Ground Improvement Assessment with CPTs
High Energy Impact Compaction verified by using CPTs before and after ground improvement.
Over 100 CPTs performed on a 3.5 hectare site in Port Melbourne.
Pushed CPTs through very difficult fill (bricks, cobbles, concrete rubble), and into the underlying natural soil.
Results confirmed ground improvement was successful.
Rapid site characterisation with shallow CPTs
Development of a medical centre in Melbourne’s northern suburbs required definition of depth of basaltic clay over basalt bedrock.
Over 30 CPTs pushed to shallow refusal on basalt rock at around 2 m depth in one day, plus installation of standpipes.
Allowed for an accurate assessment of rock levels across the site.
Provided soil strength and stiffness parameters for footing and pavement design.
CPT testing for warehouse and pavement design on challenging soils
Subsurface included Maryvale Silt, which is extremely sensitive in some locations, with the potential to liquefy under vibration.
25 CPTs used to identify layers of silt within the Quaternary period alluvium.
Allowed for footing design to avoid the silt where present.
Provided soil strength and stiffness parameters for bored pile, high level footings, and pavement design.
CPT testing on riverbank for floating pontoon
Proposed 40 m long floating pontoon on the Murray River required parameters for pile design.
CPTs pushed to 27 m through Neogene to Quaternary period Shepparton Formation alluvium (clay, sand, gravel) on the river bank.
Successfully pushed through very dense gravelly sand layers utilising a 15 cm cone.
Axial and lateral pile performance predicted using CPT parameters.