Abstract

This article presents an overview of the current trends and ongoing developments in the use, interpretation, and application of the flat dilatometer (DMT) and the seismic dilatometer (SDMT) to site characterization and geotechnical design. In particular, the following issues are specifically addressed: the sensitivity of DMT to stress history, combined use of DMT and the cone/piezocone penetration test (in-situ multi-parameter/multi-test approach), estimating overconsolidation ratio and K0 in sand, DMT interpretation in partially draining niche silts and in non-textbook soils, interrelationship small/operative strain stiffness and in situ stiffness decay curves using SDMT, and liquefaction assessment.

References

1.
Amoroso
,
S.
,
2014
, “
Prediction of the Shear Wave Velocity VS from CPT and DMT at Research Sites
,”
Front. Struct. Civ. Eng.
, Vol. 
8
, No. 
1
, pp. 
83
92
, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11709-013-0234-6
2.
Amoroso
,
S.
,
Monaco
,
P.
,
Lehane
,
B. M.
, and
Marchetti
,
D.
,
2014
, “
Examination of the Potential of the Seismic Dilatometer (SDMT) to Estimate In Situ Stiffness Decay Curves in Various Soil Types
,”
Soils and Rocks
, Vol. 
37
, No. 
3
, pp. 
177
194
.
3.
Amoroso
,
S.
,
Rollins
,
K. M.
,
Monaco
,
P.
, and
Thorp
,
A.
,
2015
, “
Use of SDMT Testing for Measuring Soil Densification by Ground Improvement in Christchurch, New Zealand
,” presented at the
Third International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer DMT’15
, Rome, Italy,
DMT’15 Organizing Committee
,
Rome, Italy
, pp. 
177
184
.
4.
Andrus
,
R. D.
and
Stokoe
,
K. H.
, II
,
2000
, “
Liquefaction Resistance of Soils from Shear-Wave Velocity
,”
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
, Vol. 
126
, No. 
11
, pp. 
1015
1025
, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2000)126:11(1015)
5.
ASTM D6635-15
2015
,
Standard Test Method for Performing the Flat Plate Dilatometer
,
ASTM International
,
West Conshohocken, PA
,www.astm.org
6.
Bałachowski
,
L.
and
Kurek
,
N.
,
2015
, “
Vibroflotation Control of Sandy Soils
,” presented at the
Third International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer DMT’15
, Rome, Italy,
DMT’15 Organizing Committee
,
Rome, Italy
, pp. 
185
190
.
7.
Baldi
,
G.
,
Bellotti
,
R.
,
Ghionna
,
V.
,
Jamiolkowski
,
M.
,
Marchetti
,
S.
, and
Pasqualini
,
E.
,
1986
, “
Flat Dilatometer Tests in Calibration Chambers
,” presented at the
Specialty Conference on Use of In Situ Tests in Geotechnical Engineering In Situ ‘86
, Blacksburg, VA,
American Society of Civil Engineers
,
Reston, VA
, pp. 
431
446
.
8.
Burghignoli
,
A.
,
Cavalera
,
L.
,
Chieppa
,
V.
,
Jamiolkowski
,
M.
,
Mancuso
,
C.
,
Marchetti
,
S.
,
Pane
,
V.
,
Paoliani
,
P.
,
Silvestri
,
F.
,
Vinale
,
F.
, and
Vittori
,
E.
,
1991
, “
Geotechnical Characterization of Fucino Clay
,” presented at the
Tenth European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
, Florence, Italy, Vol. 1,
Balkema, Rotterdam
,
the Netherlands
, pp. 
27
40
.
9.
Burlon
,
S.
,
Frikha
,
W.
, and
Monaco
,
P.
,
2016
, “
Session Report: Pressuremeter and Dilatometer
,” presented at the
Fifth International Conference on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization ISC’5
, Gold Coast, Australia,
Australian Geomechanics Society
,
Sydney, Australia
, Vol. 1, pp. 
259
269
.
10.
Choo
,
H.
,
Lee
,
W.
,
Lee
,
C.
,
Kim
,
Y.-S.
