In-situ Evaluation soil subgrade using Dynamic cone penetrometer

light weight deflectometer.

ABSTRACT
The crust thickness of flexible pavements in many countries including India is based upon the laboratory California
Bearing Ratio (CBR). Test conduct to find the CBR of soil is very time consuming and sensitive to many parameters
such as relative density, particleshape and texture, moisture content and confinement pressure etc. Thus during
construction it is very difficult to ascertain whether the design stipulation have been achieved or not. In this study
Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) a handy and portable version of the falling weight deflectometer is used for
evaluation of soil subgrade. The LWD provides a measurement of the dynamic modulus of elasticity of the soil
that is comparable with Field CBR determined through dynamic cone penetration test(DCPT). This equipment
i s recentl y used at the construction of approaches of high level bridge in Ludhiana district of Punjab
state for i nsi tu eval uati on of soi l subgrade. The Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) was developed in
Europe to measure the in situ dynamic modulus of soils. The LWD is similar to the falling weight
deflectometer (FWD) used for roadways, but is portable with a weight of approximately 15 kg to 25 kg, can
be operated by 1 person and the test can be done in 1 to 2 minutes. During operation, the plate is first placed
directly over level ground and 3 initial blows of the drop weight are given to ensure a close contact. A
subsequent 3 drops of the weight are performed and the data acquisition system calculates the deformation
(deflection) for each blow and the soils dynamic modulus Evd. A printout or downloadable trace of
the accelerometer readings can then be generated (Figure 1). The dynamic soil modulus (Evd) is calculated
by Equation 1, where r is the radius of the load plate, is the stress below the plate and s is the
measured deflection or settlement.

E
vd
= 1.5 r / s [1]


Figure 1. Output from the LWD (Dynatest 3031)

Soil subgrade was tested at fifteen location and simultaneously samples were collected for
laboratory testing of the soil during the actual construction at site. Index properties tests were
first conducted on the subgrade samples in accordance with IS:2720-V to obtain the Atterbergs
limits, including the liquid limit (LL), plasticity limit (PL) and plasticity index (PI). The index
tests were followed by particle size analysis test on the samples as per IS:2720-IV test procedure.
Based on the Atterberg limits and particle size test results, the subgrade samples were generally
classified as MH, ML, SM, CL, or SC according to Unified Soil Classification System (USCS).
The average LL and PI for the 15 subgrade soils was 23% and 19%, respectively. As expected,
the sandy soils had smaller LL and PI values. IRC: 36-2010, considers MH soils as poor
subgrades with high compressibility and high susceptibility to expansion. In addition, moisture-
density tests were performed on the subgrade soils in accordance with IS: 2720-VIII, method to
establish the maximum dry density and the optimum moisture content of the samples.
Compaction curves obtained from the modified Proctor tests were used to define a target density
and moisture contents at which the subgrade specimens were prepared for testing. The maximum
dry density ranged from 16.8kN/m3 to 19.3kN/m3, with corresponding optimum water contents
varying from 13.5% to 8.6%, respectively. As expected, the sandy soils samples had higher
maximum dry densities and lower optimum moisture contents.











The correlation between Evd and degree of compaction varies with soil type and moisture content as well as
with compactive effort. Table 1 illustrates the measured relationship between Evd and degree of compaction, as
compiled by the German Road and Transport Research Association (FGVS 1997), for a broad range of soil
types.

Soil Group Degree of
compaction
D
Pr

Modulus
of
Resilence
E
vd

DIN 18 196 % MN/M
2

GW, GI, GU, GT as
per ZTVE
>103 60
GW, GI, GU, GT as
per ZTVE
100
98
97
50
40
35
GE, SE, SW, SI 100
98
97
40
35
32
Mixed-grain soils: GU2,
GT2, SU, ST
i.e soil with kankar
100
98
97
35
30
25
Fine grained soils: U, T 97 25
Mixed grain soils GU,
GT, SU, ST
95 20