Investigation of bearing capacity changes of different clays by using the Menard pressuremeter tests

Abstract

Determination of bearing capacities of clay soils always have been a major problem in Geotechnical Engineering, because of the fact that long-term laboratory tests are required on undisturbed samples. But, it is very difficult to get undisturbed sample from sites and the bearing capacities which were calculated with the laboratory test values are always greater than the actual bearing capacities. The Menard Pressuremeter is a reliable method of calculating the bearing capacity, but it is expensive and requires experience and time. So, it is difficult to apply it on all cases. In this study, the Menard pressuremeter test was performed to 13 different test locations in Turkey. A total of 65 test results were taken into account. Bearing capacities were calculated for 5 foundation depths (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 m) and ranged between 240 to 400 kPa, 400 to 1200, 720 to 1900, 1200 to 2800, and 1700 to 3200 kPa, respectively. Finally, an equation has been developed for calculating the bearing capacity of clay soils depending on different foundation depth. In this manner, the Geotechnical Engineers who have limited facilities can take into account this equation and they will be able to have ideas about the bearing capacity of clay soils by performing only a few experiments on their site investigation.   Key words: Clay, geotechnique, Menard pressuremeter test (PMT), bearing capacity, Turkey.