cover were evaluated: 289 489 689 1289 and 1689 in. The
test sample, with gages flush to the surface 4, was preloaded to consolidate
the sand further. The gages were covered to the desired depth, then
statically loaded to 500 psi for 6 cycles through a Neoprene membrane.
Two 250-psi (nominal) dynamic shots were made through the membrane
following the static test. The use of a membrane as a force coupler pre-
vents wetting of the sample in the static case, eliminates any significant
pore pressure in the dynamic case, and ensures more uniform sample
loading in both cases.
The sand was sprinkled on for the next depth, and the testing sequence
repeated until all depths were evaluated.
Applied surface pressures, Pso, were monitored with two Advanced
Technology Laboratories (Norwood Model 211) pressure transducers.
A detailed discussion of the method of sand and gage placement is given in the
author's agency report, "The Development of a Free-Field Soil Stress Gage for Static
and Dynamic Measurements," Waterways Experiment Station Technical Report, U. S.
Army Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss., to be published in the fall of
1965.
a The gage to measure horizontal stress, SE-1, was not placed until after this loading.
Nondimensionol Stress . . .Pm

.
Pso
0.2 0.4. 0.6 0.8 J.O LZ ~.4 1.6
P f [ I I~ I I
/ Legen_ d
VV
V
\
D~)
A
A
t
c / ,,, s~-3 /
a- 8 / o s~-,. /
= / ow-2 /
/ ,, ,,.2• /
/ 9 SE-I (HorizonfoJ /
c~ z
V U A
~ I I I i i I
FIG. 10 Stress attenuation with depth, static tests.
Pm
Nondimensionol Stress - -PSO
-
0.4 O.8 1.2 J.6
O I I I r~,,,, I I
VA
,
_
SE-3
Legend
Z V D~
A
A
0 SE-4 I
--~
a 8 W-2
VI"1 W 2X al /
m
9 SE- I (Horizont
= stress) /
~12 -- Mean V O~ A
~6
OVA [3
I I I I I I I
FIG. 11 Stress attenuation with depth, dynamic tests.
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to License Agreement. N
All gage signals were conditioned, amplified, and recorded simultane-

ously on an oscillograph and on magnetic tape.
Results
Figure 10 shows the results of the static tests. This figure is a plot of
gage depth versus stress ratio. The stress ratio is a dimensionless quantity.
It is simply the pressure measured by the stress gage, Pm, divided by the
applied pressure, Pso, at the soil surface (as monitored by the fluid pres-
sure transducers). The values plotted are averaged from results of surface
I A~ 307 pss
I
I
_ W-2 J
I
I
1
1
__ sz-4_ I~
SE-I
',j
I 265 psi
(Ilorizontal
Stress) [ 246 psi ..... . . . . . . . .
f
Bonnet
Pressure #l 1
Bonnet
Pressure #2
_J
I
I
AccelerometerJ
L ~ ~V I ~ i i
0 10 20 30 40
Time After Zero, mgec
FIG. 12--Typical oscillogram of dynamic pressure signatures.
loadings between 90 and 500 psi. The vertical stress gages indicate a rela-
tively constant stress level down to 689 in. The averaged data show about
10 per cent greater stress than the input load in this region. A maximum
rotter of about 25 per cent was observed for the vertical gages.
Gage SE-1, monitoring horizontal stresses, recorded stress levels from
about 40 to 35 per cent of the applied load, and about one third the vertical
measurements from 289 to 489 in. deep. This stress level diminished to
about 10 per cent at the 1689 in. depth. The attenuation curve for the
horizontal stress has almost the same slope as the mean vertical-stress
curve.
A plot of the peak dynamic registrations versus depth for the first shot
of each depth is shown in Fig. 11. The gages have generally similar curves
32 INSTRUMENTS A N D APPARATUS FOR SOIL A N D ROCK MECHANICS
and show relatively constant stress with depth to 689 in. The vertical stress
peaks at or before 289 in., while the horizontal stress peaks at about the
41 in. depth. A reduction of stress was noted between the 61 and 161 in.
depths. In all cases, stress values were higher for the dynamic data than
for the static data. A typical oscillogram of the dynamic-pressure signa-
tures is shown in Fig. 12. The mean vertical-stress curves have similar
slopes for both static and dynamic tests below 41 in.
600 I i I I I I I I
50C
Legend
o Measured peak p r e s s u r e
& P r e d i c t e d peek p r e s s u r e s
(Hendron 6 )
0 Surface Pressure (BRL 5)
4OO
I
~30
oa
n
o-
2O0
[00
0 I I I I I I I I
4 8 12 ]6
Deplh of Burial~ f e e t
FiG. 13 -Dynamic stress attenuation with depth of burial, field test I964.
The stress attenuation for all gages below 689 in. was thought to be
due to sidewall friction in the test chamber. The effect is similar to silo-
arching. The zone of influence has been assumed to extend approximately
as the friction angle of the sand (about 38 deg for the test sand). At this
angle a shearing plane is thought to form, thereby releasing some of the
load in the area above the shear plane. The static-test results indicate
that the true angle is somewhat greater than the normal friction angle I'or
the sand. The effect is apparently reduced when the confined sand mass is
subjected to dynamic shocks, since the stress levels remain consistently
INGRAM ON FREE-FIELDSOIL STRESSGAGE 33
high for the dynamic case. The horizontal stress attenuated some 35 per
cent from the 21 in. to 1689 in. depth for the static case, but only about
10 per cent for the dynamic case. Moreover, the centerline gage SE-3,
in the most nearly "free-field" environment, measured the highest stress
levels for any gage in either static or dynamic cases.
500 510-Psi Surface Pressure Region
400
300
200
~loo ~ _ ~ 0.5-Foot Depth
, 0
u~ 1 0 0
2.0 -Foot Depth
~ 0 . . . . . . i
OI----
,•,,,•. 8.0-Foot Depth
__ ~ . , ~ ~ - Foot Depth
'~176
I
0/
I I I I I I I I I
0 40 80 120 160
Real Time, msec
Fic. 14--Field test soil pressure records.
FieM Tests
Four developmental transducers (two W- and two SE-type) were used
to monitor earth stresses in a 500-ton high explosive (TNT) field test.
The gages were placed in a vertical array at the predicted 5 310-psi surface
5 Ballistic Research Laboratories letter to the U. S. Army Engineer Waterways

Experiment Station, transmittal of SNOW BALL data, November 17, 1965, U. S.
Army Ballistic Research Laboratories, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
pressure region. Gage depths were 0.5, 2, 8, and 12.2 ft. The soil of the
test region consisted mostly of sandy silt down to about 13 ft. The in-
strument hole was backfilled with dry sand.
The gage 0.5 ft. down recorded almost twice the measured surface
pressure. The over-registration of the gage was caused by the interaction
of several factors. The sand above the gage may have been significantly
disturbed in the time between gage placement and the event, causing a
higher than expected arching of stress onto the gage. Pore pressures were
probably quite high at later times. In addition, the gage was excited by a
very fast, high-pressure transient, which is believed to be a precursor
stress wave. A precursor of the same time-frame is known to have existed
along instrument lines of another project immediately to the west of our
instrument hole. Finally, the gage was located in a sand column differing
in composition from the indigeneous soil. An acoustical impedance (pc)
mismatch was present not only between the gage and sand column, but
also between the sand column and the natural soil. (It should be noted
that although the stress gage is density-matched to the sand, the seismic
transmission velocity is mismatched. Therefore, an impedance mismatch
occurs.)
The three deeper gage measurements compare favorably with the pre-
diction pressures ~ as seen in the similarity in curves (Fig. 13). The antici-
pated dynamic stress attenuation and pulse-width lengthening with depth
of travel is well shown in a real time plot of the stress gage signatures (Fig.
14).
Conclusions
The goal of this study was to develop reliable soil-pressure gages suita-
ble for both static and dynamic environments. The resulting gages are
considered adequate for dynamic tests and for static measurements pro-
vided significant temperature changes can be monitored during the period
of interest. The gages do over-register, but are repeatable so that the over-
registration can be calibrated out in the laboratory. The gages are easily
placed and very rugged, qualities essential in field-use items. The design
assumptions have been substantially proven in laboratory and limited
field testing. More laboratory and field gage tests in different soil types
are needed, however, to complete the evaluation.
References
[IJ "Pressure Cell Investigation," Waterways Experiment Station Technical Memo-
randum No. 210-1, U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicks-
burg, Miss., July 15, 1944.
i [2] D. H. Trollope and D. T. Currie, "Small Embedded Earth Pressure Cells-Their
~;A. J. Hendron, verbal communication, Spring [964, U. S. Army Engineer Water-

ways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to Lic
Design and Calibration," Proceedings of the Third Australia-New Zealand Con-

ference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, held at the University of
Sydney, N. S. W., Australia, August 22-26, 1960, pp. 145 151.
[3] K. R. Peattie and R. W. Sparrow, "The Fundamental Action of Earth Pressure
Cells," Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol. No. 2, 1954, pp. 141-
155.
[4] D. W. Taylor, "Review of Pressure Distribution Theories, Earth Pressure Cell
Investigations and Pressure Distribution Data," Contract Report W22-053 eng-
185, U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.,
November, 1945.
[5] G. E. Monfore, "An Analysis of the Stress Distributions in and Near Stress Gages
Embedded in Elastic Solids," Research Laboratory Report No. SP-26, U. S. De-
partment of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Research and Geology Division,
Denver, Colo., June 26, 1950.
[6] A. C. Wbiffin and S. A. H. Morris, "Piezoelectric Gage for Measuring Dynamic
Stresses Under Roads," The Engineer, Vol. 213, No. 5544, April 27, 1962, pp.
741-746.
[7] G. Plantema, "A Soil Pressure Cell and Calibration Equipment," Proceedings of
the Third International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
Zurich, Switzerland, Vol. 1, August 16-27, 1953, pp. 283-298.
[8] C. W. Bert and N. A. Crites, "Experimental Mechanics in the Development of a
New Miniature Pressure Transducer," Proceedings o] the First International Congress
on Experimental Mechanics, New York, N. Y., November 1-3, 1961, pp. 307-322.
[9] S. Timoshenko and S. Woinowsky-Krieger, Theory of Plates and Shells, 2nd edi-
tion, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., 1959, pp. 51 78.
[10] C. C. Perry and H. R. Lissner, The Strain Gage Primer, 2nd edition, McGraw-
Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., 1962.
[11] G. E. Albritton, "Description, Proof Testing, and Evaluation of the Blast Load
Generator Facilities," Waterways Experiment Station Technical Report, U. S.
Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss., to be published
in September, 1965.
DISCUSSION
P. A. Abbottl--ln your plot of gage response versus depth of burial, I
noticed that you had no data points at zero depth. I was curious to know
if any tests were performed at zero depth of burial and, if so, how they
compared with the hydrostatic calibration. Since you said that no tests
of this type were performed, I pointed out that perhaps they should be,
since nonuniform pressure on the bottom of the gage (which is a pressure-
sensitive diaphragm) might cause an output disagreeing with that of
hydrostatic calibration.
J. K. Ingram (author) A limited number of tests were conducted with
the gages in a flush condition (Table 3), although no data points were
TABLE 3 Diaphragm-Type Gages

Output (Static), Output (Dynamic),
Gage No. per cent of input per cent of input
Test A Test B Test C
SE-1 ....................... 100 97

SE-S ....................... iBi 122 95
SE-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "75 97
W-2X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 96 82
included for the plots shown. When in this condition, the gage output
does differ from the hydrostatic case. A nonuniform pressure field be-
neath the gage can induce bending moments and strains in the diaphragms
which affect the output signal. The stress reading is further influenced
by the lack of a mechanical constraint on the upper gage surface.
Because of the complicated boundary conditions existing in near-surface
regions, surface stress measurements with currently available soil stress
transducers should be approached with caution. It is felt that near-surface
soil stresses should not be measured directly, since from a weapons ef-
fects loading condition, a soil-fluid boundary is defined and the surface
pressure of the specimen is equivalent to that in the fluid regime. Working
on this premise, surface pressures may be assumed (with high confidence)
from measurements taken by reliable fluid pressure transducers.
1 Research assistant engineer, Air Force Shock Tube Facility, The University
of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N. Mex.
Co K . J a n u s k e v i c i u s J a n d E. V e y 2
Stresses and Strains in Triaxial Specimens
KEY WORDS: soil stress gages, soils (types), pressure cells,

strain gages, measuring instruments, triaxial tests, transducers,
piezoelectric crystals, stress waves, sand.
ABSTRACT: Stresses and strains were measured in triaxial

specimens of dry sand under slow and dynamic rates of load-
ing. Stress gages employing piezoelectric transducers were
found to be sensitive to initial placement conditions, changes
in the modulus-of-deformation of the surrounding soil, and
lateral deformations of triaxial specimens approaching failure.
Reliable stress measurements in triaxial tests below the critical
lateral deformation values were made using calibration data
of small triaxial specimens approximating the stress-strain re-
lationship of actual tests. Strains were measured with mechan-
ically uncoupled strain-sensing elements operating on the
transformer principle. Strains were found to vary through the
length of the standard specimens. In special frictionless end
specimens, gage-measured stresses and strains were found to
be the same as the average stresses and overall strains. At
strain rates of 11 in./sec or higher, stress waves were produced
with peak stresses a function of the rate of loading.
REFERENCE: C. K. Januskevicius and E. Vey, "Stresses

and Strains in Triaxial Specimens," Instruments and Apparatus
for Soil and Rock Mechanics, ASTM STP 392, Am. Soc Test-
ing Mats., 1965, pp. 37-54.
The stress-strain relationship o f a soil is a p a r a m e t e r which enters into

a great n u m b e r o f soil engineering problems. This relationship depends on
a n u m b e r o f factors such as: relative soil density, shape o f particles, lateral
confining pressure, degree of saturation, and pore pressures. T o deter-
1 Senior civil engineer, General Engineering Co., Ltd., Toronto, Ont., Canada;
formerly graduate student and research assistant, Illinois Institute of Technology,
Chicago, I11.
Professor of civil engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill.
37
Copyright
Copyright by by
' ~ 1965 ASTM Int'l Intenational
ASTM (all rights reserved); Wed Nov 25 18:06:05 EST 2015
www.astm.org
mine the stress-strain relationships, it is necessary to measure stresses and

strains at a point in the soil. Present methods are unreliable, because the
true stress corresponding to the true strain at a given location in the soil
cannot be accurately determined. Inaccuracies of measurement become
even more pronounced when it is necessary to measure stress and strain
under rapidly applied loads.
This investigation undertook to measure stresses and strains in triaxial
specimens of dry 20 to 40 U. S. Standard Sieve Size Ottawa sand using
embedded gages for both static and dynamic types ot loading.
Strain Gages
To measure strains, a gage with mechanically uncoupled strain-sensing
elements was used. The gage (Fig. 1) consists of two identical sets of two
FIG. 1--Strain gage.
coils. Each coil is a in. in diameter and ~-~-in. thick, and is made of copper
windings molded in epoxy resin to protect the windings from moisture.
Each set of coils represents a primary and a secondary transformer wind-
ing. The primary coils are series-connected to an a-c power source. When
the coils of a set are in close proximity, the coil windings are linked by a
magnetic field whose rate of change, because of the a-c excitation, induces
alternating voltage in the secondary coils. The magnitude ot the induced
voltage is, to a great degree, a function of the distance between the two
coils. If the secondary coils are connected series-opposing, then no flow of
current will take place in the secondary receiving circuit when the distances
between the two coils in each set are identical.
To measure strains in soil, two coils of one set are inserted approxi-
mately 0.40-in. apart in soil and act as the strain-sensing elements. The
second set of coils is positioned on a micrometer mount and serves as the
reference. When the soil between the two coils in the soil mass undergoes
strain, the coils approach each other, causing imbalance in the receiving
JANUSKEVICIUS AND VEY ON STRESSES IN TRIAXlAL SPECIMENS 39
circuit. To measure the relative displacement of the coils under static load-
ing, the receiving circuit is balanced by moving the reference coils, and the
displacement of the coils is read on the micrometer.
For dynamic loading, the strain gages are connected to an oscilloscope,
and the gage output is recorded on film. Following each dynamic test, the
gage output is reduced to actual strain by calibration of the gages in a static
test outside the specimen.
Previous studies [1]3 have shown this gage to be extremely sensitive to
small axial differential movements, yet relatively insensitive to effects of lat-
eral or rotational displacement such as might be caused by lateral or shear-
ing strains in soil.
II
1.00 Dia.
-- 0.50"Die. ~'
'\ / // P,ezoelectric \ Lec~d.~
Z--Teflon Discs Casing.__x

FIG. 2--Cross section of stress-gage casing with piezoelectriccrystal.
Stress Gages
For stress measurements, gages employing piezoelectric (lead titanate
zirconate) force-sensing elements protected by 1.0-in. diameter by 0.1 in.-
thick aluminum casings were used. These gages were similar to the gages
previously used by Selig I2J and Wetzel [3]. The piezoelectric gages possess
the advantages of very high-frequency response, small size, high sensitivity,
and high stiffness. Their disadvantages are: extremely high sensitivity to
temperature changes, electromagnetic radiation, and if allowed to pene-
trate the leads or reach the crystal, moisture. When a piezoelectric crystal
is mechanically stressed, it acts as an electric charge generator. Another
disadvantage of the piezoelectric gages is that the generated charge tends
to leak across the resistance of the gage and associated circuitry, so a high
circuit resistance must be maintained in order to measure stresses of more
than a few seconds duration. In this investigation an electrostatic charge
amplifier (Kistler Model 566 Charge Amplifier) was used with the stress
gages. This permitted measurement of stresses up to 5-min duration.
The cross section of the gage casing with the piezoelectric crystal in place
a T h e italic n u m b e r s in brackets refer to the list o f references appended to this paper.
is shown in Fig. 2. The casing is made of two identical cover sections held
in place by six equally spaced screws. A free-moving ring shaped to fit be-
tween the extended edges of the cover sections is provided to eliminate gage
sensitivity to edge forces. Direct contact of the piezoelectric crystal with
the aluminum casing is prevented by 0.05 in. thick Teflon disks placed on
both sides of the crystal. The gage leads are brought out through special
holes drilled through the sides of the cover plates and the ring. To eliminate
possible gage response to sliding shear, and to ensure free movement of the
soil particles along the stress-sensitive faces of the gage, the sides are coy-
30, I /~i D 01 30
O 2ND Loed Cycle / OIST LoadCycle I

D 6TH Lood Cycle i Z5 O 2NDLoadCycle d ~ I
A ~STH,17TI4,
IBT~ ////~D O CI9TH LoodCycle I I }
LoadCycles
Lood cyc,e / II
9 ,5,. Lood Cyc,e
cl/oO :C
111
13_ 15
,g
m
~lO gc
E
A#J tiJ
I O,000 2O,OOO
Gage Outpul, Picocoulombs Strain, Per Cent
F I G . 3--Typical stress-gage calibra- F1G. 4--Stress-strain relationship in

tion results in confined conditions. confined specimens.
ered with 1.0-in.-diameter disks of 0.05-in.-thick Teflon, held in place by a

thin layer of silicone grease.
Qualitative tests showed that these gages responded neither to shear
forces along the gage-sensing faces, nor to edge pressures on the casing.
The gages were calibrated under hydrostatic pressure conditions, in
confined sand, and in 2.8 in.-diameter standard triaxial specimens. Under
hydrostatic conditions the gages were protected from moisture by rubber
membranes, and linear calibration responses were obtained for stresses up
to 40 psi.
In confined sand specimens, the gages were embedded at 1.5 to 2.0 in.
below the surface in an 8-in. by 8-in. steel chamber of soil. Loading was
accomplished by air pressure applied to a thin rubber membrane resting
on the sand surface.
JANUSKEVICIUS AND VEY ON STRESSES IN TRIAXlAL SPECIMENS 41
In the initial calibration attempts under confined conditions, it was dis-

covered that the gage responses to identical applied stresses varied from
one test to another. The scatter-in-gage output data were of such magnitude
that no calibration relationship for the gage could be defined. Part of this
scattering was eliminated by a modified gage placement technique. Instead
of laying the gages flat on the sand, the gages were pressed lightly into the
surface of the soil to a depth ot ~ in. A rise of the surface of sand around
the gage usually could be observed, indicating the development of a three-
dimensional shear-failure surface below the gage. This apparently caused a
30 I i i I
30 t
< I/ NOTE'.Strains Determined by I
J /~ / ----- ConfinedConditions,
/ ~ / Correctedto Zero Stress
14~/ ConfinedConditions
OI I I I I I J// ..... In 2.8in. Triaxial
0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 o IV Specimen
0 I0,000 20,000
Strain, Per Cent
Area Increase,Per Cent GageOul put, Picacou Iambs
FIG. 5--Stress-strain relationships and FIG. 6~Stress-gage calibration curves

lateral deformation of 2.8-in. diameter in 2.8-in. diameter triaxial, and in con-
standard triaxial specimens. fined specimens of sand.
more intimate contact between the gage and the sand particles around the
gages, resulting in more reproducible gage response to equal applied stress.
To obtain fully reproducible calibration curves, the stress gages had to
be subjected to normally more than 10 load-unload cycles in each place-
ment. Typical confined calibration results given in Fig. 3 show somewhat
nonlinear but gradually decreasing gage sensitivity to stress with each cycle
of loading, until a linear calibration curve is obtained for stresses higher
than 5 psi.
The changes in gage sensitivity may be qualitatively related to the stress-
strain characteristics developed from gage measurements of strain in the
confined specimens of sand (Fig. 4). These stress-strain relationships ex-
42 iNSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUS FOR SOiL AND ROCK MECHANICS
hibit distinctive characteristics for different load cycles. All stress-strain

curves start out to be nonlinear from zero-stress. In the initial loading
cycles, this nonlinearity extends to the maximum applied stress. After a
number of repeated loadings, the nonlinearity is significant only at very
low stresses, and the rest of the stress-strain curve becomes linear.
The linear and constant stress-gage-calibration responses of minimum
sensitivity correspond to the linear stress-strain relationships representing
maximum rigidity of the soil after the soil is subjected to a number of
load-unload cycles. At very low stresses, up to 5 psi, the stress-strain curve
of sand in confined specimens indicates considerable compressibility and
the stress gage exhibits higher sensitivity. Similar interpretation of gage
response data applies to the intermediate loadings, where each cycle of
loading increases the soil rigidity and causes the gage sensitivity to drop.
The stress gages were also calibrated in small 2.8-in. diameter, 7 in.-
high, standard triaxial specimens under l l.8-psi confining pressure. In
separate tests, gage measurements of strain and lateral deformation were
made at the stress-gage position mid-height of the specimen (Fig. 5). The
stress-gage calibration data, based on the assumption of uniform stress on
the cross section, are given in Fig. 6. This also shows the constant gage-
calibration curve from the confined conditions. The small triaxial speci-
mens were loaded in two stages. In the first stage the specimens were loaded
to an average stress of 10 psi. The load was then removed, and the speci-
men reloaded in the second stage to failure. This method of loading was
followed for a number of reasons. Initially, an attempt was made to cali-
brate the stress gages "in place." However, it was soon found that the
stress-gage output in the preload cycle could not be related to the stress-
gage output at the same average stress (computed from the applied load)
in the second cycle. At the same time it was observed that the reproduci-
bility of both stress- and strain-gage data was improved in the second cycle.
The reasons for this lie in the difficulty of placing the gages to give identical
conditions in the surrounding soil. A cycle of preload compresses the soil
specimen particularly around the gages, resulting in more intimate contact
between gage and soil, hence, more constant initial conditions.
The stress-gage calibration curve ill the load to-failure cycle exhibited
three distinct regions. Unlike the confined specimens where lateral stresses
developed only as a result of axial load, a single cycle of preloading of the
triaxial specimen eliminated any looseness around the gages. At low
stresses, the calibration curve in the triaxial specimen became linear and
tangent to the corrected zero-stress-calibration curve in confined specimens
obtained after a number of loading cycles. The stress-strain relationships in
both cases were similar. The initial tangent modulus of deformation of
sand in the triaxial specimens was estimated from strain-gage data to be
between 12,500 and 25,000 psi and, under corresponding conditions in the
confined specimens, 30,000 psi. It may therefore be concluded that calibra-
JANUSKEVICIUS AND VEY ON STRESSES IN TRIAXIAL SPECIMENS 43
5,0 I I
0 /
' II
I~ ~ Position 3 e
I
~.~ I Position I ~0[]0
/
J~ z Position 2 A e l
4,0
5
Position 4 9
~
3.0
0
of Equal Strain
2,0
o
1.0
" I I I I
o i.o 2.0 3.0 4.0
Total Specimen Strain, Per Cent
FIG. 7--Strains in standard specimens.
tion results from confined tests may be used to evaluate stress-gage data in
triaxial specimens, provided the stress-strain conditions in both instances
are reasonably close.
Following the linear calibration response at low stresses, the gage showed
an increase in sensitivity, and the calibration curve became nonlinear. The
stress in this range corresponded to relatively large increases in strain,
causing a decrease in the modulus-of-deformation. Finally, when the modu-
lus of the soil, as estimated from strain-gage data, reached a value between
1000 and 2000 psi, the gage sensitivity began to drop. The cause of this
behavior probably lies in the distinctly different soil-gage-interaction con-
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcio
ditions in the laterally constrained and the laterally confined specimens. It

is probable that when the triaxial specimens undergo large lateral deforma-
tions under constant confining pressure, stress relief due to creep of soil
particles around the gage takes place. It is also probable that development
of shear-failure surfaces in the vicinity of the gages causes local stress relief
on the specimen cross section.
Below a certain critical strain in the triaxial calibration specimen, the
gages do not appear to be overly sensitive to relatively large variations in
m , ! i
a 9
2O
[] Line of Equal S~resses C ~2
'~ 10
D
b L,ne of Equal S C r e s s e s ~ d
20 ODA 9
,,-,
O~
0 ~:~ 9 Line of Equal $nesses -i
o~
5 ~o 15 20 25 , ,; ," ~o '0
Gage MeGsured Stress,Psi Gage Measured Slress, Psl
FIG. 8 Stresses in standard specimens.
the stress-strain relationship of the soil. Therefore, a considerable differ-

ence in the stress-strain relationship in the triaxial calibration specimen and
the test medium is tolerable in this region. The calibration results may be
used to evaluate stress-gage data as long as the modulus ot deformation of
the soil exceeds 2000 psi, or the increase in cross-sectional area of the
triaxial specimens is less than 1.5 per cent.
Standard Triaxial Tests

