In-situ Determination of Undrained Shear Strength of Louisiana Soils by Quasi-Static Cone Penetration Test

摘要

Engineering properties of cohesive soils in Louisiana determined with conventional laboratory and field vane tests have been comprehensively documented in the literature. Results indicate inherent variations in the soil properties due to drawbacks of these methods, and further investigation of the in-situ testing methods are recommended. The main objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of using the quasi-static cone penetration test to determine the undrained shear strength of soils. For better understanding of the penetration test and soil behavior during testing, tests were performed using an electric frictional cone and piezometric cone penetrometer system on various well-documented sites reflecting characteristics of recent Mississippi River deltaic plain deposits, alluvial organic deposits and soft clays of the Atchafalaya Basin.