Using pressuremeters

Using pressuremeters
A guide to pressuremeter testing

This booklet is an introduction to pressuremeter testing using our instruments. It is intended to be an aid to people trying to decide whether to use pressuremeter testing, and what type of pressuremeter would be appropriate for their project. People wanting to buy pressuremeter equipment will find some of the information useful. It is primarily a technical guide. For information about costs please contact us directly on cam@cambridge-insitu.com It is a brief guide only. Further details on all aspects can be found on our website: http://www.cambridge-insitu.com

Furggwanghorn, Switzerland

Contents

An introduction to pressuremeters
Inserting the pressuremeter Construction and calibration Advantages and limitations of the pressuremeter test

How to decide what pressuremeter to use

Self Boring Pressuremeter (SBP) 73mm High Pressure Dilatometer (HPD73) 95mm High Pressure Dilatometer (HPD95) 47mm Reduced Pressuremeter (RPM)

Additional considerations
Self Boring Pre-boring Pre-boring with the 47mm RPM

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Special tests
Horizontal tests Creep tests Consolidation tests Permeability testing

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Projects where our pressuremeters have been used

The underground research facility at Mol, Belgium Testing waste and investigating barrier walls Kolkata Metro East-West Project

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Worked examples
Case A. A self bored pressuremeter test in London Clay Case B. A pre-bored pressuremeter test in chalk Case C. A pre-bored pressuremeter test in competent rock

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References

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Disassembled CDU

Portable power pack

A kit of parts for a self boring pressuremeter

USING PRESSUREMETERS

An introduction to pressuremeters
Pressuremeters are devices for carrying out insitu testing of soils and rocks for strength and stiffness parameters. They are generally cylindrical, long with respect to their diameter, part of this length being covered by a flexible membrane. Pressuremeters enter the ground by pushing, by pre-boring a hole into which the probe is placed, or by self boring (fig.1) where the instrument makes its own hole. Once in the ground, increments of pressure are applied to the inside of the membrane forcing it to press against the material and so loading a cylindrical cavity. A test consists of a series of readings of pressure and the consequent displacement of the cavity wall (fig. 2), and the loading curve so obtained may be analysed using rigorous solutions for Fig. 1 A self boring pressuremeter approximately 1.25m x 0.08m cylindrical cavity expansion and contraction. It is the avoidance of empiricism that makes the pressuremeter test potentially so attractive. The test is usually carried out in a vertical hole so the derived parameters are those appropriate to the horizontal plane.

Inserting the pressuremeter

The interpretation of the pressuremeter test must take account of the disturbance caused by the method used to place the probe in the ground. The least disruptive of the methods is self boring where disturbance is often small enough to lie within the elastic range of the material and is therefore recoverable. This is the only technique with the potential to determine directly the insitu lateral stress, ho, the major source of uncertainty when calculating the coefficient of earth pressure at rest, ko. However all methods allow the confining stress to be inferred. The disturbance caused by pre-boring and pushing is never recoverable. However for any pressuremeter test it is possible to erase the stress history of the loaded material by taking it to a significantly higher stress than it has previously seen, and then to reverse the direction of loading. The point of reversal is a new origin and the stress:strain response will be that due to the undisturbed properties of the material. In fig. 2 the three types of test are

Fig. 2 Test curves for 3 types of probe in Gault clay at about 5mBGL

shown. The tests were carried out at the same location (a heavily over-consolidated Gault clay site) at similar depths and give similar results for strength and stiffness. Although the loading paths appear very different there are similarities in the unloading paths and whenever a small rebound cycle is taken. These cycles are of particular importance. No matter how disturbed the material prior to insertion all types of pressuremeter test have the potential to make repeatable measument of shear stiffness and the reduction of stiffness with increasing strain.

Pre-boring
A pocket is formed in the ground by conventional drilling tools and the instrument is subsequently placed in the pre-formed hole. The major defect in this method is the complete unloading of the cavity that takes place in the interval between removing the boring tool and pressurising the probe. The material must be capable of standing open and so the method is best suited to rock. As fig. 2 indicates it is possible to make a test in stiff clay. However comparing the pre-bored curve to the selfbored shows how much further the cavity may have to be expanded before the influence of

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Water Return flow Cable

Strain gauged spring

Flexible membrane

Expansion follower Pore water pressure sensor

Membrane clamp Flow of slurried soil and water Cutting shoe edge Rotating cutter

Fig. 3 73mm and 95mm High Pressure Dilatometer

Fig. 4 Self boring

insertion disturbance can erased. The method can be used in dense sand if drilling muds are used to support the open borehole but it is unlikely to be suitable for loose sands. The Mnard pressuremeter widely used in France is an example of a pre-bored device. In the UK the High Pressure Dilatometer (the terms dilatometer and pressuremeter are interchangeable in this context) is available and is used in rocks, hostile materials such as boulder clay, and dense sands. See fig. 3. A pre-bored operation will require the assistance of a drilling rig. Unlike the other insertion methods, if the hole is cored then it may be possible to make laboratory tests on material that is directly comparable to that being tested by the pressuremeter. Pre-bored pressuremeter testing in a vertical hole has

are derived from the contraction curve and stiffness parameters from the response of small rebound cycles. The method is fast and can make a test in any material into which a Pushing cone can be inserted. The coupling of the As the name suggests, pushed-in profiling capability of the cone with the ability pressuremeters are forced into the ground so to make direct measurements of strength and raising the state of stress in the surrounding stiffness is especially attractive. However as soil. A special case of this approach is the fig. 2 indicates the stresses required to make Cone Pressuremeter (CPM) where a 15cm2 a satisfactory test are much higher than for the cone is connected to a pressuremeter unit of other methods, and at these levels of stress it the same diameter. The disturbance caused to is probable that crushing of the soil particles is the material is total and the only parameter that taking place. This may be a significant factor can be obtained from the loading path is the especially for tests in sand. Also obtaining limit pressure of the soil. The pushed curve in reaction for pushing the probe may present fig. 2 is an example of a CPM test and shows difficulties a jacking force of 10 tonnes or a clear plateau after the cavity has been more is not unusual. expanded by about 15%. Strength parameters
USING PRESSUREMETERS

been carried out to depths greater than 500 metres and depths of 200 metres are routine.

