Physical Modelling in Geotechnics – 6th ICPMG ’06 – Ng, Zhang & Wang (eds)

© 2006 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 0-415-41586-1

Evaluation of modulus of subgrade reaction (Ks ) in gravely soils based on

standard penetration test (SPT)

R. Ziaie_Moayed & S.A. Naeini

Civil Engineering Department, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

ABSTRACT: In practical and realistic terms, carrying out in-situ plate bearing tests or relating it in someway
to intrinsic deformation characteristics of the soil can find “Ks ”. Values of “Ks ” may also be assessed by relating
them to the intrinsic parameters of the soil such as elastic modulus (Es ) and California bearing ratio (CBR) (Vesic
1961, Bowels 1997). The standard penetration test (SPT) is currently the most popular and economical means
to obtain subsurface information. The SPT results have been used in correlations for unit weight (γ), relative
density (Dr ), angle of internal friction (φ) and undrained compressive strength qu . In this paper the results of SPT
and plate load test (PLT) tests on gravely soils of Tehran alluvium are evaluated. Due to the results obtained the
correlation between SPT results (N1 )60 and modulus of subgrade reaction (Ks ) are also presented for gravely soils.

1 INTRODUCTION B – Indirect Approach, which leads to interpreta-

tion methods that allow evaluation of the parameters
The modulus of subgrade reaction is a conceptual describing the stress-strain-strength and consolidation
relationship between soil pressure and deflection that behavior of soils. This approach is basically more
widely used in the structural analysis of foundation sound and rational than the direct approach. Since the
members. It is used for continuous footing, mats and appearance of the penetration tests, the engineers have
various types of piling. been attempting to assess the deformation character-
For many construction projects, it is common to find istics and/or settlement of structures from their results
that the preliminary design is based on soil parameters (Terzaghi & Peck 1948, De Bear 1948, Meyerhof
obtained from standard penetration tests (SPT).The 1957). This approach is of great practical interest
standard penetration test, developed around 1927, is in cohesionless and other soil deposits where undis-
currently the most popular and economical means to turbed sampling is still impossible, unreliable or not
obtain subsurface stratification. The method has been cost effective. (D’Appolonia et al. 1968, Parry 1978,
standardized as ASTM D1586. The use of penetration Mitchell & Gardner 1975).
testing results in geotechnical design may be split in This paper presents the results of 75 vertical plate
to the following two distinct approaches. load tests performed in boreholes on gravel strata at
A – Direct approach, which gives the opportunity various depths. The tests were conducted as part of
to pass directly from in-situ measurement to the per- more comprehensive field investigation at 75 different
formance of foundations without the need to evaluate locations in the Northern part of the Tehran City, the
any intermediate soil parameters. This approach is fre- capital of Islamic Republic of Iran. The test equipment
quently used in the evaluation of the settlement of and procedures are described and a set of typical test
shallow foundations in cohesionless deposits and to data is presented. The results are used to develop a
assess the ultimate and service limit states of piles relationship between subgrade reaction modulus (Ks )
subjected to both axial and horizontal loadings. The and standard penetration test blow counts (NSPT ) that
direct approach leads to empirical methods in which may be applicable to gravels in the Northern part of
quality is strictly linked to the number and quality of Tehran city.
the case records upon which the approach has been The relationship may be used to obtain initial esti-
established. Valuable examples of this approach are the mates of modulus for the analysis of bearing capacity,
works by Burland & Burbridge (1984), Bustamante & settlement, lateral load capacity of piles, and other
Gianeselli (1982), Reese & Wright (1977), Reese & problems where the load-deformation characteristics
O’Neil (1987) and Jamiolkowski et al. (1985). of soils influence structural behavior.

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Figure 1. Plate bearing test apparatuses.

