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Estimation of field CBR from DCP for subgrade soils

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Abstract

The performance of pavement depends on the strength of sub-grade soil. In order to execute an effective and reliable pavement design, an accurate and representative material characterization technique is essential. Such a technique would be even more beneficial if it were simple and could be applied rapidly. In situ California bearing ratio (CBR) value is one of the traditional methods for the strength characterization of the sub-grade soil. The dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) is an instrument, which can be used for rapid evaluation of the strength of soil in field condition. DCP has been intended to improve on many of the deficiencies of systems that are manually pushed into soil or proving materials. The instrument is relatively simple in design and operation, and operator variability is reduced and thus correlations with soil parameters are more accurate. In the present study, an empirical correlation has been developed between DCP penetration rate and CBR value with different soils collected from different roads. Statistical compatibility analysis has been done for comparison with different models available in literature.

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Correspondence to Kundan Meshram.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Mohamed El-Ghali.

Highlights

• A correlation between California bearing ratio (CBR) and dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) penetration rate is developed.

• Three different types of soil have been taken in consideration to help accomplish a generalized correlation.

• The correlation is compared with relations available in literature.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Diagenesis and Reservoir Quality within Sequence Stratigraphy.

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Meshram, K. Estimation of field CBR from DCP for subgrade soils. Arab J Geosci 15, 898 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10048-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10048-y

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