Guide to сone penetration testing for geo-environmental engineering / Руководство по испытаниям на проникновение конуса для геоэкологической инженерии

In recent years there has been a steady increase in geo-environmental projects where geotechnical/geological engineering has been combined with environmental concerns. Many of these projects involve some form of ground contaminant which can take the form of vapors, liquids and solids. Hence, there has been a change in site characterization techniques to accommodate these environmental issues related to contaminants. Traditional drilling techniques generally produce considerable disturbance to the materials surrounding the drill hole, which can have a significant effect on subsequent sample quality. With increasing application of data quality management, drilling and sampling techniques are becoming less acceptable. In addition, drilling methods produce cuttings of the material removed from the drill hole which may require special handling and costly disposal methods.
The most rapidly developing site characterization techniques for geoenvironmental purposes involve direct push technology, specifically cone penetration tests. Direct push devices generate essentially no cuttings, produce little disturbance and reduce contact between field personnel and contaminants, since the penetrometer push rods can be decontaminated during retrieval. The most popular direct push logging test for geoenvironmental investigations in soil is the Cone Penetration Test (CPT). The CPT provides a rapid, repeatable, reliable and cost effective method of continuous measurement. <...>