Self boring
Fig. 4 shows a schematic of the Cambridge self boring pressuremeter (SBP). The instrument is a miniature tunnelling machine that makes a pocket in the ground into which the device very exactly fits. The foot of the device is fitted with a sharp edged internally tapered cutting shoe. When boring, the instrument is jacked into the ground, and the material being cut by the shoe is sliced into small pieces by a rotating cutting device. The distance between the leading edge of the shoe and the start of the cutter is important and can be optimised for a particular material. If too close to the cutting edge the ground suffers stress relief before being sheared. If the cutter is too far behind the shoe edge then the instrument begins to resemble a close ended pile. In stiff materials the usual setting is flush with the cutting shoe edge. The cutting device takes many forms. In soft clays it is generally a small drag bit, in more brittle material a rock roller is often used. The instrument is connected to the jacking system by a drill string. This is in two parts, an outer fixed casing to transmit the jacking force and an inner rotating rod to drive the cutter device. The drill string is extended in one metre lengths as necessary to allow continuous boring to take place. All the cut material is flushed back to the surface through the instrument annulus, there is no erosion of the cavity wall. Normally water is used but air and drilling muds have been applied with success. Self boring is effective in materials from loose sands and soft clays to very stiff clays and weak rock. It will not operate in gravel and materials hard enough to damage the sharp cutting edge. In principle the probe can be made to enter the ground with negligible disturbance. In practice, self boring results in a small degree of disturbance that must be assessed before deciding a value for the insitu lateral stress. Experience has shown that the self boring disturbance is low enough to remain within the elastic range of the material.

special adaptors. Self boring in a vertical hole is routinely carried out to depths of 60 metres or more. The self boring method is also used as a low disturbance insertion system for other devices such as load cells and permeameters.

Construction and calibration

There are many designs of pressuremeter in current use, some of which are of complex construction. Fig. 5 is a view of the inside of a 6 arm Cambridge self boring pressuremeter. There are transducers for measuring the radial displacement of the membrane at 6 places and the total and effective pressure being applied to the cavity wall. The electronics for the signal conditioning including the conversion from analogue to digital is contained in the probe itself. Apart from supplying power, the output of the probe may be connected directly to the serial port of a small computer. This approach is necessary in order to obtain a high resolution free of noise. Pressuremeters with local instrumentation are able to resolve without difficulty displacements of 0.5 microns and pressure changes of 0.1kPa. Pressuremeters can be expanded using air or a non-conducting fluid such as light transformer oil. There are automated systems for pressurising the equipment. Automation allows the expansion of the cavity to occur at a constant rate of strain. It is conventional to log the output of the pressuremeter on computer and to plot the loading curve in real time.

Meticulous calibration of the equipment is vital. The transducers must be calibrated regularly both for sensitivity and drift. Almost all pressuremeters suffer the defect that the output of the transducers is governed by the movements and pressure on the inside of the membrane, where what is required is the displacements and stresses acting on the cavity wall. The properties of the pressuremeter membrane can be a significant source of uncertainty. It requires an amount of work to make it move, and an additional component to The SBP requires a modest amount of keep it moving. This is relevant to tests in soft reaction. On some soft clay sites it is possible soils. The membrane contribution may be for the self boring kit to operate without support estimated by carrying out membrane from other drilling tools. The minimum interval expansion tests in free air. between tests is one metre. Where tests are The other major influence on the more widely spaced or in materials with occasional bands of hostile layers the SBP can measurements is system compliance, or the be used in conjunction with a cable percussion contribution of the probe itself to the measured stiffness. This can be a significant source of system, or be driven by a rotary rig using
Fig. 5 Inside a 6 arm SBP
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error if the probe is used in very stiff soils or weak rock. This contribution may be estimated by inflating the instrument to full working load inside a metal sleeve of known elastic properties. The importance of the various calibrations depends on the type of pressuremeter and where it is being used. For example the contribution of the hose supplying pressure to the probe is highly relevant if volume changes are being measured at the surface, but is of no importance at all for a probe with internal instrumentation, such as the Cambridge family of devices.

Advantages and limitations of the pressuremeter test

Advantages
A large number of fundamental soil properties are obtained from a single test. To derive these properties, no empirical correcting factors are needed. Measurements are made insitu at the appropriate confining stress. A large volume of material is tested a typical test loads a column of material 0.5 metres high and extending to more than 10 times the expanded cavity radius. This is the equivalent of at least 1000 triaxial tests on 38mm samples. Representative loads are applied in the example shown in fig. 2 about 12 tonnes is being applied to the cavity wall. Results can be obtained quickly as all the data logging and most of the analysis is carried out by automated systems. Commercial operation has shown that the instruments, though more complex than conventional site investigation equipment, are reliable. There are many materials whose properties can only be realistically determined by insitu measurement. The pressuremeter test is particularly appropriate for predicting the performance of laterally loaded piles. Pressuremeter tests are routinely used to calibrate finite element models of complex geotechnical problems.

Limitations
The instrument will not penetrate gravels, claystones or the like, so generally pressuremeter testing requires support from conventional drilling techniques. Failure planes and deformation modes are not always appropriate to those occurring in the final design. An estimate of the anisotropy of the material will be required in order to derive vertical parameters from lateral values. Many familiar design rules and empirical factors are based on parameters obtained from traditional techniques. It is not always possible to use them with pressuremeter derived values, even if the insitu parameters more accurately represent the true state of the ground. Only two stress paths can in practice be followed, undrained and fully drained. The instruments and their associated equipment are complex by conventional site investigation standards and can only be operated by trained personnel. Use of an inappropriate analysis to interpret a pressuremeter test can result in seriously misleading parameters.

USING PRESSUREMETERS

How to decide what pressuremeter to use

The decision about what pressuremeter to use for a particular project is not clear cut and there will be budgetary constraints in addition to technical considerations. This section of the booklet focuses on the technical issues. It is divided up by instruments, as there is considerable overlap between the probes and the materials they can test.