The soil gages were embedded in 5-in.-diameter by 11-in.-high standard
triaxial specimens. The specimens were loaded at a constant rate-of-strain
of 0.032 in./min, and were confined by 11.8-psi pressure.
All test specimens were preloaded to 10-psi stress before being loaded to
failure. The specimen densities averaged 104.4 lb/ft ~ and did not differ by
more than 1 per cent Irom the average.
The experimental strain-gage results indicate nonuniformity of strain
throughout the length of the specimen. Comparison of gage measured
with average strain (Fig. 7) at three levels in the specimen for the load-to-
failure cycle shows greater-than-average strains at mid-height of the speci-
men, and less-than-average at 11 in. from either end. The gage-measured
strain at 189 in. from the bottom of the specimen was found to be smaller
than the strain at 189 in. from the top. At mid-height of the specimen, the
5.0 I I I i I t
4.0
- 9 m -
E
"~ 3.0
9 9 . / * ---t--Level,2
E 9 2-~[i,'-~ ] --~-- Level,3_
~ 2.0
TRIAL#I TRIAL#2
~. I.(3 Level, I o 9
O 9
Level, 2 A 9
Level, Sn 9
ol0 [
1.0
]
2.0
I
3.0
I
4.0
I
5.0
J
6.0 7.0
Cross -Section Area Increase,Per Cent
FIG. 9--Lateral deformation of frictionless end specimens.
strains were measured at the center and 189 positions. The re-
sults indicate that strains at the center of the specimen are slightly larger
than those closer to the edge.
The stress-gage data were reduced using calibration data obtained in
small triaxial specimens under the assumption of uniform stress distribu-
tion on the specimen cross section. The results are compared to the average
cross-sectional stresses in Fig. 8. The gage-measured stresses appear to be
equal to the average stresses at mid-height, and at 189 in. from the top of
the specimen positions, up to about 90 per cent ot failure-stress. Individual
test results, however, indicate that during loading, the gage-measured
stress in any one test could vary from the average due to sudden jumps in
stress. This could imply nonuniformity of stress distribution due to soil
nonhomogeneity, or regional strains in the specimen resulting in sudden

variations of the modular ratio affecting gage sensitivity. At 189 in. from
the bottom of the specimen position the stress-gage data showed stresses
below the average. The strain measurements at this location indicated the
soil to be considerably stiffer than at other locations in the specimen. The
under-registration was due to decreased gage sensitivity when the surround-
ing soil was stiffer than soil in the calibration medium.
Frietionless-End Triaxial Tests

The nonuniformity of strains in standard triaxial specimens can, to a
large degree, be attributed to the effects of friction and restraint at the ends
FIG. lO--Gage placement in triaxial specimen (top strain-gage coil not in position).
of the specimen. A method of specimen preparation by Rowe and Barden

[4] was found to eliminate these effects. This same method was adapted for
preparation of 5-in.-diameter by 5-in.-high specimens in this investigation.
The specimens were first investigated for variation of lateral deformation
along the specimen height. The findings (Fig. 9) indicated that uniform
lateral deformations occurred throughout the length of the specimen up to
3 per cent strain.
The specimens with soil gages embedded in them at different locations
were then loaded at constant strain rates of 0.032 in./min, 0.160 in./min,
and from 10 to 60 in./sec. The confining pressure was 11.8 psi. A photo-
graph of typical gage placement in the specimen is shown in Fig. 10. The
average specimen density was 105.4 lb/ft a with a variation of :%1.0 per
cent. All specimens were also instrumented to measure total force and total
strain. Only the specimens under slow rates of loading were preloaded to
10-psi stress as in the standard specimen tests.
4,0 I I 4
3.0
E
aJ
$
0_
2.0
:E o~ v Test Position
S o 5 o=I,61N.
o
(.9 ~' <> 0 4 b = l . I IN.
,.o ~" <~ 14 b: 1.31N.
D ~r O " z~ I
o~ 0 __ Line of Equal Stro!n

~i~ 0 RATE OF STRAIN 0.160
i~ n / m i n
I I k
1.0 2.0 3.0 4,0
4,.0 [ I I
3.0
Q_
E
o/,
2.0 9
(/) [] V 9
@
3
o
:E
A RATE OF STRAIN
0 0 5 2 in/rain
f,O
t RATE OF STRAIN
e 0.160 in/min
Line of Equal Strain
o I l ;
I.o 2.o 3,0 4.0
Total Specimen Strain,Per Cent,
FIG. 1 l - - S t r a i n s in frictionless end specimens at s l o w rates o f strain.
48 INSTRUMENTS A N D APPARATUS FOR SOIL A N D R O C K M E C H A N I C S
Comparison of strains measured by gage with the average overall strain

in tests at slow rates of loading (Fig. 11) show that the gage-measured
strains were equal to the average strains up to about 2 to 3 per cent strain
at all locations in the specimen, except when the strain gage was placed
very close to the end platen. In rapid tests at loading rates of 10 to 13 in./
sec (Fig. 12), the specimens were not preloaded, and the results of strain
5.01 r I I I
4.0 ~ o
I Zx o
o3
[D Z~
0
d 3.o
o
& 9 0 []
03
9 Zk []
[]
o El
[]
2,0
9 0 []
[]
'~ o [] RATE OF S T R A I N
[] zx 10.7 in/sec
A [] 9 12.0
o
I.o 9 [] o 11.5
~m [] 9 13. l
[] 12.5
o 9 11.8
_ _ Line of Equol Stroin

[]
D [] I [ I
o I.o 2 o 3.0 4.0 5.0
Tofol Specimen Strain,Per Cent
FIG. 12--Strains in frictionless end specimens at rapid rates of strain.
measurements showed considerable scatter in data, particularly during the

early stages of loading. However, in the range of strains from 1 to 3 per
cent, the gage measured strains equalled the average overall strains from
tests at slow loading rates.
Stress-gage data were evaluated using the calibration results from the
small triaxial specimens. In comparing the gage-measured stress and av-
erage stress, the results (Fig. 13) show that at low loads there exists con-
siderable scatter of data points. In view of reasonably consistent agreement
between the relative changes in gage-measured and average stresses in the
JANUSKEVICIUS AND VEY O N STRESSES IN TRIAXIAL SPECIMENS 49
r i
i 9 o
a 9 b g,
_.] + ~ ~ o[]
9 uA o
eo
1o ~. 9
oo D tx El
o 9 o& &D 9
o 9 9 e
o ~, t= s
o o& 9
RA OF S T R A I N 0.052 irl/min
J ,. I J I I =
i i i I =
C l88 d '~
z~A
"~ ID
.v
._ I
s
9 o
g
RATE Of STRAIN
9 ,~ VS 0 1 6 0 in/min
Test Posihon
T~149 o S a= 15 IN
9 3 a=l.5 IN
3 a=[.I IN. z~4 b=l.O
9 3 O=I,21N. 9 4 b:l.O
t D 4 b=h0
L.-
iiO 115
Gage Meosured Stress, Psi Gage Measured Stress,Psi
FIG. 13--Stresses in frictionless end specimens at slow rates of strain.
intermediate load range, this scattering was attributed to the initial non-
uniformity of conditions in the soil surrounding the gage. To determine the
absolute values of gage-measured stress, it was necessary to assume av-
erage stress as the true stress in the low load range, and to correct gage
readings of individual tests to the stress level indicated by the average stress
where excessive scatter ended. The calibration results could not be used to
evaluate stresses from gage output at large lateral deformations of the
specimen.
No evidence, however, was obtained to indicate nonuniform stress dis-

tribution on the specimen cross section at low and intermediate stress
levels. Identical values were obtained at the center of the cross section,
and at 1 k-in. radius positions.
In tests at rapid rates of loading, 10 to 13 in./sec, the stress-gage response
to increments of applied stress was found to be the same as in the static
tests. However, at rates of loading greater than 1I in./sec, the stress gages
rate o f strain: (a) 11.5 in./sec; (b) 25.6 in./sec; (c) 59.5 in./sec
sweep rate (horizontal scale): (a) 0.01 sec/cm; (b) 0.002 sec/cm; (c) 0.001 sec/cm.
F~o. 14--Typical stress-gage and strain-gage records in triaxial tests (confining
pressure 11.8 psi).
detected transient phenomena in the specimen. Typical test records given

by oscilloscope traces are shown in Fig. 14. Calculations based on the
period between two consecutive peaks on the stress-gage response record
and the double distance between the gage and one end platen indicate the
velocity of the pulse to be close to 1000 ft/sec. This corresponds to the
velocity of stress waves in sand medium reported by other investigators
12,5].
The oscillation in stress level recorded by the stress gages became large
at loading rates of more than 14 in./sec. At this rate, the average stress at
any time instant could not be accurately determined from the stress-gage
JANUSKEVIClUS AND VEY ON STRESSES IN TRIAXIAL SPECIMENS 5]
output records. Examination of test records indicated, however, that the

intensity of stress waves produced by the rapid loading of the triaxial speci-
mens was a function of the rate of loading. To establish this relationship,
the magnitudes of the initial peak stresses and the amplitudes of the first
stress wave of each test were evaluated using the static, confined calibration
data. The results are given in Fig. 15. The confined calibration data were
used because a tangent modulus (Er) of approximately 23,000 psi, when
calculated from E~. = c2o where: e = wave velocity of 1000 ft/sec, and
o = density of the sand of 105 lb/ft a, is of the same order of magnitude as
the measured modulus of deformation of 30,000 psi in the confined speci-
men.
25 i I I I I y o
20 First Peak Stress--~,,~, f

0~
13..
15
A
I0-
5-
0 i 1 I I I
0 Io 2 o 30 40 50 60 7.0
Rate of Specimen Strain, In/Sec
FIG. 15--Effects of rate of strain.
Stress-Strain Relationships
To establish the stress-strain relationships of a soil from embedded-gage

measurements, it is necessary to combine gage data obtained under identi-
cal conditions but at slightly different locations in the specimen.
The experimental results show that such identical conditions exist on a
given cross section of a triaxial specimen at equa! radial distances from the
center of the specimen. Furthermore, specimens can be identically repro-
duced to permit the combining of gage data obtained at a specific location
in a specimen for repeated tests.
Because the gagemaeasured stresses and strains were found to be the

same as the average cross-sectional stresses and overall specimen strains
in frictionless end specimens at slow rates of strain, the stress-strain curve
of the soil may be defined from either set of data.
On the basis of limited data on stress-gage outputs in rapid tests at load-
ing rates from I0 to 13 in./sec, it appears that there is essentially no
difference between the stress strain relationships in frictionless end speci-
mens at slow and rapid rates of loading up to rates where stress-wave
effects become appreciable.
Conclusions
It may reasonably be concluded from the foregoing investigation that:
1. The piezoelectric stress gages may be used to reliably measure relative
changes in stress levels in soils. The gage sensitivities were found to be af-
fected by the changes in the modulus of deformation of the surrounding
soil. With a decrease of the modulus of deformation of the soil by a factor
of 10, the gage-sensitivity was found to increase by as much as 150 per cent.
2. Reliable measurement of stresses in triaxial specimens was accom-
plished using calibration data obtained in smaller triaxial specimens. How-
ever, an upper limit for the reliability of the gage-calibration curve was es-
tablished by the lateral deformation of the specimen. This limit was
approximately a 1.5 per cent increase of the cross-sectional area.
3. Gage-measured strains in frictionless end specimens were found to
be equal to average overall specimen strains up to 3 per cent strain for
gages located in the middle 50 per cent of the specimen height.
4. The strain gages may be used reliably to measure strains due to soil
compression up to 6 per cent strain. In triaxial specimens, because of
lateral deformations which may cause excessive lateral or rotational dis-
placement of the coils, the reliable limit of strain measurement was con-
sidered to be 3 per cent.
5. Stress waves are generated in triaxial sand specimens at loading rates
of 11 in./sec or faster. The magnitude of the peak stress was a function
of the rate of loading.
Acknowledgment
This investigation was carried out under a grant from the National
Science Foundation. The writers wish to acknowledge the assistance of
R. D. Nelson, R. D. Rowe, and J. F. Maguire in performing some of the
experiments, and E. T. Selig, R. A. Wetzel, and W. B. Truesdale in sug-
gesting improvements.
References
[1] w. B. Truesdale, "Development of a Small Soil Strain Gage," Armour Research
Foundation of Illinois Institute of Technology, Tech. Documentao' Report, No.
AFSWC-TDR-63-3, 1963.
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to License A
DISCUSSION JANUSKEVICIUS AND VEY ON STRESSES IN TRIAXIAL SPECIMENS 53
[2] E. T. Selig and R. A. Wetzel, "A Miniature Piezoelectric Gage for Static and Dy-
namic Soil Stress Measurement," Contract Report No. 1-105, U. S. Army Engineers
Waterways Experiment Station Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Miss.
[3] R. A. Wetzel, "Shock Induced Stress Wave Propagation in a Cohesive Soil," Un-
published M.S. Thesis, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1965.
[4] P. B. Rowe and L. Barden, "Importance of Free Ends in Triaxial Testing," Pro-
ceedings, Am. Soc. Civil Engrs., Vol. 90, No. SMI, Jan. 1964.
[5] R. V. Whitman and K. A. Healy, "Shear Strength of Sands During Rapid Loading,"
Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, Proceedings, Am. Soc. Civil
Engrs., Vol. 88, No. SM2, April 1962.
DISCUSSION
J. A. FischerI--Could you comment on the effect of embedment and
moduli on your results? We have used a small, 1-in.-cube strain gage with
a rigidity equivalent to a moderately firm clay and have found embedment
and matching of soil-gage rigidity to the soil extremely important.
P. A. Abbott2--I was interested in your data for the tests of your very
stiff stress gage buried in confined 20-40 Ottawa sand showing a nonlinear
gage output with increasing applied surface pressure. I believe you ex-
plained this by the similarly nonlinear stress-strain curve of the sand.
I would like to say that, in similar arching tests performed at the Air
Force Shock Tube Facility on cylindrical structures buried in 20~30
Ottawa sand, different results were obtained. In the latter tests, if the
cylindrical structures were very much stiffer than the sand, a linear rela-
tion between structure stress and applied surface pressure was obtained.
This was true even on first-cycle tests in which the stress-strain curve of the
sand was quite nonlinear.
C. K. Januskevicius and E. Vey (authors)--Embedment of gages
plays a very important role in obtaining reliable gage data. In this investi-
gation, the embedment of the gages in sand was facilitated by the nature
of the soil and the type of specimens. These gave substantially reproducible
gage response in a series of repeated tests under identical loading condi-
tions. It was established, however, that intimate contact between the gage
and the surrounding sand particles was necessary for gage-output repro-
ducibility.
To achieve intimate contact with the soil, stress gages were either forced
into the soil, or the specimens were preloaded. In case of strain gages,
preloading of the specimens was found to be the best solution to improved
gage-output reproducibility, as forcing of the gage coils into the soil
caused difficulties in maintaining coil alignment and spacing.
Once the initial looseness of the soil surrounding the gage was removed,
the presence of the two strain-gage coils did not appear to affect the strain
1 Associate with Dames & Moore, 100 Church Street, New York, N. Y.
2 Research assistant engineer, Air Force Shock Tube Facility, The University
of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N. Mex.
5~- INSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
behavior of the sand. This was demonstrated amply by the tests on fric-
tionless end, triaxial specimens, where gage-measured and total specimen
strains were found to be identical.
The effect of the modulus of compressibility of the soil on gage response
was observed for the stress gage, both in confined and triaxial specimens
in which the modulus of the soil around the gage changed as the test
progressed.
It is the authors' opinion that gage placement, gage thickness-to-diam-
eter ratio, size of gage, and matching gage rigidity to soil are all important
factors in the use of embedded gages. The authors also believe the results
of this investigation show rather conclusively that, for the gages used,
arching around the gages and interference of the gages with stresses and
strains developing in the soil were negligible up to certain limiting strains.
The only comparable results between Mr. Abbott's tests and those of
the authors' are the nonlinear stress-strain relationships of the sand in the
first cycle of loading in confined specimens.
B. O. H a r d i n , ~ a n d J. M u s i c ~
Apparatus for Vibration of Soil Specimens

During the Triaxial Test
KEY W O R D S : soil mechanics, vibration, triaxial tests, shear

modulus, damping, wave propagation, soil (material).
ABSTRACT: An apparatus has been designed and built that
will fit into an ordinary triaxial test chamber. Torsional
vibration can be induced in the cylindrical soil specimen, and
vibration response, during the "static" application of the
triaxial stresses can be measured. The dynamic apparatus
includes transducers for measuring the pore pressure and axial
load.
This apparatus can be used to study the effects of vibration
on various soil properties conventionally determined by the
triaxial test. It can be used to determine the dynamic shear
modulus or shear wave velocity, and to study the damping, or
energy dissipative, characteristics of soils.
The boundary conditions for the specimen and properties of
the apparatus are simply defined, so that the analytical solution
for the specimen-apparatus system, including damping of the
apparatus and specimen, has been obtained. This allows
interpretation of test results in terms of soil properties.
The results with this apparatus on the variation of shear
modulus with confining pressure for dry sand agree well with
previous results.
REFERENCE: B. O. Hardin and J. Music, "Apparatus for
Vibration of Soil Specimens During the Triaxial Test,"
Instruments and Apparatus for Soil and Rock Mechanics,
A S T M S T P 392, Am. Soc. Testing Mats., 1965, pp. 55-74.
An apparatus for vibration of soil specimens in the triaxial test, and

the analytical solution for the model representing the specimen-apparatus
system is presented in this paper. The calibration of the apparatus is
i Associate professor of civil engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington,

Ky. Personal member ASTM.
2 Graduate assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ken-
tucky, Lexington, Ky.
55
Copyright
Copyright'(~
by1965
ASTMby Int'l
ASTM (allIntenational www.astm.org
rights reserved); Wed Nov 25 18:06:05 EST 2015
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pur
discussed. A sample of test results obtained is compared with previous

results from different types of apparatus.
Description of the Apparatus

Photographs of the apparatus are shown in Fig. 1. Fig. la shows a test
in progress with the apparatus and specimen in the triaxial cell. Figures
lb and lc are closeups of the apparatus. Figure 2 is a diagram of the
FIG, 1 - T h e a p p a r a t u s a n d test s e t u p .
apparatus. In Fig. 2, the heart of the apparatus is the piece marked A

(In the following description, each piece will be mentioned simply by
letter). A is very stiff when subjected to axial load, but is relatively flexible
for torsion about its axis. Torque is applied to the center ring of A by
applying a voltage to the coils, producing a force between the coils and
permanent magnets. (Only one set of coil and permanent magnet are
shown in the figure.) If a sinusoidally varying voltage is applied to the
coils, a sinusoidally varying force is produced. The arrangement of the
magnets, coils, and wiring is such that the forces produced by the two
coils make a couple. To prevent motion of the permanent magnets, the
HARDIN AND MUSIC ON VIBRATION A P P A R A T U S I N T R I A X I A L TEST 57
L AXIAL LOAD
~ LOAD CELL
, ~l
iii
I
t I
I
I
"B" ---.
!__J i
I
I
I
I
I
I
f r-1
I ,--I
lii i
t ,
"A"q I: i
I
I
I
r
i
i
I
I
I
< CENTER RING
tLOAD ON 8PECIMEN
A C C E L E R O M E T ~ CENTER RING
CENTER RING
ATTACHE8 HERE
PRESGURE
TRAN8OUOER
L !I
II L
Ih' ',
f. . . .
f , "v_r ,,,,L.,-'~
',
,, h~ _ _ _ ~_~
JL . . . .
FIG. 2--Diagram of the apparatus.

,
I
_ MEMBRANE ATTACHEG
HERE
outer ring of A is attached rigidly to the large mass, B, which has large
rotational inertia. Since the rotational inertia of the center ring and the
parts attached to it is relatively small, a sinusoidally varying torque will
produce torsional vibration of the center ring, while a restoring force is
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) purs
, ~ Id 81j! o~t
Z
SPRING
o.,.. ,o.c.-.~J ~ ~ . 7 ' " * " '
K ~ [e It.,)]
z
ol
RIGID MA88 ).
Z
~__y o,.. ,oT ).

't'lt r
~o
ol
;io
SPECIMEN, NON-- RIGID
DISTRIBUTED MA88
-] Z
o
N
-1"
z
FIXED
(o)
F~G. 3 - - M o d e l for the s p e c i m e n - a p p a r a t u s s y s t e m .
i
HARDIN AND MUSIC ON ViBRATiON APPARATUS IN TRIAXIAL TEST 59
produced in the four springs. The outer ring of A and B remain essentially
at rest.
One important feature of the apparatus is that torsional vibration can
be produced while an axial load is applied to B with the reaction against
the center ring of A. A load cell is rigidly attached to B to measure the
applied axial load. The entire apparatus is placed inside the triaxial
chamber (see Fig. 1), with the piston attached to the load cell. The load
is measured inside the chamber, thus eliminating any error due to piston
friction which is encountered in measuring the load outside the chamber.
The top cap for the specimen is denoted by C. The membrane containing
the specimen is sealed to the cap that is attached rigidly to the center ring
of A (see Fig. 2). A pressure transducer is contained within the top cap
to measure pore-water pressures.
In order to balance the weight of the apparatus during consolidation
(to prevent or control anisotropic consolidation), a lever and fulcrum are
used outside the cell (see Fig. 1). The fulcrum reacts against the test
chamber. One end of the lever is attached to the piston. The other end is
loaded with dead weight just balancing the weight of the apparatus. This
remains in place during the application of the axial load.
Without a specimen attached, the apparatus is essentially a single-
degree-of-freedom system, since the center ring and end cap are relatively
rigid, and the four springs are relatively weightless. The specimen is
characterized by distributed mass and properties, and has infinite degrees
of freedom. The base of the specimen is attached to the base of the test
chamber, which has large rotational inertia (see Fig. 1). Hence the base
of the specimen can be considered fixed. The apparatus and specimen are
accurately represented by the model in Fig. 3a.
Theory for Vibration of the Specimen-Apparatus Model

As has been discussed in a previous paper, 3 the interpretation of dy-
namic test results is very complex relative to the static case, since the mass,
shape, and stiffness of the dynamic testing apparatus, as well as the prop-
erties of the specimen, determine the observed response. To translate this
response into constants defining the specimen properties, we must derive
the analytical solution for the response of the specimen-apparatus system.
This solution must satisfy the laws of motion, and incorporate some
assumed stress-strain-time relation for the specimen. The analytical solu-
tion for the model shown in Fig. 3a, where the specimen is assumed to be
a Kelvin Voigt material, is presented here.
3 B. O. Hardin, "The Nature of Damping in Sands," Journal o f the Soil Me-

chanics and Foundations Division, Am. Soc. Civil Engrs., Vol. 91, January, 1965,
pp. 63-97.
The differential equation governing the torsional vibration of the

cylindrical specimen (Fig. 3) is:
0~0 ~ 0a0 G 0~0
- o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
Ot2 p OtOx ~ p Ox 2
where: 0 = 0 (x,t) is the angular displacement; x is the coordinate directed

along the axis of the specimen; t is time; G is the shear modulus; u the
shear coefficient of viscosity, and p the mass density of the specimen. The
torque, T ( x , t ) , acting on a cross section of the specimen, is given by:
T(x,t) = G J O[O(x,t)] -k ~ J Oz[O(x't)] . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)

Ox OtOx
where J is the area polar moment of inertia of the cross section.
For steady-state forced vibration with sinusoidal forcing function, the
general solution is:
O(x,t) -- u(x) cos COt + v(x) sin COt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)

where ~o is the circular frequency:
u(x) = C1 cosh q x cos p x -k C2 sinh q x cos p x
q- Ca sinh qx sin p x -t- C4 cosh q x sin p x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4a)

and,
v(x) = Ca cosh q x cos p x -k C4 sinh q x cos p x
- - C: sinh q x sin p x -- C2 cosh q x sin p x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4b)

where the Ci are arbitrary constants,
~'/co
q-- - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Sa)
a
rE/CO
p - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Sb)
a
m= \~7-f ..................... (6a)
m = . .................... (6b)
and:
G 1/ 2
a = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8)
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HARDIN AND MUSIC ON VIBRATION APPARATUS IN TRIAXIAL TEST 61
Taking the origin of coordinates at the base of the specimen (Fig. 3b),
the boundary condition at the base (x = 0) can be expressed by:
O(O,t) - 0 - u(O) cos ~t + v(0) sin cot. . . . . . . . . . . . . (9)
Hence u(0) = v(0) = 0. Applying this condition to Eqs. 4 yields C~ =
C3=0.
In order to determine the boundary condition at the top of the specimen
(x = I), consider the rigid mass at the top as a free body (Fig. 3b). The
equation of motion for the rigid mass is:
T(l,t) = --I~ 0210(14)] Kd O[O(l,t)] _ K80(l,t) + M sin o~t.. (10)

Ot2 Ot
where Ia is the mass polar moment of inertia of the rigid mass at the top
of the specimen. This includes the center ring of A ; the accelerometer and
apparatus attached to it; the top cap; O-rings, and part of the membrane.
K, is the spring constant, and Kd the damping constant for the spring and
dashpot in Fig. 3a. These constants represent the properties of the appara-
tus. M is the amplitude of the sinusoidally varying applied torque. To
satisfy the condition for all t, we substitute Eqs. 2 and 3 into Eq. 10;
carry out the differentiation, and obtain Eqs. 11 :
where the primes denote differentiation with respect to x. Substituting

