Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering December 19, 2016

EXPERIMENT # 10

PERFORMANCE OF STANDARD PENETRATION TEST (SPT)

10.1 OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this experiment is to collect the soil sample and to determine
the penetration resistant (N value) of a soil which can be related to unconfined
compression strength.
The standard penetration test is the most commonly used in-situ test, especially
for cohesion less soil which cannot be easily sample.
The test is useful for determining
The relative density of soil
The angle of shearing resistance of cohesion less soils
Unconfined compressive strength of cohesive soils
10.2 APPARATUS
Standard split-barrel Sampler (Split-spoon)
A casing or Drilling.
A thick wall Split Tube Sampler, with 2 (5.08cm) OD and 1.5 (3.5cm) ID having
the tube length of 18 to 24 long.
Guide rod. (30 or 76cm length)
Hammer having weight of 140lb (63.50 Kg)
Rope.
Tripods
Steel chain (3m approx.)
Lever support and rod
Pipe wrench and chain
wrench
Pulley

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10.3 RELATED THEORY

SPT N value is No. of blows count per ft. of penetration of an 18 deep sampler using
a 140lb hammer dropping 30 (2.5) freely pushing a 2 outer diameter sampler and
receiving one hole of 1 " soil sample. SPT test give disturbed sample.

The Standard Penetration test (SPT) is a common in situ testing method used to
determine the geotechnical engineering properties of subsurface soils. It is a simple
and inexpensive test to estimate the relative density of soils and approximate shear
strength parameters.

SPT (Standard Penetration Test) is a dynamic, in situ penetration test used for
providing information on geotechnical engineering properties of soil. The test takes
place inside a borehole, using a thick-walled sample tube. This tube has an outside
diameter of 50mm with an inside diameter of 35mm. The sample tube is driven from
the bottom of the borehole into the ground using a 63.5kg hammer, which is dropped
freely through a distance of 760mm. The test results are deduced through the number
of blows needed to drive the tube each 75mm into the ground, to a maximum depth of
450mm. The standard penetration resistance or N-value is calculated by the sum
of the number of blows required for the last four 75mm increments of penetration, to a
maximum of 50 blows.

Should the total number of blows for the last four increments total 50 or more, the test
is stopped and the penetration measured in millimeters. In these cases, the blow count
provides an indication of ground density, useful in many empirical geotechnical
engineering formulae.

An SPT is particularly used to indicate relative density of granular deposits which make
obtaining undisturbed samples virtually impossible to recover, such as gravels and
sands. It is a widespread test as it provides the date through a simple and inexpensive
means. Although approximate results within soil parameters are recovered, the data
gives a useful guide where borehole samples are not practical or possible. It can also
be used in conjunction with samples, alternating sampling with SPTs to check the
strength of the ground between removing samples.

SPT equipment can also be used to push beyond standard test parameters, to assess
deposit stability in granular soils below groundwater level. Although this is not strictly
a Standard Penetration Test, it is useful to indicate whether the deposit is as loose as
the standard test results indicate.

The SPT results vary in usefulness according to the soil type, with the fine and more
granular soil types such as fine sand yielding results at the higher end of the accuracy
spectrum, and more dense soil types such as clay giving data that may not truly
represent the soil conditions being tested. Location and environment can play a part

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in this, for example more arid areas have been noticed to display natural cementation,
which increases the Standard Penetration Value.

Correlation between SPT-N value, friction angle, and relative density

Correlation between SPT-N value and friction angle and Relative density (Meyerhof 1956)

Relative Density Friction angle

SPT N VLAUE Soil packing
[%] []

<4 Very loose < 20 < 30

4 -10 Loose 20 - 40 30 35

10 30 Compact 40 - 60 35 40

30 50 Dense 60 - 80 40 45

> 50 Very Dense > 80 > 45

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10.3.1 FACTORS AFFECTING N-VALUES IN SPT TEST

