Palm Jumeirah, Dubai: cone penetrometer testing data from the carbonate sand fill

Abstract

Palm Jumeirah was the first of the iconic Palm Islands to be reclaimed from the sea off the Dubai coastline. Extensive cone penetrometer testing (CPT) of the hydraulic fill was undertaken, both pre- and post-vibro-compaction, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the ground improvement. A study of these data, together with standard penetration test (SPT) and shear wave velocity results, is presented for this shelly carbonate sand fill. Large peaks in cone resistance qc were recorded at the start of penetration, which were not considered representative of the undisturbed fill. These were possibly caused by crushing of the friable shelly particles during cone penetration, leading to the formation of a high-density soil plug around the cone. Secondary compression or other ageing mechanism may have occurred at depth in the fill, as well as an apparent longer-term increase in cone resistance with time in the fill above and around groundwater level. However, at a nearby site, in the short term, an apparent decrease in cone resistance with time was observed at the same depth in a similar fill material. In addition, the effect of vibro-compaction point spacing on post-densification CPT results is presented, along with the effect of mean particle size on SPT–CPT correlation.