Eqs. 4 with C1 = 6"3 = 0 into Eqs. I 1, and performing the differentiation
give two similtaneous algebraic equations which can be solved for C2 and
C4. The results are as follows:
= 0, L v(al 2 + A22)f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
and:
t ................
where:
.y q
- --. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (13)
a
A1 = (TnC + m S + I25; + I~C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (14a)
A2 = ( m C - ffzS - I2C + I3A'). . . . . . . . . . . . . . (14b)
4.0
v,L.. o, (Kp
V)
~20
:30
0
I- 1,0
0
50
Ir
0
Z
<[
Z
0
(/)
Ir
r
MCAJ
g 9 0,028
a4
X
K~ = 2
I(se
0.1
0.0 0.4 0.8 1,2
VALUE OF F
FIG. 4 - - S t e a d y - s t a t e response of the specimen-apparatus model.
C = cosh ql c o s p f
S = sinh ql s i n p l
= cosh ql sin pl ................... (15)
= sinh ql cos pl
- ~ ,,~ ................
Ia = ~l ( G ) (uj)x" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (16b)
G3
.K'sp m
! - stiffness of the s p e c i m e n . . . . . . . . . . . . (17)
I = pJ1 = m a s s p o l a r m o m e n t o f inertia o f t h e s p e c i m e n (18)

and:
Ml
O~ - GJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (19)
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HARDIN AND MUSIC ON VIBRATION APPARATUS IN TRIAXIAL TEST 63
SOIL DYNAMICS RESEARCH LABORATORY
DATA SHEET FOR MEASUREMENT OF DYNAMIC SHEAR MODULU8

APPAnATUS CONSTANTS
.EGONANT FmEQUENCY. I'll I~lllll'~ cPs
9~ . , . CONSTANT" ('11 17111 I-~ x ,o G G-cMI.AO
DAMPING CONGTANT. i'l I [z'~l" I I LI13~ G-CM-SEC/RAD
INITIAL DATA FOR SPECIMEN
VISCOSITY RATIO ( l a w / G ) . 1"111 I:111 L]~

TOTAL WEIGHTs ~'1 I I I~;1 I I I-~ -o
GRAMG
DIAMETER. i')ll " 11111 CM

/g3
J/ 36" 4'0
LENGTH= III I,,llll~l OM
TIME VOLUME CHANGE

r FREQUENCY
,/ CM~ Io CM 12,. CPcS.
Zll i :ilr i r~ lr i li,.i ii j( ~
FIG. 5--Data sheet and computer input format.
is the angular displacement resulting if the torque, M, is statically applied

to one end of a specimen of length, l, with the opposite end fixed.
Substitution of the Ci into Eqs. 4, and substitution of Eqs. 4 into Eq. 3
gives the solution for O(x,t). Consider the motion of the top of the speci-
men, since this is where the response is measured with the apparatus:
O(l,t) = u(l) cos o~t + v(l) sin wt = Ct sin ( ~ t -- Ct) . . . . . . (20)
where:
c~ = l[u(/)]. + Iv(1)]2 }1/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (21a)

.{s
r = tan-' -- v - ~ f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (21b)
Ct is the amplitude of vibration at x = l, and Ct is the phase angle between

the angular displacement at x = l and the applied torque. The resonance
factor, RL, is defined by:
Rt - Ct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (22)
08
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6,4 INSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
Rt is dimensionless. The dimensionless frequency, F, is defined by:
F - 2 ~ol (23)
TC a
Figure 4 shows the variation of Rt with F for (I,/I) = 4, Is = 2,

uo~/G = 0.025, and Kj.'(~zJ/l) = 20, 30, and 50, respectively. For this
case resonance occurs at a value of F of approximately 0.53 for all
three values of Ka./(~zJ:l). If the value of F at resonance is known, one
can measure the resonant frequency, length, and mass density of the speci-
men and calculate the shear modulus of the specimen from Eq. 23. How-
T A B L E 1---Computer Output Format.
CONSTANT DECREMENT, DYNASOIL, STEADY STATE
APPARATUS CONSTANTS
RESONANT FREQUENCY = 215.17OO0 CPS

SPRING CONSTANT = 2 . 2 3 0 0 0 M I L L I O N G-CMIRAD
DAMPING CONSTANT = 1 1 9 . 0 0 0 0 0 GM-CM-SEC/RAD
CAP INERTIA = 1.22006 GM-CM-SEC**2
INITIAL DATA F O R SPECIMEN
VISCOSITY RATIO = 0.02500

TOTAL W E I G H T = [45.00000 GRAMS
DIAMETER = 3.53060 CM
LENGTH = 8.00000 CM
VOLUME CHANGE COMPRESSION RESONANT FREQ SHEAR MODULUS

CM**3 CM CPS PSI
I.O0000 0.8000 300.0 13699.
5.00000 0.6400 300.0 15832.
ever, the value of F at resonance depends on K~r, = GJ/l, so that it is

necessary to iterate.
Appendix I contains a list of a Fortran IV program for computing
the value of G from the measured resonant frequency and dimensions
of the specimen. This program is for saturated soils. Statement 33 should
be revised for partially saturated soils. The data sheet currently being used
is shown in Fig. 5. The required apparatus constants are: the resonant
frequency of the apparatus without a specimen attached, f , ; the spring
constant K.~, and damping constant K,~. These constants are punched into
the first 30 columns of the first data card. The proper columns and loca-
tion of the decimal point are shown on the figure.
The second data card contains the initial data for the specimen. The
viscosity, ~ is assumed to decrease with frequency so that the ratio ~co/G
is constant? This assumption regarding viscosity as opposed to assuming
HARDIN AND MUSIC ON VIBRATION APPARATUS IN TRIAXlAL TEST 65
constant viscosity has negligible effect on the measurement of G. In addi-

tion to the value of lz~o/G, the initial weight, diameter, and length of the
specimen are required. The values of ~co/G which have been measured for
soils are small enough to have negligible effect on the measurement of G.
Hence, in the absence of better information, a value of 0.025 can be
assumed for u~o/G for the calculation of G from the resonant frequency.
The third data card contains the number of data cards to follow. The
fourth and succeeding data cards represent a measurement of G and
contain, for the instant of measurement, the volume change and compres-
sion from initial conditions, and the resonant frequency of the specimen-
apparatus system. Table 1 shows the programmed output format, including
the computed shear moduli.
T A B L E 2 - - E f f e c t o f Apparatus Constants on the Measurement o f the
Shear Modulus. ~
Computed Shear Modulus, psi
KD , g-cm-sec/Radian K 8 , g- c m/Ra dia n
for fr = 300 cps forfr = 225 cps
3.260 X 108 29 613 8034

12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . { 3.628 32 713 8824
3.990 35 791 9589
32 713 8824
12} . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.628 )< 108 32 713 8824
]00J 32 738 8837
I n i t i a l w e i g h t o f s p e c i m e n = 154.0 g, initial d i a m e t e r = 3.70 cm, ini-

tial l e n g t h = 8.23 cm, n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c y o f a p p a r a t u s = 193.5 cps, vol-
ume c h a n g e = 1.0 cm% c o m p r e s s i o n = 0.2 cm, a n d ~o/G = 0.025.
For the model in Fig. 3, the rotational inertia of B in Fig. 2 is assumed

to be infinite. The theory was worked out, (but not included here), taking
into account the inertia of B. It was found that the inertia of B is large
enough relative to la, (approximately 25 times la), so that the motion of
B has very little (1 per cent or less) effect on the measured resonant fre-
quency.
Calibration of the Apparatus

For the measurement of the shear modulus, only those apparatus con-
stants shown in Fig. 5 are required. The resonant frequency of the appara-
tus cart be easily measured (within the accuracy of the oscillator and
amplifier) by varying the frequency of the forcing function and observing
the output of the accelerometer attached to the center ring of A (Fig. 2)
on an oscilloscope. The forcing voltage is produced by a wide-range
oscillator through a power amplifier. The resonant frequency of the
apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is 193.5 cps. With an accurate measurement of
the apparatus resonant frequency, the measurement of the shear modulus
is relatively insensitive to the spring constant, since the per cent error in G
is less than the per cent error in K, calibration, and the measurement of G
is almost independent of the damping constant, K+~. This is shown by the
data in Table 2, which show the computed value of G obtained for various
values of K~ and K,~, for identical dimensions of the specimen and resonant
frequency of the specimen-apparatus system and apparatus. In this case,
a 10 per cent error in K.+ produced about 9 per cent error in the computed
value of G, and a change in K,e from l to 100 caused about 0. I per cent
variation in G.
t.cl
0
Z
I00 I {all [ I I 1 (b) I 1
0
la.I
n," Ko 9 I0 K5 9 3 . 6 2 8 K+ =
(:. .4 . --
I- 15
0
n,"
0
I---
0
ILl m
O
Z
Z
O
if3
e6,5~
o o
laJ
Id 16 I 1 I I I I
I0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04. 0,06 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
VALUE OF .,u. ua
G
FIG. 6--Effect of apparatus constants on the measurement of ~e/G,
The value of K.+ for the apparatus was found by attaching a small mass
with mass polar moment of inertia, I~ , to the center ring of A (Fig. 2)
and measuring the resonant frequency, f , . Using this result along with the
resonant frequency, f, without the additional mass, the value of K~ can
be computed from:
K,- 4rrelAf~2
- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 (24)
based on the theory for a single-degree-of-freedom system. The value of

K~ determined in this way for the apparatus in Fig. 1 is 3.628 g-cm/radian.
The value of Kd was determined by taking pictures of the oscilloscope
trace for the decay of free vibration of the apparatus without specimen.
The value of Ke was found to be about 12 g-cm-sec/radian. However,
HARDIN AND MUSIC ON VIBRATION APPARATUS IN TRIAXlAL TEST 67
values were measured ranging between 8 and 35, depending on the place-
ment of the apparatus in the cell.
One method of determining the damping capacity of a soil specimen
subjected to steady-state vibration is to determine the resonance factor at
resonance. The amplitude of vibration is determined by the output of the
apparatus accelerometer. The coils were calibrated before they were placed
in the apparatus. They produce a torque of I 11.6 g-cm/amp. By measuring
the current flowing through the coils at resonance, the value of 0~ can be
calculated from Eq. 19, and the resonance factor at resonance from Eq.
FiG. 7--Photomicrograph of the sand specimen (>(25).
22. The value of uw/G can be determined from the resonance factor at
resonance by means of the theory presented here.
Figure 6 demonstrates the effect of the apparatus constants on the
accuracy with which the value of ~o~/G can be determined. For the case
shown, if the value of Ka is 12.5 4- 20 per cent, and the resonance factor
at resonance is 40, the value of ~o~/G is 0.0180 -4- 0.0015, from Fig. 6a.
Figure 6b shows a 5 per cent error in Ks to have negligible effect on the
value determined for uw/G. There are other methods for determining the
damping, such as observation of the decay of free vibrations, or the
measurement of phase relations.
The method described here for determining the shear modulus assumes
complete coupling between the solid and liquid phases of the soil. This is
probably the case for silts and clays, and is of course true for dry soils.
However, for saturated sand, all of the water does not move in phase with
the solid frame. This introduces an error in the determination of p and a
small error in the determination of G. Hardin and Richart (1963) 4 indicate
that approximately 40 per cent of the water in saturated sand should be
included in the calculation of p for the determination of G.
The phase velocity of a traveling shear wave, C , , is given by: a
C, - ~ ........................ (25)
m
5 0 X 10 3 1
I I I 1 I I I r
r.,D
(/,)
._1 20
n."
u.I Io
"1-
7 [ 1 [ t I I I I [ [
0.2 1.0 8.0
CONFINING PRESSURE (KG/GM a)

Fro. 8--Variation of the shear modulus of dry sand with isotropic confining
pressure.
Once the values of G and uoo/G are determined, C~. can be computed from
Eq. 25. However, for the values of #o0,."G measured for soils, thus far:
C.~ ~ a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (26)
Sample Test Results

As a check on the apparatus and theory presented here, a specimen of
the sand shown in the p h o t o m i c r o g r a p h in Fig. 7 was prepared, and the
variation of shear modulus with confining pressure measured for compari-
son with the results reported by Hardin and Richart (1963). 4 They used
two types of apparatus which had approximately "free-free" and "fixed-
4 B. O. Hardin and F. E. Richart, Jr., "Elastic Wave Velocities in Granular

Soils," Journal o f the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, Am. Soc. Civil
Engrs., Vol. 89, February, 1963, pp. 33-65.
HARDIN AND MUSIC ON VIBRATION APPARATUS LN TRIAXIAk TEST 69
free" boundary conditions. Hardin (1965) 5 gives Eqs. 27 based on the

result reported by Hardin and Richart (1963) for the shear modulus of
dry round-grained sands:
G (32.17 -- 14.80 e) 2 1/2
= ~o for ao > 2000 lb/ft 2 . . . . . . (27a)
(1 + e )
G (22.52 -- 10.60 e) 2 3/5
= ~o for ao < 2000 lb/ft 2 . . . . . . (27b)
(1 + e )
where: e is the void ratio, ~o is the isotropic confining pressure in pounds
per square foot, and G is in pounds per square inch. These equations are
for a double amplitude of vibration of I0 -3 radians at the end of a speci-
men approximately 10 in. long. For the test described here, a double
amplitude of approximately 0.3 • 10 -3 radians at the end of a specimen
approximately 8 cm long was used to make the shear strain amplitudes
comparable. In Fig. 8, the circles and dashed line show the results obtained
with the new apparatus, and the solid line is from Eqs. 27 with the void
ratio of the specimen, 0.523, substituted.
The results of recent tests conducted with this apparatus have also
shown that the specimen can be covered with water (with air surrounding
the apparatus above) during the vibration test, with no measurable effect
on the determination of the shear modulus. The damping was increased
slightly by the water; the resonance factor at resonance was reduced by
about 5 per cent.
Conclusions
An apparatus has been designed and built to study the effects of vibra-
tion on various soil properties that are conventionally determined by the
triaxial test. This apparatus can be used to determine the dynamic shear
modulus or shear wave velocity, and to study the damping characteristics
of soils. The analytical solution for steady-state vibration of the specimen-
apparatus system has been obtained, allowing interpretation of the test
results in terms of soil properties. Experimental results for a dry sand
show that the shear modulus determined with this apparatus agrees with
results previously reported.
Acknowledgments
The apparatus described here was developed as a part of research
sponsored by the National Science Foundation, N S F Grant No. GP-2048.
The writers are grateful for this support. The facilities of the computing
center at the University of Kentucky were used. The services provided by
its staff are greatly appreciated.
s B. O. Hardin, "Dynamic vs Static Shear Modulus for Dry Sand," Materials

Research & Standards, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, 1965, pp. 232-235.
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to L
AppendixI
F O R T R A N IV P R O G R A M F O R C O M P U T A T I O N OF S H E A R M O D U L U S 0
SOIL DYNAMICS
ISN SOURCE STATEMENT
i RTLL = O. 7~
2 I=i
3 WRITE(6,LI
4 i FORMAT(IHI~44• CONSTANT DECREMENT, D Y N A S O I L , STEADY STATE ) Z
5 2 READ(5,3} APFREQ , APSPR, APDAMP >
6 3 FJRMAT(3FIO.5)
7 APSPR = APSPR*IOOOOOO-
APINR = A P S P R / i 4 . * 3 . L 4 1 5 9 2 6 5 ~ 3 . L 4 1 5 9 2 6 5 * A P F R E Q m A P F R E Q ) C
LO Gm
IL APSPRM : A P S P R / I O 0 0 0 0 0 .
12 WRITE{6,4) APFREQ, APSPRM,APOAMP, APINR
13 4 FORMAT[IHL, 55X,20H APPARATUS CONSTANTS//45X,22H RESONANT FREQUENC m
LY = , F L O . 5 , 4 H C P S / 4 5 X , I g H SPRING CONSTANT : ,FI3.5,I7H MILLION G-
2CM/RAD/45X,20H DAMPING CONSTANT = .FI2o5,14H GM-CM-SEC/RAO/45X,I5H Z
3 CAP I N E R T I A = , F I 7 . 5 , 1 3 H GM-CM-SEC~*2 )
14 R E A D ( 5 , 5 ) V l S C v W T O , DIAMO, HTO
15 5 FORMATI4FIO.5)
16 WRITE(6,6) V I S C , WTOt O I A M O , H T O ,-r
17 6 FORMAT|IHL,52Xt26H I N I T I A L D A T A FOR S P E C I M E N / / 4 5 X , 1 9 H VISCOSITY RA
Z
ITIO = ,FI3.5/45XpL6H T O T A L W E I G H T = , F I 6 . 5 , 6H G R A M S / 4 5 X , I 2 H DIAME
2 1 L ~ = , F 2 0 . 5 , 3H C M / 4 5 X , IOH L E N G T H = , F 2 2 . 5 , 3H CM )
20 READ(5,7) N
22 7 FORMAT|f3)
23 WRiTE(6,8~
24 8 F O R M A T ( I H K , 3 0 X , 1 4 H VOLUME CHANGE, 5 X t I 2 H COMPRESSION, 5 X , 1 4 H RESON
IANT F R E Q , 5 • SHEAR MODULUS/33• 6H C M ~ 3 , 1 4 X , 3H C M , 1 5 • CPS,
2 1 5 X , 4 H PSI )
25 9 READ(5,LO) VOL, COMP, FRE~
26 TO F O R M A T ( 3 F I O . 5 }
2Z HT = HTO-COMP'
30 TVOL = ( ( H T O * 3 . 1 4 1 5 9 2 6 5 * D I A M O * D I A M O ) / 4 . } - V O L
31 AREA = TVOL/HT
32 DIAM2 = 4 . * A R E A / 3 . 1 4 1 5 9 2 6 5
,,-r
33 WT = WTO-VOL
34 DNSTY =(WT/TVOL)/980.
35 PINRA = ( A R E A * D I A M 2 ) / 8 ,
36 SPINR = DNSTY*PINRA*HT Z
37 RINR = A P I N R / S P I N R
c
40 G = 32.*FREQ*FREQ*HI*HT*DNSTY
41 11SPSPR = G*PINRA/HT
o
42 RSPR = APSPR/SPSPR Z
43 RTL = O.
44 F = .01
--i
45 D E L F = .I 0
46 12 OMEGA = {3.14159265*F~(SQRT{GIDNSTY))}I{2.*HT} Z
41 V = VISC*GIOMEGA
50 RDAMP = { A P D A M P * H T ) / ( V * P I N R A )
51 GAMMA = 3.14159265-F12.
52 BETA2 = I . + ( V I S C * V l S C )
53 BETA=SQRT(BETA2)
54 ALM = SQRT ( ( B E T A + L . } / ( 2 . ! B E T A 2 ) )
x
55 ALMB= SQRT ( ( B E T A - I . ) / ( 2 . * B E T A 2 ) )
56 THETA = ALM*GAMMA
57 THETAB = ALMB*GAMMA
6O ST = SIN { T H E [ A )
6I CO = COS (THETA)
.,q
SOIL DYNAMICS
ISN SOURCE STATEMENT
E,
02 EPP : EXP (THETAB)
63 EPM = E X P I - T H E T A B )
64 SIH = ,5*(EPP-EPM)
65 COH=.5*|EPP+EPM) ).
66 S = SIH*SI Z
67 C = COH*CO
70 SB = S I H * C O
71 CB = C O H * S I
72 A'I2 = GAMMA*(RINR-(RSPR/(GAMMA*GAMMAi) )/BETA c
73 AI3 = (VISC*RDAMP)/(BETAtGAMMA)
74 AI =(ALMB*C)+(ALM*S)+(AI2*SB)+(AIB*CB)
75 A2=(ALM*C)-(ALMB*S)-(AI2*CB)+(AI3*SB)
m
r"
76 C2=(-A2)/(BETA*GAMMA*((AI*AI)+(A2*A2)))
77 C4=(-A[)/(BETA~GAMMA*((AI*A[)+(A2*A2))) Z
cZ~
I00 UL=(C2*SB)+(C4*CB)
IOl VL=(C4*SBI-(C2*CB) ('h
102 RT=SQRT((UL*UL)+(VL*VL))
103 I F ( R T . G T . R T L ) GO TO 13 R
-r
106 DELF = D E L F / I O .
Z
107 F = F-{19.*DELF)
II0 RTW = RTL
lJ.i RTL = R I L L
112 IF(DELF.GT..O0002) GO TO 12
115 F = F§
116 GL = G
117 G = (16.*FREQ*FREQ*HT*HT*DNSTY)/(F*F)
120 GR = GIGL
121 I F ( G R . L T . . 9 9 9 . 0 R . I . O O I . L T . G R ) GO TO I I
124 G = G-2.0481/144.
125 WRITE(6,14) VOL, COMP~ FREQ, G,
126 14 FORMAT(F43~ F16.4,. F I 8 . 1 , F20.O,
),,
127 I = I+l
iBO IF(I.LE~ GO TO ? Z
IB3 I:i. ).
Z
134 GO TO 2
135 13 F = F .+ D E L F
C
136 RTLL =-RTL
N
137 RTL = RT
o
140 GO TO 12 z
141 END .<
m
o
z
-q
C
",,I
CopyrightbyASTMInt'l(allrightsreserved);WedNov2518:06:05EST2015
Downloaded/printedby
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DISCUSSION
J. A. Fischerl--For your analysis, you assume that only a shear wave is
affecting the resonance frequency. How good is this assumption?
B. O. Hardin (author)--In the analysis presented, the torsional vibration
of a cylindrical shaft is considered, without accounting for any longitudinal
vibration that might result from the torsional excitation of materials
that dilate under shear. The longitudinal vibration of a specimen of sand
during torsional excitation has been observed and was found to be very
small compared to the torsional response at the torsional resonant fre-
quency. However, even if the dilatation had been considerable, the analysis
could still be used to study the shear behavior of the material, since the
torsional component of the response is measured with the apparatus.
l Associate with Dames & Moore, New York, N. Y.
K. R. Peaker ~
A Hydraulic Earth Pressure Cell
KEY WORDS: soil mechanics, pressure cell, earth pressures,

measuring instruments, soil (material), hydraulics
ABSTRACT: A simple, inexpensive hydraulic earth pressure
cell is described. Pressure on the cell diaphragm causes fluid con-
tained in the cell to be expelled into a nylon tube. The fluid
level in the tube can be correlated with the pressure on the dia-
phragm. The cells have been tested over a three year period
under simulated field conditions.
REFERENCE: K. R. Peaker, "A Hydraulic Earth Pressure
Cell," Instruments and Apparatus for Soil and Rock Mechan-
ics, ASTM STP 392, Am. Soc. Testing Mats., 1965, pp. 75-81.
The measurement of earth pressures using pressure cells has developed

from early measurements using the cells of Goldbeck [1]2 to modern
techniques [2]. With the increase in technical knowledge and the resulting
increase in the accuracy of the measurements, there has been an increase
in the cost of the earth pressure cells. Because of the increase in cost, there
is a tendency to reduce the number of earth pressure measurements on
any project. Thus, a simple but accurate cell which can be produced at low
cost is of interest.
The basic concept of the hydraulic cell is that a change in pressure on a
cell diaphragm produces a measurable displacement of fluid into a fine-
bore tube. Once calibrated, the rise of fluid in the tube can be used to
predict the soil pressure acting on the diaphragm.
One of the first successful hydraulic pressure cells for use at a soil bound-
ary was constructed by Briggs [3]. This discussion deals with the final
modifications to the Briggs cell.
1Associate, William A. Trow and Associates Ltd., Toronto, Canada.

