The cavity expansion problem for the interpretation of cone penetration and pressuremeter tests

This paper presents a method of evaluation of the state of cohesionless soil from the results of cone penetration and pressuremeter tests. This method is based on the comparison of the solutions to the cylindrical and spherical cavity expansion problems obtained by the authors with experimental results available in the literature on cone penetration and pressuremeter tests in large calibration chambers. The solutions to the cavity expansion problems are obtained with the use of a constitutive equation of hypoplasticity calibrated for the same soils as in the experiments. The pressure-expansion curves from pressuremeter tests are compared with those calculated for the expansion of a cylindrical cavity. The relation between the cone resistance measured in cone penetration tests and the limit pressure calculated for a spherical or a cylindrical cavity is established through a shape factor. Soils with similar granulometric properties are found to exhibit a common shape factor as a function of the pressure-dependent relative density.