Field response of push-in earth pressure cells for instrumentation and site characterization of soils

Abstract

The use of Push-In Earth Pressure Cells in Geotechnical Engineering is described. Applications for both instrumentation and site characterization are discussed. Several examples of the field response of Push-In Earth Pressure Cells in soils are shown to illustrate their behaviour. These instruments can provide a reasonably simple, economical and reliable tool for a wide range of applications in geoconstruction and site characterization and should be considered by engineers more frequently. A discussion of the interrelationships between the Initial Lateral Stress Ratio and the Reconsolidation Lateral Stress Ratio suggests that in fine-grained soils these values should be related to the stress history of the soil through the overconsolidation ratio.