The italic numbers in brackets refer to the list of references appended to this paper.
75
Copyright~by1965
Copyright ASTMbyInt'l
ASTM (all rights reserved); Wed www.astm.org
Intenational Nov 25 18:06:05 EST 2015
The cell body machined from brass (Fig. 1) contains two chambers, the
active chamber which is covered by the brass diaphragm and the dummy
chamber which is sealed by the brass blank. The active chamber is con-
nected to a 0.25-ram-bore nylon tube by means of a ~6-in. threaded
nylon dowel. The connection between the nylon dowel and tube is made
using Araldite glue, while the dowel is threaded into the cell body and a
seal made using a rubber O-ring. A similar connection is made in the
brass blank to connect the dummy chamber to another nylon tube of
0.25-ram bore. The use of an active and dummy chamber permits tempera-
ture compensation.
0 5"
NYLON DOWEL "
( THREADE/B7
GLUEDCONNECTIOB,~K'~x-~t..t ,o
025M.M. BORENYLON
TUBE LO~7~// ~ IT~.II
9 ~ OJ
II YAk
RUBBER O-RING --/ ~W~:] II rA~,
Ti ~
- ACTIVfi CIAMBER .070
TEMPERATURE COMPENSA,TING J F/ /~H - -
.A BER C
BRASS BODY -- L DIAPHRAGM
FIG. 1-- Section of the hydraulic earth pressure cell.
To assemble the cell, the blank is first soldered to the body. Then the
assembly is turned over and the diaphragm soldered in place. Soldering is
carried out by placing the body, blank, and diaphragm onto a steel plate
heated by a Bunsen burner. All contact surfaces are carefully tinned.
When the main body assembly has been completed, a weight is placed on
top of the diaphragm and the assembly allowed to cool slowly. Using this
method, leak-proof seals are easily obtained for both soldered joints. The
cell can now be cleaned using fine emery paper. After cleaning, the cell is
submerged in water and boiled to remove all air from the active and
dummy chambers. Connection of the cell to the fine-bore nylon tubing is
made under water with fluid syphoning through the lines. No air can be
trapped in the lines or the cell if care is taken during this procedure.
The fluid found to be most satisfactory for use in the nylon line is kero-
sene. The use of water is not suitable because of a high evaporation loss
through the nylon lines.
PEAKER ON A HYDRAULIC EARTH PRESSURE CELL 77
The use of kerosene in the nylon lines, and the method of assembly
described resulted in a cell that, when checked closely over a period of
three months, showed no appreciable loss in fluid. The assembled cell is
shown in Fig. 2.
The selection of the diaphragm thickness can be made only when the
approximate pressure range of the measurement is known. The diaphragm
thickness for a boundary gage must be such that its deflection is less than
~ 0 0 0 of the cell diameter [4]. The cells used were 188 diameter. The
allowable deflection resulted in a rise of fluid in the nylon tube of approxi-
mately 30 cm. Thus to ensure that the deflections were not excessive, the
rise of fluid in the line was restricted to this value of 30 cm. F r o m experience
with the l~-in, diameter cell, it was found that a diaphragm thickness
FIG. 2--Assembled and sectional earth pressure cell.
of 0.030 in. could be used to measure pressures up to 10 psi, while a thick-

ness of 0.012 in. was used for pressures up to 1 psi. Thicker diaphragms
can be used to record pressures above 10 .psi. Measurements up to 120
psi have been made successfully. The sensitivity of the pressure measure-
ment depends on the calibration and on measuring the rise of the fluid.
Since the rise in fluid can be determined to the nearest millimeter, an
accuracy in reading of +0.1 psi can be obtained for a maximum reading of
30 psi. Cells designed for a lower maximum pressure would show a pro-
portionate increase in sensitivity, since the range of permissible fluid levels
remains constant.
Calibration of the ceils was first carried out by clamping the cell to an
orifice cut in a specially constructed chamber. This calibrating chamber
was then filled with water, and a variable air pressure applied to the water
surface. The applied pressures were measured by means of a mercury
manometer connected to the special chamber. Increments of applied pres-
sure depended on the diaphragm thickness, but were generally 0.5 to 1.0
psi. Calibration of the cells to water pressure was carried out for both the
78 INSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUSFOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
loading and unloading cycle. The calibration curve obtained (Fig. 3) was
generally a straight line. Any difference in the two cycles was not attributed
totally to the hysteresis of the diaphragm but to the resistance to flow in
the fine-bore nylon lines. This fact was confirmed by repeated testing,
breakdown, and reassembly of any cell showing a great difference in the
I00
95
i D,AP~RAG.: 0;, i ~ i /'

-!
i TESTED 8-'2"6'~
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
~
~ . L
1~
90
i : ! : i
i
t/_ READ NGS
~85
(..9
7 I : " / : 0 6 7 904 61.8 90.
i/ : I 64.7 65.4
t I ~ / i 2 68. I 69.0
UJ
a:80 ~- ;- ~- ! / ~ : 3 71.9 72.4
; o / i 4 74-9 756
bJ ' /" ] i' 5 780 787
0 #
(.9
/ 1 6 8,2 8,6
75 ~/ ~- - 7 84.0 847
8 87"2 874
' 9 90.1 90.2
! ~ ~ o a i - - , o 9e.8 E
70
o! x.945=.304 psl/cm, i i ~
65 I ~ i -
.,
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I0
INCHES OF MERCURY
FIG. 3 -Pressure-cell calibration in water.
loading and unloading cycles, until the cycles were within an acceptable
limit. In most cases the high resistance to flow was attributed to fine par-
ticles obstructing the tube.
From previous work on this type of cell [3] and other earth pressure
cells [2] it was known that the calibration factor for the cell in water would
not be the same as in sand. An exact calibration figure for each cell in sand
was not considered possible because of variations caused by different
orientation of the sand particles on the cell face. For this reason an average
value was obtained for a number of cells and this average considered
representative of all the pressure cells.
To calibrate the cells in the sand where measurements were to be taken,
eight cells were mounted flush with the floor of a bin 5 by 6 ft in plan.
The cells were grouped near the center of the bin to reduce side effects.
J~
CELL
~ 2"0 Nt
IZ
Ixl
_1
u 1.5
w
I.-
1.0
0
Q::
I,L
n-
~0-5
u.I ".!
I1: :
O. ii
i
0 0-5 1.0 I-5 2.0 2.5
SAND PRESSURE (P.SJ.)
FIG. 4 - - - P r e s s u r e - c e l l c a l i b r a t i o n in m e d i u m - t o - f i n e s a n d .
The bin was then filled with a medium-to-fine sand in 1-ft levels to a depth
of 4 ft. At each level all the gages were read. The depth of 4 ft of sand was
sufficient to cover the anticipated pressure range of these cells. For higher
pressures, a much greater depth of sand becomes impracticable, and it is
necessary to apply the load to the cells by means of air or hydraulic pres-
sure acting on a flexible membrane resting on approximately 18 in. of
sand covering the gages.
The results of the sand calibration were plotted as equivalent water
pressure versus the actual pressure of the sand (Fig. 4). If the calibration
of the cell in sand and water had been the same, the results would have
been represented by a line at 45 deg. For these cells and the sand considered,
the actual results showed a variation in the calibration of between 0.98
and 0.81 of the water calibration. A mean value of 0.88 was selected and
used for all the cells.
One cell was checked for the effect of shear on the diaphragm. As with
any cell, any influence of shear on the cell readings would make the ceils
difficult if not impossible to calibrate, since the shear on the cell under test
conditions is seldom known.
AIR
SUPPLY --FLEXIBLE
DEAD LOAD
AIR CHAMBER \ ~ PRESSURE~AIR

I[\
RUBBER M E M B R A N E ~ ('~ REGULATOI~ :~
LEG ------.---]i', /1 ~ L E G
i!!l
FIG. 5 -Apparatus to determine the efl'ect of shear on the pressure cell.
To check the effect of shear the cell was set up as shown in Fig. 5. A
dead load was placed on the dead load hanger greater than the upward
force of the air pressure proposed. The air chamber was at this stage sup-
ported by its legs. An air pressure was induced into the chamber and held
constant by means of the regulating valve. Some of the dead load had now
been transferred from the legs to the platform via the rubber membrane.
With the constant pressure in the air chamber, the shearing force was
applied in increments to the load pan until horizontal movement resulted.
It was found that for any constant air pressure in the air chamber the cell
readings did not alter, regardless of the shear load. Thus shear does not
influence the readings of these pressure cells.
To read the displacement of fluid into the nylon lines when the cell was
subjected to pressure changes, the nylon lines were threaded through a
2 ft length of I-ram-bore glass tubing. The glass tube ensured a straight
length of nylon tube and provided a convenient method of holding the
nylon lines in place. A wooden or paper rule 40 to 50 cm in length was
fastened beside each glass tube to provide a measure of the fluid movement.
An attempt was made to color the fluid in the nylon tubes to ease the
recording of fluid levels. It was found that, to be of any advantage, most
fluids had to be colored to such a concentration that a stain was left on
the inside of the tube. The stain would continue to build up and actually
hinder the ability to read the fine column of fluid. Clear liquids were seen
in the tubing with a minimum of trouble if suitable lighting was provided.
Eighteen of the hydraulic pressure cells were used to measure earth
pressures in a model over a period of three years. The total pressure meas-
ured by all the cells was checked with an independent measuring system
and the results were found to agree to within 4-10 per cent. The inde-
pendent measuring system consisted of a number of proving rings that
recorded the total load on the wall, but unlike the pressure cells were not
able to indicate the pressure distribution. Details of this model have been
reported [5]. During the testing period the cells were subjected to rough
handling and repetitious testing under conditions considered to be equal
to or worse than normal field conditions. The performance of the gages
and their calibration was at all times satisfactory.
Acknowledgments
The writer is grateful for the assistance and advice of colleagues at the
University of Manchester and for the facilities provided by the Soil Me-
chanics Department of the University.
References
[1] A. T. Goldbeck and E. B. Smith, "An Apparatus for Determining Soil Pressures,"
Proceedings, Am. Soc. Testing Mats., Vol. 16, Part II, 1916, pp. 309-319.
[2] D. H. Trollope and I. D. Lee, "The Measurements of Soil Pressures," Proceedings,
Fifth International Conference Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
Dunod, Paris, 1961, pp. 493-499.
[3] A. Briggs, "Strutted Sheet Piles Excavations in Cohesionless Material," M.Sc. thesis
University of Manchester, England, 1960.
[4] U. S. Waterways Experimental Station, "Soil Pressure Cell Investigation," Vicks-
burg, Miss., 1944.
[5] P. W. Rowe and K. R. Peaker, "Passive Earth Pressure Measurements," Geotech-
nique, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1965, pp. 57-78.
,I. O. M c C u t c h e o n , 1 R. N . Y o n g ~-and S. B. Savage 3
A Technique For Measurement of

Shock-Induced Soil-Structural Motion
KEY W O R D S : Soil mechanics, soil (material), mechanical

shock, accelerometers, soil stress gages, subsurface struc-
tures, soil-structure interface, density, stiffness
ABSTRACT: Two new gages, a free-field gage and a soil-

structure gage, have been developed. The spherical free-field
gage employs a piezoelectric accelerometer to measure actual
ground motion with parameters of relative soil density and
and diameter-to-wavelength ratio. The soil-structure gage
measures accelerations of the buried structure and uses a pis-
ton acting on a helical spring. A comparison of the outputs of
of the two gages permits evaluation of the accelerations of
both soil and structure as a function of mean density and
stiffness of the interface. Tests were performed in the labora-
tory by having falling weights impact a sand bin and in the
field in clay soil medium using Forcite charges to initiate the
shock.
REFERENCE: J. O. McCutcheon, R. N. Yong, and S. B.

Savage, "A Technique for Measurement of Shock-Induced
Soil-Structural Motion," Instruments and Apparatus for Soil
and Rock Mechanics, ASTM STP 392, Am. Soc. Testing
Mats.. 1965. pp. 82-93.
The analysis of interaction problems associated with buried structures

a n d shock-induced g r o u n d motion requires knowledge of the m o t i o n
characteristics of both soil a n d structure. This paper is concerned with
1 Professor and chairman, Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics,

McGill University, Montreal, P. Q., Canada.
Associate professor and director of Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Department of
Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, P. Q., Canada.
3Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill Uni-
versity, Montreal, P. Q., Canada.
82
Copyright'~'~
Copyright by1965
ASTMby Int'l
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McCUTCHEON ET AL ON SHOCK-INDUCED SOIL-STRUCTURAL MOTION 83
the development of a gage to report free-field accelerations and a soil-

structure gage to report accelerations of the structure side of the interface.
The free-field-gage output is related analytically to actual ground mo-
tion using parameters of relative density and of a diameter-to-wavelength
ratio. Motions of the soil-structure interface under shock-induced loading
are described in terms of a simple mathematical model.
Experimental investigations have been carried out in the laboratory
using a soil bin equipped with a falling-weight apparatus to initiate the
shock. In the field, Forcite charges placed below ground level have been
used as the shock initiator. Experimental results of related work have been
reported by McCutcheon et al [1], 4 Allgood [2], and Heierli [3]. Selig
[4] has given an extensive bibliography of work in connection with wave-
propagation studies in soils.
Apparatus and Instrumentation

Free-Field Gage
The basic free-field gage is a sphere containing an accelerometer of the
piezoelectric type. The choice of the spherical shape facilitates mathe-
matical treatment of the interaction problem.
An analysis for the motion of a rigid sphere embedded in an elastic
solid medium subjected to plane harmonic waves has been made by Wolf
[5]. Wolf finds the ratio of the velocity of the sphere to the particle velocity
in the free field as:
U [1 -- ~ ( k a ) 2 + jka] e ~ha
V d
where:
U = sphere amplitude,
V = free-field amplitude,
d = 1 - (hk + ~ k 2 + 2/6h2)a 2 + j [ h + k - hka 2 ( l ~ k + 2/~ h)]a
-- (pm/9p,) [h2 + 2k 2 -- h2k2a 2 + j h k a ( h + 2k)]a 2,
j =C-l,
h = 27r/X,
k = 27r/X1,
X = wavelength of longitudinal waves,
Xl = wavelength of transverse waves,
a = radius of sphere,
p,~ = sphere mass density, and
p, = soil density.
From this analysis a series of curves has been constructed (Wolf [5],
Soldate and H o o k [6]) which relate gage and free-field amplitudes using
4The italic numbers in brackets refer to the list of references appended to this paper.
84 AND APPARATUSFOR SOILAND ROCK
INSTRUMENTS MECHANICS
sphere diameter-to-wavelength and mass-density ratios. To verify the
theoretical relationship, solid plastic spheres of three diameters: 2.19,
3.00 and 4.70 in. were used. Some test values were obtained with the
sphere masses as received; however most were obtained with the sphere
densities made equal to those of the sand medium by boring out or adding
lead plugs as required.
Soil-Structure Gage
The soil-structure gage shown in Fig. 1 consisted basically of a 4-in.
diameter cylindrical piston of varying mass moving as a free body within
~
~2__ -
< MOVINGHEAD
- y'-7-'-'~ACCELEROMETER
"~'! CYLINDER
i
,!:
,']
~LICAL SPRING
/ / - ~ _ - - ~ ~i`. 2 ~ POSITIONING PLATE
::::~ BASE PLATE
FIG. 1 Soil-structuregage schematic.
a steel cylinder against the action of a calibrated helical spring. The steel
cylinder had an inside diameter slightly larger than the piston and was
about 6 in. long. Springs with widely varying spring constants, from I0
to 250 lb/in., have been used, with some initial compression applied to
the piston in each case. Sliding surfaces were well lubricated and the
end was covered with a thin rubber membrane.
In each of the moving piston heads, a piezoelectric accelerometer was
mounted at the lower face of the disk and the lead brought out through
the bottom of the cylinder.
In the laboratory all accelerometer outputs were led directly to oscil-
loscopes with cameras. In the field, outputs were led to a cathode follower
within a few feet of the gage, followed by approximately 500 ft of cable,
an amplifier, and a multi-channel magnetic tape recorder. In subsequent

laboratory tests the effects of the 500-ft cable, amplifier, and cathode
followers on measured gage output were found to be negligible.
Soil Bin
Test work in the laboratory used a rigid-walled, cylindrical soil bin
approximately 42 in. diameter by 24 in. high. The soil was a very fine
sand that passed through a No. 20 sieve and was retained on a No. 100
sieve. It was placed dry and vibrated to a very dense state.
Blows were imparted to the surface of the sand by a weight falling freely
on an anvil and striker plate intended to distribute input compression
stresses uniformly at the surface of the soil. Most of the present series of
tests were made with vertically mounted gages at a depth of 6 in. The
bin is believed to offer reasonable representation of the unidimensional
nature of, for example, symmetrical air overpressure shock-loading.
In the field tests, the gages were mounted with horizontal axes at a
depth of approximately 12 in. The field soil may be described as medium
brown clay whose consistency limits under ordinary conditions were
WLL = 38 per cent, and WeL = 17 per cent. The field tests were conducted
during the spring thaw. Conditions of partial freezing and partial thaw
were encountered. Excess water from snow-cover melt rendered the top
few inches of soil relatively soft.
Theoretical Analysis of the Soft-Structure Gage

With the aid of some simplifying assumptions, the response of the soil-
structure element to an impulsive wave can be carried out in a straight-
forward manner. It is assumed that: the soil medium can be characterized
by a linear stress-strain law; the motion of the soil medium is unidimen-
sional, and the material of the head of the soil structure element is rigid
in comparison to the soil. The linear-locking soil model has been used
previously by Salvadori et al [7], Heierli [3] and Seaman [8]. In the present
series of laboratory tests, the soil was compacted by several weight drops
prior to test measurements. Thus the hysteresis effects present in the
loading-unloading cycle were considerably less than those which would
be present in the case of an impulsive wave passing through either a virgin
soil sample or a soil sample which had been subjected to a prior impulsive
wave of a lower stress level.
By placing the soil sample in a steel bin which prevented lateral motion
of the soil medium, and locating the gages in the center of the large bin
to minimize any sidewall effects, the wave incident upon the gages was
essentially unidimensional. Any three-dimensional edge effects which
might occur near the circumference of the head of the soil structure gauge
were neglected.
The modulus of elasticity for the material was chosen to be much greater
than that for the soil. Thus the head in the theoretical model was repre-
sented as a plane sheet of negligible thickness, but of finite mass per unit
area that moved as a rigid body in response to the impulsive wave.
Using these assumptions, the motion of the soil is governed by (Craggs
[91)
O~ _ c~ O~
Ot ~ Ox ~
where:
e = particle displacement, and
c = w / k = wave velocity.
- 0 X
LERATION
X
OCITY
-- 0 X
LACEMENT
FIG. 2-- A s s u m e d w a v e s h a p e s a t t = 0.
The motion of the head is determined by considering the boundary con-

dition at the interface or the soil and the head of" the soil-structure element,
x = 0. This condition is obtained by equating the stress to the product of
the mass per unit area of the head and its acceleration. Thus:
2 0~0 0~(
-p,c 07 = m Ot-~
03 = soil density,
m = mass per unit area of head, and
(0 = displacement at x = 0.
The assumption of maintained contact between the soil and the head at
the interface is implicit.
McCUTCHEON ET AL O N SHOCK-INDUCED SOIL-STRUCTURAL M O T I O N 87
The following wave shape was chosen to approximate the initial portion
of the observed impulsive wave (Fig. 2) :
): = w 2 sin ( w t - kx)
= w[1 - cos (wt - kx)]
f = (wt - kx) - sin ( w t - kx)
2.0
:,'t.o'~
1.5
z
0
I- ! y_-
,,<
I.d
--I
to
t3
1.0 ~/o~
U
< / / -x x \
13
la- /
to
'" 0,5
////
u)
////
/i/
0
0 -rr l 4 7r/2 art/4 7r
GJt RADIANS
FIG. 3 - - V a r i a t i o n of interface acceleration with head mass.
With these boundary conditions and assumed wave shape, the displace-
ment at x = 0 is found to be:
2
~o = 2 w t 1 q- y 2 [sin w t - Y cos wt]
2Y~ (e - w e / r - 1) -- 2Y
q - 1 q- Y--------q l q - y2
where u = 2 r r m / p , is a parameter of the system relating the effective

masses of the head and the soil. Thus the acceleration o f the head is
(Fig. 3):
2w 2
~0 - 1 + Y~ [sin w t - - Y cos w t -t- Y e -~~
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to License Ag
T A B L E 1--Free-Field Gage Data.
Gage No. Diam, D, in. 5lass, a g Density Ratio reD
1 2.19 I50 1.0 2.05

2 3.00 387 1.0 2.80
3 4.70 1,180 1.0 4.39
" Less h a r d w a r e .
T A B L E 2--Free-Field Experimental Results.
Gage No. TheoreticalFactor Peak Acceleration, Acceleration R i s e EqulvalentFree_Field

to Free Field g Time, m s e c Acceleration,g
1 0.78 70.7 0.10 92

2 0.61 53.1 0.10 90
3 0.37 36.4 0.10 99
~5
AMPLI - M
TUDE
RATIO
VI
Vo
1.0
Pm
Ps
O.
0.5
iI
2 3 4 ~d
FIG. 4 - - R e s p o n s e of rigid sphere to p-wave excitation.

88
McCUTCHEON ET AL O N SHOCK-INDUCED SOIL-STRUCTURAL M O T I O N 89
Experimental Data and Discussion

A series of tests designed to verify the theoretical motion characteristics
between the sphere and the free field was carried out. Gage properties
are given in Table l, and experimental results in Table 2.
In Table 1, p,,/p, is the ratio of the total sphere-accelerometer mass to
the mass of the displaced soil, and 7rD/k is calculated by estimating k
from the free-field rise time and the experimentally measured velocity of
wave propagation in the sand.
iO
THEORETICAL
CURVE
Z
0 #2
I-
<
w
w
U 0.(
U
<C
U
I=.
U
bJ
ft.
u')
<:
I.d
n
0.001
0.1 I.O I00
EFFECTIVE MASS RATIO Y
FIG. 5--Soil-structure gage--variation of peak acceleration with head mass.
In Fig. 4, the theoretical curve for p,,/m ratio of 1.0 is shown on a plot
of amplitude ratios against circumference-wavelength (rrD/k) ratios.
Ideal free-field measurement requires a gage of the same size and mass
as the sand particle (TrD/k ~ 0). The theoretical development first set
out by Wolf examines the motion of a rigid sphere embedded in an elastic
medium in which longitudinal waves are propagated. The three experi-
mental points have been plotted, assuming that their mean lies exactly on
the Wolf curve. Considering that the sand medium is not fully elastic and
the loading is impulsive rather than harmonic, the trend of the points is
exceptionally close to the Wolf curve in the region studied. Therefore it was
felt reasonable to use this curve to establish free-field amplitudes.
Wolf's analysis shows that the relevant dimensionless parameter is the
ratio of the sphere diameter to the incident wavelength (D/k). It should
1"3
-- r
x b
1,9
l.d 2,0~ m2.0~-
~) ,-~ "r
Z / " HEAD
- ,,'~ Z
l.- " 1...N
Z / F- /
,,i @ Z .'''HEAD
'~ 1.0 z"~ " E "-''~
E FIELD
.j < i ,ELD
11. i ~, ..J
E g
os -- 2o 0,5 I.O TIME
mS mS
# I SOIL-STRUCTURE #2 SOIL-STRUCTURE
'o 1, ro A
ffl
b
2.o;
I
z o
z
_~FREE FIELD I F / Z " F RE 'E~EF I FIE
R LD
, 7 LOt-
i a~ 4:
! HEAD.~- ~ J
7 HEAD_~
0.5 1.0 TIME 0.5 [0 TIME

mS mS
"# 3 SOIL-STRUCTURE #4 SOIL-STRUCTURE
FIG. 6 - Free field a n d m o v i n g head displacements.
be pointed out that, where the ratio of sphere density to soil density is 1,
when D/X << 1, then the sphere follows the motion of the free field. Thus
the measured motion of the sphere gives an accurate indication of the
free field motion. This situation (when D/X << 1) is easily obtained with
moderate sphere diameter ( ~ 2 in.) for field tests since here the wavelength
is quite large.
In laboratory tests where the wavelength is short so that D/X is of the
order of 1, the sphere does not follow exactly the motion of the free field.
However, the free field velocity, for example, may be obtained from curves
similar to those presented by Wolf.
In the laboratory, four soil-structure gages with widely varying moving
masses have been investigated. Values of the parameter Y are estimated as
follows:
McCUTCHEON ET AL ON SHOCK-INDUCED SOIL-STRUCTURALMOTION 91
HeadNo. Y
1 ................. 2.5
2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.6
3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.6
4................. 38.0
Figure 3 shows the family of curves obtained theoretically for selected

values of Y from 0 to 60. It may be observed that for small values of Y
(small unit mass, large X, or both) the amplitude ratio tends to be 2, corre-
sponding to a reflection at a free end, and the peaks occur at the same time.
IU "~J #~ S;HERE, #7 BLAST L~ 1,'~ 1~ '1 ,| / ~YSO~.J'L_STRUCTURE

50 mS/CM V # 7 BLAST, 50mS/CM
#l SPHERE,##7BLAST ~ ~ ISOIL-STRUCTURE
20 mS/CM ~-7 BLAST, 20 mS/CM
, , h , i i L i i i i
VV~J v-"
# I SPHERE, #9 BLAST Y ~ #:I SOIL-STRUCT~URE
20 mS/CM ~9 BLAST. 20 mS/CM
FIG. 7 Field trial acceleration traces.
As Y increases in value, the peaks are of reduced magnitude and occur

later, that is, the rise time is extended. This pattern was observed in the
laboratory, see Ref. [1].
The ratios of peak head to free-field accelerations obtained from Fig. 3
are plotted in Fig. 5 against the parameter Y. Experimental data obtained
in the laboratory for the four heads are also shown on Fig. 6. The devia-
tions of the observed data are believed to be in part due to nonlinear in-
elastic behavior of the sand medium, and in part due to edge effects arising
from the intrusive presence of the gage in the sand medium.
A series of field trials were carried out at the Highwater Station of the
McGill Space Research Institute in March 1965, using 7.5 lb, 75 per cent
Forcite charges buried at shallow depths as the shock-initiator. Typical
acceleration traces of Free-Field Gage No. 1 and Soil-Structure Gage No.
l are shown retraced in Fig. 7. Examples of velocity-time profiles obtained
from the acceleration traces are shown in Fig. 8a. Figure 8b shows for
comparison velocity-time profiles obtained in the laboratory for the same
gages.
It has been observed before that particle velocities are probably the most
useful property in defining ground shock produced by explosions. In the
VELOCITy /,,.x. # SOIL- ~ 1 SPHERE

IN/SEC / ~ STRUCTURE//
~, ~,'
l i!
II J/tl I
0 / 75 I00 125 mS
B('O) FIELD TRIAL
8(b) LABORATORY
4h /1 '1
VELOCITY "..# I SOIL-STRUCTURE
IN/SEC
o'2 o'4- o'6- o8 - ' m.5
FIG. 8 Veloci|y4ime relationships for laboratory and field trials.
laboratory tests, the applied impulse is of very short duration and the
effect of the spring used on head response may be neglected. In the field
trials, the duration of the impulse is of the same order as the natural period
of the head mass and spring. In the conditions of the field trials, the mass-
acceleration of the head and the restoring spring force are of comparable
magnitude and require modification of the theoretical model to include
the spring restoring force. Further field trials in different soil media with
other shock-initiators are scheduled.
Acknowledgments
This study was s u p p o r t e d by the C a n a d i a n Defence Research B o a r d
in c o n j u n c t i o n with the E m e r g e n c y M e a s u r e s Organization. The a u t h o r s
are indebted to their colleague A. J. Reynolds, who p a r t i c i p a t e d through-
o u t the project, and to research students V. P. G u p t a and S. J. Windisch.
References
[1] J. O. McCutcheon, R. N. Yong, and A. J. Reynolds, "Interaction of Shock Waves
with Buried Structures," Paper presemed at Am. Soc. Civil Engr. Structural Con-
ference, New York, October 1964 and submitted to Am. Soc. Civil Engr., Mech.
Div. for publication.
[2] J. R. Allgood, "Blast Loading of Small Buried Structures," J. Structure Div., Am.
Soc. Civil Engrs., Vol. 90, No. ST5, October, 1964, pp. 39-6l.
[3] W. Heierli, "Inelastic Wave Propagation in Soil Columns," J. Soil Mech. Found
Div., Am. Soc. Civil Engrs., Vol. 88, SM 6, December, 1962, pp. 33-63.
[4] E. T. Selig, "Shock Induced Stress Wave Propagation in Sand," Ph.D. Thesis,
Illinois Inst. of Tech., January, 1964.
[5] A. Wolf, "Motion of Rigid Sphere in an Acoustic Wave Field," Geophysics, Vol. 10,
No. 1, January, 1945, pp. 91-109.
[6] A. M. Soldate and J. F. Hook, "A Theoretical Study of Structure-Medium Interac-
tion," Air Res. and Dev. Com., Kirkland AFB, New Mexico, AFSWC-TN-61-6,
November, 1961.
[7] M. Salvadori, R. Skalak, and P. Weidlinger, "Waves and Shocks in Locking and
Dissipative Media," Transactions, Am. Soc. Civil Engrs., Vol. 126, Part 1, pp. 305-
333.
[8] L. Seaman, "Propagation of Dynamic Stresses in Soil," Proceedings', Syrnp. on
Soil-Struc. Inter., University of Arizona, September 1964, pp. 98-104.
[9] J. W. Craggs, "Plastic Waves," Progr. in Solid Mech., North Holland Publishing
Co., Vol. II, Amsterdam, 1961, pp. 143-197.
George C. Rouse, 1 Joe T. Richardson, '~ and
Dewayne L. Misterek a
Measurement of Rock Deformations in

Foundations for Mass Concrete Dams
KEY WORDS: rock mechanics, measuring instruments, con-

crete dams, arch dams, deformation, foundations, modulus
of elasticity, settlement (structuraL), rock (material)
ABSTRACT: Three types of gages suitable for long-term

rock deformation measurements have been developed. These
gages were installed in foundation or abutment rock for mass
concrete dams. Components of the gages used for indicating
rock deformations are mechanical or electrical instruments.
The measured results of 24 rock deformation gages having
lengths ranging from 20 to 256 feet are reported. These results
are used to determine (1) differential settlements beneath grav-
ity structures, (2) deformation moduli of foundation rock, or
(3) relative compression in abutment rock.
REFERENCE: G. C. Rouse, J. T. Richardson, and D. L.