Self boring pressuremeter

Insertion methods Initial Diameter Length of material sacrificed Displacement system Displacement resolution Pressure resolution Self boring 83-89mm, depending on the configuration At least 1 metre of material must be self bored before testing Direct strain sensing at 3 points equally spaced around the centre of the expanding region Better than 1 micron 0.1kPa

Maximum expansion capability 15% greater than the at rest diameter Maximum working pressure Suitable for: Strengths 10MPa Homogeneous clays (soft to very stiff), silts and sands, soft rocks such as flint-free chalk The SBP gives the highest quality pressuremeter test with minimal insertion disturbance. It is the only device able to measure the external pore water pressure and so can provide effective stress parameters. As an addition to the expansion test it can incorporate a consolidation phase. With a slight modification it can also be used to obtain good quality measurements of the permeability of the formation [ref 26]. If the cutting shoe edge is damaged (by gravel or a hard layer) then the insertion disturbance is not minimal and the expansion capability may not be enough to erase the consequences. There is no core recovery as such but all the cut material is returned to the surface as a completely disturbed sample. Additional notes In general self boring is a faster system than other methods for making a test pocket. It can also be less demanding on supporting equipment. In some circumstances it can operate as a portable stand alone system and It is often used in conjunction with a cable percussion rig. There are versions of this instrument that have 6 displacement sensors and incorporate a three axis inclinometer.

Weakness

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73mm High Pressure Dilatometer (HPD73)

Insertion methods Initial Diameter Allowable pocket diameter Length of material sacrificed Displacement system Displacement resolution Pressure resolution Pre-bored hole or pocket 73mm 75mm to 83mm At least 2 metres of material must be cored to give a pocket long enough to test Direct strain sensing at 6 points equally spaced around the centre of the expanding region Better than 1 micron 0.3kPa

Maximum expansion capability 33% greater than the nominal pocket diameter (76mm) Maximum working pressure Suitable for: Strengths 20MPa in normal use, 30MPa with some modifications Stiff clays, sands and rock of all kinds Pre-boring a hole means that core can be recovered, giving the possibility of carrying out laboratory tests on the same material as the pressuremeter tests. It can be difficult to core at this diameter in highly fractured or friable materials. If the material is prone to collapse, and a pocket it lost, this can give rise to substantial gaps in the information obtained from a borehole. If the pocket size is 83mm then the expansion capability falls to 22%. Because a large pocket size implies a high level of disturbance it is likely to be difficult to achieve a test that gives representative properties for the material. The instrument also has a magnetic compass so that the orientation of the displacement axes can be known.

Weakness

Additional notes

95mm High Pressure Dilatometer (HPD95)

Insertion methods Initial Diameter Allowable pocket diameter Length of material sacrificed Displacement system Displacement resolution Pressure resolution Pre-bored hole or pocket 94mm 97mm to 110mm At least 2 metres of material must be cored to give a pocket long enough to test Direct strain sensing at 6 points equally spaced around the centre of the expanding region Better than 1 micron 0.3kPa

Maximum expansion capability 49% greater than the nominal pocket diameter (101mm) Maximum working pressure Suitable for: Strengths 20MPa in normal use, 30MPa with some modifications Stiff clays, dense sands and rock of all kinds Pre-boring a hole means that core can be recovered, giving the possibility of carrying out laboratory tests on the same material as the pressuremeter tests. Provided the pocket stands open then a test is almost certain. Because it has a large expansion capability it is often used in transition materials where core recovery is likely to be poor. If the material is prone to collapse, and a pocket it lost, this can give rise to substantial gaps in the information obtained from a borehole. This HPD has sometimes been fitted with a point and used as a push-in probe in very soft materials, typically alluvial clay. The instrument also has a magnetic compass so that the orientation of the displacement axes can be known.

Weakness

Additional notes

USING PRESSUREMETERS

47mm Reduced Pressuremeter (RPM)

Insertion methods Initial Diameter Allowable pocket diameter Length of material sacrificed Displacement system Displacement resolution Pressure resolution Pre-bored hole and pushed 46mm 46mm to 52mm Only 0.6 metres of material is required to make a test Direct strain sensing at 3 points equally spaced around the centre of the expanding region Better than 1 micron 0.1kPa

Maximum expansion capability 52% greater than the at rest diameter Maximum working pressure Suitable for: Strengths Weakness 12MPa Medium to stiff clays, loose to dense sands and weathered or soft rock Extremely compact, portable and versatile Due to the small diameter the displacement sensing system is slightly more affected by instrument compliance than the larger probes. It can be difficult to make a hole for the probe at the required tolerance, as this is not a common size. Although it can be pushed, in practice it will be difficult to do this in stiff material because of the high loads that will be required. Additional notes Because the probe is dimensionally similar to a Mnard pressuremeter it is often used to carry out this style of testing, with the advantage that the high resolution of displacement allows good quality unload/reload cycles to be incorporated. The probe has also been used down a borehole formed by a 102cm cone penetrometer, with the cone profile used to identify suitable locations for the pressuremeter test.

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Additional considerations
It is usually the case that our testing is one part A stand-alone drilling system only of the operations being carried out in a operating underneath borehole, and we are operating as specialist a cable percussion rig sub-contractors to the Main Contractor. This part of the booklet is concerned with making This is a common way of working, using all clear the separation between what we supply the special self boring drilling parts already and what we need. mentioned but working in conjunction with a cable percussion rig (fig. 3.2). The rig places a column of water well casing to a depth just above where the first test is required, This comes in three varieties: hammering it in the last 0.5 metre. The SBP system couples to the top of the casing column and the skin friction on the casing is enough to A stand-alone drilling system requiring no additional equipment allow self boring into most materials. An ample water source is required, not normally part of There are not many circumstances where this a cable percussion operation. is possible but it does happen. Usually it will If the test spacing is more than 2 metres then be a green field site. The system consists of hydraulic rams to jack the probe, a small motor the operation is usually one test and out. The to rotate the inner drill string, and a water pump rig open-holes to the next test depth, carrying to provide circulating fluid. A portable hydraulic out additional testing if required.

