ABSTRACT

A knowledge or assessment of the profile of soil unit weight is a necessary first step in the evaluation of geotechnical parameters, including strength (τmax), small-strain shear modulus (G0), stress history (OCR), and lateral stress state (K0). For the post-processing of Cone Penetration Test (CPT) measurements, many relationships are based on the net cone resistance, qn = qt − σvo, where qt = total (corrected) cone resistance and σvo is the total vertical overburden stress. In fact, σvo is the accumulation of unit weights times layer thickness with depth. The relative effect of σvo on qn is significant particularly for normally consolidated and slightly overconsolidated soils.