Geotechnical Properties of Sediments by In Situ Tests

Abstract

River sediments are mainly composed by intermediate materials, between sand and clay, for which partial drainage conditions apply. In these cases, the interpretation of CPTU tests may be wrong since existing correlations are based on fully drained or fully undrained conditions. This paper presents results from CPTU tests performed in a river area to evaluate whether partial drainage conditions were observed. The results, presented in terms of the normalized velocity, show that great part of the analyzed profiles are in this condition. For this reason, the angle of shearing resistance was presented as a conservative estimate of the soil strength in these areas.