Self boring

power pack and control panel distributes power to the various units (fig. 3.1).

One difficulty is that kentledge for the hydraulic rams is limited, so in practice suitable material If the hole is left open for a long time then the will be of low to medium strength only. The SBP tested zones begin to collapse so a reasonably must drill every metre of the borehole so quick operation is important. additional testing is not an option. An ample water source is required.

There are some locations that only a reduced height cable percussion rig can access, so the combined system is versatile.

Fig. 3.2 Cable percussion system

A system for operating under a rotary rig

In this method we supply the pressuremeter, a special drill string and a purpose-built adapter for the rotary drill head. The probe is drilled as if it were a core barrel, but the adapter has a thrust bearing to separate down-thrust from rotation. Everything above the adapter spins, everything below is static and the probe enters the ground without being rotated (fig. 3.3 opposite). Water needs to be supplied at appropriate flows. This means that the rig pump and water swivel must be in good order, because the SBP water path is a narrow annulus compared to normal drill rod. Air mist can be used but is more difficult and only suitable for relatively shallow holes. This system allows core to be taken in the test intervals. In material with a tendency to collapse or in boreholes deeper than 40 metres it is the only appropriate option.

Pre-boring
For pre-boring the problems of getting the probe into the ground are the responsibility of the drilling contractor. The additional issues to be considered are these:
Fig. 3.1 Self boring, stand-alone system

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Size of borehole. It sometimes happens that the same size borehole is cored from surface to some considerable depth, and the High Pressure Dilatometer (HPD) must test layers in this borehole. Because the probe is a close fit to the nominal core size this can be risky. Any material falling down onto the probe can make it difficult to recover the device. Wireline coring. We are often asked to consider adapting the equipment to work with a wireline coring system. The fit of the probe to the cavity has to be reasonably close for a successful test. It is not practical to test the cavity made by a wireline system with a probe small enough to pass through the wireline core bit. There are wireline systems able to core at two diameters but it is not advisable to use the wireline cable for lowering the pressuremeter. If the probe becomes trapped the wire cable will not be able to exert more than a nominal force to help pull it back. We therefore recommend lowering the probe on rods. These rods must has a diameter no greater than the diameter of the borehole less two times the diameter of the umbilical connecting the probe

to the pressure source on the surface. This umbilical must be taped at intervals to the rod to prevent loops occurring. Inflation method. The HPD can be inflated with oil or air. The decision about what method to use depends on circumstances. The best test is obtained with oil because it allows pressure to change without large temperature alteration. In good rock where certainty over tiny displacements is important this is an issue, especially where surface temperature is considerably different from the downhole state. However oil raises environmental issues. We use bio-degradeable transformer oil to minimise the risk. Oil also gives a slower overall test, as time has to be allowed for oil to return to the surface. There are ways of speeding up the process but it means adding an additional umbilical to the system, making the lowering and raising procedure more complex and time consuming. For speed and convenience air inflation is used in most circumstances. However, oil is always

used when calibrating the pressure capability of the probe on the surface because it is inherently safe in the event of a failure of any part. Speeding up testing. The easiest way to accelerate the test rate is to reduce the number of lowering and raising events. We sometimes test a borehole that has been completely cored prior to our arrival. In such circumstances the probe is lowered to the deepest location first, then tests are carried out in reverse order to depth. Normally the deepest part will be the tightest fit because the core barrel has made the fewest passes. Material with cavities. Limestone in particular can be prone to solution cavities. Testing in this material is frustrating because if the HPD membrane is not completely supported at all places then it will burst at pressures too low to give useful data. Where such testing is required we advise that the boreholes be cored in advance of our arrival. They should then be grouted up. Once we are on site the grouted holes can be re-cored, with the grout core available for inspection to prove the integrity of the cavity wall. The grout will be weak compared to the limestone so no reinforcement takes place.

Pre-boring with 47mm RPM

The difficulty with this device is that the diameter is smaller than the customary drill parts a drilling contractor can be expected to keep. The holes for the RPM need to be formed with drill bits and drill rods based on the AW size. Typically the RPM is used to target certain layers at significant depth, and in these circumstances there is no alternative but to make a large diameter borehole first, then drill a 51mm or similar diameter pocket out of the base of the larger hole. Provided the pocket for the RPM is not too long (no more than six metres) then we supply the necessary rods to take the probe and umbilical from its small hole into the larger hole. At this point we expect to couple to whatever drill rods are available via a suitable adapter. For very shallow tests, within 5 metres of the surface, we can sometimes make the borehole ourselves using a powered hand auger. Successful tests can also be made using the RPM to ream out an existing cone penetrometer (CPT) hole. This technique has been applied with some success in weak chalk, taking advantage of a hole made by a 102cm CPT.
Fig. 3.3 Rotary rig system
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Special tests
The pressuremeter is normally used to carry out a cavity expansion test in a vertical hole. There are other more specialised tests that can be made and this section gives some examples. holes are common-place. If one axis is arranged to be vertical when the pressuremeter is used horizontally then this can inform the analysis, because the vertical insitu stress is normally known.

Consolidation tests
The SBP can carry out a holding test to obtain consolidation parameters. It is a modification of a normal undrained expansion test. Near the point where the cavity would be unloaded it is instead held at that expansion and the excess pore water pressure (pwp)that has been generated is allowed to dissipate. As it does so the effective stress at the cavity wall starts to rise and the cavity wants to expand. This triggers an automatic control system to reduce the total pressure at the cavity wall to compensate. The net result is that the cavity remains at a constant diameter for as long as the test is conducted. There is a closed form solution for this situation [ref 6] that uses the parameters derived from the expansion phase of the test and the time taken for 50% of the generated excess to dissipate. Fig. 4.3 shows the dissipation data from two pwp cells, their mean and the total pressure response, plotted in a normalised form. Any of the profiles can give a value for the horizontal consolidation, but it is normal to use the mean of the two pwp sensors.

