Interpretation of Pressuremeter Tests Using Laboratory Simulated Tests

At least five different methods are available to interpret the results of field pressuremeter tests for saturated clays, each of which has been reported to yield different values of soil parameters when applied to the same pressuremeter test. In the present investigation, a laboratory pressuremeter model was developed, and simulated pressuremeter tests were run on a sedimented Kaolinite consolidated to different values of the maximum vertical pressure, gs_v, and with overconsolidation ratios (OCR) ranging from 1 to 8. Analyses of the model pressuremeter tests indicate that the differences in normalized shear strength, Su/gs_v, using the five interpretation methods are large with the difference increasing with increasing overconsolidation ratio. The method by Prevost gave the best fit with the Su/gs_v vs OCR relationship determined by the average of K_oU Triaxial compression and extension strengths.