Thursday, September 17, 2020

8:00 AM - 12:30 PM

---

Details

Pressuremeters are now well-established tools for determining the engineering properties of the ground insitu. The business of getting the equipment into the ground has major implications for understanding the field data. The test can provide high quality data for the strain dependency of shear modulus. What can and cannot be obtained from the test will be examined. Some alternative approaches to the use of the equipment and test procedure will also be presented. The course will focus at the pressuremeter from its inception and different forms, Menard through to the Cambridge system. Discussion will move into the key factors of the use of the probe, primarily, how important the borehole is for certain aspects like K0. Next, we will move into basic interpretations and understanding of the factors needed for using the data effectively. Moreover, recognizing when data is not best and how to determine a level of reliability from the data. This section will focus on the analysis methods for different materials ranging from undrained clays, followed by dense sands and moving into cohesive frictional models, weak rocks and loose sands. Finally, we will move into applications and design usage followed by several case studies to demonstrate its correct use. About the Instructors: Dr. David Elwood, P.Eng. Dr. Elwood is an Assistant Professor in geotechnical engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. He has published several papers on the topic of the pressuremeter and its applications as well as soil mechanics and site characterization and is currently on the editorial board of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal. He is also the lead author for the Site Investigations and Classifications chapter of the CFEM 2020. Dr. Elwood is a standing member of the Technical Committee for Ground Property Characterization from In-Situ Tests (TC-102) as part of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). He has been an active consultant nationally and internationally for 20 years and has extensive experience with site characterization and development of material properties for a wide range of geo-materials. His research has focused on the characterization of hard, overconsolidated soils and soft rocks for a variety of applications, including tunnelling deep excavations and slope stabilization. Robert Whittle Robert Whittle is part owner of Cambridge Insitu Ltd (CI) and has been associated with the company since 1978. He has a background in electronics and his initial involvement concerned the production of ancillary equipment for the Self Boring Pressuremeter (SBP). As CI evolved into a service provider as well as manufacturer, he became an expert in pressuremeter testing and analysis, operating globally on sites extending from remote parts of Africa to the heart of New York. He has worked extensively in Hong Kong and Singapore and has published several conference and journal papers on aspects of the pressuremeter test and interpretation. His particular interest is the stress and strain dependency governing the unload/reload response of soils.