Horizontal tests
Fig. 4.1 shows an example of a self boring pressuremeter working horizontally. The location is more than 200 metres below ground in a test tunnel researching the properties of Boom Clay as a possible barrier medium for the long term storage of nuclear waste. It was not permitted to use water as a drilling fluid, so the SBP was adapted to drill with air. The camera flash is reflecting off some of the returning soil particles. Horizontal testing has also been carried out with pre-bored pressuremeters and inclined

Creep tests
Fig. 4.2 shows a test carried out with an HPD in a rock glacier. At intervals during the test the pressure was held constant for one hour duration. For each step the creep displacements, expressed as a percentage of the cavity diameter, were plotted against log elapsed time. The slope of this trend gives a stress dependent rate. In this material the creep is substantial and made it difficult to obtain an unload/reload cycle, even after a long creep hold.

Fig. 4.1 Horizontal self boring in Boom Clay

Fig. 4.2 Creep testing in Switzerland

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Permeability testing
Figs. 4.4 and 4.5 show the result of a permeability test carried out with a self boring pressuremeter. The procedure exploits the ability of the pressuremeter to bore a pocket in the ground that it exactly fits. The stress conditions are, more or less, representative of the insitu state and are acting on the body of the probe, giving an excellent seal. As a consequence the drill string now provides a pipe from the surface down to the bottom of the probe allowing access to the formation. For low permeability material the pipe work is filled with water, is sealed off and is connected to the output of a small constant flow pump. This then pressurises the water column. Fig. 4.4 shows steps of pressure, and the flow rates required to establish each step. Fig. 4.5 plots the flow Fig. 4.3 Consolidation testing in London Clay rates against pressure, and gives a linear trend. The slope of this trend is a function of the permeability and a shape factor. This is one result at this location, for one geometry the tested pocket is zero length and the permeability is the mean of the horizontal and vertical characteristics. If time allows, then the probe can be pulled back to give a pocket of some length and the test repeated. This gives a second permeability value where the horizontal characteristic is having a greater influence. Further pulling back allows additional values to be obtained. By a best fit process it is possible to identify the anisotropy factor for the horizontal and vertical conditions. In practice reconciling the data is more complex than this implies because as more and more of the material is exposed to the test then a scale effect related to the variability of the fabric becomes apparent [ref 26]. The permeability testing is an addition to the conventional expansion test, and is a way of obtaining more data from one self boring episode. If k is higher than 10-7m/sec then the same concept can be used, but constant flow is not required and a falling head test can be carried out, measuring the height of the water column in the SBP drill rods.

Fig. 4.4 Permeability testing, raw data

Fig. 4.5 Permeability testing, result

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Projects where our pressuremeters have been used

The front cover of this booklet gives an indication of the range of projects and environments where the pressuremeter test can be used. It is widely used off-shore as well as on land, in deserts, in mountains and in tropical conditions.

The underground research facility at Mol, Belgium

We have at intervals over the last 15 years made visits to the SCK-CEN facility at Mol, Belgium, to carry out pressuremeter testing in the underground research facility HADES. This Every project has its own set of problems and difficulties that have to be overcome. This might is a system of shafts and tunnels some 224 metres below ground level in a zone of Boom mean man-handling equipment in remote Clay in a highly plastic condition. The clay has locations, such as Tanzania or The Gambia, interesting self healing properties when or using helicopters to deposit equipment on fractured, displays extremely low levels of a rock glacier in Switzerland. It is not usual permeability and offers a possible solution for us to run a completely self-contained to the problem of the disposal of high level operation. Most of the time we have to work nuclear waste. Since 2000 the facility has been with a local drilling contractor and operatives run by an expert group called EURIDICE and who will be unacquainted with our equipment and unused to what is required for a successful pressuremeter testing has been used during pressuremeter test. This is not a major difficulty, the construction of the facility and after to examine the engineering properties of the clay. and our engineers are accustomed to looking We ourselves began work there in 1999 with a after the on-site training involved. self boring pressuremeter. We were not allowed Our pressuremeters have been used on some to introduce water into the formation and so of the worlds major civil engineering projects, drilled using air from a modified drill rig to such as Crossrail in London or the proposed implement the self boring process. Special crossing of the Padma river in Bangladesh. casing and drilling parts were designed by us What follows is a selection of some of the with some help from the drilling contractor to more unusual projects. give the ideal flow path for delivering the air and returning the cuttings. The bulk of the testing has been horizontal. Speed is important

in this material it must be bored and tested as rapidly as possible because after one hour the material will close onto the probe with sufficient force to make extracting the equipment almost impossible. Successful pre-bored tests have also been carried out with a 95mm HPD. This allowed a larger pressure to be applied and a greater cavity expansion achieved than is possible with a self bored probe. Links http://www.euridice.be/ http://www.sckcen.be/en/OurResearch/Research-facilities/HADESUnderground-laboratory

Testing waste and investigating barrier walls

We were approached by Dr Neil Dixon of Loughborough University (now Professor of Engineering) about the possibility of using a pressuremeter to investigate the mechanical properties of municipal solid waste. Most of the work took place at a landfill site in Calvert, Buckinghamshire. The waste was a mixture of residential and commercial residue, not well-

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sorted, in various stages of degradation and depending on its age could be lightly to heavily compacted. The primary purpose of the testing was to obtain engineering parameters that would permit the interaction between the body of the waste and the components of the protective barriers to be modelled and quantified. Self boring, pushing and pre-boring were all attempted. If metallic materials were encountered then the damage caused to equipment could be spectacular. The most satisfactory results were obtained with a 95mm HPD, where the large expansion capability proved to be helpful. The pockets for this were cut dry, using a modified bit resembling a large hole cutter. The waste is heterogeneous, may be partially saturated and of no particular particle size so the results were variable and the analytical processes were not necessarily appropriate. However shear stiffness from unload/reload cycles proved to be a plausible and repeatable parameter, and it was possible to relate the stiffness values to stress level. Partly as a result of this work we became interested in the properties of the barriers themselves, and have (in conjunction with Cambridge University) carried out research

work on the mechanical properties of manmade and natural barriers, with special attention being paid to permeability. Reference Dixon, N, Whittle, R, Jones, DRV, Ngambi, S (2006) Pressuremeter Tests in Municipal Solid Waste: Measurement of Shear Stiffness. Gotechnique, 56(3), pp 211-222. Link http://hdl.handle.net/2134/4618

