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Cone penetration resistance of calcareous sand

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Abstract

Calcareous sands form the foundation soils/structural fill for most of the engineering works in Kuwait, the Arabian Gulf countries and also act as structural fill. In situ calcareous sands are stronger than uncemented sand but lose much of their strength when re-worked or on wetting. The paper reports Dutch cone penetrometer tests on Jahra sand and Gatch under dry, wet and saturated conditions, using a specially designed sample box. The results showed that the penetration resistance (both tip and friction) of the uncemented sand increases upon wetting to an optimum with about a 70% increase from the dry, then decreases down to only 21% of the dry. With the calcareous sand, wetting was found to reduce the resistance in a directly proportional relationship, with a loss of resistance of 20% recorded at 7% water content and an 87% reduction when soaked. The friction ratio increased with increasing moisture content in uncemented sand but reduced to 50% in calcareous sands.

Résumé

Les sables calcaires constituent les sols de fondation ou les matériaux de remblai dans la plupart des travaux de génie civil au Koweït et dans les pays du Golfe arabique. La résistance des sables calcaires en place dépend de leur degré de cimentation. Ils perdent l’essentiel de leur résistance par remaniement ou humidification. L’article présente des essais au pénétromètre hollandais, réalisés sur des sables de Jahra et de Gatch, en conditions sèche, humide et saturée, utilisant une boîte d’échantillonnage spécifique. Les résultats ont montré que la résistance de pénétration (à la fois de pointe et de friction) des sables non cimentés augmente avec l’humidité jusqu’à une valeur supérieure de 70% à la valeur sèche, puis décroît jusqu’à une valeur représentant seulement 21% de la valeur sèche. Quant aux sables calcaires, l’humidification a pour effet de réduire la résistance de façon directement proportionnelle, avec une perte de résistance de 20% pour une teneur en eau de 7% et une perte de résistance de 87% pour un sable saturé. Le coefficient de friction augmente avec la teneur en eau pour les sables non cimentés mais diminue jusqu’à 50% pour les sables calcaires.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. P.O. Box 1278, Tla El-Ali, Amman, 11953, Jordan

    Fathi M. Shaqour

  2. Department of Applied Geology and Environment, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Fathi M. Shaqour

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  1. Fathi M. Shaqour
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Correspondence to Fathi M. Shaqour.

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Shaqour, F.M. Cone penetration resistance of calcareous sand. Bull Eng Geol Environ 66, 59–70 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-006-0061-2

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