, and
Lee
,
M.-J.
,
2015
, “
Perception of Overconsolidated States of Coarse-Grained Soils Using DMT Results
,” presented at the
Third International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer DMT’15
,
Rome, Italy
, DMT’15 Organizing Committee, Rome, Italy, pp. 
205
212
.
11.
Cruz
,
N.
,
Rodrigues
,
C.
, and
Viana da Fonseca
,
A.
,
2012
, “
Detecting the Presence of Cementation Structures in Soils, Based in DMT Interpreted Charts
,” presented at the
Fourth International Conference on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization ISC’4
, Porto de Galinhas, Brazil,
Taylor & Francis Group
,
London, United Kingdom
, Vol. 
2
, pp. 
1723
1728
.
12.
EN 1997-2:2007
2007
,
Eurocode 7: Geotechnical Design – Part 2: Ground Investigation and Testing
,
CEN European Committee for Standardization
,
Brussels, Belgium
, www.cen.eu
13.
Failmezger
,
R.
,
Till
,
P.
,
Frizzell
,
J.
, and
Kight
,
S.
,
2015
, “
Redesign of Shallow Foundations Using Dilatometer Tests – More Case Studies after DMT’06 Conference
,” presented at the
Third International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer DMT’15
, Rome, Italy,
DMT’15 Organizing Committee
,
Rome, Italy
, pp. 
83
91
.
14.
Giacheti
,
H. L.
,
Rodrigues
,
R. A.
, and
Rocha
,
B. P.
,
2017
, “
The Seismic DMT in an Unsaturated Tropical Soil
,” presented at the
19th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
, Seoul, Korea,
Korean Geomechanics Society
,
Seoul, Korea
, pp. 
599
602
.
15.
Hossain
,
M. A.
and
Andrus
,
R. D.
,
2016
, “
At-Rest Lateral Stress Coefficient in Sands from Common Field Methods
,”
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
, Vol. 
142
, No. 
12
, 06016016, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001560
16.
Idriss
,
I. M.
and
Boulanger
,
R. W.
,
2006
, “
Semi-empirical Procedures for Evaluating Liquefaction Potential during Earthquakes
,”
Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng.
, Vol. 
26
, Nos. 
2–4
, pp. 
115
130
, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2004.11.023
17.
ISO 22476-11:2017(E)
2017
,
Geotechnical Investigation and Testing – Field Testing – Part 11: Flat Dilatometer Test
,
International Organization for Standardization
,
Geneva, Switzerland
, www.iso.org
18.
Jamiolkowski
,
M.
,
Baldi
,
G.
,
Bellotti
,
R.
,
Ghionna
,
V.
, and
Pasqualini
,
E.
,
1985
, “
Penetration Resistance and Liquefaction of Sands
,” presented at the
Eleventh International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
, San Francisco, CA,
Balkema, Rotterdam
,
the Netherlands
, Vol. 
4
, pp. 
1891
1896
.
19.
Jamiolkowski
,
M.
and
Lo Presti
,
D. C. F.
,
1998
, “
DMT Research in Sand. What Can Be Learned from Calibration Chamber Tests
,” presented at the
First International Conference on Site Characterization ISC ‘98
, Atlanta, GA,
Balkema
,
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
(oral presentation).
20.
Jendeby
,
L.
,
1992
, “
Deep Compaction by Vibrowing
,” presented at the
Nordic Geotechnical Meeting NGM-92
, Aalborg, Denmark,
Danish Geotechnical Society
,
Lyngby, Denmark
, Vol. 
1
, pp. 
19
24
.
21.
Lee
,
M.-J.
,
Choi
,
S.-K.
,
Kim
,
M.-T.
, and
Lee
,
W.
,
2011
, “
Effect of Stress History on CPT and DMT Results in Sand
,”
Eng. Geol.
, Vol. 
117
, Nos. 
3–4
, pp. 
259
265
, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2010.11.005
22.
Leon
,
E.
,
Gassman
,
S. L.
, and
Talwani
,
P.
