DOI 10.

1007/s11204-015-9316-x
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 52, No. 3, July, 2015 (Russian Original No. 3, May-June, 2015)

SOIL MECHANICS

CPT CORRELATION EQUATIONS FOR THE SOIL DEFORMATION MODULUS

A. V. Mel'nikov and G. G. Boldyrev UDC 624.131.38

Penza State University of Architecture and Building,
Penza, Russia

A method and an example are given for constructing the correlation equations describing
the physical and mechanical characteristics of soils on the basis of cone penetration tests.
A method is proposed for determining soil groups with similar correlations for which sep-
arate correlation equations can be used. A correlation equation and nomogram for deter-
mining the deformation modulus of a wide range of alluvial soils are constructed.

According to [1] correlation equations and tables can be used to determine the deformation mod-
ulus E, internal friction angle ϕ, and specific cohesion c of sands and clayey soils for class-II buildings,
provided that statistically validated data on territorial building norms are available, on the basis of only
cone penetration tests without performing parallel tests by other methods. The correlation equations and
tables given in [2] for indirect assessment of the strength and deformation properties of soils must be
developed by means of parallel comparison of CPT and tests performed on the same soils at other lab-
oratories (triaxial compression, single-plane shear, consolidation compression, and others) as well as by
field methods (stamps of different area, pressuremeter) with the appropriate referencing to their geolog-
ical formation history, age, and genetic type [3, 4].
The aim of the present investigation is to develop methods for constructing regional correlation
equations for determining the physical and mechanical characteristics of soils on the basis of CPT data
only. The following references were used to develop a procedure for performing CPT analysis taking
account of the capabilities of modern computers: GOST 20522 [5]; “Manual for constructing regional
tables of normative and computational indices of soil properties” PNIIS Gosstroya USSR [6]; V. V.
Dmitriev's book “Optimization of laboratory engineering-geological investigations” [7]; B. E. Gmur-
man's books on the theory of mathematical statistics and the solution of practical problems [8, 9]; S. A.
Aivazyan's books on applied statistics for research on correlations and data reduction [10, 11]; I. I.
Eliseeva's book on the general theory of statistics [12]; E. N. L'vovskii's statistical methods of con-
structing empirical relations [13]; A. D. Nasledov's computer analysis of data [14]; and, some others.
The block diagram in Fig. 1 shows the basic steps in the construction of the correlation equa-
tions. First, the information obtained from engineering-geological research is gathered. The subsequent
statistical analysis of these tests at the second step includes six points:
1. Choosing the data for statistical analysis (the physical and mechanical characteristics of soils;
parameters obtained in the course of CPT) and their preliminary processing (separation of the engineer-
ing and geological elements, filtering and selection of data for the examination sample).

Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 3, pp. 2-7, May-June, 2015.
©
0038-0741/15/5203-0115 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York 115
 Engineering-geological research data and Initial information
their preliminary processing

Choosing input data for statistical analysis

Correlation analysis

Linearization of relations
Statistical analysis
Factorial analysis

Determination of correlations

Investigation of stability and ranges of

applicability of the correlation equations

Fig. 1. Procedure for constructing correlation equations.

2. Correlation analysis; the results are used to determine the closeness, direction, and form of the
correlation between the variables, evaluation of the confidence intervals of the correlation coefficients
and the statistical significance of their differences from zero; screening of the predictor variables with
no statistically significant correlation with a criterional variable as well as the variables that are strong-
ly correlated with one another; and, diagnostics of multicollinearity.
3. Modification of the variables related nonlinearly with the evaluated soil characteristic in order
to linearize the regression model.
4. Factorial analysis, in the course of which a classification of the variables used in the statisti-
cal analysis and a reduction of their number are performed and hidden variables and the structure of the
correlation between the variables are found.
5. Determination of the correlation equations in order to determine the mechanical characteristics
of different types of soils; analysis of the significance of the correlation equations as a whole and their
coefficients; and, check for normality of the residuals and absence of their autocorrelation.
6. Investigation of the stability and range of applicability of the correlation equations obtained.
The information obtained from the engineering-geological research was collected on five sites:
four within the city of Penza and one in the neighboring city of Zarechnyi, including 16 CPT points,
stamp testing of 14 engineering-geological elements, and the results of laboratory determinations of the
physical and mechanical characteristics. In view of the inadequacy of the data the value of the stamp
deformation modulus E was also determined from tests performed under the conditions of consolidation
compression after a recalculation using a local conversion factor mk. The variables used in the statistical
analysis were the physical-mechanical characteristics of soils as well as the parameters and their deriva-
tives measured by imbedding the probe in the soil (Table 1). All of the soils considered belonged to
quaternary alluvial deposits.
The derivative parameters of probing are: q n = q c − σ v0, R f = (f s /q c)100%, F r = (f s /q n)100%,
Qt = (qt − σv0)/σ v' 0, I c = (3.47 − log( Qt )) 2 + (log R f + 1.22) 2 , I SBT = (3.47 − log( qc / pa)) 2 +(log R f +1. 22)2 ,

where pa is the atmospheric pressure, σv0 and σ v' 0 are the overburden pressure in combined and actual
stresses, respectively.
The unilateral confidence ((1 − α)%) limit was constructed, following [5], in order to check the
stability and the range of applicability of the correlation relations as well as the calculation of the work-
ing value of the deformation modulus:

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