Advances in seismic piezocone testing

ABSTRACT The seismic piezocone penetration test (SCPTu) has been available for over 3 decades now and offers a fantastic means for profiling geostratigraphy and soil engineering properties during routine site investigations. The SCPTu collects as many as 5 independent readings with depth: qt, fs, u2, t50, and Vs. Recently, a means of generating waves via an autoseis at the rate of 1 strike/second provides the opportunity to perform continuous-interval seismic piezocone tests (CiSCPTu), thereby shortening field testing times. Whereas the SCPTu can easily reach depths of 30 m, new advancements have allowed on-land soundings as deep as 150 m in a continuous push, thus providing great economy when compared to conventional drilling, sampling, and borehole geophysical methods.