ABSTRACT
The pressuremeter is about the only in situ test from which a complete soil stress-strain curve can be obtained by direct measurement. It is a robust and simple test that can be interpreted using cylindrical cavity expansion theory. It provides estimates of at-rest earth pressures, elastic moduli, yield stress and stress at failure (or limit pressure). However, the pressuremeter is not without its problems related to assumptions made in the interpretation process; and so some level of empiricism may be employed in the analysis. Nevertheless, in light of all the information that can be extracted from a single test, it is an extremely useful tool.