The only rig available turned out to be a small, light and rather old quill drive system where most of the controls had long broken down. Rate of rotation and advance was down to the skill of the driller, who knew his rig and how to coax results from it. On more than one occasion the rig rotation system broke down whilst driving the pressuremeter, and the boring was completed by rotating rods by hand. In some ways a worse problem was an inadequate water pump, as no boring is possible if the pump is not delivering a sufficient flow. However as our report noted at the time, these issues were a problem for the rate of progress of the fieldwork rather than the tests themselves, which were of reasonable quality. Some of the expansions in the more clay-like material were turned into consolidation tests. The tests typically took two hours to complete, and were popular with the drilling crew. There is an increasing need for complex transport infrastructure in such locations and this project is typical of the kind of testing we are asked to do.

Kolkata Metro East-West project

Twenty four self bored tests were carried out at four critical locations along the alignment of the proposed metro in Kolkata, India. The pressuremeter testing component of the site investigation had been specified by W S Atkins. For the most part the tests were conventional in material that behaved either as a clay or sand. What was different about this project was the technical and practical difficulties that had to be overcome to achieve success. The work was conducted on a 24 hour basis at pavement locations in the heart of the city.

Fig. 5.1 Self boring in Kolkata

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Worked examples
The following pages are examples of pressuremeter tests from a range of materials with illustrations of how engineering parameters can be derived.

CASE A. Analysis of a self bored pressuremeter test in London Clay

The most straightforward test to analyse is an undrained cavity expansion and contraction in clay, where a self boring pressuremeter has been used. The insertion disturbance is likely to be small and the undrained path means it is easy to calculate radial and circumferential stresses and strains directly from the Fig. 1 Field curve displacement and pressure measurements made by the instrument. There are a number of analyses that can be applied; what is described here is one approach. The test itself was over water so depth is referred to bed level.

Fig. 1. Field curve

The test is logged as a set of readings of pressure and displacement. At intervals the loading is interrupted to make a small unload/reload cycle. These cycles can also be taken on the final contraction.

Fig. 2. Lift-off
The first action when analysing the data is to select a plausible co-ordinate of stress and displacement that represents the origin for the cavity expansion. The stress value is the point where some movement is apparent. The displacement ordinate is close to zero, a feature of self boring.

Fig. 2 Lift-off

Fig. 3. Shear strength (a)

Having selected an origin, displacement can be converted to strain and the data analysed. This figure shows the result of plotting the loading data on semi-log scales and identifying the ultimate slope and intercept. These give shear strength and limit pressure [ref 9].

Fig. 3 Shear strength (a)

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Fig. 4. Shear strength (b)

This is a similar procedure but applied to the final contraction data. It is of special interest because the origin at the start of unloading is an observable point the origin used for the initial loading is always uncertain due to disturbance [ref 19].

Fig. 5. Shear modulus (a)

This is a simple approach to derive an estimate of the shear modulus, by taking the slope of the chord bisecting a cycle of unloading and reloading. In a linear elastic material the unloading and reloading data would coincide. Here the cycle appears hysteretic, indicating that modulus varies with strain.

Fig. 4 Shear strength (b)

Fig. 6. Shear modulus (b)

This non-linear stiffness behaviour can be represented by a power law. Here the reloading data from the previous plot are redrawn on log-log scales and the slope and intercept identified. These two parameters allow the current shear stress to be predicted at any strain [ref 3]. The two parameters are referred to as (the shear stress constant) and , the non-linear exponent. will take a value between 0.5 and 1, where 1 is a linear elastic response. These may be combined to give secant shear modulus Gs for a particular value of shear strain , as follows: Gs = -1. This expression is good for values of shear strain down to 10 -4 , the resolution limit of our probes. This is not small enough to predict Gmax which is probably found at a shear strain nearer 10 -5.
Fig. 5 Shear modulus (a)

Fig. 6 Shear modulus (b)

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Fig. 7. Stiffness/strain
The trend of declining stiffness with strain is drawn here for each cycle. Because the test is virtually undrained the three cycles give almost exactly the same result. The lines come from the power law results, the data points from applying Palmer (1972) directly to the data [ref 25].

Fig. 7 Stiffness/strain

At this stage of the process the analyst has a set of parameters describing the strength and stiffness of the material, and the insitu stress state. There are differing levels of uncertainty in these values. One method for resolving this uncertainty is to see if the parameter set can

reproduce the measured field curve. Every measured data point could be calculated if the underlying stress:strain curve was known. The soil model used here assumes a nonlinear elastic/perfectly plastic stress:strain curve for which there is a closed-form solution.

The essence of such solutions is to define the stress and strain required to make the material yield, then integrate this condition between known boundaries. In the implementation shown here only the insitu horizontal stress is treated as a free variable.

Fig. 8. Curve comparison

The parameters produced so far are used to calculate a pressure/strain curve for comparison with the measured data. The nonlinear stiffness parameters are assumed correct. A tiny alteration to the origin reconciles loading and unloading shear strength. Finally, the initial reference stress is chosen for best fit [ref 29].

Fig. 8 Curve comparison

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CASE B. Analysis of a pre-bored pressuremeter test in chalk

A more difficult test to analyse is now described. This is a test in weak chalk made with a pre-bored pressuremeter. The pocket for the probe was made by rotary coring. The analysis is harder because the disturbance caused by pre-boring and the complete unloading of the cavity prior to the probe being placed means that little can be gleaned from the initial response. It is also complicated because the material is highly permeable and therefore the test is a drained loading. This means that it is not so easy to derive radial strain and circumferential stress from measured pressuremeter co-ordinates of pressure and displacement. Account has to be taken of dilatant properties, possible cohesion and the ambient pore water state.

