Correlation of CPT measurements and relative density of LEAP-2017 and LEAP-2020 centrifuge models

Abstract

Miniature cone penetration tests (CPTs) were conducted during the LEAP 2017 and LEAP 2020 centrifuge experiments to characterize and quantify the soil deposit properties. A total of 43 CPTs were obtained for deposits with varying relative densities. All experiments were performed using Ottawa F-65 Sand and used the same CPT tool model. A comprehensive study was undertaken to assess the quality and consistency of the CPT data. Outlier and regression analyses were used to develop an empirical relation to evaluate the relative density of Ottawa sand (centrifuge) deposits from measurements of the CPT tip resistance. This relation provides an estimate of the mean relative density profile, and associated standard deviation to quantify uncertainty. The relation accounts for the overburden pressure influence and the potential effects of container width (when the used container is narrow). The experimental results were found to have a good consistency with a regression R2 equal to 0.85.