Misterek, "Measurement of Rock Deformations in Founda-
tions for Mass Concrete Dams," Instruments and Apparatus
./br Soil and Rock Mechanics A S T M STP 392, Am. Soc. Test-
ing Mats., 1965, pp. 94-114.
It is generally agreed that designers of mass-concrete dams are more

proficient in providing a suitable design for a dam t h a n in assessing the
structural adequacy of the rock mass on which the d a m will be supported.
i Head, Structural Behavior Unit, Division of Design, Bureau of Reclamation,

U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Denver, Colo.
Supervising structural engineer, Structural Behavior Unit, Division of Design,
Bureau of Reclamation, U. S. Department of the Interior. Denver, Colo.
a Structural engineer, Structural Behavior Unit, Division of Design, Bureau of Recla-
mation, U. S. Department of the Interior, Denver, Colo_
94
Copyright
Copyright@by ASTM
1965 Int'l (all
by ASTM rights reserved);www.astm.org
Intenational Wed Nov 25 18:06:05 EST 2015
ROUSE ET AL ON ROCK DEFORMATIONS IN DAM FOUNDATIONS 95
The reason for this probably stems from the fact that in past years only
those sites which were known from experience to be structurally adequate
were considered acceptable as sites for large concrete dams. On the other
hand, sites in formations which did not meet all of the established require-
ments for a good dam site were generally bypassed.
At the present time in the United States and Europe, few good dam
sites remain. Consequently, future concrete dams will have to be located
on rock formations which do not meet all of the requirements for a good
dam site. For such locations, it will be necessary for engineers to establish
beyond all reasonable doubt that foundation and abutment rock will be
stable when subjected to forces and other conditions produced by a dam
and a reservoir. To do this, field and laboratory investigations will have
to be extended beyond those presently considered sufficient for establishing
the adequacy of a good dam site.
For many years the Bureau of Reclamation has recognized the need for
additional information on the behavior of rock at dam sites. One of the
investigations being made to obtain information on the behavior of a rock
mass under load is the measurement of foundation and abutment deforma-
tions for concrete dams. This paper discusses three types of instruments
which have been, or are presently being used to make these measurements.
Rock-deformation data are used to investigate the validity of design
criteria and to provide information on the stability of foundation and
abutment rock. Design criteria which can be checked by means of founda-
tion-deformation measurements are the values of rock moduli used in
structural analyses of arch dams?
Designs of mass-concrete arch dams built by the Bureau of Reclamation
are based on stress analyses made by the trial-load method. This method
takes into account deformations produced in foundation and abutment
rock by loads imposed by the dam [1]? These deformations, which are
dependent on the rock modulus assumed for the analysis, can have a
marked influence on the computed stresses for an arch dam.
Values for rock moduli (E-values) assumed in the stress analysis studies
have been determined by laboratory tests on rock cores. In recent years
these data have been supplemented by moduli obtained from rock-defor-
mation data measured during in-situ jacking tests performed in abutment
exploratory tunnels, following European techniques [2].
This modulus has been referred to as either the "modulus of elasticity" or the "de-
formation modulus" of rock. To avoid misunderstanding in this discussion, the term
"modulus of elasticity" will refer to the ratio of stress to elastic strain, and "deformation
modulus" will refer to the ratio of stress to unit deformation where only a portion of
the total deformation is recoverable upon release of load. In line with this definition,
moduli based on laboratory tests on rock cores or on seismic wave speeds will be called
moduli of elasticity. Moduli based on deformations produced by static loads on a rock
mass in situ will be referred to as deformation moduli.
5The italic numbers in brackets refer to the list of references at the end of this paper.
For the same rock, it has been found that the rock modulus based on
core data is generally much higher than that found by in-situ testing [2-41.
One reason for this difference may be that site tests are made on a portion
of the rock mass which contains geologic discontinuities. Such discon-
tinuities are seldom found, however, in core specimens suitable for labora-
tory investigations.
Because of the relatively large differences in rock moduli based on data
from tests on laboratory core specimens and from in-situ field-bearing
tests, it is important to determine which of the two testing methods fur*
nishes values of this quantity in line with those for dam foundations and
abutments. In an attempt to make this determination, E-values for dam
foundations have been computed from deformations measured in rock
FIG. l Spillway structure (1<17)and intake structure (right), Davis Dam.
beneath Yellowtail and Glen Canyon Dams. The results of the rock de-
formation study for Glen Canyon Dam are given in Ref [2]. Those for
Yellowtail D a m are discussed in this paper.
To compute E-values from measured foundation deformations, a rock
mass is assumed to be a semi-infinite elastic solid loaded on its free surface
[51. For the solution to this problem, Boussinesq's relations are employed.
Initially, computations of E-values were made by means of Newmark's
influence charts [6]. Since the application of these charts for routine com-
putation is time-consuming, values for the moduli of the rock beneath
Davis and Yellowtail Dams were computed by automatic data processing
methods.
The first installation of rock-deformation gages by the Bureau of Rec-
lamation was made in 1947 under the spillway and intake structures for
Davis Dam (Fig. 1). This dam, an earth and rockfill structure, is located
on the Colorado River about 60 miles downstream from Hoover Dam.
The spillway and intake structures are situated on good-to-poor rock for-
mations, consisting of fractured gneissic material. Portions of the founda-

tion rock contain crushed zones and fault gouge. In addition, clay pockets
and seams are generally scattered throughout the rock mass. Although
extensive grouting was done in an attempt to consolidate the rock, some
concern was felt at the time of construction that as the foundation was
loaded, it might undergo appreciable nonuniform settlement. This condi-
FIG. 2--Aerial view of Yellowtail Dam constructed to about elevation 3560.
tion could produce undesirable stresses in the structures and result in

damage to the water stops. The purpose of the deformation gages was to
obtain measured data on the increase in foundation settlement during
construction and also on the rate of settlement from year to year for ap-
proximately a 10-year period following construction.
The second type of rock-deformation gage was installed in the founda-
tion for Yellowtail Dam (Fig. 2), a 525-ft-high mass-concrete arch struc-
ture located on the Big Horn River near Hardin, Mont. This gage is similar
to that used at Davis Dam, except that an electrical measuring device is
employed for obtaining indications of foundation movements. Yellowtail

Dam is situated on a rather dense rock within the Madison limestone for-
mations. The rock is moderately jointed and has some shear zones in
addition to a few solution cavities. One of the reasons for installing defor-
mation gages beneath this structure was to obtain data which could be
used to determine the lbundation modulus of the rock mass.
FIG. 3 -Aerial view of Glen Canyon Dam.
A third type of rock-deformation gage was installed in each of four

abutment tunnels at Glen Canyon Dam (Fig. 3), a 710 ft-high mass-con-
crete arch dam located on the Colorado River. This structure is supported
by a rather soft homogeneous rock called Navajo sandstone. Following
completion of grouting of the contraction joints in the dam, it was expected
that the annual variation in the loads transferred to the abutments by the
top arches would result in permanent set in the rock. If this permanent set
were appreciable, then horizontal loads normally carried by the top arches
would be transferred by shear to the lower arches. Since this condition was
~butment wall
- -LL
i
-- ~-~ ...... ~ - ~ L -
~ [ I ' II IIilSp#rlw~ I
II l :: s5 I
Intake structurel , ~ [
i I I ! I I '~ ;/" Ungrouted joints
PLAN
-El 655
~ !2--El 597
, \\
D z"
El 513 i1
7r- : rr
SECTION B-B SECTION A-A
FIG. 4--Plan and sections of Davis Dam spillway and intake structures showing
location of rock deformation gages.
one that was not acceptable to the designers, it was decided to compensate
for a permanent set in the rock by providing a means of regrouting vertical
contraction joints located in the top arches near each abutment. One of
the purposes of the tunnel-deformation gages was to provide data which
could be used to determine at what time regrouting of the abutment con-
traction joints would be necessary.
The body of this paper includes a description of the three rock deforma-
tion gages previously mentioned, and the results of rock deformations
measured at Davis, Yellowtail, and Glen Canyon Dams.
]00 INSTRUMENTS A N D APPARATUS FOR SOIL A N D R O C K M E C H A N I C S
Instrumentation
Gages suitable for measuring deformations within foundation rock sup-
porting a mass-concrete dam should be designed so that they can be in-
stalled by construction personnel. In addition, they should be stable for
long4erm measurements. Since the gages are usually read by nontechnical
,Gage heart a
~ "x . . . . ~ - )tn l o~c k o u in

, -Lg0,,er, ,o,,
Mass c o n c r e t e , ' . . . . 1 > _ i
of structure "
I~ galvanized
cover pipe ,~
o
Void filled --~

with grout, o
~ockmg
qi0nd
]" Galvanized
extension pipe, End of
BX casing
NX hole-
_...~-Anchor .
FIG. 5--Rock deformation gage installed at Davis Dam spillway and intake struc-
tures.
personnel after a dam has been placed in service, simple instruments are
preferred for obtaining rock-deformation data. The three types of gages
mentioned in the subsequent paragraphs generally satisfy the above condi-
tions.
Davis Dam Deformation Gages

Twelve foundation-deformation gages were installed at Davis Dana,
seven under the spillway and five under the intake structure. The locations
of these instruments, together with the gage lengths, are shown in Fig. 4.
All gages were installed in cased NX holes drilled vertically into the founda-
tion rock.
Each gage (Fig. 5) was fabricated from six principal components: an
anchor, a packing gland, a -]-in. galvanized extension pipe, a 189 gal-
vanized cover pipe, and two gage heads (A and B in Fig. 5). When assem-
FIG. 6--Gage heads in gallery blockout for Davis Dam spillway.
bling the gage, the lengths of the extension and cover pipes were connected
piece-by-piece with couplings before lowering the pipes into the hole. Fol-
lowing the installation of these components the extension pipe anchor,
a -]-in. pipe tee, was embedded by pouring cement grout through the
extension pipe. After this grout had set, the void between the outside of
the cover pipe and the inside of the casing was also filled with grout. To do
this, the grout was poured into the void from the collar of the hole. The
packing gland prevented grout from rising in the space between the out-
side of the extension pipe and the inside of the cover pipe.
Each gage terminates in a blockout located in the wail of a foundation

gallery (Fig. 6). Within this area, one gage head is attached to the upper
end of the extension pipe and the other to the mass concrete in the struc-
ture. The relative movement between the gage heads is indicated by a
long-range 0.001-in. dial gage.
9 . i
dointmeter
I
I
i i ~Mass concrete
J 'z 9 dam
ton sFeeve
1 bellows
~t meter
:ket
/Ole
cased)
IvanJzed
DSIOD pipe
- Sand-cement
grout
Anchor
FIG. 7--Rock deformation gage installed at Yellowtail Dam.
So that the dial gage can be reset if disturbed, individual measurements

of movements between the gage heads can also be made between anvils
a and b of Fig. 5, by means of an inside micrometer. Since the sum of these
two measurements is a constant, an error in making a micrometer reading
can be detected.
Yetlowtail Dam Deformation Gages"

The foundation-deformation gages installed at Yellowtail D a m (Fig. 7)
are similar to those described above for Davis Dana. There are three main
differences between these two installations. These are: (1) gage lengths are
20, 40, and 60 ft, respectively; (2) foundation holes are not cased, nor is
each extension pipe enclosed in a cover pipe; and (3) indications of rock
deformations are obtained by means of an electrical gage having an un-
bonded resistance-wire transducer.
PLAN
) E~, 3660---~%_ (
r..
i.
i9
!i.Electrical cables 1"o
,' i2~erminol boofd in
',[~ golfery
~#Deformoti0n
-'" ;z'5-- F~ rnefers
4ZO 'D 6 0 7 "ZG'
60'0~ 40' 40' 8
60' 60' 60'
Of.. BLOCK II ~_ BLOCK ~4 ~_ BLOCK 17

FI~, 8--Plan and section of Yellowtail Dam showing location of rock-deformation
gages,
Nine deformation gages were installed beneath Yellowtail Dam. As

shown in Fig. 8, three of these instruments are located below the base of
each of three cantilever elements, with one near the heel, another near the
toe, and a third at the approximate midpoint of the base. Gages having
the same lengths are installed in different relative locations for each canti-
lever.
The Yellowtail Dam foundation-deformation gages were fabricated
from three main components: an anchor in the form of a pipe reducer,
a 88 galvanized extension pipe, and a jointmeter similar to that used
104 INSTRUMENTS A N D APPARATUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
in mass-concrete dams to detect movements of contraction joints. When

each gage was installed in the hole, wood spacer strips were attached along
the extension pipe to center it within the hole.
The electrical transducer used for indicating changes in length of the
deformation gage will measure displacements over a range of 0.500 in. to
a precision of 0.001 in. {7]. As previously stated, this component is based
on the unbonded-resistance-wire principle. Transducers of this type have
been used for about 35 years for structural-behavior instruments embedded
<~ / / \.\ (. !f, 3t
El.3630 ~ - ~ - - , .... ~,
PLAN
El 3 / ' 5
El 3 6 3 b !0~ 15 k~, 2~: L 3L3 '
I
,[ .._
,E, 37g T.~ 3 4 8 0
i
LEFT A BUTME NT~' ."RIGHr ~,BUTMENT

/
\
\ /
/"
jr
ELEVATION
Flo. 9 Plan and elevation of Glen Canyon Dam.
in mass-concrete dams constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation. These

transducers have been found to be stable instruments for long-tern] meas-
urements.
Basically, the transducer has two coils made of fine, cold-drawn, carbon-
steel wire. One is called the expansion coil and the other the contraction
coil. When wound, these coils are subjected to a residuaI tension. If the
meter is shortened, tension (and resistance) in the expansion coil is re-
duced, and conversely, tension (and resistance) in the contraction coil is
increased. The change in length of a meter is directly proportional to a
change in the resistance ratio of the two coils. Temperature of the meter
may be obtained by measuring the resistance sum of the two coils. Both of
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepci
rn
O
Z
t'5
O
Z
t-
Z
(1) Surveyor's tape. z

t~
(2) Deflector.
(3) Tape hanger.
FIG. 10---Tape gage on tunnel wall, 50-ft tape span, Glen Canyon Dam. o
t~
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to License Agreement. No further reproductions authorize
these measurements are obtained by means of a battery-powered test

set containing a Wheatstone-bridge circuit. For jointmeters such as those
used to indicate rock deformations, each coil is tensioned by a small spring.
By increasing the stiffness of these springs, an increase in sensitivity and a
reduction in the range of the meter results.
(l) Tape (floating end).

(2) Tape (fixed end).
(3) Surveyor's tension handle.
(4) Micrometer.
Fic. 11--Measuring head for tape gage, Glen Canyon Dam.
The Yellowtail D a m rock-deformation gage has one main advantage:

all indicated deformations are produced entirely within the rock, since
the top of the gage is embedded in the concrete at the rock contact. This
same condition does not exist at Davis Dam. Here, a portion of the total
measured deformation is contributed by deformation of mass concrete
below the gallery where the gages terminate.
Glen Canyon Dam Deformation Gages

Rock-deformation gages were installed at Glen Canyon D a m in two
abutment tunnels in each canyon wall. These tunnels, which are located
about 85 and 235 ft, respectively, below the crest of the dam, extend into
the rock mass from the keyways (Fig. 9). The tunnels are excavated normal
to the centerline of the canyon and have a slope equal to 0.01.
The principal components of each gage (Fig. 10) are: a surveyor's tape
having a temperature coefficient of expansion equal to 0.22 X 10-6 per
deg F, and a measuring head (Fig. 11). Three gages are installed in series
in each tunnel. These gages measure rock movements over a total length
of 225 ft, with the first reference point about 10 ft from the face of the key-
way. Within this 225-ft distance, rock movements are found for tape spans
equal to 50, 75, and 100 ft, respectively.
All components of a tape gage are installed on a tunnel wall about 5 ft
above the floor. Each of the three tapes is supported at one end by a spring-
loaded yoke, and at the other end by a fixture which is attached solidly to
the rock. The tapes are supported at about 20-ft intervals by hangers.
When making a measurement with this device, two operations are neces-
sary. First, the tape is pretensioned to 30 lb by adjusting the lengths of the
yoke springs (surveyor's tension handles). Second, the micrometer is ad-
justed until the spindle is within about 0.001 in. from the steel ball at-
tached to the yoke. This last step is accomplished by connecting a 1.5-v
flashlight battery, a 3000-ohm resistor, and a milliammeter in series with the
yoke and the micrometer. The micrometer is insulated from the yoke. A
slight movement of the milliameter indicates that the micrometer has been
positioned properly for making a reading. Each measuring head is pro-
tected from dripping water and rock spalls by a metal deflector. Compo-
nents of the tape gages are fabricated from cadmium-plated steel, stainless
steel, brass, or nylon.
Results of Rock-Deformation Measurements

The subsequent discussions of the results from rock-deformation meas-
urements made at Davis, Yellowtail, and Glen Canyon Dams are divided
into three topics: (1) effect of long-term loading on foundation deforma-
tions, (2) deformation moduli of a rock mass, and (3) abutment-rock
deformations.
With regard to these discussions, it is important to point out that the
observations presented are restrictive and therefore subject to limited in-
terpretation. Suitable conclusions on the behavior of loaded rock masses
in general must be deferred until foundation-deformation data are availa-
ble for many types of formations.
Long-Term Deformation
As indicated by structural-behavior measurements made for mass-con-
crete arch dams under full or partial reservoir heads, foundation and
abutment rock generally continues to deform for several years after a dam
has been placed in service. This condition was not observed at Davis Dam,
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepci
]08 INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
CONCRETE---.
660
640 -
620
~) 600
580
Ua
i~J 560
540
WATER
520
5OO
48O
1948 ':"
1949
]"' '; ' " 1
1950
IIIlIIIlllll
1951
h '!
1958
,111 1
LOAD
NOTE
050
See F i g u r e 4 f o r l o c a t i o n of r o c k
deformation gages
Em d e n o t e s d e f o r m a t i o n m o d u l u s .
040
I
z ~ z
0 0.30
s 0 20
010 -- / / ' ~ "'-- G A G E $6
S l I
:,' I I ! I I I I ~ I I I
1948 1949 1950 1951 1958
FOUNDATION DEFORMATIONS
FEB. I, 1952 J A N . I, 19.58

GAGE LENGTH
NO. ft DEFORMAT~ONin I Era, psi DEFORMATIONin. Em , psi
A3 175 0 120 t 0 80xlO 6 0080 120 X 106

PI 183 0 210 091 O. IB3 104.
P3 144 0 310 055 O. 285 059
P5 256 0 290 0.86 O. 2 6 0 0.96
s~ 149 0330 0 52 0.510 0.55
$6 161 0.170 074 0 137 093
54 164 0210 0 58 O. 167 0.73
S3A 159 O. 340 0.35 0 340 0.55
160 O. 137 085 0131 O. 89
$7 160 0.225 019 O. 250 017

$5 J62 0310 019 0 39C 0 15
S3B 165 0303 0 13 0 347 0.12
FIG. 12 Foundation derormations, [)avis Dam spillway and intake structures.
however. As shown by the curves and tabulation on Fig. 12, the founda-
tion continued to deform during the construction of the spillway and
intake structures and thereafter until 1951 when the storage of water in
the reservoir was begun. From this time on, a gradual decrease in deforma-
tion was measured at all upstream gages for the two structures, that is,
Gages A3, P1, P3, P5, $6, $4, and S1. The downstream gages under the
spillway, on the other hand, showed an increase in deformation during the
same period
The behavior of the foundation rock below the spillway may be ac-
counted for by:
1. A reduction in pressure under the heel of the spillway and intake
structures, and an increase in pressure under the toe as a result of reservoir
head. (What effect the weight of the water on the rock mass upstream from
the spillway had on the overall deformation of the foundation rock is not
evident from the measured data.)
2. Poor-quality rock under the toe of the spillway. Measurement of
seismic compression-wave velocities made in the foundation rock before
concrete was placed in the spillway and intake structures indicated that
the quality of rock under the two structures was about the same, except
under the toe of the spillway. At this location there is an outcrop of rhyo-
lite porphyry. The speed of the compression wave in the rhyolite porphyry
was found to be about 1400 ft/sec, which is very low for any type of rock.
The measured foundation deformations at Davis Dam indicate that the
differential settlement between the spillway and intake structures is not
excessive. This is desirable since excessive relative movements along the
joints separating the spillway and intake structures could rupture the water
stops which resist the total reservoir head across the joint.
Deformation Moduli
To determine values for deformation moduli of a rock mass, it is as-
sumed that the mass behaves under load in the same manner as a semi-
infinite elastic solid loaded on its free surface. Since this same assumption
is made in the trial-load method used in the design of mass-concrete dams,
it seems reasonable to expect that computed and measured foundation
and abutment deformations would agree if the deformation modulus used
in the analysis were approximately equal to that based on foundation-
deformation data.
To compute deformation moduli from deformation measurements made
in a rock mass, theory of elasticity relations developed by Boussinesq are
used. In addition to rock deformation, the variables required for a solution
are: depth of measurement below the free surface, Poisson's ratio, and the
distribution of load on the surface. The depth and relative location of the
measurement are known for each gage. Poisson's ratio is assumed equal
to that found by laboratory tests on rock cores. For the distribution of
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concep
3700I
~6~o
z B500
2
9~ 3400 i CONCRETE ..
>
I.d I "4
._z ,
w 3~ooq4
No storage in reservoir
3200 i
, ~ - - ~
1963 1964
LOAD
NOTE
012 ] See Figure8 for Iocation of gages ~-,A f"
010
1q, i
Em denotes deformation modulus
Z :>
~Ld 0.08
_-t ~ GAGE 0 4 - , , , , "// ' ~
~ / k ~ 4 >- GAGE D 5 - .
~ - ~ 0o6
g~ , ,y _ ~;~
/ %
DO 0.02 l ~ / GAGE D6 j
i ~ A ~ S 0 T N~D~J} ~F~M ~A TM 1 J ~ J [ A [ S 0 1 NW O
I
1963 1964
FOUNDATION DEFORMATIONS
i JAN. 7, 1 9 6 4 NOV. 20~ 1964