,
2006
, “
Accounting for Soil Aging When Assessing Liquefaction Potential
,”
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
, Vol. 
132
, No. 
3
, pp. 
363
377
, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:3(363)
23.
Lewis
,
M. R.
,
Arango
,
I.
,
Kimball
,
J. K.
, and
Ross
,
T. E.
,
1999
, “
Liquefaction Resistance of Old Sand Deposits
,” presented at the
XI Panamerican Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
,
Foz do Iguaçu
,
Brazil
, Brazilian Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, São Paulo, Brazil Vol. 
2
, pp. 
821
833
.
24.
Marchetti
,
S.
,
1980
, “
In Situ Tests by Flat Dilatometer
,”
J. Geotech. Eng. Div.
, Vol. 
106
, No. 
3
, pp. 
299
321
.
25.
Marchetti
,
S.
,
1985
, “
On the Field Determination of K0 in Sand
,” presented at the
Eleventh International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
, San Francisco, CA, Vol. 
5
,
Balkema, Rotterdam
,
the Netherlands
, pp. 
2667
2673
.
26.
Marchetti
,
S.
,
2010
, “
Sensitivity of CPT and DMT to Stress History and Aging in Sands for Liquefaction Assessment
,” presented at the
Second International Symposium on Cone Penetration Testing CPT’10
,
Huntington Beach, CA
, CPT’10 Organizing Committee, Huntington Beach, CA, Vol. 3, pp. 
395
403
.
27.
Marchetti
,
S.
,
2015
, “
Some 2015 Updates to the TC16 DMT Report 2001
,” presented at the
Third International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer DMT’15
,
Rome, Italy
, DMT’15 Organizing Committee, Rome, Italy, pp. 
43
65
.
28.
Marchetti
,
S.
,
2016
, “
Incorporating the Stress History Parameter KD of DMT into the Liquefaction Correlations in Clean Uncemented Sands
,”
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
, Vol. 
142
, No. 
2
, 04015072, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001380
29.
Marchetti
,
S.
,
Monaco
,
P.
,
Totani
,
G.
, and
Calabrese
,
M.
,
2001
, “
The Flat Dilatometer Test (DMT) in Soil Investigations – A Report by the ISSMGE Committee TC16
,” presented at the
International Conference on Insitu Measurement of Soil Properties and Case Histories
,
Bali, Indonesia
, Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, Indonesia, pp.
95
131
. (Official version approved by ISSMGE TC16 reprinted in Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer, Washington, DC, In-Situ Soil Testing, Lancaster, VA, pp. 7–48).
30.
Marchetti
,
S.
,
Monaco
,
P.
,
Totani
,
G.
, and
Marchetti
,
D.
,
2008
, “
In Situ Tests by Seismic Dilatometer (SDMT)
,”
From Research to Practice in Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE Geotech. Spec. Publ. No. 180
,
American Society of Civil Engineers
,
Reston, VA
, pp. 
292
311
, https://doi.org/10.1061/40962(325)7
31.
Mayne
,
P. W.
,
Coop
,
M. R.
,
Springman
,
S. M.
,
Huang
,
A.-B.
, and
Zornberg
,
J. G.
,
2009
, “
Geomaterial Behavior and Testing
,” presented at the
17th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
, Alexandria, Egypt, Vol. 
4
,
IOS Press
,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
, pp. 
2777
2872
, https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-60750-031-5-2777
32.
Monaco
,
P.
,
Amoroso
,
S.
,
Marchetti
,
S.
,
Marchetti
,
D.
,
Totani
,
G.
,
Cola
,
S.
, and
Simonini
,
P.
,
2014
, “
Overconsolidation and Stiffness of Venice Lagoon Sands and Silts from SDMT and CPTU
,”
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
, Vol. 
140
, No. 
1
, pp. 
215
227
, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000965
33.
Monaco
,
P.
and
Marchetti
,
S.
,
2007
, “
Evaluating Liquefaction Potential by Seismic Dilatometer (SDMT) Accounting for Aging/Stress History
,” presented at the
Fourth International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering
,
Thessaloniki, Greece, Springer
,
Dordrecht, the Netherlands
.
