Analysis of self-boring pressuremeter (SBPM) and Marchetti dilatometer (DMT) tests in granite saprolites

This paper presents the analyses of the results of the site investigation programme carried out at the Kowloon Bay site in Hong Kong. The tests consisted of self-boring pressuremeter (SBPM), Marchetti dilatometer (DMT), and laboratory tests carried out in a granite saprolite, which can be described as a lightly cemented sand. The purpose of this research project is to stimulate the development of methods to interpret data obtained from tests in residual soils. In particular, the work aims to evaluate the analyses of the SBPM data through a curve-fitting technique. Both the loading and unloading portions of the SBPM curve were analysed and the results compared with those from other tests. The advantage of this analysis technique is the possibility of constructing a theoretical curve that reproduces a pressuremeter test from which a set of fundamental parameters can be derived, namely the friction angle, cohesion intercept, lateral stress, and shear modulus. The DMT proved to be a reliable tool that yielded good soil parameters at a small fraction of the cost of the other in situ tests.Key words: residual soil, in situ tests, pressuremeter, Marchetti dilatometer.