2 SITE INVESTIGATION

Foundation investigation in Northern part of Tehran

City is often conducted by digging narrow test pits (up Figure 2. Ks measurement of plate load test results.
to 800 mm diameter). Trained personnel lowered into
such openings can visually observe variations within
the soil profile and readily obtain first-hand informa- 3 ANALYSIS OF PLATE LOAD TEST RESULTS
tion on in-site conditions, such as relative density, by
visually observing and directly touching the exposed The idea of modeling soil as an elastic medium was
sidewalls of the opening. The large diameter boreholes first introduced by Winkler and, not surprisingly, this
make routine in site testing of gravels practicable even principle is now referred to as the Winkler soil model.
at depth. Therefore, equipment was developed that Several application of this principle are considered and
could be set up inside an 800 mm diameter borehole to illustrated by means of worked examples such as lat-
perform vertical plate load tests at the bottom of shal- erally loaded pile, and settlement analysis of shallow
low boreholes. These tests can be performed during flexible foundations. Perhaps the best known is that
routine foundation investigations for little additional of a continuous, horizontal beam or footing resting
cost. Because of the variability of gravel properties, on an elastic subgrade. The subgrade reaction at any
frequent testing at each site if desirable. For that rea- point along the beam is assumed to be proportional to
son, and because of the confined working space in the the vertical displacement of the beam at that point. In
borehole, the dimensions and mass of the equipment other word, the soil is assumed to obey Hook’s law.
developed was kept small. Hence, the modulus of subgrade reaction (Ks ) for the
The equipment consists of a light hydraulic jack soil is given by Ks = P/δ where P is the ground bearing
with attachments to connect circular plate with pressure at a point along the beam, and δ is the vertical
305 mm diameter and 25 mm (1 in.) thickness (Fig- displacement of the beam at that point.
ure 1). The test procedure is coincident with ASTM The main difficulty in applying the Winkler soil
D1194. The plate is placed at the centre of the hole. model is that of quantifying the modulus of subgrade
Load is applied to the plate in steps-about one-fourth to reaction (Ks ) to be used in the analysis, as soil can
one-fifth of the estimated ultimate load by means of a be a very variable material. In practical and realistic
jack. During each step load application, the settlement terms, Ks , can be found only by carrying out in-situ
of the plate is observed on dial gauges. At least one plate bearing tests or relating it in some way to intrin-
hour is allowed to elapse between each load applica- sic deformation characteristics of the soil. The plate
tion step. The test have been conducted until failure, or bearing test is widely used and is fully described in
at least until the plate has gone through 25 mm (1 in.) ASTM D1194. In foundation design, as distinct from
of settlement. pavement design, the value of Ks is the secant modu-
The standard penetration test (SPT) was performed lus of the graph over the estimated working range of
at intervals of approx 1.5 meter in accordance with bearing pressure (p
) as indicated in Figure 2.
ASTM D1586. The required number of blow counts
(N) to penetrate 305 mm in to the soil is measured.
Various factors like effective overburden pressure (σv
) 4 ANALYSIS OF STANDARD PENETRATION
length of drilling rod, diameter of borehole, method TEST RESULTS
of sampling and type of hammer used, influence the
corrected number of SPT blow counts. Thus, in order The standard penetration test is the most popular
to determine a suitable index for evaluating soil density dynamic test to determine soil resistance parame-
and resistance, the measured SPT N values should be ters. Using a hammer weighting 63.5 kg (140 lbs) and
corrected. The NCEER-97 procedure has been used in falling 0.76 m (30 in) the required number of bel-
present paper to correction of SPT results. lows (N) to penetrate 305 mm (12 in) into the soil are

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Table 1. Correction to SPT results (NCEER-97).

Equipment
Factor variable Term Correction


Overburden CN (Pa/σv0 )
pressure CN < 2
Energy Donut CE 0.5 to 1.0
ratio Hammer 0.7 to 1.2
Safety 0.8 to 1.3
Hammer
Automatic
Hammer
Borehole 65 to 115 m CB 1
diameter 150 mm 1.05
200 mm 1.15
Rod length 3 m to 4 m CR 0.75
4 m to 6 m 0.85
6 m to 10 m 0.95
10 to 30 m 1
>30 m <1.0
Sampling Standard Cs 1
method Sampler 1.1 to 1.3 Figure 3. Typical (p-δ) curve obtained from plate load test.
Sampler
Without liners
5 INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
measured as an indication of the density and resistance 75 vertical plate load tests are performed on medium
of soil. to dense gravely soils in Tehran alluvium. The verti-
Various factors like effective overburden pressure cal settlement (δ) and contact pressure (p) for each
(σv
), length of drilling rod, diameter of borehole, test were measured and plotted in figures such as
method of sampling and type of hammer used, influ- Figure 3. Then the secant modulus of each graph (Ks )
ence the SPT below counts. Thus in order to determine is determined.
a suitable index for evaluating soil density and resis- The standard penetration tests are also performed
tance, researchers have suggested different corrections in each site and the SPT below counts are measured in
on the basic number of blows obtained in SPT tests. corresponding depths. Then the corrected SPT values
The most comprehensive relations are presented in the (N1 )60 are evaluated based on NCCER-97 procedure.
NCEER-97 report for granular soils. In this procedure Based on most applicability of standard penetration
the corrected SPT below count for the 60% energy test in geotechnical projects in Iran, the presentation
level is obtained from the following relation: of relationship between SPT results and other geotech-
nical properties of gravel such as Ks would be very
useful.
Where: The results of statistical analysis on relationship
N: measured SPT below counts between (N1 )60 and (Ks ) results showed that the fol-
CE : Energy effect coefficient lowing simple power function provides the best fit
CB : Correction factor for borehole diameter for correlation between plate load test data (Ks ) and
CR : Correction factor for rod length standard penetration test results (N1 )60 (Figure 4).
CS : Correction factor for type of samplers
CN : Effective overburden pressure coefficient
obtained from the following relation: Based on obtained results, the modulus of subgrade
reaction (Ks ) increases as the SPT below count (N1 )60
increases. As shown in Figure 4, the modulus of sub-
Where: grade reaction (Ks ) may be evaluated from standard
penetration test results in medium to dense gravely
Pa: Atmospheric pressure soils. It should be noted that the proposed relation-