34.
Monaco
,
P.
,
Marchetti
,
S.
,
Totani
,
G.
, and
Calabrese
,
M.
,
2005
, “
Sand Liquefiability Assessment by Flat Dilatometer Test (DMT)
,” presented at the
16th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
,
Osaka, Japan, Millpress
,
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
, Vol. 
4
, pp. 
2693
2697
, https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-656-9-2693
35.
Monaco
,
P.
,
Marchetti
,
S.
,
Totani
,
G.
, and
Marchetti
,
D.
,
2009
, “
Interrelationship between Small Strain Modulus G0 and Operative Modulus
,” presented at the
International Conference on Performance-Based Design in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering– from Case History to Practice
, Tsukuba, Japan,
Taylor & Francis Group
,
London, United Kingdom
, pp. 
1315
1323
.
36.
Monaco
,
P.
and
Schmertmann
,
J.H.
,
2007
, “
Discussion of ‘Accounting for Soil Aging When Assessing Liquefaction Potential’ by E. Leon, S. L. Gassman, and P. Talwani
. The paper was published in
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng
. Vol.
132
, No.
3
,
2006
,” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., Vol. 133, No. 9, pp. 1177–1179, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2007)133:9(1177.2)
37.
Monaco
,
P.
,
Totani
,
G.
,
Amoroso
,
S.
,
Totani
,
F.
, and
Marchetti
,
D.
,
2013
, “
Site Characterization by Seismic Dilatometer (SDMT) in the City of L’Aquila
,”
Rivista Italiana di Geotecnica
, Vol. 
47
, No. 
3
, pp. 
8
22
.
38.
Monaco
,
P.
,
Totani
,
G.
, and
Calabrese
,
M.
,
2006
, “
DMT-Predicted vs Observed Settlements: A Review of the Available Experience
,” presented at the
Second International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer
,
Washington, DC
, In-Situ Soil Testing, Lancaster, VA, pp. 
244
252
.
39.
Pyke
,
R.
,
2003
, “
Discussion of ‘Liquefaction Resistance of Soils: Summary Report from the 1996 NCEER and 1998 NCEER/NSF
” by
Youd
T. L.
, et al
This paper was published by
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
, Vol. 
127
, No. 
4
,
2001
,” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., Vol. 129, No. 3, pp. 283–284, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2003)129:3(283)
40.
Robertson
,
P. K.
,
2012
, “
The James K. Mitchell Lecture: Interpretation of In-Situ Tests – Some Insights
,” presented at the
Fourth International Conference on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization ISC’4
, Porto de Galinhas, Brazil,
Taylor & Francis Group
,
London, United Kingdom
, Vol. 
1
, pp. 
3
24
.
41.
Robertson
,
P. K.
,
2016
, “
Cone Penetration Test (CPT)-Based Soil Behaviour Type (SBT) Classification System – An Update
,”
Can. Geotech. J.
, Vol. 
53
, No. 
12
, pp. 
1910
1927
, https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2016-0044
42.
Rocha
,
B. P.
,
Castro
,
B. A. C.
, and
Giacheti
,
H. L.
,
2015
, “
Seismic DMT Test in a Non-text Book Type Geomaterial
,” presented at the
Third International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer DMT’15
,
Rome, Italy
, DMT’15 Organizing Committee, Rome, Italy, pp. 
505
512
.
43.
Rollins
,
K. M.
,
Remund
,
T. K.
, and
Amoroso
,
S.
,
2016
, “
Evaluation of DMT-Based Liquefaction Triggering Curves Based on Field Case Histories
,” presented at the
Fifth International Conference on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization ISC’5
, Gold Coast, Australia,
Australian Geomechanics Society
,
Sydney, Australia
, Vol. 
1
, pp. 
639
644
.
44.
Salgado
,
R.
,
Boulanger
,
R. W.
, and
Mitchell
,
J. K.
,
1997
, “
Lateral Stress Effects on CPT Liquefaction Resistance Correlations
,”
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
, Vol. 
123
, No. 
8
, pp. 
