Cone penetration test (CPT)-based soil behaviour type (SBT) classification system — an update

Abstract

A soil classification system is used to group soils according to shared qualities or characteristics based on simple cost-effective tests. The most common soil classification systems used in geotechnical engineering are based on physical (textural) characteristics such as grain size and plasticity. Ideally, geotechnical engineers would also like to classify soils based on behaviour characteristics that have a strong link to fundamental in situ behaviour. However, existing textural-based classification systems have a weak link to in situ behaviour, since they are measured on disturbed and remolded samples. The cone penetration test (CPT) has been gaining in popularity for site investigations due to the cost-effective, rapid, continuous, and reliable measurements. The most common CPT-based classification systems are based on behaviour characteristics and are often referred to as a soil behaviour type (SBT) classification. However, some confusion exists, since most CPT-based SBT classification systems use textural-based descriptions, such as sand and clay. This paper presents an update of popular CPT-based SBT classification systems to use behaviour-based descriptions. The update includes a method to identify the existence of microstructure in soils, and examples are used to illustrate the advantages and limitations of such a system.