GAGE LENGTH
NO. ft. DE FORMATION DFFORMATION
in. Em , psi E m , psi
in.
DI 20 . .. Gage inoperative
D2 40 O01I 55 x I06 0027 4 5 x 106
a3 60 00~3 4.4 0018 3.1
04 60 0075 1.2 0125 14
D5 20 0034 09 0 054 1.2
06 40 0 037 09 0.048 0.6
07 40 0044 12 0073 17
08 60 0060 14 0100 1.8
09 20 0.026 06 0.037 04
FIG. 13--Foundation deformations, Yellowtail Dam.
08
~e 0
o
toe~
0 tm 0 0 8
U.
Ld
~ ~Cn
I-- 0 o
Z 0 ~
UJ 008
I--
0
0
008
0 0
F-
016
LEFT ABUTMENT RIGHT ABUTMENT
ELEVAT I0 N 3 6 3 0 NOTE: See Figure 9

for Iocotion of goges
~c.O
;2. 0 o
u,,) CD',
0 0 0 08
I--
~ m 0
o~ ~0
<[ uo 0
0 0O8
0
IL
~c.O
o 0 o 0
c~ I~
I--
Z
- 0 OB - 008
0{5 "
W
:s
m
--
4-
008
-- 008 -t-
o
}- 0 16 eE 016
S 0 N D Jig
I 964 1965
LEFT ABUTMENT RIGHT ABUTMENT
ELEVATION 3480
FIc. 14--Abutment deformations, Glen Canyon Dam.
load on the free surface, the loaded area is divided into small elements of
area. The load on each element is taken equal to the weight of the column
of concrete (or water) above it. It is realized that some of the above assump-
tions may not represent the actual conditions for a dam foundation and
therefore may be subject to discussion. However before assumptions can
be made which represent conditions existing in foundation rock for dams,
additional field measurements will be necessary.
Textbook discussions of the Boussinesq problem usually include solu-
tions for a uniformly distributed load applied to circular or square areas.
For such conditions, deformation-moduli values can be obtained without
too much effort. These conditions are not found, however, in foundations
supporting mass concrete dams. To compute deformation moduli for dam
foundations where the loaded area is not regular and the load distribution
is generally not uniform, numerical integration is required.
Initially, foundation moduli were computed from measured foundation
deformations by the aid of influence charts. Since considerable time was
required to arrive at the desired solution by this method, the problem was
set up for computation by automatic data processing equipment. The
values of deformation moduli given in Figs. 12 and 13 were determined by
this means.
A comparison of deformation inoduli given in Fig. 13 with similar
quantities found by jacking tests in Table 1, Ref [2], indicates that jacking-
test moduli are about 189 times higher than those obtained from deforma-
tion-gage data. Average moduli of elasticity based on laboratory tests on
core specimens, on the other hand, are about five times higher than the
average of the deformation moduli listed in the table in Fig. 13. Since
laboratory and field test data are not available for the foundation rock
under the spillway and intake structures at Davis Dam, comparisons simi-
lar to those above cannot be made.
Abutment Deformations
As shown in Fig. 14, the abutment deformation measurements at Glen
Canyon Dam have been made for a one-year period. Consequently, suffi-
cient measured data are not available to arrive at conclusions on the be-
havior of Navajo sandstone abutment rock under thrust and shear loads
produced by the dam. Adequate measurements are available, nevertheless,
to indicate that the rock was subjected to a greater compression in Feb-
ruary 1965 than it was in February 1964. It is believed that the residual
compression in the rock is the result of a rise in average temperature in the
arches above elevation 3480. This observation can also be substantiated
by the fact that plumbline measurements in the dam indicate that the top
of the crown cantilever has moved 0.6 in. upstream during the same period.
Consequently, regrouting of the abutment contraction joints for the top
arches will not be necessary for the present time.
Conclusions
Three types of rock deformation gages have been developed that are
suitable for measuring deformations in foundation and abutment rock
supporting mass-concrete dams. Although the measured values of rock
movements indicated by these gages appear to be satisfactory, further in-
vestigations are needed to obtain the magnitude of errors in gage readings
as a result of the following conditions:
1. Changes in rock temperatures.
2. Changes in concrete deformations produced by load and temperature

variations for installations where gages terminate in a gallery remote from
the rock contact.
Drilled holes in which rock-deformation gages are installed should be

cased to prevent bonding of extension pipes to the rock during grouting of
the foundation and abutments. The data given in the table of Fig. 13 indi-
cate that grout may have entered the holes for gages D2 and D3.
By assuming that the rock mass supporting a concrete dam is a semi-
infinite elastic solid, it was possible to compute values of deformation
moduli for foundation rock from measured deformations. For this solu-
tion it was further assumed that the load on an element of area within the
total loaded area is equal to the weight of the column of concrete above it,
and that Poisson's ratio for the rock mass is equal to the value of that
quantity found by laboratory tests on rock-core specimens. Since both of
these assumptions may be in error, further investigations are needed to
determine the distribution of vertical stress on the base of a dam and also
to obtain information on values of Poisson's ratio for a rock mass. Com-
putations of deformation moduli for different values of Poisson's ratio
indicate that an increase of 0.1 in Poisson's ratio results in about a 15 per
cent decrease in the value of the deformation modulus for gage depths
equal to 20 ft, and that this percentage is reduced for gage lengths greater
than 20 ft.
In addition to indicating relative compression in abutment rock, defor-
mation-gage measurements provide information on the relative stability
of the rock.
Acknowledgment
The automatic data processing method for computing deformation
moduli from measured rock deformations was developed by W. T. Moody
and B. M. Bunger. L. H. Roehm provided the values of deformation
moduli and other computed data included in this paper. These engineers
as well as the authors are on the staff of Chief Engineer B. P. Bellport of
the Bureau of Reclamation.
References
[1] Bureau of Reclamation, "Trial Load Method of Analyzing Arch Dams," Bulletin
1, Part V, Technical Investigations, Boulder Canyon Project, Final Reports, 1938, pp.
41-62.
[2] Oscar L. Rice, "In-Situ Testing of Foundation and Abutment Rock for Dams,"
Question 28, Report 5, Eighth Congress of Large Dams, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1964.
[3] Manuel Rocha, J. Laginha Serafim, and A. Ferreira da Silveira, "Deformability of
Foundation Rocks," Question No. 18, Report 75, Fifth Congress of Large Dams,
Paris, 1955.
[4] Guido Oberti, "Experimentelle Untersuchungen uber die Charakteristika der Ver-
formbarkeit der Felsen," Geologic und Bauwesen, Vol. 25, Nos. 2 and 3, 1960, pp.
95-113.
[5] S. Timoshenko and J. N. Goodier, Theory o/'Elastic'ity, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill Book
Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., 1951.
[6] Nathan M. Newmark, "Influence Charts lbr Computation of Vertical Displacements
in Elastic Foundations," Bullelitt No. 367, University of Illinois Engineering Ex-
periment Station, University of Illinois, 1947.
[7] J. M. Raphael and R. W. Carlson, Measurement oJ'Structural Action #t Dams,
James J. Gillick and Co., Berkeley, Calif, 1956.
S. D. Wilson 1 a n d C. W. Hancock, Jr. 2
Instrumentation for Movements Within

Rockfill Dams
KEY WORDS: rock mechanics, rockfill dams, inclino-

meters, slope indicator, observation wells, measuring instru-
ments, settlement (structural), displacement
ABSTRACT: Methods of operating, installing, and obtaining
field data with the slope indicator and the settlement torpedo
are described. The slope indicator, a pendulum-activated in-
clinometer lowered inside a grooved extruded aluminum cas-
ing, can measure inclination to 1 min of arc. Vertical move-
ments are detected with a settlement torpedo which measures
the elevation of joints of the aluminum casing. Conclusions
from field tests performed at several rockfill dams are: (1)
vertical movements are 5 to 10 times as great as horizontal
movements, (2) down-slope movements develop in the core
parallel to the axis and are maximum at about the lower one-
third point of the section, (3) there is no movement at the
point of contact between a smooth rock abutment and a rock-
fill, (4) lateral spreading as well as down-slope movement
develop in the shells of rockfills, and (5) the compressibility of
a well-compacted rockfill is slightly less than that of a well-
compacted clay core, whereas a poorly compacted rockfill is
considerably more compressible.
REFERENCE: S. D. Wilson and C. W. Hancock, Jr., "In-

strumentation for Movements Within Rockfill Dams," In-
struments and Apparatus for Soil and Rock Mechanics,
ASTM STP 392, Am. Soc. Testing Mats., 1965, pp. 115-130.
As higher and higher dams are constructed, the need for improved
instrumentation to monitor the performance of such structures increases.
The main purpose of such instrumentation is to ensure the safe performance
of the structure, especially during construction and first filling of the
reservoir. This reason alone is justification for the effort and expense o f
Vice-president, Shannon & Wilson, lnc., Seattle, Wash. Personal member ASTM.
2 Vice-president, Slope Indicator Co., Seattle, Wash. Personal member ASTM.
115
Copyright~'~
Copyright by 1965
ASTM byInt'l
ASTM(all rights reserved); Wed Nov
Intenational 25 18:06:05 EST 2015
www.astm.org
installing adequate instrumentation. Of even greater importance to the

engineering profession, however, is the need to understand the distribution
of stresses, strains, and movements within the core, filters, and rock shells
of high rockfill dams. These measurements must start during initial stages
of construction and continue at frequent intervals until the reservoir has
been filled and emptied for the first time. They should then be continued
at somewhat less-frequent intervals of" time for an indefinite period. Fol-
lowing any unusual event, such as an earthquake or major flood, a new
Fig. 1 Slope indicator instrument.
set of data will provide immediate evaluation of the extent and location of
damage, if any, or assurance that the structure was undamaged.
The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation ilia has pioneered in the development
of instrumentation for measurement of piezometric heads and vertical
settlement in earth dams. More recently, Marsal and Ramirez [2] described
a horizontal strain meter which was successfully installed in a high rockfill
dam. The measurement of stresses within earth and rockfill masses is
extremely difficult. No completely satisfactory instrumentation is currently
a The italic numbers in brackets refer to the list of references at the end of this paper.
WILSON AND HANCOCK ON INSTRUMENTATION FOR MOVEMENTS IN DAMS 117
available. The best that can be done is to infer the distribution of stresses
based on an evaluation of the strains and displacements that actually
develop under load. This paper describes the application of a type of
inclinometer referred to as a slope indicator for the measurement of both
vertical and horizontal movements within rockfill dams. Starting in 1960,
this device has been used successfully in four major earth and rockfill
dams varying in height from 380 to 480 ft. Typical data are included.
FIG. 2--Aluminum casing, reel, and assembly tools.
Description of Instrumentation
Slope Indicator
The slope indicator (Fig. 1) consists of a pendulum-actuated Wheat-
stone bridge circuit enclosed in a watertight aluminum cylinder about
12 in. long and 2.5-in. outside diameter. The azimuth and relative position
of the instrument within the dam are controlled by top and bottom paired
wheels that are guided in vertical slots formed in the walls of a specially
extruded aluminum casing. A specially designed six-conductor control
cable with stranded steel cable in the center is used to lower the instru-
ment down the hole. This connects with the control box at the ground
surface. A cable reel with slip-ring contacts is used for deep holes. The
sensitivity of the instrument is such that it can detect changes in inclination
between successive readings of the order of one minute of arc. A more
detailed description of the device is given in Refs. [3] and [4].
Aluminztrn Casting
The use of the slope indicator in compressible earth and rockfill dams
required the development of lightweight casing with telescoping joints
that would maintain positive alignment of the vertical slots at all times,
yet permit the instrument to roll past each joint with a minimum of dis-
turbance. The casing is extruded in half-round sections with tongue-and-
groove longitudinal joints as well as with the longitudinal tracking grooves.
Next, it is cold-stretched to eliminate spiraling and then cut into 5-ft-long
sections. Initially, two lengths of half-round sections were welded together
FIG. 3 Settlement torpedo.
and then anodized to form a lull round section 3.18-in. outside diameter
by 0.093-in. wall thickness. More recently, a baked on epoxy-resin coating
has been substituted for the anodizing to increase corrosion resistance to
certain alkaline soils. The longitudinal joints are joined together by epoxy
resin or by welding.
Extruded aluminum couplings are formed in a manner similar to the
casing except that the diameter is made slightly larger so that they form a
snug fit when assembled around the casing. Adjacent sections of casing are
joined together with 12-in.-long couplings, leaving a gap of 6 in. between
casing ends. Longer gaps may be left if desired. The half-round sections
of couplings are joined together in the field by means of stainless steel
bands. Small punched-out windows in the ends of the couplings fit over
FIG. 4--Protectingcasingin core, AkosomboDam.
locking lugs formed in the ends of the casing. The shape of the lugs per-
mits shortening of the assembled casing to develop, but does not allow
extension. Figure 2 shows assembled couplings and casing together with
special field assembly tools.
Settlement Torpedo
The settlement torpedo consists of a pair of retractable pawls encased
in an aluminum cylinder having dimensions similar to those of the slope
indicator (Fig. 3). The pawls engage the lower end of each section of
casing. The distance from the top of the torpedo to the top of the upper
casing is measured with a steel surveyor's chain. The pawls are retracted
by imparting a sharp jerk to the torpedo with the chain when the device has
been lowered to the bottom of the hole. The inertia of an eccentric weight
FIG, 5 (a) Installation of casing in compacled rockfill forming wire gabion.
actuates a release mechanism, thus the pawls can be retracted at will by

the operator at any depth.
Installation of Casing
Foundation
The bottom section of casing is set into a hole drilled into the foundation
of the dam, usually rock or competent soil. This prebored hole is 4 in.
or more in diameter and about 3 ft deep. The first 5-ft section of casing is
set in this anchor hole, with an aluminum plug on the bottom. The annular
space between the casing and the sides of the bore hole is filled with cement
grout that is allowed to harden.
In the event foundation movements are anticipated, a prebored hole
is drilled to a depth extending below the zone of anticipated movement,
and the annuIar space filled with sand or weak cement grout. Peterson et at
[5] describe failures of several dams on clay foundations where the move-
WILSON AND HANCOCK ON INSTRUMEN]'ATION FOR MOVEMENTS IN DAMS 121
F16. 5 (b)--Installation of casing in compacted rockfill. Hand-placed rockfill and

filter around casing.
FIO. 5 (c)--Installation of casing in compacted rockfill. Completed installation.
ment zone was detected in this manner. Ringheim [6] describes foundation
and abutment movements at the South Saskatchewan River Project.
Clay Core
Two alternate procedures are available for installing the aluminum
casing concurrently with the placement and compaction of clay cores. The
s i m p l e s t p r o c e d u r e is to a d d e a c h new section o f casing a b o v e the g e n e r a l

e l e v a t i o n o f the c o m p a c t e d core, a n d to h a n d c o m p a c t a m o u n d o f clay
a r o u n d the c a s i n g to s u p p o r t it in the vertical position. S o m e a d d i t i o n a l
p r o t e c t i o n in the f o r m o f a g u a r d rail, posts, or g u a r d s is usually r e q u i r e d
as illustrated in Fig. 4.
TABLE 1 Summary o./'Darn Instrumelttation.

Mammoth Pool lnfiernillo Malpaso Akosombo
Dam Dam Dam Dam
Height, ft . . . . . . . 410 480 450 380

Crest length, ft . . . . . 800 I100 1500 2100
Cross arms . . . . . . . . . 5 4
Slope indicators . . . . 5 9 9 6
Embankment pie-
zometers . . . . . . 43 10 16 16
Surface markers ... 25 49 89 108
Miscellaneous . . . . .
Shell material . . . . . disinie~ good quarry weak con- good quart-
grated rock glomerate zite
granite
Core material . . . . . . disinte- highly plas- clay of low highly plas-
grated tic clay plasticity tic clay
granite
Upstream slope . . . . . 3:1 and 1.85:1 2:1 1.75:l
3.5:1
Downstream slope.. 2:1 1.85:1 2:1 1.75:1
Maximum vertical
settlement, in.:
During construc-
tion . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 50 48 70
Post construction. 4 16 (shell) ~'
8 (core)
Maximum horizon-
tal movement
parallel to axis,
in.:
During construc-
tion . . . . . . . . . . <4 15 8 15
Post construction very small <2 b ~,
Normal to axis:
During construc
tion . . . . . . . . . . . very small approx. 10 8 3~
Post construction, very small 15 (core) t, ~,
" Ten horizontal strain meters, reservoir rim bench marks, three strong motion
recorders.
b Reservoir not yet filled.
T h e a b o v e p r o c e d u r e m a y cause s o m e i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h the c o n t r a c t o r ' s

o p e r a t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g the initial phases o f p l a c e m e n t w h e n the
w o r k i n g area is likely to be restricted by t o p o g r a p h y . This i n t e r f e r e n c e
m a y be m i n i m i z e d by always k e e p i n g the casing b u r i e d b e l o w the fill.
D u r i n g the n i g h t shift or o t h e r p e r i o d s w h e n the clay c o r e m a y n o t be
placed, test pits are e x c a v a t e d to e x p o s e the t o p o f the buried casing. T h i s
is t h e n e x t e n d e d , and the pit backfilled and c o m p a c t e d by h a n d .
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Conc
Rockfill
Special precautions are required when installing aluminum casing in
angular or large-size rockfill to prevent sharp edges of the rock from
puncturing or deforming the casing. The procedure developed at
Akosombo Dam (Ghana) consists of forming a wire gabion of 6-in. by 6-in.
welded wire mesh around the casing (Fig. 5a). A 9-in.-diameter pipe section
18-in. long is used to mold a column of sand around the casing. Figure 5b
shows the completed gabion with coarse filter separating the sand column
from the rockfill. The sand is placed in 6-in. maximum lifts, sluiced, and
then rodded after the pipe section is raised free. Some rockfill is hand-
l~ Rodiol Strain Meter

[] Piezometer Group
FIG. 6--Plan of instrumentation, Infiernillo Dam.
placed around the gabion as protection from the dozer operations. Figure
5c shows the rockfill lift completed around the gabion and the casing ready
for a new set of readings.
At Infiernillo Dam (Mexico) a similar procedure was used except that
the wire mesh was not used. The hand-placed rock was placed in the form
of a circular well and kept several feet in elevation above the surrounding
rock fill at all times.
Obtaining Field Data

Immediately prior to adding each new section of casing, the elevation
of the top of the upper section of casing and the coordinates of the center
of the top are precisely determined with level and transit. The elevation is
necessary in order to compute the elevation of each of the lower joints after
142.5
[55 ~ Positions of the- ~ r 155

/ top of the casing, / ' ~ . z
/ a s determined .~zZ"---2=~ ]
/ in subse- ~r~.d,V 125
125 ~ quent surfa~L,~bZl I CO
r~
| s u r v e y s l ~ k - ~ , ~-2::~ j J hi
/ l j T I / Horizontal
115 / /J~r/Subsequent I / / .~ 115 "--Displacements
Z
/ ~ ' ~ positions of I ~ / Z
_Ell the top of the /
d
~ - - - 7 - I1 casing as /
105 T---~:J 7' found"by mean~ 105
IJJ
"'
t-- I I ,IF'~ , " ~ f the slope~ .J C
uJ 1~I~" .o" I indicator .71
95 ~ I/_/" I I ~' I 95
I,I
> e-
Z o
o 85 i ~ e5
Vertical Z
> / ! Z
DisplacemS/"
o
.JuJ 7'5,//' / ~' Position oft e (%
uJ rd ~ casing s e c t i o n s - - ~ z5
>
found at the last bA
date recorded in ..J
ILl / -r
~# this figure 65 Z
/
I /
/ /
I
55 55
0 50 I00 150 200 250 0 100 200 300 4 0 0 500 6 0 0 700 800 900 I000
HORIZONTAL DISTANCES IN HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL DISPLACEMENT
MILLIMETERS IN MILLIMETERS
FiG. 7 - - M o v e m e n t data, lnfiernillo D a m .
_Q
0 O3
DJ
0 ,
0
Z
~0 --
I
Z
o_
0 W
...1
b_
o
0
8 ~ 8
133J-NOI• E
E
bJ
o z
I
l--
Z
o 8 o
1333-NOI1V^373
i
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Conce
the settlement torpedo has been used. The coordinates provide a valuable
check on the accuracy of the slope-indicator data.
Slope-indicator readings are obtained by lowering the device down the
hole, then as it is pulled out of the hole, stopping it at three positions in
each 5-ft section, At each position, the Wheatstone bridge circuit is bal-
anced and the dial reading recorded. The correct position in each section
ELEVATION OF EMBANKMENT
0 ~D ~ ~0
0'~ 0 0
//F
'I
53 11~ Rock EIov.5153'
52
5 1 - -
West
Bottom ol Cosing---~
5150 9
0 0 ,lO 0,20 0.30 0.40
DEFLECTION-INCHES
F]G. 9 Detailed lnovement at base, Mammoth Pool Dam.
is easily determined by raising the device 0.5, 2.0, and 3.5 ft from the depth
at which the bottom wheels are felt to "ride up" out of the coupling. This
procedure is repeated in each of the four slots.
It is not essential that a complete survey be made of the entire hole each
time a new section is added, although this is often done as matter of record.
Typical Results
Pertinent data for the four major rockfill dams that have been instru-
mented with slope-indicator casing and which have been referred to in
WILSON AND HANCOCK ON INSTRUMENTATIONFOR MOVEMENTS IN DAMS 127"
this paper are given in Table 1. The senior author served as a member of
the board of consultants for each of these dams. lnfiernillo Dam was the
most thoroughly instrumented of the group because it was intended to
correlate the results of the field data with the results from a large-scale
triaxial apparatus constructed at the site [7]. Figure 6 is a plan showing
the location of the instrumentation at Infiernillo Darn. Figure 7 shows
typical movement data from Infiernillo Dam. Figure 7a shows the actual
position of one of the casings in the core at the time of completion of the
//
/f
/ I'/ / Hv=w'&,
= 8 " I IH=8 ,'
~V=30
"
/
/ /
/
H.5.~.';
V=- . o[@
V:?~ ~ottom
/ ,,~./ H= Horizontal movement

,/~,~., / V=Verticol movement
FIG. lO--Plan of movements, Malpaso Dam.
project, compared with the position of the top of each section of casing
at the time of the installation. The initial position was determined both by
means of slope-indicator surveys from the bottom and from surface surveys
with a transit. There are discrepancies between the two procedures, and
it is not known which procedure is the more nearly correct. The horizontal
distance on the plot between the initial position and the final position
represents the horizontal movement that developed during construction.
In this particular instance it is the downslope component of the left abut-
ment core toward the valley. This actual movement is plotted in Fig. 7b.
It is compared with the vertical movement as determined by the change in
elevation of each joint as determined by the settlement torpedo. Two
points are significant: (1) there is no movement at the contact between the
clay core and the rock abutment; and (2) the vertical movements are about
eight times as large as the horizontal movements.
Typical horizontal and vertical movement data from the core of Mam-
moth Pool Dam are shown in Fig. 8. The movements are not as large
as at lnfiernillo Dam, and the ratio of vertical to horizontal movement is
only about 5: 1. Of particular concern at Mammoth Pool Dam was the
possibility of slippage at the contact between the core and the steep and
relatively smooth granite abutments. Figure 9 shows the detail of the
deflections at the junction of one of the casings and the foundation rock,
~ ~ ~ Z4'! 5" --180

-- 1 6 0
5"
~ N ~ -12o
--
--
140 ~"
I00
,,>,
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT -- 80
30" /. - - 180
.0o
i4o 2-
48' 120
I00 ~j
j NT 80
FIG. 11 Horizontal and vertical movements, Malpaso Dam.
which conclusively established that there was no slippage at the contact. In

contrast to this, another casing on the opposite abutment which extended
into a concrete cut-off wall about 8-ft high was sheared off at the top of
the wall.
Figure 10 is a plan of Malpaso Dam on which are superimposed the
location of slope indicator casings, the direction and magnitude of resulting
horizontal movements, and the magnitude of the maximum vertical move-
ment in each casing. Note that the movements in the core are generally
downslope toward the willey, whereas those in the shells reflect both a
spreading action and a downslope trend. The distributions of the down-
slope movements and the vertical movements in the core are shown in Fig.
1 l, the ratio of vertical to horizontal being about 5 : 1.
In addition to plotting vertical movement fi'om the settlement torpedo
WILSON AND HANCOCK O N INSTRUMENTATION FOR MOVEMENTS IN DAMS 129
data, it is possible to compute and plot vertical compression of any selected

layer within the dam as a function of the height of embankment above that
layer. Average compression curves for both the core material and the rock-
fill shells for each of the four dams under consideration are plotted in Fig.
12.
Conclusions
The data presented here demonstrate that reliable information can
be obtained on both the vertical and horizontal movements that develop
HEIGHT OF E M B A N K M E N T - FT.
0 I00 200 300 400
I R o c k f i l l - Infiernillo
2 C o r e - Infiernillo
3 Compacted r o c k f i l l - Akosombo
4 Impervious c o r e - Akosombo
5 Mammoth Pool
' \\ \ ,,ec,to
7 Davis Dam (GM)-
least compressible USBR dam
' ~ ' " ~ ' " " " " ' "k~ 8 Clay core - Malposo Dam
z
o
2
:,\
u.i
o. 3
FI~. 12--Field compression curves.
within the core and shells of rockfill dams during construction. Findings to
date include the following:
1. There is no movement at the contact between a smooth rock abut-
ment and either the compacted core or the rockfill. This statement does not
apply to irregularities or overhangs.
2. Downslope movements develop in the core parallel to the axis, and
are a maximum at about the lower one-third point of the section.
3. Lateral spreading develops within the shells of rockfill dams, in
addition to downslope movements along the abutments.
4. Vertical movements are from 5 to 10 times as great as horizontal
movements.
5. The compressibility of a well-compacted rockfill is slightly less than
that of a well-compacted clay core, whereas a poorly compacted or dumped
rockfill is considerably more compressible.
It is anticipated that further analyses of the data presented in this paper
and of other similar data will lead to a much better u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the

mechanisms that lead to the development of tension cracks in the cores
of earth and rockfill dams. Much additional work is required before any
conclusions can be reached concerning the distribution of stresses within
dams.
Acknowledgments
M a m m o t h Pool D a m was designed by The Bechtel Corp. for the South-
ern California Edison Co. F o r additional details see Ref. [8].
lnfiernillo D a m is owned by the Comision Federal de Electricidad,
Mexico, D. F. The field i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n was planned and installed u n d e r
the direction of Raul Marsal and Luis Ramirez de Arellano. F o r additional
details see Ref. [9].
Malpaso D a m is owned and constructed by the Grijalva River Comision,
Villahermosa, Mexico.
A k o s o m b o Darn is a part of the Volta River Project i n G h a n a . It was
designed for the Volta River Authority by Kaiser Engineers and Con-
structors, Inc. F o r additional details see Ref. [10] and [11].
References
[1] u. S. Bureau of Reclamation, Earth Mcmual, First ed., 1960, Appendix Des. E-27
through Des. E-35.
(2) R.J. Marsal and E. Ramirez de Arellano, "Field Measurements in Rockfill Dam~,"
Proceedings, Second Panat-nerican Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Vol. II, 1963, pp. 309 330.
[3] W. L. Shannon, S. D. Wilson, alld R. H. Meese, "Field Problems: Field Measure-
ments," Foundation Enghwering, G. A. Leonards, ed., McGraw Hill, New York,
1962, Ch. 13, pp. 1025 1080.
I4] S. D. Wilson, "The Use of Slope Measuring Devices To Determine Movements
in Earth Masses," Syrnpositm7 on Field Testing of Soils, ASTM STP 322, Am. Soc.
Testing Mats., 1962, pp. 187-198.
I5I R. Peterson, N. L. lverson, and P. S. Rivard, "Studies of Several Dana Failures on
Clay Foundations," P~vceedings, Fourth International Conference on Soil Me-
chanics and Foundation Engineering, London, Vol. 2, 1957, pp. 348-352.
[6J A. S. Ringheim, "Experiences with the Bearpaw Shale at the South Saskatchewan
River Dam," Transactions, Eighth International Congress on Large Dams, Vol. 1,
1964, pp. 529-550.
[7] R. J. Marsal, "Triaxial Apparatus for Testing Rockfill Samples," Pivceedings,
Second Panamerican Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
Vol. 11, 1963, pp. 99-122.
[8] Mammoth Pool Dam Southern California Edison Company, "High Earth Dam
Narrow Canyon for Power," Engineering Nears-Record, April 7, 1960, pp. 44-51.
[9] Raul J. Marsal and Luis Ramirez de Arellano, "El lnfiernillo Dam--Observations
During the Construction Period and First Filling of the Reservoir," Comision
Federal de Electricidad, Mexico, D. F., February 1965.
[10] D. J. Bleisfuss, "Underwatering Akosombo Cofferdams," Journal (ifthe Soil Me-
chanics and Foundation Division, Proceedings, Am. Soe. Civil Engineers, March
1964, pp. Ilt 125.
[111 "Ghana's Akosombo Darn has Volta River in Harness," Engineering News-Record
July 30, 1964, pp. 26 28.
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to Li
George H . K r u s e '
Measurement of Embankment Stresses on

a Hundred-Foot-High Retaining Wall
KEY WORDS: soil stress gages, soil (material), embank-

ments, retaining walls, concrete, stresses, clay (material)
ABSTRACT: Eight Carlson soil-stress meters measured
stresses at the face of a 100 ft-high vertical concrete-core block
at the Oroville Dam. The calibration and installation of
these gages is discussed briefly. Measurements taken during
construction of the 1964 embankment indicate gage readings
are reproducible and consistent. Six of the gages were located
behind a 20-ft wide, 70-ft thick zone of moderately compacted
clay soil. Two were below this area. A disproportionate reduc-
tion oI stress at the wall behind the "compressible" clay zone
illustrates its effectiveness in reducing lateral stresses.
REFERENCE: G. H. Kruse, "Measurement of Embank-
ment Stresses on a Hundred-Foot-High Retaining Wall,"
Instruments and Apparatus for Soil and Rock Mechanics,
A S T M STP 392, Am. Soc. Testing Mats., 1965, pp. 131-142.
Oroville Dam, a major unit of the California Water Project, is located

on the Feather River about four miles upstream f r o m Oroville, and ap-
proximately 80 miles north of Sacramento. 2 Scheduled for completion in
1967, the d a m will require approximately 80 million cubic yards of fill,
and will rise 770 ft above the foundation rock, making it the highest dam
in the United States and the highest fill d a m in the world (Fig. 1). Pervious
embankment for the dam is being obtained from dredge tailings of sand,
1Associate Engineer, Department of Water Resources, State of California, Sacra-

mento, Calif.
W. G. Shultz, Donald P. Thayer, and J. J. Doody, "Oroville Dam and Appurtenant
Features," Journal of the Power Division, ASCE, Vol. 87, No. PO2, Proceedings, Paper
2852, July 1961, pp. 29-40.
131
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132 INSTRUMENTS
AND APPARATUSFOR SOILAND ROCKMECHANICS
FEATHER RIVER "~//~/~.~ DITERNSlEOLNs
/ E.ERGENC
~ EXIT TUNNEL
/ ~ ~ ACCESS
# ~ C K , ( '.'~ TUNNEL
/ POWER
, ~ / ....... ~~~'. -'-"-r \ PLANT
6' " ~ ~:'/ TUNNEL