σv0 : Effective vertical pressure at ship is only applicable for determining of Ks for small
considered depth sized plate (B = 30 cm). Therefore these values should
The preferred correction factors are presented in be modified due to actual size of foundations (Bowels
Table 1 due to NCEER recommendation. 1997).

803
 ASTM D1586. Standard test method for penetration test and
split-barrel sampling of soils.
Bowels, J.E., 1997. Foundation Analysis and Design.
Amsterdam: Balkema.
Burland, J.B. & Burdige, M.C. 1984. Settlement of founda-
tions on sand and gravel. Glasgow and west of Scotland
association centenary lecture.
Bustamante, M. & Gianeselli, L. 1982. Pile bearing capac-
ity prediction by means of static penetrometer CPT.
Proc. ESOPT II, Amsterdam (2): 493–500, Rotterdam:
Balkema.
D’ Appolonia, D.J., D’ Apolonla, E. & Brissette, R.F. 1968.
Settlement of spread footing on sand. JSMFE DIV.,
ASCE, SM3.
De Beer, E. 1948. Settlement records of bridge founded on
sand. Proc. II ICSMFE. Rotterdam.
Jamiolkowski, M., Ladd, C.C., Germaine, J.T. & Lancelotta, R.
1985. New developments in field and laboratory testing
of soils. Theme lecture. Proc. XI ICSMFE, San Francisco
(1): 57–153, Rotterdam: Balkema.
Figure 4. Correlation between SPT and PLT test results. Meyerhoff, G.G. 1957. Discussion of session 1. Proc. IV
ICSMFE, London.
Mitchell, J.K. & Gardner, W.S. 1975. In situ measurement of
6 CONCLUSIONS volume change characteristics, SOA report. Proc. ASCE
spec. conf. on the in-situ measurement of soil properties
The standard penetration test and plate load test results (2): 279–345.
could be correlated in medium to dense gravely soils. NCEER, 1997. Proceeding of the NCEER workshop on eval-
The modulus of subgrade reaction (Ks ) of medium uation of liquefaction resistance of soil. New York: State
to dense gravely soil are correlated with corrected SPT University of New York.
below counts (N1 )60 . Parry, R.H.G. 1978. Estimating foundations settlements
in sand from plate bearing test. Geotechnique 28(1):
The modulus of subgrade reaction (Ks ) of medium
107–118.
to dense gravely soils are increased with increasing the Reese, L.C. & O’ Neil, M.W. 1987. Drilled shafts: Construc-
corrected SPT below counts (N1 )60 . tion procedures and design methods. U.S. Department of
Transportation Federal Highway Administration Office of
Impletation Mc Leans, Virginia.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Reese, L.C. & Wright, S. J. 1977. Drilled shaft manual. Vol. 1,
U.S. Dept. of transportation, offices of research and devel-
The writer acknowledge the contribution of Dr. A. opment, implementation div. HDV-2, Washington D. C.
M. Matin (Ajand Khak Consulting Engineers) whose Terzaghi, K. & Peck, R.B. 1948. Soil mechanics in engineer-
ing practice. J. New York: Wiley & Sons Inc.
fruitful discussions and information’s on the results of
Vesic,A.S. 1961. Beams on elastic subgrade and the Winkler’s
experimental data presented in the paper represent the hypothesis. 5th ICSMFE (1): 845–850.
outcome of several geotechnical investigation projects
of Tehran.

REFERENCES
ASTM D1194. Test method for bearing capacity of soil for
static load on spread footings.

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