FACTORS COMMENTS
Blow counts for the same soil using the same rig can vary,
Attitude of operators depending on who is operating the rig, and perhaps the mood
of operator and time of drilling.
Higher blow counts usually result from an overdriven
Overdrive sampler
sampler.
Sampler plugged by Higher blow counts result when gravel plugs the sampler,
gravel resistance of loose sand could be highly overestimated.
High N-values may be recorded for loose sand when
Plugged casing sampling below groundwater table. Hydrostatic pressure can
cause sand to rise within the casing.
SPT is only partially made in original soil. Sludge may be
Inadequate cleaning of trapped in the sampler and compressed as the sampler is
the borehole driven, increasing the blow count (This may even prevent
sample recovery.)
Not seating the sampler
spoon on undisturbed Incorrect N-values obtained.
material
Driving of the sample
N-values are increased in sands and reduced in cohesive
spoon above the
soils.
bottom of the casing
The water table in the borehole must be at least equal to the
Failure to maintain
piezometric level in the sand, otherwise the sand at the
sufficient hydrostatic
bottom of the borehole may be transformed into a loose state
head in boring
thereby decreasing the blow counts
Over washing ahead of Low blow count may result for dense sand since over
casing washing loosens sand.
Drilling technique (e.g., cased holes vs. mud stabilized holes)
Drilling method
may result in different N-values for the same soil.
Free fall of the drive Using more than 1-1/2 turns of rope around the drum and or
weight is not attained using wire cable will restrict the fall of the drive weight.
Not using correct Driller frequently supplies drive hammers with weights
weight varying from the standard by as much as 10 lbs.
Weight does not strike
the drive cap Impact energy is reduced, increasing N-values.
concentrically

Not using a guide rod Incorrect N-value obtained.

Not using a good tip on If the tip is damaged and reduces the opening or increases
the sampling spoon the end area the N-value can be increased.
Use of drill rods heavier With heavier rods, more energy is absorbed by the rods
than standard causing an increase in the blow count.

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10.4 PROCEDURE
The bore hole is advanced to desired depth and bottom is cleaned.
Split spoon sampler is attached to a drill rod and rested on bore hole bottom.

Driving mass is dropped onto the drill rod repeatedly and the sampler is driven
into soil for a distance of 450 mm. The number of blow for each 150-mm
penetration are recorded.
N-value
First 150 mm penetration is considered as seating penetration
The number of blows for the last two 150 mm penetration are added
together and reported as N-value for the depth of bore hole.
The split spoon sampler is recovered, and sample is collected from split barrel
so as to preserve moisture content and sent to the laboratory for further
analysis.
SPT is repeated at every 750 mm or 1500 mm interval for larger depths.
Under the following conditions the penetration is referred to as refusal and test
is halted
50 blows are required for any 150-mm penetration
100 blows are required for last 300 mm penetration
10 successive blows produce no advancement
10.5 PRECAUTIONS
The height of free fall Must be 30 (762 mm)
The fall of hammer must be free, frictionless and vertical
Cutting shoe of the sampler must be free from wear & tear
The bottom of the bore hole must be cleaned to collect undisturbed sample
When SPT is done in a sandy soil below water table, the water level in the bore
hole MUST be maintained higher than the ground water level.

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10.6 OBSERVATIONS & CALCULATIONS

10.6.1 SPT N-VLAUE CALCULATIONS

Depth of footing = 3-7 =1.0922 m

No of Blows for first 150 mm depth = 2

No of blows for 300 mm depth = 2

No of blows for 450 mm depth = 4

SPT value = 4+2 = 6 No.

10.6.2 MOISTURE CONTENT CALCULATIONS

= + = 41.5

= = 10.5

= + = 36.81

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= 100

41.5 36.81
= 100
36.81 10.5

= 17.83 %

10.7 RESULTS
SPT N- Value = 6

Moisture Content = = 17.83 %

10.8 REFERENCE
ASTM D1586
Standard Test Method for Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Split-Barrel Sampling
of Soils
10.9 COMMENTS
The Standard Penetration test (SPT) is a common in situ testing method used to
determine the geotechnical engineering properties of subsurface soils. It is a simple
and inexpensive test. It produces an N-value, which represents the number of blows
of a standardized sampler driven into the soil a standardized distance.
The Standard Penetration Test recovers a highly-disturbed sample, which is generally
not suitable for tests which measure properties of the in-situ soil structure, such as
density, strength, and consolidation characteristics. To overcome this limitation, the
test is often run with a larger sampler with a slightly different tip shape, so the
disturbance of the sample is minimized, and testing of structural properties is
meaningful for all but soft soils.
Despite its many flaws, it is usual practice to correlate SPT results with soil properties
relevant for geotechnical engineering design. SPT results are in-situ field
measurements, and not as subject to sample disturbance, and are often the only test
results available, therefore the use of correlations has become common practice in
many countries.
In our case, we get SPT N-Value =6 which show that the soil sample is loose with
relative density 13.75% and friction angle is 32

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