////~ '
PLAN
NORMAL WATER
SURFACE ELEV. 900.0 CRESTELEV. 922.0
1964 PLACING
REQUIREMENT ~ ~//.0~///L~ FILTER ~
ELEV. 180.0 / ~ ~ / / r
"~CORE BLOCK
MAXIMUM SECTION
FIG. 1- Plan and section Oroville Dam.
FIG. 2 Core block under construction.
KRUSE ON MEASUREMENT OF EMBANKMENT STRESSES 133
gravel and cobbles deposited approximately ten miles downstream from

the dam site during nearly a century of hydraulic mining. Clay soil found
near the dredge tailings will form the impervious core.
The concrete-core block at the center of the dam is shown under con-
struction in Fig. 2. It was designed to serve several purposes. It is the
foundation for the impervious core, plugging the lowest part of the river
channel in which the abutment slopes are steepest. Within the core block
is a system of galleries accessible from the underground power plant
FIG. 3 1964 embankment under construction.
within the left abutment. These lead to reinforced concrete galleries pass-
ing up both abutments to exist near the crest of the dam. Within these
galleries recesses house the instrument panels, valve manifolds and other
instrumentation for the dam. Systems of ventilation, drainage and lighting
in the galleries allow routine inspections, seepage measurements, and
instrument readings. The galleries will also be used for grouting operations.
The core block acted as a toe block, retaining embankment at the end
of the second construction season. At this time it was subject to over-
topping by flood flows exceeding the capacity of the one diversion tunnel
then in operation. A concrete parapet rising 50 ft above the main body of
the core block at the upstream edge allowed an additional 50 ft of embank-
ment at this stage. This commensurately increased the diversion capacity
through the tunnel and expedited the rigorous construction schedule

established for the third construction year.
In this third year (1964) the contractor was required to raise the em-
bankment upstream of the core block 305 ft above the top of the core block
parapet, on a slope of 1.6 to 1.0 (Fig. 3). This portion of the embankment,
ELEV.
-,M.ERV,OOS CORE-
ELEV.
0
ZONE 4A
SECTION
STA. 5 3 + 0 5
ELEV. .
%,MPER
,OUSCORE/
ELEV. 2 , ~ /GROUTGALLERY /
ELEV 2 5 7 ~ ~ ~ / INSTRUMENT TERMINAL "N" /
ELEV 2 0 2 . 2 ) 2 z > - t~
SECTION
STA. 5 2 + 2 5
[
STA 5 3 + 0 5
TYPICAL STRESS I STA, 5 2 + 2 5
METER LOCATION,~, I [
~ ~I ,/------GROUT GALLERY I ~EV. 500.0
~ " /r . . L / ~ C - ~ ' E V 250O
ELEVATION
UPSTREAM FACE OF CORE BLOCK
FIG. 4 Location of stress meters.
designated the 1964 embankment was constructed with an impervious core

of its own. It was to provide the necessary storage For passing the standard
project flood through the two diversion tunnels then in operation. Con-
struction of the embankment was begun immediatdy after completion
of the core block and while the concrete was well below its design strength.
Embankment Stresses on Core Block Interface

Lean-mass concrete was used in the construction of the core block. Al-
though a one-year design strength of 2250 psi was enough to support up
to 670 ft of embankment, it had low early strength. The 90-day strength
averaged 1800 psi but in some instances ranged as low as 1100 psi. The mag-
4 CONDUCTOR
C~BLE/ ~ - ~ - , ~ "~ ,,
I f6
9ABRIC COVER
~ SEALING CHAMBER
RESISTANCE STRA
METER TRANSDUCER "to
llAi
MERCURY FILM DIAPHRAGM
F~G. 5--Soil stress meter
nitude of lateral thrust of the embankment, 300 ft of surcharge on a slope

of 1.6 to 1, determined the adequacy of this low strength.
To eliminate uncertain structural behavior along the interface, a "com-
pressible" zone of fill was incorporated into the design. This zone (4A),
20 ft thick and 70 ft deep, is shown in Fig. 4. It resists lateral spreading of
the pervious embankment with a compressible material rather than with
a rigid concrete block. An active pressure in the main soil mass is thus
sustained, and high passive pressures at the concrete face are avoided.
(Passive pressures have been known to exceed the vertical pressures of the
overburden.)
136 INSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUS FOR SOiL AND ROCK MECHANICS
Zone 4 A was constructed of a clay soil selected from abutment stripping

at the dam site. Specifications required a material with 15 per cent to 45
per cent passing the No.-200 sieve with a maximum particle size of 8 in.
Placed in layers of 15-in. max thickness without moisture conditioning, it
was compacted with a single pass of a vibratory compactor. About 85 per
cent relative compaction was achieved by this method, producing field
densities averaging 135 lb/ft. :~ With this zone included in the design, the
stress measurements at the core block face assumed added importance,
since the effectiveness of the design objective in this construction phase
would be determined.
The embankment placed against the core block below Elevation 230,
and against Zone 4A above Elevation 230 was the pervious transition zone
(Zone 2) of the dam. It was required that no more than 5 per cent of this
material pass a No.-200 sieve, 20 to 50 per cent pass a No.-4 sieve, and
50 to 90 per cent pass a 189 sieve. Maximum particle size of 15 in. was
allowed. This material was placed in lifts not to exceed 15 in. Compaction
required moisture-conditioning and two passes with a vibratory compac-
tor. Relative compaction averaging 98 per cent produced field densities of
about 160 lb/ft. 3
The eight Carlson soil-stress meters furnishing the data of this paper
were the only ones placed on the upstream face of the core block (Fig. 2).
Other stress cells were placed at the top of the block and in the sloping
surfaces facing downstream.
Calibration of Meters
The type of soil-stress meter used in the core block is shown in Fig. 5.
it is described in detail in manuals available from the manufacturer. 3,4
Since a meter's range is determined by the thickness of its internal dia-
phragm, the magnitude of [east reading varies approximately as the range.
The meters near the top of the core-block face were fabricated for a range
of 400 psi; the others were made for a range of 800 psi.
The resistance-sensitive transducer contains a contraction coil and an
expansion coil. It responds to a deflection of the stress-meter diaphragm
with a resistance increase in one coil and a resistance drop in the other.
When these resistances are connected to a portable test set supplying a
small electrical potential, they become part of a bridge circuit. The test
set is used to measure resistance ratio of the two coils as well as their
resistance in series. Changes in temperature vary the series resistance of
the meter but have little or no effect on the resistance ratio, since the two
coils compensate each other within the limits of the measurement range.
3R. W. Carlson, Manual jor the Use of Stress Meters, Strain Meters, and Joint
Meters h~ Mass Concrete, James J. Gillick & Co., Berkeley, Calif., 1954.
4j. M. Raphael, and R. W. Carlson, Measurements r Structural Action in Dams,
James J. Gillick & Co., Berkeley, Calif., 1954.
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to Licen
Therefore, to completely calibrate the meter, the variation of resistance

ratio with stress must be determined as well as the variation of total re-
sistance with temperature. Since the primary function of the meter is
measurement of stress, the first of these two relationships is designated as
"the" calibration constant. It indicates the variation of stress (pounds per
square inch) corresponding to a change in resistance ratio of 0.01 per cent.
It is determined by loading the meter incrementally in a compression
machine and recording resistance ratio of each increment. Three cycles of
loading and release were recorded. The constant was determined from
the average of the results. A subsequent correction of the calibration con-
stant for the resistance of the cable was made in the manner shown in the
manufacturer's manual?
FIG. 6~Stress meter mounted on concrete form.
Temperature calibration was accomplished by measuring series re-

sistance and resistance ratio of the unloaded meter at temperature extremes
chosen to span the expected temperature variations. Stress readings are
commonly corrected for temperature when meters are totally embedded in
concrete. Such a correction is based upon the differential expansion be-
tween the meter and surrounding concrete. However, when one surface
of the meter bears on a relatively compressible granular material such as
the Oroville embankment, such a correction is not warranted. Nor were
corrections subsequently made for variations in resistance ratio with
temperature, since the calibrations indicated that the error introduced
would be less than one "least reading" of the test set.
Installation of Stress Meters

Meters were delivered at the manufacturer's shop with permanent cable
leads of required length already attached. They were then transported to
the job site by Department of Water Resources personnel. Complete
138 INSTRUMPNTSAND APPARATUS FOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
calibration information for each meter was supplied by the manufacturer

at the time of delivery. A coat of zinc chromate paint was applied to each
meter before installation.
The meters were embedded at the core block surface with the transducer
stem enclosed in the concrete and the opposite face placed flush with the
concrete surface. Metal offset clips secured the cell to the steel form in
preparation for embedment (Fig. 6). Where horizontal runs were required,
FtG. 7--Conduit For stress meter cables placed for embedment.
c a n e s were carried to the top of the embedding lift and '~walked" into the
concrete. Where meters were installed at elevations above the terminal box,
steel conduit was carried through the concrete from the box to the top of
the embedding lift (Fig. 7). At the time of meter placement, cables were
drawn through the conduit and the conduit was then filled with cement
grout.
Before forms were stripped l'rom tile concrete the bolts securing the
meter clips were removed, leaving the clips embedded with the meter.
The threaded holes were then used to fasten a temporary protective cover
plate over each meter until the embankment was placed against it. Such
a cover plate is shown in Fig. 8.
After removal of the cover plate, special fine-graded material was placed
against the meter face and compacted by hand tamping. Zero stress read-
ings were taken immediately before and after covering and again the
following day. Subsequent readings were made twice weekly while signifi-
cant change continued. Ultimately, a schedule of one reading per week was
established for the remainder of the construction period.
The eight meters on the core-block face were embedded between July
18 and October 12, 1963. The placement of embankment against the face
began in December and the meters were covered between December 19,
FIG. 8--Placement of embankment near Stress Meter No. 24.
1963 and March 25, 1964. Temperatures at the meter locations rose grad-
ually during this latter period from 45 F to 55 F, subsequently rising to
about 65 F during the completion of the 1964 embankment. Temperature
measurements were made by the meters.
Terminal Boxes
Construction schedules permitted completion of all cable connections
to the metal terminal boxes in the core-block gallery before the meters
were subjected to embankment stresses. Terminal boxes, like the meters
and cable, were furnished by the Department of Water Resources and
installed by the contractor. They were designed to facilitate reading more
than 175 instruments to be installed in the core block and dam embank-
ment. The boxes were equipped with terminal blocks connected to 4 pole,
12 position rotary selector switches. Each path of resistance through the
box was measured to the nearest 0.001 ohm. The paths ranged from 0.009
50
25 i
...~\~-
251
1271
0Z ~ .~ 9 _: : , ~ ~
5O
25 ~.~/
/
O
25]
0~
25:
2~o~ (b) ../~-

t y_/v-
200:
/
150 600
~J
,/
I00 7500 _g-
d
/ 7L,J
d
50 400 w
rS
ILl
IE.BAN~.E.~I.I~"-rJ 300
f UJ
/
79E6C~ JAN FEB. MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT 0~ V, 200
1964
FiG. 9 (a) during construction o f 1 9 6 4 embankment.

S t r e s s illeC-/Stlrelllents
rio. 9 (b) Embankment rise and stress gradient for Meter N o . 2 3 .
to 0.016 ohm. The box was equipped with an electric lamp to dispel mois-
ture. A hinged shelf assisted in recording the data. The four wire cables
were brought into the boxes, lndividmll wires were attached to the terminal
blocks with soldered connections. Four binding posts were provided for
connecting the test set. Each post was labeled l'or the proper lead. Any
instrument connected with the terminal box could be "selected" for meas-
urement with appropriate setting of the switches.
Stress Measurements
Locations of all stress meters on the face of the core block are shown in
Fig. 4. Meters No. 23 and No. 24 measured Zone 2 stresses. The other six
meters recorded Zone 4A stresses on the core-block face. Stress graphs for
the period of construction of the 1964 embankment are shown in Fig. 9.
Figure 9b also portrays the rise of the embankment during 1964. The
stresses at the completion of this phase of embankment construction are
shown in the form of a stress diagram in Fig. 10.
The meters produced reasonably consistent and reproducible measure-
ments throughout the designated phase of construction. Since they were
~ , f - - ~ 9 6 4 EMBANKMENT
//COMPLETED TO ELEV. 605.0
' , ~ . NOVEMBER II , 1964
PERVIOUS EMBANKMENT ~ ELEV. 300.0
ZONE
I ~ ~ / E L E V , 250.0
~ 26
CONCRETE
CORE BLOCK "~
23 .
~, ? .
c::~:::::~ -)4 ~ ~. . . . .". " ",~\
v
t
IO0 8tO 6'0 410 iO O
STRESS
POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH
Flo. l~Stress distribution on core block face at completion of 1964 embankment.
stressed to only a small part of their range, the corresponding sensitivity

of measurement was low. The low sensitivity explains the broken ap-
pearance of the stress curves. Apparent irregularities, such as the abrupt
stress increases at several meters in May and September were of the order
of one or two "least readings" of the test set. Variations of this magnitude
have no significance. The negative reading of Meter No. 22 does not
imply malfunction since it too is within the limit of accurate measurement.
Greater precision would have been possible with meters of smaller range.
The lateral stresses measured in Zone 4A were less than expected. Figure
10 shows the highest stresses in this zone to be 42 psi and 46 psi (Meters
No. 26 and No. 28 respectively) while the average was nearer 28 psi. No
clear pattern of stress variation with elevation was evident within Zone 4A.
However, the measurement of stress by Meter No. 23 immediately below
the "compressible" zone is very significant. This stress increased on a

gradient closely paralleling the rise of the embankment. The Zone 2 ma-
terial was placed at high relative compaction and possessed high shear
strength (phi angle of 39 deg). It is believed that Zone 4A yielded suffi-
ciently to permit lateral stresses in Zone 2 to transfer downward by shear
to the area immediately below Zone 4A where they were resisted by the
rigid face of the concrete block. This was the desired result of the embank-
ment design, although the degree of transference proved to be greater than
expected. The maximum lateral stress measured by Meter No. 23 (266 psi)
was over three and a half times greater than the vertical weight of the
embankment at this location. Stress Meter No. 24, approximately 20 ft
below No. 23, was within the core trench and below the rock line underly-
ing the embankment (Fig. 8) which tended to shield it from the higher
stress immediately above. However, its stress gradient was found to parallel
the embankment rise, reaching a maximum of 59 psi with the topping-out
of the 1964 embankment. This was approximately 60 per cent of the
vertical weight of the embankment overburden at this location.
Because of the nature of the design, no computation of a theoretical
stress distribution on the face was carried out, therefore no comparison
can be made with actual measurements. It is interesting to observe, how-
ever, that the total thrust on the face, determined by linear interpolation
between measured points, is approximately equal to that of a triangular
stress distribution in which the lateral stress equals the vertical weight of
embankment at any given depth below the top of the parapet. (This is
equivalent to a lateral pressure coefficient of unity.)
Conclusions
The Carlson pressure cells installed on the upstream face of the con-
crete-core block provided reasonably consistent and reproducible stress
measurements normal to the face throughout the period of construction of
the 1964 embankment. These stress measurements illustrated the expected
behavior of the 20-ft thick zone of moderately compacted clay soil adjacent
to the upper 70 ft of face. The reduction in lateral stress in this zone was
accompanied by much higher lateral stress immediately below. Continued
monitoring of these stresses during subsequent phases of construction,
augmented by stress and strain measurements now being obtained at other
locations, is expected to yield much significant information about the
performance of the dam embankment.
A . A . W a r l a m ~ a n d F,. IV. T h o m a s ~
Measurement of Hydrostatic Uplift Pressure

on Spillway Weir with Air Piezometers
KEY WORDS: piezometers, air, hydrostatic pressure, spill-

ways, weirs, pressure cells, chalk, piping (erosion)
ABSTRACT: Air-operated piezometers have been found suit-
able for measuring water pressure on the base of a concrete
spillway weir. Hydrostatic pressure cells were embedded in
native chalk; thin plastic tubing leads were extended through
freshly poured, large-aggregate concrete. Sheet-brass barriers
attached to leads with Flex fittings prevented piping. Opera-
tion for 289 years has been satisfactory.
REFERENCE: A. A. Warlam and E. W. Thomas, "Measure-
ment of Hydrostatic Uplift Pressure on Spillway Weir with
Air Piezometers," Instruments and Apparatus for Soil and
Rock Mechanics, A S T M STP 392, Am. Soc. Testing Mats.,
1965, pp. 143-151.
The spillway weir of Big Bend Reservoir Dam, near Chamberlain,

South Dakota, is founded on chalk bedrock. Foundation drains reduce
but do not eliminate hydrostatic-uplift pressure on the weir base. This
pressure is periodically measured with piezometers installed in the chalk.
To evaluate the merits of air-activated piezometers for uplift pressure
measurement, the foundation of one weir monolith was instrumented with
air piezometers, while water-well-type, open-tube piezometers were in-
stalled under the rest of the weir. The operation of the two different types
of devices side by side permitted comparisons of important characteristics,
such as: speed of response to hydrostatic-pressure variations, dependa-
Consulting engineer, Hastings-on-Hudson, N. Y.

2Civil engineer, Foundation & Materials Branch, Omaha District, U. S. Army Corps
of Engineers, Omaha, Neb.
143
Copyright'~'~
Copyright by1965
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bility, and freedom from necessity for maintenance and repairs. Operating
experience covered a period of 30 months.
Air Piezometer
Description:
The air piezometer is a device for balancing and measuring water pres-
sure with air pressure. Its principal components are: a hydrostatic-pressure
cell, pair of air conduits, air supply and gaging apparatus. The cell func-
tions as a hydrostatic pressure-sensor and pneumatic transducer; it "picks
( 4
Air Supply and
G a g i n g Apparatus
Air Flow Indicator
.-,,. ,
Feed
I
I
I
I
I
Plastic Conduit
Tubes
Piping Bc~rrier
A;r ActivcJt~d
Hyd,ostctlc
Pressure Cell Flexible Membrane
Filter
Water
FIG. I-- Pneumatic piezometer air-flow diagram.
up" water pressure, and converts it to air pressure. Flow of compressed air
admitted to the cell through the feed tube (Fig. 1) is blocked by water
pressure acting on a thin, flexible membrane. In the closed-air system, the
air pressure gradually increases until it equals the water pressure. At this
point the membrane, free from pressure-difference, relaxes, allowing the
excess air to pass into a vent tube. The escaping air is seen as bubbles in
the flow-indicator flask. When further air supply is shut off, pressure
shown by the air gage is practically identical to the water pressure.
A dvan rages:
In contrast to piezometers containing water or kerosene, the liquid-free
or aneroid piezometer requires no draining, flushing, or refilling; it is not
WARLAM AND THOMAS ON HYDROSTATIC UPLIFT PRESSURE 145
subject to errors caused by trapped air or gas; and the readings are direct,
needing no correction for "head." Since water-flow demand is near zero,
the pneumatic piezometer responds promptly to even slight changes in
hydrostatic pressure. Inexpensive small-diameter plastic tubing is adequate
for conducting the air.
Background:
Experience of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers with air piezometers

dates back to 1958, when the South Pacific Division carried out experi-
(a] Straight (b) Tubular
{c] Flat (d] Convoluted
NOTE: ShortArrows: Water Pressure

Long Arrows: Air Flow
FIG. 2--Flexible membrane types.
ments with air-activated hydrostatic pressure cells previously developed

and furnished to the Division Laboratory by one of the authors. 3 These
cells were of a straight-collapsed-sleeve type (Fig. 2a) designed for meas-
urement of pore-pressure in triaxial tests. Wrapping the sleeve around a
mandrel formed a more compact tubular cell (Fig. 2b). The Missouri
River Division Laboratory experimented with this type in 1960. Further
modification for field use requiring rugged construction replaced the sleeve
with a diaphragm-type membrane, either flat or convoluted. Cells with
flat membranes (Fig. 2c), were employed in Shihmen Darn, Taiwan, May
A. A. Warlam, "Recent Progress in Triaxial Apparatus Design," Research Con-

ference on Shear Strength of Cohesive Soils, Am. Society Civil Engrs., 1960, pp. 874, 875.
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to Licen
1962. 4 Cells with convoluted membranes (Fig. 2d), were installed at Big
Bend Dam by the Corps of Engineers District, Omaha, in August 1962.
The Big Bend installation appears to be the first field use of the air piezom-
eter by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the first known applica-
tion of this device to measuring uplift in rock.
F1G. 3 Air cell being lowered into chalk.
Big Bend Spillway Weir Uplift Instrumentation

l~bundation Conditions and Drains:
The concrete spillway weir structure of Big Bend Reservoir D a m on the
Missouri River in South Dakota is founded on a 220-ft thick bed of
Niobrara chalk. Although the chalk itself is impervious, there is water
seepage through numerous faults, joints, and seams of the formation. If
this seepage were allowed to accumulate, it could build up significant
hydrostatic pressure beneath the weir base, causing a reduction in effective
weight, and diminishing weir stability. To relieve the hydrostatic uplift,
the seepage is intercepted by a system of horizontal, vertical, and inclined
4John Lowe 111, "Discussion," Proceedings of 2d Pan Am. Cons o, Soil Mechanics
and Foundation E,gineeri,g, Vot. 2, 1963, pp. 674, 675.
drains, 4-in.-diameter holes drilled 40 ft deep into the chalk. The effective-
ness of these drains is determined by measuring the residual hydrostatic
pressure. For this purpose pneumatic-type piezometers were installed under
Weir Monolith 4, while open-tube piezometers were installed under the
other weir monoliths.
Calibration:
The air ceils were individually calibrated by lowering them 1 to 25 ft
under water and comparing the water head with the gage readings. Agree-
FI6. 4 Plastic air conduit being buried bare in large-aggregate concrete.
ment averaged within 0.02 psi. At the same time, all the tubing leads and
connections were submerged; tested with 15- to 35-psi compressed air, and
all joints were made bubble-tight.
Cell Installation:
The air cells were placed immediately beneath the base of the concrete
weir, in holes carved out of the chalk, 6-in.-diameter, by 8-in. deep (Fig.
3), and filled with clean, saturated sand. Plastic tube conduits leading from
the cells passed through the weir base and terminated in the spillway
gallery. Lengths varied from 19 to 52 ft. The tubing, ~6-in.-OD, 0.11-in.-
ID nylon, was embedded in large-aggregate concrete without protective
covering (Fig. 4) except at concrete lift joints, where l-ft lengths of ~ -
]48 INSTRUMENTSAND APPARATUSFOR SOIL AND ROCK MECHANICS
.... Jr TOP OF CONCRETELIFT
b'
Ip JT~176 TEFT
~---BRASS FLEXTUBEUNION
+
~ J SOLDEREDORBRAZEDTO FORMWATERTIGHT
0
.o .... ~ . . . . . . . CONNECTION
...... ~ ' ~ i "...... ~~9;;xg"SHE:EI"BRASS (20 GAGE)
I
i
REAMED
DETAILA TOS/161NCH
,, :~ .,]. PIPINGBARRIER
+'~~ - 0'26~+ I . ~ SEEDETAILA
.fTOP OF CONCRETELIFT
"~ / 6
E INCHO.D. NYLONPRESSURETUBING
INTAKELIN LINE
BRASSFLEXTUBEUNION
REAMEDTO 3/16 INCHI.D.
1NEOPRENERUBBER18"x18"x1/8" THICK
~ ~ NAILEDT_OCHALK _
~ ~ ~I
Lc:,~ [
-': ~. , ~ - ~i~'~-
~ ~NIoBRARA
~~ CHALK
, ~ ~ PERVIOUSMATERIAL
NOT TO SCALE ~.., 0'-6",,~