726
735
, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(1997)123:8(726)
45.
Santucci de Magistris
,
F.
,
d’Onofrio
,
A.
,
Evangelista
,
L.
,
Foti
,
S.
,
Maraschini
,
M.
,
Monaco
,
P.
,
Amoroso
,
S.
,
Totani
,
G.
,
Lanzo
,
G.
,
Pagliaroli
,
A.
,
Madiai
,
C.
,
Simoni
,
G.
, and
Silvestri
,
F.
,
2013
, “
Geotechnical Characterization of the Aterno Valley for Site Response Analyses
,”
Rivista Italiana di Geotecnica
, Vol. 
47
, No. 
3
, pp. 
23
43
.
46.
Schmertmann
,
J. H.
,
1983
, “
Revised Procedure for Calculating K0 and OCR from DMTs with ID > 1.2 and which Incorporates the Penetration Force Measurement to Permit Calculating the Plane Strain Friction Angle
,”
DMT Digest No. 1
,
GPE Inc.
,
Gainesville, FL
, pp.
4
8
.
47.
Schmertmann
,
J. H.
,
1984
, “
Comparing DMT with CPT in NC/OC Sand Bucket Test
,”
DMT Digest No. 4
,
GPE Inc.
,
Gainesville, FL
, pp.
3
5
.
48.
Schmertmann
,
J. H.
,
1986
, “
Dilatometer to Compute Foundation Settlement
,” presented at the
Specialty Conference on Use of In Situ Tests in Geotechnical Engineering In Situ ‘86
, Blacksburg, VA,
American Society of Civil Engineers
,
Reston, VA
, pp. 
303
321
.
49.
Schmertmann
,
J. H.
,
Baker
,
W.
,
Gupta
,
R.
, and
Kessler
,
K.
,
1986
, “
CPT/DMT QC of Ground Modification at a Power Plant
,” presented at the
Specialty Conference on Use of In Situ Tests in Geotechnical Engineering In Situ ‘86
, Blacksburg, VA,
American Society of Civil Engineers
,
Reston, VA
, pp. 
985
1001
.
50.
Schnaid
,
F.
,
Lehane
,
B.
, and
Fahey
,
M.
,
2004
, “
In-Situ Test Characterization of Unusual Geomaterials
,” presented at the
Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-2
, Porto, Portugal,
Millpress
,
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
, Vol. 
1
, pp. 
49
74
.
51.
Schnaid
,
F.
and
Odebrecht
,
E.
,
2015
, “
Challenges in the Interpretation of the DMT in Tailings
,” presented at the
Third International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer DMT’15
,
Rome, Italy
, DMT’15 Organizing Committee, Rome, Italy, pp. 
13
23
.
52.
Schnaid
,
F.
,
Odebrecht
,
E.
,
Sosnoski
,
J.
, and
Robertson
,
P. K.
,
2016
, “
Effects of Test Procedure on Flat Dilatometer Test (DMT) Results in Intermediate Soils
,”
Can. Geotech. J.
, Vol. 
53
, No. 
8
, pp. 
1270
1280
, https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2015-0463
53.
Sharif
,
E.
,
2015
, “
Early Applications of DMT in Dubai in Two Main Projects for Natural and Artificial Earthfill Silty Sand
,” presented at the
Third International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer DMT’15
,
Rome, Italy
, pp. 
135
144
.
54.
Totani
,
G.
,
Calabrese
,
M.
, and
Monaco
,
P.
,
1998
, “
In Situ Determination of ch by Flat Dilatometer (DMT)
,” presented at the
First International Conference on Site Characterization ISC ‘98
, Atlanta, GA,
Balkema
,
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
, Vol. 
2
, pp. 
883
888
.
55.
Tsai
,
P.-H.
,
Lee
,
D.-H.
,
Kung
,
G. T.-C.
, and
Juang
,
C. H.
,
2009
, “
Simplified DMT-Based Methods for Evaluating Liquefaction Resistance of Soils
,”
Eng. Geol.
, Vol. 
103
, Nos.
1–2
, pp. 
13
22
, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2008.07.008
This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.