Fig. 9. Test in chalk

The picture is slightly misleading because it shows the final output of the analysis. The additional features of this test compared with the self boring example in clay are: The cavity wall is not pressing against the instrument at the start of the test. There is an appreciable difference between the point of first contact and cavity strain zero. This is a consequence of unloading the cavity prior to the test. The initial part of the expansion contains short duration stress holds, to monitor the creep characteristics of the material. There is a longer stress hold before the start of each unload/reload cycle Less evidence of hysteretic behaviour in the cycles, so they appear more linear than the clay. The membrane collapses at the head of water pressure at the end of the test, a feature of a drained expansion.

Fig. 9 Test in chalk

Fig. 10. Estimates of cavity reference stress and displacement

It is not possible to discover the initial stress state by inspection, so a method is used whereby estimates are back-calculated from the yield stress. The plot above consists of three views. The main display shows about 2mm of the initial expansion. The slope of the stiffest part has been used to estimate initial shear modulus. The onset of plasticity is where the data points move away from the slope line. Initially the reference stress is guessed, the displacement ordinate of that stress giving an origin for calculating strain. An analysis for mobilised shear stress near failure is carried out, and a calculated failure stress derived. This should coincide with the observed value. If not, the guess of cavity reference stress is adjusted and the cycle repeated until a match is found. The chart on the left shows the creep displacements from the holds included in the expansion phase of the test. Creep seems to

Fig. 10 Estimates of cavity reference stress and displacement

fall to a minimum in the vicinity of the cavity reference stress estimate and increases again near the yield stress estimate. This analysis is used regardless of whether the loading conditions are drained or undrained. It is expected to give a higher bound estimate for reference stress but a lower bound value for the strain origin [ref 20, 11].

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Fig. 11. Friction angle

Because the expansion is drained a different analysis for strength is required. The gradient of a log-log plot of effective stress and strain is used to produce a value for the internal angle of friction and dilation. Ambient water pressure and the residual friction angle have to be known or estimated [ref 16].

Fig. 12. Stiffness/strain

Non-linear modulus parameters are obtained in the same manner as a test in clay. Because the test is drained each cycle plots a higher trend, related to the mean effective stress. The cycle on the final unloading shows the stiffest response because the mean stress is that which applied at the end of loading. Fig.11 Friction angle

Fig. 13. Drained curve modelling

We have developed a closed-form solution for a drained test in a c-phi material based on the same non-linear elastic/perfectly plastic shear stress:shear strain curve as for the undrained case. It is less well constrained: Cohesion is also unknown as well as the insitu lateral stress. Shear modulus parameters must be adjusted for stress level. Poissons ratio is required, and this probably has to be guessed. Ambient water pressure and residual friction angle are required. The solution takes no account of tensile strength which begins to be an issue as material approaches a rock like condition. Despite these cautions the procedure is capable of producing plausible matches to the field data. In this example the cavity reference pressure from the yield stress analysis gives the best fit curve but it has been necessary to make a slight adjustment to the origin for strain. The shear modulus at yield is nearly 3 times greater than the value provided by the initial slope, a typical result for a pre-bored test. The solution is also able to provide a value for the limit pressure of the material [ref 4].

Fig. 12 Stiffness/strain

Fig. 13 Drained curve modelling

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CASE C. Analysis of a pre-bored pressuremeter tests in rock

If failure in shear is an identifiable point in a pressuremeter test then it is always possible that analyses for strength and initial stress state can be carried out. In rock, the material can be so good that the probe reaches its maximum working pressure with only elastic deformation being seen. All that can be easily derived from such tests is a value for shear modulus. It it important to derive this from as late in the test as possible so that the forming of the pressuremeter cover against the rock is not confused with movement of the rock itself.

Fig. 14. Elastic deformation only

The example is from a test in intact limestone. Although not obvious, there are two unload/reload cycles in this test, virtually indistinguishable from the loading path. The only parameter that is sensible to take from this test is an estimate of shear modulus from the latter part of the loading, giving a value greater than 15GPa, or in terms of Youngs modulus 40GPa. The total displacement once the probe has contacted the cavity wall is only about 80 microns, so careful calibration of the probe for compliance effects is essential. A shear modulus of 15GPa is about the limit of what the probe can determine before the calibration uncertainty exceeds the apparent value. In general it is the poorer material that is of most interest, especially those where core recovery is poor or does not produce intact samples for laboratory testing. The final example is from a test carried out in weathered limestone.
Fig. 14 Elastic deformation only

Fig. 15. Elastic deformation with tensile failure

The test shows two cracks forming, one at 4.8MPa and another at 8.1MPa. The event is too fast for any data points to be recorded so the plot shows a sudden jump at these stress levels. The slope of the loading curve changes as a result of the tensile failure. Slope A is stiffer than slope B which is stiffer than slope C. Not so obvious is the fact that the reload cycles have a different slope and are not representative of the properties of the intact rock they will be under-estimates.

Fig. 15 Elastic deformation with tensile failure

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Fig. 16. Interpreting creep readings

In this figure, creep readings are plotted on the left and the data in the main display are end of creep readings only. No parameters are quoted except for the initial slope and its intercept on the displacement axis. Although the material appears to have failed in shear, the loading curve is actually three lines of differing slopes with the shear failure stress not yet reached. After each crack has occurred, creep displacements reduce in magnitude. Curiously, the one parameter that it is possible to identify with only limited uncertainty is the horizontal cavity reference pressure, Po. The first crack appears at 4MPa total radial stress. At this point the circumferential stress must be zero or below. It follows that Po can be no greater than 2MPa, and if the tensile strength were known, could be narrowed down even further.

