Relationship Between Soil Stiffness Gauge Modulus and Other Test Moduli for Granular Soils

Abstract

Recently, there has been a concerted effort to develop methods for direct measurement of soil stiffness, modulus, or both. A new field test device called the soil stiffness gauge (SSG), which is currently marketed as GeoGauge, shows potential to assess near-surface stiffness. A comparison is presented of moduli obtained from the SSG with moduli obtained from other tests on granular soils. The maximum singleamplitude dynamic force produced during the SSG measurement is determined to be 17.3 N. On this basis, an estimate of the shear strain amplitude produced from the SSG is made by finite element analysis. A plot of shear modulus versus shear strain amplitude on a medium sand obtained from different laboratory tests, including the SSG, is presented. The comparison of the SSG modulus with the moduli from other laboratory tests indicates that the SSG outputs a dynamic modulus corresponding to a strain amplitude approximately 20 times higher than the expected range and with a magnitude lower than it should be on the basis of the induced strain. Nevertheless, the SSG modulus is still higher than that from the resilient modulus test typically used for pavement design.