MAX,
Fl(;. 5 Air cell installation details.
Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC (Universidad Catolica De La Santisima Concepcion - UCSC) pursuant to License Agreeme
in.-ID rubber air hose (Fig. 5) provided protection against injury by con-
crete surface-cleaning equipment. Flex union fittings attached to the tubing
within the first 1-ft concrete lift helped to anchor it down.
Piping Protection:
Water seepage, or piping along the smooth, plastic tubing surface was
opposed by rubber and metal barriers. A sheet of l-in. Neoprene rubber,
18-in. square, was spread over the cell and nailed to the chalk. The leads
FIG. 6 Compressed air supply and gaging apparatus.
passed through two tight holes in the rubber, which also served to keep
the concrete out of the cell recess. Piping barriers consisting of 20-gage
brass sheets 9 in. square, were embedded in the concrete. Flex unions
soldered to the brass (Fig. 5) sealed the tubing to the barriers.
Operation:
Compressed air to activate the pneumatic cell is injected into the intake
tube from a portable air supply and gaging apparatus set up in the spill-
way gallery (Fig. 6). When bubbles appear in an air-flow-indicator flask
attached to the vent conduit, further air flow is shut off, and the pressure
gage read. Average time required to obtain a reading is 5 min.
150 INSTRUMENTS A N D APPARATUS FOR SOIL A N D R O C K M E C H A N I C S
Observations
As the foundation drains eliminated nearly 90 per cent of the potential

22 to 25 psi uplift, the air piezometers picked up only low hydrostatic
pressures varying from 0.9 to 2.5 psi. Open-tube piezometers at com-
parable locations under neighboring piers also indicated low pressures,
although in one that was positioned 2 ft from the upstream pier face, the
pressure reached 7.5 psi. Design pressure gradients and hydrostatic heads
as measured by air cells under Weir Monolith 4, and open-tube-type pie-
zometers under Weir Monolith 5 are shown in Fig. 7. Tests were conducted
1430
MAXIMtJI
PO
1420
f-POOL EL. 14
1410
1400
3"
- - 1390 OBSERVED HYDR
Z GRADiENT-OPEN
0 PIEZOMHERS
I'--
< 1380
~J
L~ 1 ~
1370 / " ~ -L "~"
~-- ~~--
- ~,-L
-
L~L_ --L_ ~
NIOBRARA (HA
1360 FOUNDATION
7
9~ OPEN TUBE TYpI
FOUNDATION DEAl
1320 ~ / "/
I
FEz. 7--Uplift-pressure distribution.
by stopping the drains, then reopening them, thus increasing and reducing
uplift. These tests demonstrated that response of air cells to pressure
changes was considerably more prompt than that of open-tube piezo-
meters. Installation was completed in October 1962. Since that time no
maintenance or repairs have been required.
Conclusions
The air-operated piezometer was found suitable for hydrostatic-uplift
pressure measurement in chalk bedrock. Embedding bare plastic tubing in
freshly poured, large-aggregate concrete was proved feasible. The bond
between tubing and concrete supplemented by piping barriers blocked
piping effectively. In 289 years of service, the air piezometer has been
trouble-free, dependable, simple to operate, and promptly responsive to

hydrostatic-pressure changes.
Acknowledgment
Design of the Big Bend Project was directed by C. L. Hipp, chief of the
Engineering Division, U. S. Army Engineer District, Omaha, Neb. The air
cells and gaging equipment were developed and constructed by A. A.
Warlam. The piping barriers were designed by E. W. Thomas, who was
also responsible for the layout of the spillway-structure piezometer system.
Installation of the air cells was accomplished by field personnel of the
Ohama District Office. Permission granted by the chief of engineers to
publish this information is acknowledged.
S. L. A~arwal ~ and S. t:enkatesan'-
An Instrument to Measure Skin Friction

and Normal Earth Pressure on
Deep Foundations
KEY W O R D S : soil mechanics, measuring instruments,

concrete, lateral pressure, skin friction, pressure cell, earth
pressure, piles and pile driving, foundations
ABSTRACT: An apparatus which simultaneously measures

skin friction and normal earth pressures while deep founda-
tions such as piles and cassions are being driven has been de-
veloped. The instrument has three major parts: casing, pres-
sure cell, and cantilever. The casing protects the pressure cell
which measures lateral earth pressure. Strain gages on the
cantilever, which screws into the back of the casing, measure
skin friction. The instrument has been tested by embedding it
in a precast concrete pile driven in natural soil. The compari
son between the measured and computed values indicates the
the promising nature of the instrument.
REFERENCE: S. L. Agarwal and S. Venkatesan, "An In-

strument to Measure Skin Friction and Normal Earth Pres-
sure on Deep Foundations," Instruments and Apparatus fi~r
Soil and Rock Mechanics, A S T M STP 392, Am. Soc. Testing
Mats., 1965, pp. 152 169.
The sides of caissons and piles are subjected to skin friction when loaded
vertically, and to normal earth pressures when loaded horizontally. The
lnagnitude and distribution of these two different types of forces must be
k n o w n to make a rational design of the foundation. Various workers
[1 5] a have measured these forces independently. N o w an i n s t r u m e n t has
been developed by the authors which measures the skin friction and earth
Scientist, Central Building Research lnstin,lte, Roorkee, U.P., India. Presently at

the School of Research and Training in Earlhquake E~agineering,University of Roorkee,
U.P., India.
~Soil Engineering Division, Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, U.P.,
India.
a The italic numbers in brackets refer to the list of references appended to this paper.
1,52
Copyright~by1965
Copyright ASTMby Int'l
ASTM (allIntenational
www.astm.org
--l&d
i'~b
Front View
Sectional Etevat Ion -- AA
1. Hollow casing closed at the rear and machined at the front (4J-in. I.D.) cast
iron.
2. Cantilever: a ~ 6 in. square section (nickel plated).
3. Pressure cell dia. 4 in. steel (nickel plated).
4. Flat top of casing.
5. Grooves of the casing.
6. Legs.
7. Adjustable screws for levelling.
8. Fixed end of the cantilever.
9. Free end of the cantilever.
10. Diaphragm of the pressure cell (effective dia. 3] in. and ~ in. thick).
11. Back plate of pressure cell.
12. Strain gage of diaphragm.
13. Water-tight plug.
14. (a, b, c, d.) Strain gages of the cantilever.
15. Compensating gage.
16. Steel plate.
17. Rubber pad.
18. PVC cables soldered to the leads of the strain gage.
19. Water-tight cable outlet.
20. Gap sealed with rubber rings filled with oil.
FIG. 1--Instrument to measure skin friction and earth pressures.
153
154 INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR SO{L AND ROCK MECHANICS
pressures simultaneously during driving of the deep foundation. After the

driving is completed and the soil consolidates, the instrument gives the
lateral earth pressures whether or not there is any lateral load applied on
the foundation. From these pressures the skin friction that comes into
play can be calculated.
FIG. 2-- The casing.
FIG. 3--Front view of the casing and the earth-pressure cell attached to the canti-
lever.
Description of the Instrument

The instrument consists of three parts: the casing (I), '~cantilever (2), and
the pressure cell (3) (Fig. I).
The casing serves to protect the functional parts from accidental damage,
sub-soil water, and the load of the foundations and superstructure. The
grooves on its surface (5) running parallel to its axis serve to grip the con-
crete of the foundations (Fig. 2).
The pressure cell essentially consists of a diaphragm (10) integral with
4 Numbers in parentheses appearing in this section refer to corresponding parts in

Fig. 1.
AGARWAL AND VENKATESAN ON MEASURING FOUNDATION PRESSURE 1.55
FIG. 4--Strain gages attached to the earth-pressure cell and the cantilever with the
compensating strain gage.
FIG. 5--The assembled instrument.
the body of the cell. One electrical resistance strain gage (12) is bonded to
the inside center of the diaphragm, and its leads are taken out through a
water-tight plug (13) in the back plate (II). This back plate has a threaded
recess in the center to be screwed on to the free end (9) of the cantilever
(Fig. 3).
The fixed end (8) of the cantilever is screwed into the rear end of the
casing. F o u r strain gages (14a, b, c, d) are fixed one on each side of the
cantilever near its fixed end. Another strain gage (15) is fixed on a separate
steel plate (16) bonded to the inside bottom of the casing with a rubber pad
sandwiched between. This gage serves to colnpensate for the temperature
and other factors (Fig. 4).
When the instrument is assembled, the sensitive surface of the pressure
cell is flush with the front side of the casing and serves as the face plate of
the instrument (Fig. 5).
\- - - - - Pn = PcosO
~=~-~A'" -~ ~L-J-
'-~ When P is uniform, Pn
__~__ Pn is also uniform.
"= [,~- Since 0-=-1; pn = p
r P
ta) Inclination
Compressive Stress= Sb+Sd

,@sb Tensile Stress ==Sb-S d
Where
I Sb S b = Bending Stress
Sd = Direct Stress
(b) Simuttineous Act Ion SbiS much larger thanSd
Average load acting centrally

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eccentricity~ 1/looin.in 4in.
I"
Lc} E c c e n t i c i t y
FiG. 6 Possible errors in the measurement.
Working Principle
When a uniform pressure is acting normal to the face plate of the earth-
pressure cell, the diaphragm deflects inwards. This deflection taken up by
the strain gage (12) is recorded in the strain-measuring bridge as strain.
Under this condition, the cantilever does not deflect.
AGARWAL AND VENKATESAN ON MEASURING FOUNDATION PRESSURE 157
Where there is a vertical frictional force, the cantilever deflects in the

vertical plane. The strain gage on one horizontal surface of the cantilever
(14a) is subjected to compression, whereas that on the opposite surface
(14b) is subjected to equal tension. When this pair of strain gages is con-
nected to the adjacent arms of the strain bridge, it results in double sensi-
tivity.
Similarly, when the frictional force is in the horizontal direction, that is,
FIG. 7--Calibration of the cantilever by means of steel wire attached to the face-
plate and loaded with a hanger.
normal to both the above forces, the strain gages (14c and d) on the vertical
sides of the cantilever record this force.
In designing the instrument, the following points were also taken into
account:
(1) The cantilever is designed to keep the deflection to the minimum
without unduly affecting the sensitivity of the cantilever.
(2) When the cantilever deflects, the face plate rotates by a very small
angle equal to the slope at the free end of the cantilever (Fig. 6a). This still
keeps the distribution of the normal earth pressure uniform. The compo-
nent of the earth pressure normal to the diaphragm is slightly reduced.
/.,50
400
/
350
/
30q
25q
//
~
13.
d
2o~
/
"-~ 151
N //
0 20 60 60 80 100 120
Frictional Load ( l b . )
FIG. 8 Calibration of the cantilever for vertical skin friction.
But the error caused by this in the pressure reading is less than the sensi-
tivity of the instrument.
(3) Whether there is any frictional force or not, the normal earth pres-
sures will always be acting on the face plate. These pressures will be trans-
mitted to the cantilever, and all four strain gages on it will be subjected to
equal compression. When there is a frictional force, the cantilever bends.
The bending strain on the strain gages is much greater than the strain due
to direct compression (Fig. 6b).
(4) The bending stresses due to the eccentric line-of-action of the nor-
mal pressure on the face of the cell is very small (Fig. 6c).
Thus the errors due to the simultaneous action of the normal earth
pressure and skin friction are too small to affect the results and can be
easily accounted for if desired.
Calibration of the Instrument
For Skin Friction

As the cantilever was so dimensioned that compression and deflection
were small, the instrument was calibrated for skin friction without any
FIG. 9 ~ C a p fixing the rubber membrane to the casing. Outlet closed with rubber
washer and stud, after expelling air.
normal pressure on the face of the cell. The casing was fixed to the flame
of a consolidation apparatus. A fine steel wire was tied to the top stud of
the back plate and made to pass over the earth pressure cell (Fig. 7). By
adding weights to the hanger tied to the other end of the wire, a vertical
tangential force was applied and the corresponding readings of the pair
of top and bottom gages taken with a balancing-type strain bridge. This
calibration graph was linear (Fig. 8).
For Earth Pressures

The best way of calibrating the earth-pressure cell would be to apply a
precisely known uniform soil pressure over its face and take the corre-
sponding strain readings. As no suitable equipment was readily available
to apply uniform soil pressure, the cell was calibrated using water pressure.
A thin rubber sheet was placed over the face of the cell extending to the
periphery of the casing. A circular metallic cap with an inlet and an outlet
FIG. I0--Calibration of pressure cell using the pore-pressure apparatus and strain
measuring equipment.
800
600
r--
w
z..
cx
r
401
S
/
~o
r
O
201
tt)
/ ., i
20 40 60 80 100 120
Applied Pressure ~,psi.)
FIG. 1l--Calibration of earth presstire cell.

160
AGARWAL AND VENKATESAN ON MEASURING FOUNDATION PRESSURE 16]
FIG. 12 Form work of the pile showing the instrument fixed in position.
FIG. 13--First stage of precast pile with tile cap attached to the instrument.
---"rj-. ,
2
V
A if!fit L
. ' .i[Back FiLl
Pile \
War e r Lev(
1
v
Cable Concl~ it -.\
1g
i
Inst r umenti--~
V k/ q
.t
"~", Sitty Sand

I' %]
I
9 . ~,(
8~
Section A-A
FIG. 1 4 - - S o i l p r o f i l e a n d p o s i t i o n o f pile w h e n c o m p l e t e l y d r i v e n 9
was fixed to the face of the casing by means of studs, thus clamping the
rubber sheet in position (Fig. 9). The inlet served to let the water pressure
act on the rubber sheet, and the outlet to expel the entrapped air.
A Bishop's pore-water-pressure apparatus was utilized to apply water
pressure over the cell, and the corresponding strain readings were taken
(Fig. 10). The calibration graph is shown in Fig. 11 and is linear.
Field Testing
The instrument was fixed to the reinforcement cage of a pile (Fig. 12),
and the cables were taken out through a conduit pipe. The pile was first
concreted to 11 ft in length. After casting, the pile was 18 in. square, and
the center of the face plate was 3 ft 3 in. from the tip of the pile. Both the
face plate and the front side of the casing were flush with one surface of the
pile, and the cantilever was normal to it (Fig. 13). The cap used during
calibration was left in place to protect the instrument during concreting,
as well as from accidental damages before driving.
The testing was carried out in two stages: vertical loading only, and
horizontal loading only. The soil profile of the site obtained from bore-hole
data is given in Fig. 14.
Vertical Loading--The cap was removed, and the pile made to stand
FIG. 15--Pushing the pile vertically by means of hydraulic jack.
vertically in a 8-ft-deep pit which was then back-filled. The pile was then
pushed into the ground by static loading using a 100-ton hydraulic jack
(Fig. 15). The reaction was obtained against a framework anchored to
eight under-reamed piles. In the first stage, 2 ft 9 in. of the pile was pushed
into the ground. Then an additional 9 ft of the pile was cast over it in two
stages and progressively driven into the ground. The strain readings of the
top and bottom gages were taken during penetration. After every 6-in.
penetration a load test was carried out by increasing the load in steps
adopting cyclic loading until progressive settlement occurred. The total
settlement and rebound readings during the test were noted. When the
load was removed, the rebound of the pile was found to be always greater
than the deflection of the cantilever. Thus the cantilever was allowed to
completely relax after every load removal. This helped the measurement
of skin friction, assuming the cantilever to be horizontal when the next
stage of loading was started.
Horizontal Loading--After pushing the pile down to 18 ft from ground-
164 INSTRUMENTS A N D APPARATUS FOR SOIL A N D ROCK MECHANICS
FIG. 16 Horizontal loading of the pile.
Skin - f r l c t i ~ ( p si)
2 4 G.L.
. . . . Assumed : I
! - - I~lcasu redl :
2i
/
i
4 J ~_
t0 ~
111 N
FIG. 17 Distribution of skin friction along pile length.
AGARWAL AND VENKATESANON MEASURINGFOUNDATION PRESSURE 16,5
Total Skin-friction (.Tons)
0 z. 8 12 16 20 24
O-
l
l
l~ Assumed
ff i
_.i ,
~ 6
al
o
i,-.
I $ ,-------~
_?
._~ 12,
1-
14: O'
"6
16"
18
FIG. 18~Comparison of total skin friction obtained by the instrument and cyclic
load tests.
level, horizontal load was applied 1 ft above ground level using a 50-ton
jack reacting against one row of under-reamed piles (Fig. 16). The load
was applied in increments, and the readings of the pressure cell recorded.
Observations
Vertical Loading
Direct Measurement--From the cantilever readings and the calibration
graph, the total frictional force on the face plate was computed and divided
240
~200
o
0.
?,160
LI-
c-
O
;120
01
E
~. 40
o
Z .0
0 ~ - . . ~ _ " .L J
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Horizontal Load on PiLe- Top (Tons }

FIG. 1 9 - - C o m p a r i s o n between c o m p u t e d and measured earth pressures.
by the area of the face plate (12.56 in.'-') to get the unit stress. In order to
arrive at the correct skin friction, this force was then multiplied by the
ratio of the coefficient of friction between concrete and soil, and that be-
tween steel and soil? The skin friction thus obtained was plotted against the
corresponding depth of the cell below ground level (Fig. 17).
5 This ratio was found to be 1.422 from a series of direct shear tests.
As the cell was 4 ft 9 in. below ground level at the start of the experi-
ment, the skin friction from ground level to 4 ft 9 in. was assumed to in-
crease linearly as shown by the dotted line OA in Fig. 17.
The area enclosed between the curve and the depth axis to any particular
depth, multiplied by the perimeter of the pile, represents the total frictional
resistance offered by the soil from ground level down to that depth. This
was computed for different depths of penetration. The results are plotted
in Fig. 18, Curve a. 6
Cyclic Load Tests--The load-bearing capacity of the pile at various
depths was determined from cyclic load tests. It was separated into skin
friction and point bearing as suggested by van Weele [2] and Mohan et al
[6]. The frictional load thus obtained is plotted against the depth of pene-
tration in Fig. 18, Curve b.
Hor&ontal Loading
As the strain bridge used for calibrating the earth pressure cell went out
of order after driving the pile, another bridge had to be used. The changing
of the bridge at this stage made it impossible to determine the earth pres-
sure acting on the cell when no horizontal load was applied to the pile
top. At any rate, taking the case of no horizontal load as the reference
point, the additional soil pressures developed with every increment of
horizontal loading were readily determined from the slope of the calibra-
tion graph.
These values are compared in Fig. 19 with those computed by using the
non-dimensional curves given by Reese and Matlock [7] for different loads
and moments on the top of the pile. In these computations it has been
assumed that the soil modulus varies linearly with depth as k~ = nhx,
where: k~ = soil modulus at depth x, and m, = constant of modulus of
subgrade reaction. For the particular site, the value of nh has been as-
sumed as suggested by Terzaghi [8].
Discussion of Results
Skin Friction
The portion A B of the curve in Fig. 17 represents the values of skin
friction while the instrument passed through the back-fill. These are quite
low. Portion BC represents the variation in skin friction when the instru-
ment passed through the upper silty-sand layer in undisturbed state. It is
interesting to note that, when the instrument passed through the silty-clay
layer indicated by the portion CD, the skin friction decreased as expected.
A glance at Fig. 18 shows that the values of skin friction obtained by
the instrument are approximately half those obtained by load tests. As
6 In these computations the reduction in the surface area at the tip of the pile has been
ignored.
the instrument was the first of its kind to be made and tested, the canti-
lever was more rigid than necessary to measure the pressures. This insuffi-
cient sensitivity may have caused the difference.
Normal Earth Pressures

In Fig. 19, Curve I represents the c o m p u t e d values o f the lateral soil
pressure acting at the level of the instrument. Curve lI represents those
pressures actually recorded by the instrument. As it was not possible to
measure the soil pressure on the cell when no h o r i z o n t a l load was applied
to the t o p of the pile, as mentioned earlier, it was assumed that, when there
was no lateral load acting on t o p o f the pile, there was no earth pressure.
Curve II was d r a w n on that basis. Since the pressure cell h a d been calibrated
with water pressure but used to measure sand pressures, the measured
values were lower than the actual values. However the pressure cell ob-
servations were in close conformity with those reported by Sikso and
J o h n s o n [9].
Conclusions
So far, the study has shown that the w o r k i n g principle of the instrument
is sound, and that reliable performance can be expected in actual use.
F u r t h e r i m p r o v e m e n t s envisaged will m a k e the cell m o r e efficient and
easier to use. In actual practice, it will be necessary to design the earth
pressure cell and the cantilever to function in the expected range of pres-
sures and calibrate them in conditions that simulate actual field conditions
as closely as possible.
Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to Shri D, R. N a r a h a r i for his valuable sug-
gestions in writing the paper. The investigation was carried out as a part of
the n o r m a l p r o g r a m of research at the Central Building Research Institute,
R o o r k e e (India), and the paper is being published with the permission of
the director.
References
Ill S. M. Chakravarty, "Sinking Deep Well Foundations with Special Reference to
Brahmaputra Bridge," lml#m Concrete Jourmtl, Vol. 34, 1960, pp. 342 46.
[21 A. V. van Weele, "A Method of Separating the Bearing Capacity of a Test Pile into
Skin-friction and Point Resistance," Proceedings, Fourth international Conference
on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 1958, Vol. 2, pp. 76 80.
[3] K. Oien, "An Earth Pressure Cell for Use in Sheet Piles Oslo Subway," Pivceed-
i/tgs, Brussels Conference on Earth t'ressure Problems, Belgian Group of the In-
ternational Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 1958, Vol. 2.
pp. 118 26.
[41 G. Magnusson, "Research Methods and Instruments for the Measurement of
Stresses and Deformations in Earth Dams," Tra/tsactiopls, Third Congress on Large
Dams, International Commission on Large Dams of the World Power Conference,
1948, Vol. I, pp. 493 499.
[5] E. R. Ward, J. R. Bayliss, and P. P. Brown, "Special Features on Large-Scale Earth

Pressure Tests," Transactions, Am. Soc. of Civil Engrs. Vol. 114, 1949, pp. 297-326.
[6] Dinesh Mohan, G. R. S. Jain, and Virendra Kumar, "Load Bearing Capacity of
Piles," Geotechnique, Vol. 13, March 1963, pp. 76-86.
[7] L. C. Reese and H. Matlock, "Non-dimensional Solutions for Laterally Loaded
Piles with Soil Modulus Assumed Proportional to Depth," Proceedings, Eighth
Texas Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, The University
of Texas, 1956, Special Publication No. 29, Paper No. 7.
[8] K. Terzaghi, "Evaluation of Coefficients of Sub-grade Reaction," Geotechnique,
Vol. 5, 1955, pp. 297-326.
!9I H. A. Sikso and C. V. Johnson, "Pressure Cell Observations--Garrison Dam Proj-
ect," Journal, Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, Am. Soc. Civil Engrs.,
Vol. 90, No. SM 5, Sept. 1964, pp. 157 179.
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Over the years the Society has published many tech-
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ASTM - Intruments and Apparatus For Soils and Rock Mechanics

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Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved); Wed Nov 25 18:06:05 EST 2015

ASTM SPECIAL TECHNICAL PUBLICATION NO. 392

Price $8.50; to Members$5.95

The Society is not responsible, as a body,

Pminlt,d in Ba]lhnoru, Md.

The papers in this volume were presented at the Symposium on Instrumenta-

Laboratory Shear Testing of Soils, STP 361 (1964),

Nuclear Methods for Measuring Soil Density and

ASTM Compilation of Procedures for Soil Testing,

Planning Soil Dynamics I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n - - E . T . SELIG A N D R. P. J O Y CE . . . . 1

Planning Soil Dynamics Instrumentation

KEY WORDS: planning, instrumentation, soils (types),

measurements. The test plan is reviewed by the analytical group to ensure

received as much attention as any other measurement. Reported work

electrical-resistance-type transducers. The variable potentiometer consists

E. T. Selig, "A Review of Stress and Strain Measurement in Soil," Proceedings,

an accelerometer employed in a pressure or stress field can be reduced

Signal Conditioning Equipment

complete the Wheatstone bridge circuit, balance resistors to compensate

Instrumentation Data Forms

calibration constants, recording speeds, and variation in test configuration.

Application of the Test Plan

instrumentation system. It is not implied that the system can be com-

ELECTRICAL CALIBRATION SHOCK WAVE PROFILE

in the planning stage. Some of the characteristics that would be of interest

Calibration Charge 5-<

measured. The principal investigator and analyst can usually supply a

Data Reduction Equatio,s

The quantity H therefore represents the horizontal distance on the oscillo-

i:~l ,,ut (R:~,,Lit)R4 i n (5)

System Degradation of Wave Form

where the F ' s refer to frequency response (Table 1).

An approximate expression for Tt is thus written

The system is limited to faithfully recording and reproducing signals with

F1G. 3--Voltage equivalent circuit for piezoelectric stress transducer.

E,, (t) = Eo exp (-- t/C~R3 ~n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (10)

P,,(t) = Po exp [ - ( t - tx)/C,R3in]; tl =< t _-< t2 . . . . . (11)

At this time then, Pro(t) = P ( t ) = Po . Recalling that AP = P ( t ) - - P,~(t)

The errors introduced in oscillograph reproduction by inadequate fre-

application. It also provides a valuable means of communication between

The Development of a Free-Field Soil

ABSTRACT: Many problems are inherent in measuring stresses in

REFERENCE: J. K. lngram, "The Development of a Free-Field

~Physicist, Nuclear Weapons Effects Division, U. S. Army Engineer Waterways

This stress mobilization has been termed soil-arching, further defined as

contained. The acoustic impedance is commonly termed the oc product.

Early Developmental Gages

F~o. 1 Viewof WES W-type gage.

Waterways Experiment Station Gage Design

FIG. 2--Assembled W-type gage.

Fio. 3--SE gage schematic.

FIG. 4- Strain gage placement, SE gage.

FIG. 5 Completed SE gage.

is surrounded by a plastic baffle to provide the required thickness-to-

TABLE 1--Gage Characteristics.

W .... 2024-T4 alu- 3 1 0.50 0.162 1.00 X 106 100 40

Fro. 6--Gage electrical circuit.

TABLE 2 Approximate SE-Gage Output Parameters.

critical in m a k i n g long-term static measurements. Second, a n increase in

FIG. 7--Response of soil pressure gage (SE-type) to a step air shock.

FIG, 8--Typical drop test record.

4 6 . 8 7 " I.D. I,,

FIG. 9--Gage placement in test chamber.