Fig. 16 Interpreting creep readings

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References
1. BAGUELIN, F., JEZEQUEL, J.F. and SHIELDS, D.H. (1978) The Pressuremeter and Foundation Engineering. Transtech Publications, Clausthal, Germany ISBN 0-87849-019-1. BELLOTTI, R., GHIONNA, V., JAMIOLKOWSKI, M., ROBERTSON, P. and PETERSON, R. (1989). Interpretation of moduli from self-boring pressuremeter tests in sand. Gotechnique Vol. XXXIX, no. 2, pp.269-292. BOLTON M.D. and WHITTLE R.W. (1999) A non-linear elastic/perfectly plastic analysis for plane strain undrained expansion tests. Gotechnique Vol. 49, No.1, pp 133-141. CARTER, .I. P., BOOKER, J. R. & YEUNG, S. K. (1986). Cavity expansion in cohesive frictional soils. Gotechnique 36, No. 3,.pp 349-358. CHANDLER, R.J., LEROUEIL, S. and TRENTER, N.A. (1990) Measurements of the permeability of London Clay using a self boring permeameter. Gotechnique 40, No. 1, pp 113-124. CLARKE, B.G., CARTER, J.P. and WROTH, C.P. (1979). In Situ Determination of Consolidation Characteristics of Saturated Clays. Design Parameters in Geotechnical Engineering, VII ECSMFE, Brighton, Vol. 2, pp 207- 211. ERVIN, M.C., BURMAN, B.C. and HUGHES, J.M.O.(1980). The use of a high capacity pressuremeter for design of foundations in medium strength rock. International Conference on Structural Foundations on Rock, Sydney. GHIONNA, V., JAMIOLKOWSKI, M., LANCELLOTTA, R. & MANASSERO, M (1989). Limit Pressure of Pressuremeter Tests. Proc. of 12th ICSMFE, Rio De Janeiro. GIBSON, R.E. and ANDERSON, W.F. (1961) In situ measurement of soil properties with the pressuremeter, Civil Engineering and Public Works Review, Vol. 56, No. 658 May pp 615-618. 2.

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10. HABERFIELD, C.M and JOHNSTON, L.W (1990) The interpretation of pressuremeter tests in weak rock theoretical analysis. Proc. 3rd Int.Symp.Pressuremeter, Oxford, pp. 169-178. 11. HAWKINS, P.G., MAIR, R.J., MATHIESON, W.G. and MUIR WOOD, D. (1990) Pressuremeter measurement of total horizontal stress in stiff clay, Proc. ISP. 3 Oxford. 12. HOULSBY, G.T and SCHNAID, F. (1994) Interpretation of shear moduli from cone pressuremeter tests in sand. Gotechnique 44, no.1, pp 147-164. 13. HOULSBY, G. and WITHERS, N.J. (1988) Analysis of the Cone Pressuremeter Test in Clay. Gotechnique, Vol 38, No. 4, pages 573-587. 14. HUGHES, J.M.O. (1973). An instrument for in situ measurement in soft clays. PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge. 15. HUGHES, J.M.O., ERVIN, M.C. (1980) Development of a High Pressure Pressuremeter for determining the engineering properties of soft to medium strength rocks. Proc. 3rd Aus.-NZ Conf. Geomechanics, Brisbane, pp.292-296. 16. HUGHES, J.M.O., WROTH, C.P. and WINDLE, D. (1977) Pressuremeter tests in sands, Gotechnique 4, pp 455-477. 17. JARDINE, R.J. (1991) Discussing Strain-dependent moduli and pressuremeter tests. Gotechnique 41, No. 4., pp 621-624. 18. JARDINE, R.J. (1992) Nonlinear stiffness parameters from undrained pressuremeter tests. Can. Gotechnique. 29, pp 436-447. 19. JEFFERIES, M.G. (1988) Determination of horizontal geostatic stress in clay with self-bored pressuremeter. Can. Gotechnique. 25 (3), pp 559-573. 20. MARSLAND, A. and RANDOLPH, M.F. (1977). Comparison of the Results from Pressuremeter Tests and Large Insitu Plate Tests in London Clay. Gotechnique 27 No. 2 pp 217-243.

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21. MAIR, R.J. and WOOD, D.M. (1987) Pressuremeter Testing. Methods and Interpretation. Construction Industry Research and Information Association Project 335. Publ. Butterworths, London. ISBN 0-408-02434-8. 22. MANASSERO, M. (1989) Stress-Strain Relationships from Drained Self Boring Pressuremeter Tests in Sand. Gotechnique 39, No.2, pp 293-307. 23. MUIR WOOD, D. (1990) Strain dependent soil moduli and pressuremeter tests. Gotechnique, 40, pp 509-512. 24. NEWMAN, R.L., CHAPMAN, T.J.P. and SIMPSON, B. (1991) Evaluation of pile behaviour from pressuremeter tests. Proc. Xth European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Florence, May 1991. 25. PALMER, A.C. (1972) Undrained plane-strain expansion of a cylindrical cavity in clay: a simple interpretation of the pressuremeter test, Gotechnique 22 No. 3 pp 451-457. 26. RATNAM, S., SOGA, K. and WHITTLE, R.W. (2005) A field permeability measurement technique using a conventional self boring pressuremeter. Gotechnique, 55. pp. 527-537. ISSN 0016-8505. 27. ROWE, P.W. (1962) The Stress Dilatancy Relation for Static Equilibrium of an Assembly of Particles in Contact. Proceedings of the Royal Society. Vol. 269, Series A, pp 500-527. 28. WHITTLE, R.W. and DALTON, J.C.P. (1990) Discussing Experience with the self boring rock pressuremeter. Ground Engineering, Jan/Feb, pp 30-32. 29. WHITTLE R.W (1999) Using non-linear elasticity to obtain the engineering properties clay a new solution for the self boring pressuremeter. Ground Engineering, Vol.32, No.5, pp 30-34. 30. WINDLE, D. and WROTH, C.P.(1977) The Use of a Self-boring Pressuremeter to determine the Undrained Properties of Clays. Ground Engineering, September. 31. WITHERS, N.J., HOWIE, J., HUGHES, J.M.O. and ROBERTSON, P.K. (1989) Performance and Analysis of Cone Pressuremeter Tests in Sands. Gotechnique 39, No. 3, pp 433-454. 32. WROTH, C.P. (1984) The Interpretation of In Situ Soil Tests. Twenty Fourth Rankine Lecture, Gotechnique 34, No. 4, pp 449-489.

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Load cell pressuremeter

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