Shelema & al./ Appl. J. Envir. Eng. Sci. 7 N°4(2021) 348-359 348 Modeling unconfined compressive strength of fine grained soils: Application of dynamic cone penetration to predict foundation soil strength

Abstract

Evaluating the strength of soil foundation and is a critical requirement in every civil infrastructure. For cohesive soils, the foundation soil strength and settlement are determined in terms of undrained shear strength. In many cases, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) is used as an undrained condition of the triaxial shear test. However, this test is time-consuming, it needs huge effort and needs care comparing to the dynamic cone penetration test. Recently, dynamic cone penetration tests (DCP) have been using as an alternative to predict subgrade strength parameters. In this study, DCP and atterberg limits are used to predict UCS using simple and multiple regression analysis. Thirty tests were conducted at different depths and locations in the town. The established equations are validated using sets of data. The result obtained from validation shows that the established empirical correlation can be useful in the quick determination of UCS when there is a financial limitation, lack of equipment, and time to conduct UCS in the current study