STANDARD PENETRATION TEST (SPT)

THEORY
Suryakanta | May 12, 2013 | Geotechnical, Soil Investigation | No Comments

Standard Penetration Test Setup

This test involves the measurement of the resistance to penetration of a sampling spoon under
dynamic loading
The resistance is empirically correlated with some of the engineering properties of soil such as
density index, consistency, angle of internal friction, bearing capacity etc.
This test is useful for general exploration of erratic soil profile for finding depth to bed rock or
hard stratum and to have an approximate indication of the strength and other properties of soil,
particularly the cohesionless soil, from which it is difficult to obtain undisturbed samples.
 The importance of this test is that, even though empirical, the soil design of foundations in sand
is mostly based on the N-value. N value serves as the basic parameter for geotechnical design
in sand.
In this test, a thick wall standard split spoon sampler, 50.8 mm outer diameter and 35 mm inner
diameter, is driven into the undisturbed soil at the bottom of the bore hole under the blows of a
63.5 kg drive weight with 75 cm free fall. The minimum open length of the sampler should be 60
cm. the number of blows required to drive the sampler 30 cm beyond the seating drive of 15
cm, is termed as the penetration resistance N.

RELATION BETWEEN SPT (N) VALUE WITH DIFFERENT SOIL PROPERTIES IN CASE OF
COHESION LESS SOIL.
SPT VALUE (N) COMPACTNESS ANGLE OF UNIT WEIGHT ()
FRICTION () in T/m3

04 Very loose < 28 1.1 1.8

4 10 Loose 28 30 1.4 2.0

10 30 Medium 30 36 1.7 2.2

30 50 Dense 36 41 1.7 2.3

> 50 Very dense > 41 2.0 2.3

RELATION BETWEEN SPT (N) VALUE WITH DIFFERENT SOIL PROPERTIES IN CASE OF
COHESIVE SOIL.
SPT VALUE (N) COMPACTNESS UCS (qu) in kPa

04 Very soft to soft 25

48 Soft to Medium 50

8 16 Medium to Stiff 100

16 32 Stiff to very stiff 200

>32 Very stiff to Hard 400

5 FACTORS INFLUENCING SELECTION

OF DEPTH OF FOUNDATION
Suryakanta | August 2, 2015 | Foundation, Geotechnical | No Comments
For economic consideration, the depth at which the foundation is located (i.e. Df) is kept as small as
possible. Typically it is in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 m below the ground surface for buildings that do not
have a basement. For those building having a basement, Df can be 3.5 m or more.
In determining Df, the soil profile is carefully studied and the influence of the following factors
accounted for.

1. PRESENCE OF LOOSE FILL

Often one encounters pockets of loose fill of recently dumped soil or construction waste at or near
the ground surface. Foundations should be placed below such loose fills.

2. DEPTH OF WATER TABLE

Wherein possible, shallow foundations are not placed below the ground water level to avoid
expensive de-watering costs during foundation construction.

3. LATERAL VARIABILITY
Usually all foundations are placed at the same Df. there are soil profiles that calls for a different Dffor
different footings. For example, consider a profile in which rock exist at shallow depth and is gently
sloping in some direction. In an attempt to take advantage of the high allowable soil pressure
associated with placing the foundation on rock, we will have a different Df for each footings so that
each can be placed on the rock.

4. ZONES OF VOLUME CHANGE

In cold regions where temperature changes cause soil near the ground surface to go through cycles
of freezing and thawing with consequent changes in soil volume, foundation are placed below the
zone so affected.

Similarly in swelling soils, there is a zone that undergoes volume change due to wetting and drying
cycles. Df is selected such that it is more than the thickness of this zone.

5. SCOUR
When shallow foundations are designed to be placed below the river bed for river crossing
structures, one must recognize that the elevation of the river bed changes on account of scour that
occurs when the water flows at high velocity such as during floods.
The scour depth increases due to construction that occurs when piers of river crossing structures are
put in place. For such foundations Df must be greater than the deepest scour level anticipated.

9 PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE WHILE

PERFORMING STANDARD
PENETRATION TEST (SPT)
Suryakanta | January 27, 2014 | Geotechnical, Soil Investigation | No Comments
There are many pitfalls associated with the standard penetration test. If these are not carefully
avoided, the N-values collected from SPT are mere numbers rather than being useful indicators of
soil parameters. Some of the precautions to be taken are:
1. Results of standard penetration test are not reproducible in cohesion less soil below water level
unless care is taken to maintain the water level inside the borehole always slightly above the
natural groundwater level. If the water level in the borehole is lower than natural groundwater
level, quick conditions develop and soil becomes loose.
2. The split spoon sampler must be in good condition with no excessive damage or wear and tear
to the cutting shoe.
3. The drill rods should be the right size and not too heavy or too light. The drill rods also should
not be bent.
4. The fall of the monkey weight should be free. Friction in the pulley or guide rod, or braking
action by crew, or interference due to hoist rope can result in higher than actual blow count.
5. The height of free fall of monkey weight must be 750 mm. It is obvious that the change in the
height of fall will result in a value different from the actual value for N.
6. The bottom of borehole must be properly cleaned before seating the split spoon sampler.
Otherwise the test will be carried out in the loose and disturbed soil at the bottom of the bore
hole.
7. If casing is used in borehole it must not be driven ahead of the level at which SPT is being
carried out. Otherwise the SPT will be carried out in a soil plug enclosed at the bottom of the
casing
8. The rate of delivery of the blows should not be too fast.
9. Careless work on the part of drilling crew, improper and incorrect counting of blows and
recording must be avoided.
Standard Penetration Test Setup

CORRECTION APPLIED TO SPT VALUE

Suryakanta | May 13, 2013 | Geotechnical, How To, Soil Investigation | 6 Comments
The N-value observed during testing is not utilized directly in assessing soil properties. These values
are corrected to account for

1. The overburden pressure

2. Dilatancy in saturated fine sands and silts

CORRECTION FOR OVERBURDEN PRESSURE

The penetration resistance of soil depends on the over burden pressure. At deeper depth in-situ soil
will have higher overburden pressure hence its response to SPT test will be better when compared
to the behavior of the same soil at shallow depth.
Bazaraa (1967 Bowels, p99) proposed the following corrections to the actual count N, based on the
over burden pressure
For p0 <= 75 kPa

For p0 > 75 kPa

Where
N = corrected N value

N = observed N-value
P0 = over burden pressure, (kPa) = x D
D = depth of testing (m)

= unit weight of soil at the time of testing

N is increased from the actual blow count when p0 <=75 kPa

N is decreased from the actual blow count when p0 >75 kPa

CORRECTION FOR THE DILATANCY IN

SATURATED FINE SANDS AND SILTS
When dynamic loads are applied on silty and fine sandy soils in saturated state the pore pressure in
such soil will not be in a position to get dissipated due to low permeability. Hence, during dynamic
loading (i.e. application of blows) the pore water will offer a temporary resistance to dynamic loads.
This leads to higher value of N-value which is unsafe. Therefore when SPT is performed in saturated
silts and fine sands and if the observed N-value is more than 15, a correction has to be applied to
reduce the observed values. This correction is applied on the N-value corrected for over burden
pressure (N).

If the stratum (during testing) consists of fine sand & silt below water table, the corrected N-value
(N) has to be further corrected to get the final corrected value N.